Hiatus and Hinterland

December and January...bleak and beautiful.  I'm limiting my screen time right now, so sharing some photos which give an essence of life in recent days.  

Hinterland: the area around or beyond a major town or port.

Here's our very own Hinterland...just beyond the garden gate, some 12 miles away from the UK's second city, looking magical in the fog which ascended late Christmas Eve and stayed with us almost to New Year's Eve.

I'm not taking these beautiful trees for granted.  The recent storms have claimed a number of them.

The ridge you can see in the photo above is the more challenging route home...

...but as I made my way across the top, I was soon forced to take an alternative route home after encountering this fallen giant.

The other paths were littered with casualties.

So sad to see.

The dying days of December also marked a new chapter for my last clients of 2024, Clare and Tony, who tied the knot at Hogarth's Stone Manor, a Worcestershire manor house formerly owned by the Palethorpe family (renowned Birmingham sausage producers, who started operations in 1852). 

If ever a dress screamed mid winter magic, it's this one.  More coming soon.

As for my own photo journey, I've added another camera to my armoury; a new generation Polaroid.  I love everything about Polaroids.  They are the antithesis of digital photos.  There's a mysterious alchemy about them; light and temperature being major players in the process.  You never quite know what you're going to get and there's a soft, fuzzy quality that is impossible to replicate. I'm in love.

I've had a few mishaps so far, but for the first one off the camera, I'm pretty pleased with this one. 

I've already moved on to my beloved black and white (which Polaroid introduced in 1950).  I'm just waiting for the weather to settle down (we've had snow, ice and heavy rain in the last 24 hours) before venturing out.  I've also discovered a way of upcycling the spent cartridges, so watch this space!

I'll be back and catching up with other blogs as soon as possible. x

A Mist Makes Things Wonderful

It's not been a particularly inspiring few week weather wise.  I like winter, but even I have struggled to muster any enthusiasm about the relentless damp, cold and flat white skies that have greeted me most mornings recently.  So imagine my excitement when the mist descended!  This blog title is a quote from Oscar Wilde and I couldn't agree more.

I like drama in my weather.  For example, I can cope with a little wind and rain (coming home is even more welcoming after getting rained on).  I love the blinding light and beauty of a covering of virgin snow or glittering hoar frost on the landscape.  Incidentally, check out this little video taken in between blogs after one such frost.  I've never experienced a thaw like it - shards of ice falling from the trees.

https://www.tiktok.com/@winter_peach_photography/video/7191540452401761541

As for mist, it's really what many people associate with the UK - a patchwork quilt of a miniaturised landscape covered by a blanket of visibility compromising moisture.  It exemplifies our reliably unreliable climate and adds mystery and intrigue worthy of a tale from Arthur Conan Doyle.

I'll go with the mystery theme for reasons which will become apparent.  We headed out into the mist for a 5 mile walk through an ever changing landscape, starting with a cluster of silver birch trees.  I was later thrilled that this image was selected and featured on the Instagram account Capturing Britain.

We were joined for some of the route by a very vocal Robin.  I thought he was being friendly, but knowing how territorial they can be, I suspect he was warning us to keep moving.

The gnarled branches of the naked trees contrasted beautifully with the mist pervading the atmosphere.

Further along we encountered a crop of the tallest pine trees, criss-crossed by mountain bike tracks.  Here I insisted Gareth pose.  He's still at the breaking in stage with his DMs, hence the loosened laces.

We climbed 121 steps...

....and arrived on top of a hill, spotting this rather intriguing house in the distance...

....before picking up our original route and descending a densely wooded hillside.  It was here that we encountered this once inhabited building carved into the sandstone.  It's clear that work is ongoing to make it safe for visitors.

Feeling emboldened by this, we continued.  No one knows when these caves were first inhabited, but they remained so until the 1950s when the properties were condemned by the local authority and the occupiers forced to leave.

The area just beyond looked very Hobbiton, apart from the sandstone carvings...

...and graffiti.  

We're the more respectful rule breakers.  Clearly this place is an open secret locally.  Hopefully one day it will be open to the public and afforded the protection it deserves.

Back at home, the hyacinths have flowered and the fragrance is off the charts.

I wonder if Marg smells the same?

I've made a few acquisitions, some old, some new (more on those soon).  When buying new I always focus on quality, durability and timelessness, not wishing to contribute to the ever increasing clothes mountain.  Having called into a local supermarket the other day, I was horrified at the amount of clothing on sale.  Even worse, the ridiculously crammed sale rails - even as we near the end of January.  Aren't manufacturers getting the message?  They are clearly over-producing.  There can't possibly be the demand to justify this level of production.  It's obscene. 

My "old" is probably not so old, but a black and white jacket I know I will wear and wear again.  Here, in my usual hurried selfie, I've teamed it with some black cord dungarees (old) over a black and white spotted thermal polo neck (second hand), a vintage tribal necklace and recycled cashmere gloves.  Slippers just out of shot.  Note to self:  I must really work on my outfit photos.

This weekend was the UK's Big Garden Birdwatch.  I layered up and headed out into the garden with a de-caf coffee, the camera and a notebook, for an hour's solitude.  The temperature was around 5 degrees, but the damp conditions made it feel a good deal colder.  I did smile to myself when I wondered what my 18 year old self would have thought of this decision.  She probably wouldn't have been up and available for comment.

Last year the conditions were pretty similar, but I saw very little bird activity.  This year, the garden was alive with birdsong, principally from the resident Robins.  

I also counted more birds this time, including a brief sighting of a Song Thrush and an even briefer glimpse of a bird I've been unable to identify as a result.

Blue Tit

  

Robin

House Sparrow

Male Blackbird

The remainder of my week has been dominated by a little mother/daughter trip booking, mood boards, phone calls, admin and light reflectors!  The styles for my forthcoming photo shoots are quite different from each other.  The first is very romantic and Nordic in style.  For the second, David Bowie is my muse.

In an effort to inspire and spur myself on, I'll leave you with the latter; this image and quote, firmly and metaphorically pinned to my mood board.

I'm off to watch the remainder of the truly brilliant but bizarre Everything, Everywhere, All at Once (currently free with Amazon Prime) and the penultimate episode of the gripping Happy Valley.  Until next time!

January Made Me Shiver

How bin ya? (As they say in these parts). Well I wish I could say that I've partied as much as the UK government or experienced as much adrenalin as Prince Andrew in the week since my last blog, but I can't.  The past seven days have bled into each other; a blur of work, eating, screen time, sleep and repeat.  

My sleep has been troubled this week and I've certainly had no need for an alarm call - a woodpecker has ensured that I've been wide awake by 6.30 every morning.  We sleep with the window open most evenings (Lotte's escape route, plus I like fresh air), so this has eased the sonic flow of woodpecker drilling into my ears.  Did you know that woodpeckers drill not just for insects, but to make their nests - essentially hollows in tree trunks?  Even more impressive, when you consider the impact of drilling wood on a Woodpecker's tiny bird skull, is the fact that many of their nests could easily accommodate a duck!

On the subject of birds, Robin's were always referred to as "red breasts" because the first recorded use of the word orange as a colour name in English was not until 1502 in a description of clothing purchased for Margaret Tudor.

I discover all of these little gems during nocturnal reading sessions.  

Winter has really delivered this week and courtesy of sleep deprivation, icy roads and a pressing deadline, I haven't gone far.  These photos were taken around 10 paces from our front door earlier in the week. 

I have also grappled with a rather weighty issue - my hair.  It probably needs a trim, but the length is giving me more versatility to try out new styles, like this twenties hairstyle (inspired by the forthcoming Peaky Blinders series and my love of the era's fashion), involving Dutch braids, a small plaited bun and multiple hair partings.

There!  Apart from my scruffs and the unglamorous bathroom selfies, I'm all ready for the new roaring twenties.

This week's additional screen time has largely been devoted to completing the script I've been working on.  

Last year I made a promise to myself to submit it to the annual BBC Writer's Room Open Call.  It's really been more of a challenge to myself; a case of "I've started, so I'll finish", rather than being borne out of any expectation of being identified as the next Jed Mercurio.  However, when I realised on the morning of yesterday's midday deadline that our internet was down, I confess to almost having a little cry.  A screenwriter on Twitter attempted to come to my aid, but fortunately, my prayers to the cyber gods were answered and at precisely 11.58 am I hit the SUBMIT button, spotted the acknowledgment drop into our inbox and promptly headed out into the mist of the National Trust managed Kinver Edge.  Talk about flying by the seat of your pants!

Thursday was quite simply magical.  The beguiling partnership of a hoar frost and rolling mist set the scene first thing, but unusually the mist didn't dissipate as the day worn on.  Instead, the sun broke through in spectacular style, sending sun beams from the heavens and shards of light in amongst the trees....

picking out pathways, foliage and spider's webs...

 ...and making it very difficult at times to distinguish tree trunks from shadows.  

We were so in awe of the ever changing landscape, 

that we spent around two hours soaking it all in and chatting with other walkers and photographers, marvelling at the vista,

until sunset.

And so, to this morning, 14th January, the day of my birthday and yet another wintry wonderland awaits...and a Covid positive test result for our son (but let's not dwell on the C word).  Here are a couple of shots from our glistening garden.  

It's also Dave Grohl's Birthday (Happy Birthday Dave!  I know you'll be reading) and  National Dress Up Your Pet Day.  I don't fancy my chances of separating Lotte from her pizza box, do you?

On this day in 1514, Pope Leo X issued a papal bull against slavery  and in 1978, the Sex Pistols performed their final show at Winterland, San Francisco.

And there ends the history lesson.

Hand on heart, I am really loving this season, but that's not to say I'm not looking forward.  Finally and tentatively, I feel like making plans in 2022 and the first date on the calendar so far this year is in May, the day I plan to run away with the circus - Giffords Circus to be precise.  It's an enchanting, nostalgia-steeped village green summer circus with a supermodel and rock star fan base.  We went a number of years ago and I've been desperate to return ever since.  This year, Vix and Jon will be joining us.  

Tickets aren't cheap, but they are worth every penny.  So if you find yourselves in the Cotswolds area from April to September, grab a ticket while you still can.  Here's the link   Giffords Circus | Experience the magic of Giffords Circus and brilliant artwork courtesy of Joseph Avery.

Hope you've had a good week.  See you soon!