Well, we’re still well and truly in the grip of the floodwaters, yes it has receded somewhat over the last two days but it’s not going anywhere in a hurry and sat here typing this I am listening to the first rainfall of the day. That said, the beginning of the day was somewhat of a revelation, the sun shone, there wasn’t any wind to speak of and despite the clouds the blue sky and bright light made for some fantastic reflections in the floodwaters, all in all a very nice start to the day.

The morning sunshine seemed to encourage others out , I bumped into several photographers, a goodly number of dog walkers and others just out wandering, some with obvious intent and on a mission to be somewhere at the earliest opportunity, some obviously just out for the fresh air but all taking advantage of the break in the inclement weather.

I can’t imagine for a minute that we’re going to see much change over the coming week, there’s little or no sign of a cold snap so there’ll hardly be any likelyhood of a white Christmas, not even a good hard frost which, from a photographers point of view, would be a wonderful thing. The frost, or snow, makes everything look magical at anytime and certainly at this time of year but if it’s not to be then it’s not to be, I would like to put in an order for some dry weather in the forthcoming week if it’s at all possible though, it makes all the difference to things.

Well, the big day is one more day closer, only four more sleeps till Santa, the anticipation and the excitement is building, the level of which I guess depends somewhat on your age and your expectations. Whilst I might dream of something like this arriving on Christmas morning the reality will undoubtedly be rather different and at the end of the day who really wants a Ferrari, it’s just a box on wheels, a very posh box on wheels.

No, for the majority of us it’ll no doubt be more mundane fare, socks, smelly stuff ( it wont be slippers, I bought those earlier in the year.), clothes, a book or a record and all gratefully received. In my case my gifts will be photography related, I know as much because I’ve made the requests, added the Amazon links and I’ve been a very good boy, if Santa doesn’t deliver I’ll eat his mince pie and drink his sherry so he’s been warned.

For all the finery and frippery the greatest gift of all will be the company of friends and family, good food and great conversation, for all of us that will enjoy it we should be very grateful. We should also spare a thought for those not so fortunate, for the great majority the Christmas holiday is a joyous thing but for others it can often be a bleak time of the year, life isn’t always easy for some for a number of reasons. Here’s to a better year for all of us whatever our circumstances.

We’ve had an inordinate amount of rain and it’s beginning to show. Locals would say it’s not as bad as the near biblical floods of 2013 but in my four years of living here I’ve not seen it as bad as this. In the normal run of things I’d walk down a footpath here and turn right through a gate where that small tree is growing in the middle ground of the picture….not today though. There wasn’t an earthly chance of accomplishing my normal circular route this afternoon.

A few moments before taking this I had stood on the bridge and looked out across what I knew to be fields in the landscape, today the landscape was more fiord than field, well, bordering on inland sea anyway. As far as the eye could see the scene was dominated by the brown muddy water. Not that it bothered the otter that I was privileged to watch happily swimming, rolling and diving playfully in the waters as they swirled under the footbridge over the swollen River Stour, he or she was entirely at home in their watery world.

In the past and under normal circumstances the river here will rise and fall within 24 hours, in fact it never ceases to amaze me that it will flood on one day and the next it will have receded back to within its banks, I can’t see that being the case this time. Methinks it might be a few days, or weeks, before I can tramp my usual path down to the mill at Fiddleford.

Well, it’s been the mother and father of all days today, rain, rain, rain! We’re currently in the grip of a flood warning and although there was a brief interlude this afternoon in which the sun did actually put in an appearance it didn’t last for long and the rain returned. It certainly wasn’t conducive to getting out and about, one soaking a day is one too many in my book and I had mine earlier this morning thank you!

So, with that in mind, and given the impending celebrations, there was no more to be done than throw a few baubles on the table and set to photographing them for want of inspiration. It also gave me the opportunity to concoct something with which to wish everyone ‘ A Very Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year’ and to say thanks for stopping by, reading the witterings and hopefully enjoying the photographs.

There are six more sleeps ’till Santa, a week later and we’ll be on the cusp of a bright, shiny, brand new year, undoubtedly watching the celebrations unfold on the far side of the planet via the television and wondering what it’ll bring for us here on our little island in this crazy, mixed up, muddled up world that we currently seem to reside in. In the words of John Lennon ‘Let’s hope it’s a good one without any fears’.

For some time now I’ve been more aware of ‘ old faces’, I’m more than aware of several in my current community and I often find myself wondering about their stories, their lives, their memories, perhaps particularly, at this time of year. Recent events shared by friends and acquaintances remind me of our fragility, our mortality as individuals, our sense of loss in passing and our ability to hold onto our past through the elderly.

Let me add that this isn’t a maudlin or morose post, in fact it’s more a celebration of those things and events associated with ‘significant’ others who may or may not still be with us. There may be memories which are happy and undoubtedly there may be memories that are less so, it’s a blessing that as human beings we seem to be programmed to remember the better memories rather than the less so. Our own memories will be greatly enhanced by the memories and stories of our forbears, we should engage with them as often as possible and in turn be willing to pass them on down the line.

As a fairly ‘private’ person coming from a fairly ‘private’ family I hesitated to write this post but after going home this last weekend I’m aware that my ‘significant’ other, my own ‘old face’ ( and she won’t mind me calling her that I’m sure ), who is this time celebrating her 87th Christmas, has a wealth of memories that I’m not aware of or privy to but that she might like to share or I might like to know. So, if you’re lucky enough to still have an ‘old face’, ask, enquire, engage while there is still time and opportunity, the sharing and passing on of knowledge is often the glue that holds the threads of past, present and future together. Celebrate their memories with them and enrich our own at the same time so that we can pass the memories on in due course.

After a dull, damp, cold morning the day turned itself around at sunset, the skies cleared and sunlight lit the clouds, though there was little warmth to be had. In fact as the sun dropped so did the temperature and as a result the mist started to form, by the time sunset arrived the river meadows and the valleys were filled with mist. It promises to be a beautiful start to the day tomorrow if the conditions prevail. The sheep in the meadow may have a chilly night in prospect though, they’ll need those thick warm coats that nature’s provided them with no doubt.

This last weekend saw Helen and I make the annual visit back to friends and family in Worcestershire and Herefordshire, hence the absence of the daily blog writing ritual for the last four days. Despite both counties being damnably civilised there are still parts where the internet can still be regarded as alchemy, blasphemy or anarchy depending on age, religion or social standing, some parts of the respective counties still boast woeful internet coverage.

Having said that, the relative absence of technology wasn’t a disadvantage, it allowed us to pursue other avenues, the chance to visit old haunts and take in the sights without necessarily being tied to, or constrained by, the phone or the computer. Some festive shopping, some festive sightseeing and several festive meals more than made up for any technological privations, plus the weather was relatively benign, unarguably chilly but at least dry.

Everywhere now is looking very festive in anticipation of the forthcoming ‘big day’, not even the much publicised and heavily debated general election could hold a candle to the spectacle of the Christmas lights in Broadway and Stratford upon Avon. Both locations gave us far bigger ‘stars’ and ‘ brighter’ lights than those on the political stage whatever your politics. In fact it was a pleasure to be away from all the hype and rhetoric of the previous weeks. In a little over a week Christmas Day will be with us once again and despite all the hoo-ha and commercialism I never tire of the spectacle that is Christmas.

As morning’s go this one was a little bit’ If Carlsberg Did Mornings’ in as much as there was no great rush to do anything other than to get into town for an appointment around midday. Thus it was a leisurely stroll, albeit in the mother and father of all downpours, into town followed by coffee and cake and while Helen was at her appointment I managed another coffee and a browse of the latest photo magazine….hence ‘ If Carlsberg Did Mornings’.

While sitting and sipping it occurred to me that I seldom do product photography, even rarer ‘flat lay’ product photography, and yet for all that it’s nothing more than still life and as I need a photograph for today I took the opportunity utilising what I had to hand, my coffee and my magazines, consumerism advocated by the consumer. I have to say here that I’m not advocating either the purchase or consumption of coffee or cameras, though I also have to say here that I’m quite partial to both. Not that I can particularly afford the purchase of cameras or camera equipment but I’m glad to say that the cost of a coffee hasn’t yet risen to the point where I have to unduly curb my inclinations.

Sitting and browsing whilst imbibing I have to admit to being slightly awestruck by some of the technicalities, and the ensuing prices, of some of the items on offer. I also have to admit that some of the technology on offer would be way beyond me in its complexity, there is an adage that colleagues used to use in training, ‘ keep it simple stupid’, I remember it well, it’s often more than applicable to me when it comes to technology. Megapixels and Megadata may as well be Algebra or Latin, I’m still very much in favour of ‘point and shoot’ being the way forward.

Tucked away at the top of Poole’s High Street is this delightful example of Victorian architecture set amidst the grit and the grime of the railway tracks and the brutalism of mid 20th Century building. The Victorians certainly had a way in which they sought to soften or ‘prettify’ the harshness of surroundings, to glorify the mundane and purely functional.

We could have done with some ‘Victorians’ here in Dorset today, to soften the harshness and glorify the mundane because today has been ‘grim’, from daybreak until dusk the wind has blown and carried sheets of incessant rain. The admonishment in the corner of today’s picture ‘ Keep Area Clear’ wasn’t really needed, the weather saw to that, there were no great crowds out and about in Poole this afternoon. Those hardy, shopping souls that were about were intent on getting out of the wind and rain as soon as possible, heads bent and hunched against the weather as they scuttled towards The Dolphin Centre.

At least today has seen a return to relative normality for us, having done the the essential shopping early on home territory we were able to afford ourselves the luxury ( ? ) of a wander in damp, dreary Poole, taking advantage of the quieter shopping time to achieve a little more Christmas shopping as the annual event is drawing ever near. It also gave me the opportunity to get back behind the lens, hurrah! All I need now is a little better weather , fingers crossed for tomorrow and the rest of the week.

Well, it’s been a busy weekend, all thoughts of taking photographs went out of the window ( not strictly true, I thought about it but just didn’t have the time ) and now , as a result, I find myself another couple of days behind schedule and no current photo to utilise. The current arctic wind chill isn’t conducive to popping out to get any pictures either, it’s far too cold this afternoon so I’ve raided the archives instead, it illustrates the current climate perfectly!

This shot taken in March last year was the second snowfall of the season, the Beast From The East fell in February and not long after that took it’s leave of us we suddenly found ourselves under a second wintery, white, freezing cold blanket of snow compounded by freezing rain falling on top of it, a phenomenon I’d never experienced before and certainly not one I’d like to have to experience again in a hurry. It made conditions underfoot rather treacherous, driving was best left alone and undertaken only by those with some skills or kamikaze tendencies, fortunately I wasn’t called on to exercise either said skills or risk committing Hara Kiri and was able to wander about in the snowy wastes instead.

I’m all for seeing the snow, particularly at this time of year, it’s seasonal, apt, appropriate and I can choose whether or not to be out and about in it. My sympathies go out to those who have no choice in the matter and find that they have to travel, at such times snow is best confined to postcards, The Cairngorms or The Alps, whilst it’s profoundly pretty it’s also a proverbial pain in the posterior. If it has to snow this year I’d like to put in an order for a reasonable flurry for the day after Boxing Day please in order that those who’ve traveled to near and dear ones for the festivities might get the opportunity to make it home safely before any deluge occurs.