A single released in 1979 by the group Madness, which will now be your ‘earworm’ for the rest of the afternoon, or a comment on how sometimes the bigger picture is not always evident from the front. I’d gone to photograph some local lavender fields at The Dorset lavender Farm’s ground at Fiddleford but been distracted by some very vibrant sunflowers being grown by one of our talented local florists. The large, brightly coloured heads wafting gently in the warm breeze were a magnet, both for me and for the bees, but try as I might I couldn’t find an angle that worked, nothing I tried really inspired despite the amazing patterns that nature had constructed in the head of the flower. However, and to illustrate my point, I remembered some photo’s I’d taken in a Worcestershire garden some years ago where my attention had been drawn to the back of the flower rather than the front, lo and behold, there was my picture. Despite the immediate beauty displayed at the front of the flower it wasn’t the whole story, stepping beyond the ‘immediate’ revealed textures and patterns that weren’t obvious at first glance but deserved capture for their complexity and visual interest. It’s often the way, and mirrored on many occasions, where the blindingly obvious isn’t always the entire picture, at sunrise and sunset for instance it’s not always the first or last glimpse of the sun that’s the most attractive aspect of the scene, sometimes looking behind you pays dividends.

Well, after last night’s incredible show of lightening, the day started on a very much fresher note. Cooler and more comfortable by far, it made the first couple of hours after daybreak most pleasant, unfortunately it didn’t last and once again by mid morning the sun was out and temperatures had climbed slowly but steadily skywards. The hot, sunny weather, lovely that it is, doesn’t fill me with the inclination to do much, yes, the necessary things, but after that all I want to do is stay out of the heat and in the shade. Looking out now though the weather’s showing signs of a change, the wind has got up a little and the clear blue sky’s clouded over, not with anything that looks vaguely rain bearing just high, fairly dense, white cloud. Enough to curb the sunshine but not enough to dissipate the incessant heat. I currently feel like, and perhaps resemble, the image created to illustrate today’s issues. All wrung out like a damp rag just about neatly sums up my current physical condition. Where some creatures hibernate to escape the vagaries of a harsh winter I fear I’d be destined to hibernate in the summer to escape this draining, energy sapping heat. Mind, if the current afternoon weather continues there might be a good chance of a fair sunset, now that is a scenario I’m more than happy to enjoy, I’ll keep my fingers crossed whilst melting slowly here.

Well, to be more accurate, the other side, of a hill better known for it’s connections with a well known brand of bread in the 1970’s. The town of Shaftesbury in Dorset sits on a ridge dominating the surrounding countryside, as a defended settlement it was founded by King Alfred after sorting out the invading armies of the Danes in 880 and immortalised a little under 1100 years later by Ridley Scott and the Hovis advert shot on Gold Hill. Until today I’d never visited the North side of the ridge, mainly because on all my other visits the emphasis was on visiting the town and its shops which run more along the Southern flank of the ridge. Today I had the opportunity, and the time, to discover the dark side of the hill, not that anywhere in Shaftesbury approaching lunchtime today was in the least bit dark, boringly bright and bakingly hot but not dark. Despite the unforgiving conditions the view was spectacular. Looking North and West across the valley with the little settlements and country churches dotted across the landscape it’s hard to understand why this hill, Castle Hill, is the poor relation to it’s more illustrious sibling ( other than it doesn’t have any buildings and cobbles ) as , if anything, the view is less interrupted and more far reaching. It was certainly far more peaceful and pastoral than its southern facing neighbour and I can imagine that on an evening with a noteable sunset or later in the year it’ll provide some great images. As someone far greater than I once famously remarked ” I shall return “

Despite the current hot spell nature continues to thrive, albeit with a little help in the watering department. Several local growers here are still managing to provide us with beautiful blooms which serve to brighten up our days. The hours of work that they must put in to produce such delights is a testament to their passion for the plants. I’ve spent this afternoon attempting to capture and create something with which to do justice to the efforts and labours of one local grower hereabouts. I hasten to add, I am not a gardener, I never have been, in part due to my father who was truly a man of the land. All attempts to master the art of green fingered wizardry were never really good enough to please him, he preferred that I left things alone, which to a degree suited me but also meant that I never learnt anything. My skills in the garden, both on the flower or vegetable front, are non-existent. The same can be said for most practical things, Dad took care of all those things in my formative years and so I never really turned my hand to the practicalities of life. I’m not complaining, I don’t view it as a loss in all honesty, I take the view that we all have something to offer and in my case it’s just not gardening or wielding a spanner or a power tool ( far too dangerous ), though if push came to shove I’ve no doubt I’d manage to one degree or another, as human beings we are resilient if nothing else. I know my limitations, I also know my pain threshold, blisters and an aching back at my delicate age are things consigned to a dim and distant corner of memory, a Pandora’s box that I have no desire to re-open.

noun

1. things that exist or are used or enjoyed for only a short time.”there were papers, letters, old boxes—all sorts of ephemera”
   • collectable items that were originally expected to have only short-term usefulness or popularity.”Mickey Mouse ephemera”

Today we’ve visited the ‘Shepton Flea’, despite the vagaries of the weather, an immense sea of people and ‘stuff ‘. More ‘ stuff ‘ than you can shake a stick at, ‘ stuff’ of all shapes and sizes, ‘ stuff ‘ you might want and very definitely ‘stuff ‘ you wouldn’t. I’m amazed at what dealers will tout in the hope of getting the general public to part with their hard earned cash, I’m surprised they buy it in the first place and amazed that they can find a market for it. I guess it taps into the ‘nostalgia’ market, though quite why one might be tempted to buy a couple of hundred old tobacco tins given the known health hazards of smoking is a little beyond me. The history of the ‘Flea’ market is interesting in it’s own right, popular fancy has it that it originates in Paris where the poor of the city bought and sold both what they had and what they could afford at the low end of the social demograph. The quality of such items was such that they had seen better times, much as the owners, and the items, particularly those made of material were often ‘flea’ infested, clothing and furniture being amongst the most frequently traded goods. Today’s items, hopefully, were a good deal more hygienic though there were one or two pieces that deserved a wide berth on health grounds. That said, there was a vast array of wares to tempt the buyer, you could’ve furnished your house almost from top to bottom, from room to room, in delights from the 40’s, 50’s, 60’s 70’s and 80’s. From crockery and cutlery to furniture and finery, it was all there to be picked and pored over, maybe that’s the allure of such an event in today’s internet purchase society. Whether you wanted a lime green trimphone for the lounge or Victorian glassware for the dining room it was there to be found, purchased and taken home to be treasured once more as it had been in its heyday. Long live The Shepton Flea!

I was going to call today’s post ‘Not a Leg To Stand On’ but it wouldn’t fit in the title bar, the photo served to illustrate a couple of points, how we seemingly rush around and how we sometimes ignore the rules in the quest to shave a second or two off things just to save time. I live in a very small rural town, it’s somewhat of a strip development that’s grown up over the ages and at it’s heart is served by one major arterial route through the town. Right in the middle of town is a pedestrian crossing, well, a zebra crossing really, it’s never been upgraded to light controlled nor is it ever likely to be it seems. That crossing serves as the only ‘safe’ haven with which to cross the road, those of us who still have all their faculties might choose to cross in other places but the zebra crossing is the only ‘officially designated’ place to cross. This morning, while stood in a shop doorway recording the passage of traffic and pedestrians , I was struck by how many drivers and pedestrians used and abused the crossing. Drivers who either didn’t stop for pedestrians waiting at the kerbside or failing to allow pedestrians to clear the crossing before driving on and pedestrians who approached the crossing at all angles and from varied starting positions, some of which weren’t even in the proximity of the crossing but expected traffic to halt because they were ‘on the crossing’ at some point in their journey. Now, some will undoubtedly say I must have nothing better to do than nitpick, and yes, there are certainly far more serious issues in the world to worry and wonder about but my point is that if you don’t adhere to the simple rules that are there for the benefit of all of us how can you expect to solve the more complex ones? How do you solve the Iranian oil tanker crisis? How do you solve Brexit? I have no idea but I certainly don’t want to be responsible for knocking someone down or being knocked down on a zebra crossing for the sake of saving a couple of seconds which will undoubtedly be lost at the next set of traffic lights or in the queue in the supermarket.

Today’s felt a little like stepping off the edge of the planet in some respects. The rain today has well and truly tamed the temperatures of late and the cloud cover has stifled any chance of blue sky and sunshine, to some degree it’s a welcome change. Having said all that the temperature, even though it’s not quite halved , is still a respectable 18C, positively balmy. The conditions have meant that wandering out across the meadows and down the lanes wasn’t possibly the best of plans given that I’m somewhat averse to getting wet. I know I was hermetically sealed at birth and that the damp wont seep in but wandering about, dripping wet is neither fun or glamorous, looking like something the cat dragged in was never high on my list of ‘must do’s’. That said, whilst there’s daylight I’m a bit like a dog with a bone where taking photo’s is concerned, never willing to give it up, and a trip out to see what I could find saw me head out to Bulbarrow. Seemed like a good idea at the time but as the ground started to climb the mist started to come down and the view from the top was, well, non existent to all intents and purposes. Still, to come this far and not take a photo would have been rude, not to mention that I like a challenge, even if it’s only one I’ve set myself. How much fun can you have with a stretch of wet road, a few puddles and a hedgerow with a tree in it?

Last night’s cooler, cloudier weather, together with the few early evening rainspots, was a blessed relief from the hot weather of late. I took myself off to Okeford Hill and just watched the evening sunshine playing cross the huge open expanse looking west and north towards Somerset and Wiltshire, revelling in the cooler breeze blowing through the grasses and wildflowers lining the hedgerows and verges. Overnight the rain came as forecast, much needed in some respects though I’m sure the farmers won’t want to see too much of it just as the wheat is almost ready to come off the fields. Everywhere else looked a little more vibrant and refreshed, the greens and golds were a little more vivid having been resuscitated by the overnight downpour. I’ve long thought that rain at nighttime should be the natural order of things, it doesn’t get in the way of day to day activities but does the necessary and keeps everything growing and looking good, fortunately or unfortunately we don’t get to choose and we get what we get when it decides it will or won’t. The immediate forecast seems divided between a very wet and possibly thundery northwest of the country and a drier,warmer southeast, as long as there are some interludes when we can all get out and about to do things then I’ll be happy. This time of year plays host to a number of events both locally and nationally and I’m always a little saddened when the hard work and effort of dedicated, and often voluntary, folk is dashed by the unpredictable weather, here’s hoping for a slightly cooler but still dry weekend that we can all enjoy…..what chances of me winning the lottery?

Last night’s eclipse has caused a stir it seems, social media has been awash with images today and quite rightly so. Whilst we all enjoy a good sunrise or dramatic sunset the moon has a pull all of it’s own ( if you’ll pardon the gravitational pun, entirely intended). As a species mankind has gazed on it since the year dot. We’ve admired it, waxed lyrical about it, painted it, photographed it and even walked on it. It forms a holy trinity with the other two previously mentioned and has inspired , enthralled and mystified us for millenia. Whether viewed on a cold and starry winter’s night or , as last night, on a calm and balmy summers evening it’s a captivating orb dancing in the heavenly firmament, always silent and almost stationary to view, it’s craters and canyons stand out for all to see, almost within touching distance and yet a million miles away (384,400 Kilometers apparently, I’m prone to a little exaggeration at times ). If you weren’t able to view last nights celestial event, it’s next available, not on Sky but for everyone , on the 10th of January 2020 when we’ll be treated to another Penumbral Lunar Eclipse. Some of us will watch with awe inspired eyes, a few will no doubt be out howling at it, but to see it in all it’s glory is a spectacle that’s almost impossible to ignore.

It certainly feels like it! Another day of wall to wall sunshine, albeit there’s a little more cloud in the sky this afternoon, not enough to give us a rest from the baking heat though. Today’s trip to Salisbury necessitated an earlyish start, no air con in the car makes for a very warm ride in the current climate, even with the windows wound down. The early part of the journey was achieved in a positively balmy 16C down through the lanes at Manston and Child Okeford, out through Hanford in the shadow of Hambledon and then Hod. Once on the A350 and out through Stourpaine the road rose and so did the temperature. On along the Salisbury road from Blandford and up on the ridges of the A354 the golden fields of wheat glowed in the early morning sunshine, it’s a great road to drive, long and fairly quick it also affords some of the best views in the area as the landscape unfolds and reveals glimpses of Cranborne Chase to the Northwest and The New Forest to the Southeast. On along the road through Woodyates , and just before the descent into Coombe Bissett, the view of Salisbury Cathedral spire stands out on the horizon in all it’s glory. It’s a glorious stretch of English countryside made better in the summer sunshine. There are signs of the harvest already being worked, combine harvesters in evidence both on the carraigeway between farms and in the fields where the huge machines were sweeping great swathes before them in clouds of dust leaving neat lines of straw awaiting the baler in due course. Up above, circling on the thermals, the buzzards and the kites, wheeling and watching, awaiting the possibility of a meal put up by the activity in the fields….the summertime’s in full swing it seems.