We visited Wrest Park in Bedfordshire today. This, it seems to me, is the kind of portrait one might have had painted if one owned the place. The swans definitely thought they did.
The house had a rather hard life during and after the war, and almost none of its original furnishings remain, but it does have a few very fine rooms with some wonderful ceilings.
Click for larger versions, to see the detail.
At Linton Zoo, yesterday morning.
Before this morning, if you had shown me a picture of a kangaroo doing this, I’d have thought he was a stuffed one, probably taking part in an Australian beer commercial.
But it turned out this was just part of his morning stretching routine.
At Linton Zoo
I know I look small, but just get rid of this fence and I’ll show you…
At Linton Zoo this morning.
Amongst other places, Tilly and I visited Flatford Mill today. A pleasant spot.
It’s famous for being the place where John Constable painted the Hay Wain:
He did so, I expect, because he knew that I would one day take a photo in just that location:
I thought about taking out my easel and oils, but decided his results might still have been better, because he would have had a couple of unfair advantages.
Firstly, he visited when the temperature was above freezing. Secondly, he did so during daylight hours. It’s an issue of exposure, you see — I had to use an 8-second one, and I also nearly died of it 🙂
Trumpington Meadows is a large new housing development on the southern edge of Cambridge. The houses are, well, modern houses. Perhaps a bit better than some. But the developers have done a nice job of gentle landscaping on the big field between the housing estate and Byron’s Pool. It’s become a favourite dog-walking area.
Last night, a combination of fog and sunset made it look particularly beautiful. One of those times when I kicked myself for not having a proper camera with me: these are iPhone shots.
And if you look carefully (or click for the larger version) you’ll see that this is actually a photo of the M11:
I’m not often grateful to housing developers, so I feel I should give them credit when it’s due!
Hunstanton cliffs, on Monday
My brother sent me a nice picture of my niece and nephew yesterday, with the title, “All that really changes is the technology.”
© Copyright Quentin Stafford-Fraser
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