Now You See Me

It's amazing what you can see in the mist.

On a normal morning, I can look out of the kitchen window and hardly see a spider web. When the mist descends, the effect is truly spectacular.  Dozens, (and I do mean dozens) of spider webs pop into existence.  The gazebo, the hedge, the swings,  any surface where the spiders can attach themselves.  The moisture in the air clings to the delicate threads and brings them into sharp focus.

Of course with lots of spider webs, there are lots of spiders.  Not surprisingly, most of them are the common garden spider.

This one spun a web that went from the edge of the house to the fence - easily six feet.

Apologies for the delay with this post as well.  I've just upgraded my computer so it's taken a little longer than anticipated to get everything back on (the joy of upgrading to a 64-bit system from a 32).

Elusive

The first time I set eyes on a humming-bird Hawk-moth was  around ten years ago.  I remember it was a hot summer and I just happened to spot it hovering around one of the flower boxes.  They seemed to have a particular love of Bizzie Lizzies.  Subsequently, we made sure that we always had the flowers in the garden to try and tempt them in.  We saw them twice more,  always when the summer was hot.  I've not seen one in England in the last five years.

So it was a bit of a surprise to see one zooming around the Fox's Brush in the flower bed  during the last week of October.

They are a thing of beauty, with their long tongues dipping in and out of the flowers.  They move quickly but make it look effortless.  I imagine to keep it's wings beating at that speed they need a lot of nectar to maintain it.

Frustratingly, there was a trinity of factors that conspired to make it difficult to photograph it.  Bad light, a small fast moving subject and a camera focus that refused to do just that.  Out of forty shots there were only these ones that actually were passable enough to put on the blog.

Castle to Coast

 During our trip back to the north east, we managed to grab a couple of hours in Northumberland, driving along the Coastal Route which stretches the length of the Northumbrian coastline.  It would have been nice to have travelled up to Seahouses and Bamburgh Castle but unfortunately time was against us so we had to stay relatively local.  Still, you don't need to travel a great distance to find some nice scenery.

The village of Warkworth is dominated by the castle which dates back to 1157.  It is a ruin, but a relatively complete and interesting one.  Northumberland has more castles than any other county in England.  If you go to school in Northumberland I will guarantee you there will a school trip to a castle.  It's the law.

 The village itself is pretty, with most of the houses made of stone.  Traffic is busier than you would expect, mainly due to the Coastal Route running straight through the village.

Clouds over Warkworth Village

Just a short drive from Warkworth is the coastal village of Alnmouth.  If you have ever driven up the A1 in Northumberland you will have seen it, built into a hillside.  Strangely, for growing up in Northumberland this was the first time that I had actually visited.

The beach is impressive, but then it is Northumberland.

Coquet Island

 

Blog on the Tyne (Sorry!)

This week we spent three days in the north east of England, catching up with family and friends.  It's been a couple of years since I have been back on home ground and walking around the city where I used to work it felt strange to see how much had changed in my absence and was (to my mind at least) a relatively short space of time.

Our base for the visit was the Copthorne Hotel on the Quayside.  With all of the visits we had scheduled we didn't really get time to stray very far from the Quayside itself.  Newcastle was also one of the host city's for the Rugby World Cup which was why we had to go midweek, as the cheapest hotel we could find on a weekend was £300 per night! due to matches being played.

I took the pictures with a combination of my trusty Olympus and my iPhone.  In fact, the pictures that I like best (the Sage at night and the black and white shot of the Millennium Bridge) were taken with the iPhone.

The High Level Bridge

The setting sun on the Tyne Bridges

The Millennium Bridge from The Baltic 

The view from the Millennium Bridge

Bridge and Baltic Arts Centre

The Sage Concert Venue

The Baltic or to give it it's full name, Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art is an amazing building on the Gateshead Quays that used to be a flour mill.

I do enjoy contemporary art, when it is done well.  This visit disappointed Terry and myself  due to what we perceived to be weak exhibitions. There was however one show stopper of a moment.  Take the lift to the fourth floor and walk around the obscured entrance to the gallery and you are greeted by this.

 It's not what you expect to see 4 floors up.  The 17 tonne truck is part of a exhibition by Fiona Tan.   We spent most of our time wondering how they got the truck up on the fourth floor.

The Sage at night

Runners training outside our hotel window

Sunset from the Quayside

Architecture and Morality

 For years we have been coming to Lincoln, mostly to go to the cinema and in recent months with the new house we have spent more time shopping for furniture and the likes.  What we have never really done is the "tourist" thing and visit the cathedral that sits above the city.

On a beautiful October Sunday, we decided to remedy that.  The first thing you should be aware of is that if you don't like steep climbs or you aren't good on your feet I suggest you make use of the car park near the castle.

The Jews House

The Bomber Command memorial in the distance

At the stop of the steep climb, if you turn left you see the walls of Lincoln Castle.

Turn right and the Cathedral awaits.

Inside, is equally impressive with the incredible stone work, vaulted ceilings and stained glass windows.

I would love to be able to tell you what the various parts, windows and tombs are but I would be lying.  If you visit the Cathedral on a Sunday entry if free and there is a gift shop that will no doubt provide a lot more information about this impressive structure and it's ancient history. Even if you aren't remotely interested in religion (like myself) the scale of the place and the craftmanship are well worth seeing.