Silent Light

There's something in the experience of stillness, simplicity and silence that's a blessed balm in the busyness of business as usual. Contemplate for a moment the silence and beauty of this simple space. The play of light and shadow on the textured floor.

North Africa In Stitches

Salley Mavor is busy stitching illustrations for a new children's book called My Bed. I've been following her blog as she stitches her way through various cultures and countries illustrating where children go to sleep around the world. In "North Africa (Part 2)" Salley includes how she addressed the landscape once she'd "built" the houses....

Heads Up!

Walking back along Princes Street to the Octagon (city centre), I passed by Victorian-era Wains Hotel and glancing up I caught sight of the wonderful mythological heads looking down at me. I noticed two pairs of heads and they are really impressive so I stopped to take some photos for this blog. Wains Hotel in...

Pro-Creation: New Photographic Work

On Monday 21 May we went to Dunedin and I had a wander around while Nigel attended to some business. I found the 'Pro-Creation' exhibition open at the Community Gallery on Princes Street and enjoyed the photographic work on display by Clive Copeman, Graham Warman, Alan Dove and Derek Morrison. This exhibition will be open...

Magic at Millers Flat

Millers Flat is a small and lovely village just off the highway as you travel out of Central Otago and head toward the Clutha District. To access the village you must cross the mighty Clutha River via a bright blue bridge with a series of arches. Its all very scenic and rather exciting! As soon...

Driving along Gorge Rd I noticed how well the rusty tank matched with the rusty roof on the old farm shed. Old sheds with a curved roof are special, there's not that many of them! Near Invercargill, Southland, New Zealand; 14 March 2018

What’s it like in Wyndham?

Wyndham is a rural village in Southland that I've always had a bit of a soft spot for. When we lived in The Catlins we often stopped at the dairy in Wyndham for a burger. They did great burgers and it was a convenient place to stop and have refreshments when going on a drive....

Willow, Wicker and Weaving

Riverstone Kitchen has extensive beautiful and functional gardens surrounding the restaurant, retail buildings and carpark. Nigel gave me free rein on the photos he took so despite losing mine in yesterday's laptop disaster I can still share some of the experience. This post continues my previous post Dot's Dream Castle so you can find more...

Golden Showers

Laburnum Tunnel at Larnach Castle Garden, Otago Peninsula (near Dunedin), New Zealand  |  Sat 25 November 2017 Click on the photo to enlarge. The Larnach Castle Laburnum Tunnel, photographed during our visit on Saturday. We were anxious not to miss seeing it in bloom! Above, you can see a couple walking down the slope through...

The Tower Stairs

  Today I present a photo taken by a photographer whose work I admire very much. His name is Lignum Draco. He's been posting photo articles about his recent trip to Cuba and this photo particularly caught my attention. I'm pleased to share it here with his permission.   Photo by Lignum Draco   "Centrally...

Seeing Red at Larnach Castle, Dunedin, New Zealand

We visited the wonderful Larnach Castle garden on Sun 13 Aug 2017. Larnach Castle are celebrating 50 Years of Restoration and Innovation 1967 - 2017. Congratulations to Margaret Barker and her family for their vision and for the hard work and investment they've put into this property over the years. This banner was near the...

The Rainbow Gift after the Downpour

Not my words but a phrase that entranced me nonetheless, contained in a message of hope from a friend during a moment of fragility. After living in the Catlins for a few years I know about rainbows. Sudden storms would sweep down the valley where we lived; often the sun would soon shine through and...