The Village of Lacock, No. 6

The sun came out even more! I really like how it looks in the photo taken at the intersection of the High Street and West Street which is at the left side of the photo. I believe that's fellow-tour-goer James in the blue jacket and Patricia in the magenta one. I may be wrong, so don't quote me.  At the right side of the photo, you can see the front of the church which is connected to the school.



Here's a view of West Street. And, upon a closer look, that is definitely Patricia in the magenta jacket!



The Lacock War Memorial, directly across the street from where Patricia is walking. I read this online about the War Memorial: War Memorial, 1920, reusing early C18 monumental aedicule frame of memorial to Sir John Talbot (d 1714) in parish church. Ashlar, segmental pediment with ornate armorial trophy in tympanum and finely moulded entablature supported on two Corinthian columns standing on fielded panelled base. Ashlar infill of 1920 with niche and standing cross over inscription panel.



The memorial's inscription which shows those who perished in the First World War. Online I found the names of another 14 who died during World War II--I failed to notice that they are listed in a lower rectangle which is seen in the upper photo, between the two white vases filled with pink flowers.

Our next stop, Bath, photos of The Royal Crescent, a dog having a fun in the sun, and the flowers nearby

Found on the World Wide Web - Bath, England. In 2011, its population was 88,859. The city became a spa with the Latin name Aquae Sulis ("the waters of Sulis") c. AD 60 when the Romans built baths and a temple in the valley of the River Avon, although oral tradition suggests that the hot springs were known before then. It became popular as a spa town during the Georgian era, leaving a heritage of Georgian architecture crafted from Bath Stone.

Bath became a World Heritage Site in 1987. The city's theatres, museums and other cultural and sporting venues have helped to make it a major centre for tourism with more than one million staying visitors and 3.8 million day visitors to the city each year. The city has two universities and there are large service sector, information and communication technology and creative industries.



The Royal Crescent is a row of 30 terraced houses laid out in a sweeping crescent in the city of Bath, England. Designed by the architect John Wood the Younger and built between 1767 and 1774, it is among the greatest examples of Georgian architecture to be found in the United Kingdom and is a Grade I listed building. Although some changes have been made to the various interiors over the years, the Georgian stone façade remains much as it was when it was first built.

Many notable people have either lived or stayed in the Royal Crescent since it was first built over 230 years ago, and some are commemorated on special plaques attached to the relevant buildings.



The Royal Crescent now includes a hotel and a Georgian house museum, while some of the houses have been converted into flats and offices. It is a popular location for the makers of films and television programmes, and a major tourist attraction in its own right.

The Royal Crescent is close to Victoria Park. The street that is known today as "The Royal Crescent" was originally named "The Crescent." It is claimed that the adjective "Royal" was added at the end of the 18th century after Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany had stayed there.

John Wood designed the great curved façade with Ionic columns on a rusticated ground floor. The 114 columns are 30 inches (76 cm) in diameter reaching 47 feet (14.3 m), each with an entablature 5 feet (1.5 m) deep. The central house (now the Royal Crescent Hotel) boasts two sets of coupled columns.

Each original purchaser bought a length of the façade, and then employed their own architect to build a house behind the façade to their own specifications; hence what can appear to be two houses is occasionally just one. This system of town planning is betrayed at the rear and can be seen from the road behind the Crescent: while the front is uniform and symmetrical, the rear is a mixture of differing roof heights, juxtapositions and fenestration. This architecture, described as "Queen Anne fronts and Mary-Anne backs," occurs repeatedly in Bath.

In front of the Royal Crescent is a ha-ha, a ditch on which the inner side is vertical and faced with stone, with the outer face sloped and turfed, making an effective but invisible partition between the lower and upper lawns. The ha-ha is designed so as not to interrupt the view from Royal Victoria Park, and to be invisible until seen from close by. It is not known whether it was contemporary with the building of the Royal Crescent, however it is known that when it was first created it was deeper than it is at present. You can see the ha-ha in the two photos I've used above.


The railings between the crescent and the lawn are included in the Heritage at Risk Register produced by English Heritage and were restored in 2011. This dog and its people had a great time, enjoying our wonderful sunshine!



Bright, colorful plants and flowers nearby--between The Royal Crescent and the street. The Royal Crescent is to my left as I took this photo, beyond some trees.



The coach is parked on Royal Avenue--that's Tommy in the tie at the front of the coach. Victoria Park is across the street beyond the coach.




As I made my way back towards the coach, these red berries and green needles caught my eye--it's a yew tree, something I really, really wanted to see in the United Kingdom. Serendipity!

You go up the escalator, you go down the escalator. A multi-story escalator. In between, you catch some rays at Green Park. England Scotland Heritage Tour, 2014

I live with a fear of heights and motion sickness, plus a pair of 66-year-old knees. Guess where I went once I'd taken this photo, motion-sickness-acupressure-bracelets on each wrist? To the right to hold on for dear life so that this blessed escalator could take me up to street level. Our goal, to spend a few minutes in Green Park.


You see, when I got my first paying job after high school I bought a book with my first paycheck, a lovely, over-sized book filled with memorable photographs of London taken in the late 1960s. I lost that book somewhere, but I've always remembered a particular photo of Green Park. My photo is not a match for that one--it was in the trees, dappled sun and shadow. Mine, flooded with sunshine, shows you the Park Deckchairs, something I could have gotten in and out of back in the late 1960s.


There goes Juliet on the right, circling Diana of the Treetops, the combination sculpture and water fountain for people and dogs which was moved just outside the new Underground entrance in 2011. Originally installed elsewhere in Green Park in 1954 and sculpted by Estcourt James--Jim--Clack in 1951 after he won the competition to create a fountain  for the park, the gilding was added prior to the move to this location. The sculpture was commissioned by the Constance Fund, set up by Constance, widow of sculptor Sigismund C. H. Goetze. In his memory she wanted to "encourage and promote the art of sculpture in London parks."



We didn't take time to walk out into the park since I was on a tight schedule--my solicitor friend Richard Taylor had invited me to be his guest at the Quit Rents Ceremony and I needed to meet him at 2:30 p.m. in front of the Royal Courts of Justice on The Strand which is within walking distance of our destination, Covent Garden. Now for the scariest part of the ride on London's world-famous Underground--the down escalator. Once again, I held on and concentrated on realizing that I would stay upright and make it to the bottom so we could jump on a train and make our way to Covent Garden.

What we experienced walking to the Earl's Court tube station Tuesday morning, October 7. England Scotland Heritage Tour, 2014, from Trafalgar

Breakfast at the hotel. We made the decision to walk to Earl's Court tube station which would allow us to take a single line to Covent Garden, our destination for the day. Well, until I would have to split off in order to meet my friend Richard Taylor for our exciting time at the Royal Courts of Justice on The Strand. The whole walk, we kept saying, "Look at this sunshine. These blue skies. I am so glad we decided to walk because we got to see this lovely street." (I found Eardley Crescent on Google Maps. It's just as pretty to take that walk with the Google Street View man since Google shot it on a sunny day.) It had been pouring rain the day before when we rode in from Heathrow and still drizzling off and on when we went to visit Camden Market and then back to the hotel. Sunshine, on our second and last free day in London--brilliant!



I dare you to walk by this entrance and not take a photo. Picturesque and appealing are just two words that come to mind when I look at my own photo of it.



These steps fascinated me. I immediately asked Juliet to stand at the top for a photo, completely forgetting that someone inside might open the door at any moment. Thankfully that didn't happen because I got to take this pretty photo of her! I like how her sweater and slacks match the colors on the house, as does her purse. In fact, the angle of her bag matches the angle of the handrail. Serendipity! Oh, would you be able to walk up and down that design on a daily basis? I probably could without my motion sickness bracelets, once my brain was used to having it at my feet.



Purple flowers on the window sill.



Red flowers on the window sill of a house a few steps away from the one with the purple flowers.



Now, that's a fancy way to display your address, isn't it? Right there on the pillar beside your front door. But it was the unique window that caught my eye--I didn't notice the address until I had uploaded the photo to Flickr.



We turned left onto Warwick Road and could see the Earl's Court tube station down the block. See the white rectangular sign with the red circle that has a blue line through it? The blue line reads Underground in white letters. That marks the entrance to the station. Guess what? On the Google Map of that tube station, the sign in my photography had not yet been installed. I'm certainly glad it was there when we needed to see it! The locked bicycles caught my eye next. I ended up taking several photos of bicycles locked up like these in several locations on the tour. I don't remember seeing any bicycles on the underground trains, nor do I remember seeing any place to hang a bicycle by its front wheel like we have on the MAX Light Rail trains in Portland. I cannot imagine holding onto a bicycle on those multi-story escalators in many of the tube stations. More on those in tomorrow's post.

Sidewalk, sunshine, shadows and shoes

A photo like this is so much fun to get the chance to take! I'm enjoying the photo and the fact that those shoes are not on my particular feet!

March 21, 2014, 5:45 p.m., in the sunshine at Tom McCall Waterfront Park

Back when the cherry trees bloomed on a sunny, after work Friday, I took quite a few photos that I really liked over at the park. This one would be so much better if it were in focus clearly, but, still and all, I like the action captured, the bocce ball stopped in midair inches from her hand. Right now as I'm preparing this post on May 24 at 8:38 p.m. Portland time, the sun still lights the sky. I do thoroughly enjoy the extra long days we get in Portland when our weather is at its best.

Bicyclist and pedestrian--interesting head-gear and hair-do choices

Once again at lunch time, someone, no, two someones, passed by and I took a photo that I like. One of the many things that I like about Portland is that you find it easy to be yourself. You can be a man and wear a colorful, striped bicycle helmet. You can be a man and wear your bleached hair, roots visible, in a topknot.

By the way, the last 10 days or so, my allergies have been hammering me, so much so that I've missed some sunny, blustery lunch hours and their attendant photo opportunities. Drat it. These allergies have been worse than any other year that I can remember in Portland, except for when we had just arrived in June, 2006.

Of sunshine and shade and stringed instruments

She pedaled through the sunshine, one musical instrument on her back, one behind her in the bicycle's basket--at least that case appears to hold another stringed musical instrument.



She pedaled into the shade, on her way west across the Hawthorne Bridge over the Willamette River. Does the green instrument in the purple backpack make you think of a banjo? To me, there seems to be a circle-ness in its shape hidden inside the backpack.

The chartreuse-colored pavement marks a dedicated bike lane.

May 22, 2009--look at that sunshine!

If my allergies would leave me alone, I could have been out and about at lunch on Wednesday, May 14, 2014, and found a sight much like this one that I happened upon years earlier in downtown Portland. No kidding. It was a record-breaking 91 today here in Portland. And it should be a similar temp tomorrow. Maybe the allergies will have settled some and I can get out at lunch without ending up having a sneezing fit. If so, I'll have my camera with me.

Sunny smile

Sunny day, May 23, 2009. I took this photo at 4:50 p.m. The young woman on the right smiles broadly. While I don't know what brought that smile to her face, I have to say that, in general, her smile reflects how all Portlanders feel when the sun returns. A close look makes me think that the young woman on the left has said something which caused the other young woman to break out in that sunny smile.

For your Easter Sunday.

May your Easter Sunday be filled with warmth and light as you reflect on your faith in and  understanding of your God's love.



Today, several photos I recently took while out walking during my lunch hour.



The light and color changes with the location of these blossoms, all on the same tree.



The first photo, a closer view of its center.

First visit to Disneyland, Day Two, Post No. 1

Mickey Mouse and Walt Disney perpetually enjoy the sunshine at Disney California Adventure, the second park at the complex in Anaheim.



The plaque.



Sharon with Mickey and Walt.

Fremont Bridge

On a rare bright sunshine day in March I happened to be on the rooftop garden at work for my morning break. When I walked out and saw the sunshine lighting up the Fremont Bridge, I immediately took this photo with my iPhone 5. I cannot remember ever seeing this, and I've worked in that building since June, 2006. Not that I'm on the rooftop garden every single work day, but you'd think I would have seen it at least one other time in all of those years.

Forecasted warmer temps and little moisture make me smile, just like this flower I found a couple of weeks ago, across the street from my building.

I figured it was time share this little beauty with y'all, since our 7-day forecast looks so nice. Yea!

Back or front, I really love this sign.

The two sides of the Portland, Oregon, sign--in the sunshine. I took this photo through the bus window as we headed east on the Burnside Bridge--March 21, 2014.




See why I love it? I took this photo from the Tom McCall Waterfront Park, looking west, on March 21, 2014.

Along the west bank of the Willamette River, No. 10

I hope you're not too tired of seeing these photos of the blooming cherry trees bathed in sunlight. I can't quit looking at them myself, amazed at the impact those blossoms have on the views. We've not had much sunshine like this since that weekend about three weeks ago. However, we Portlanders know that it will return, the middle of next week in fact! I especially like how blossoms enhance the look of the trunks and branches on these two rows of trees.



Here's another photo of the same spot, taken looking a bit more to the east. I'm sharing it with you because I like the two photographers with their phones. One stands at the left side of the photo where the sun lights up her spring green jacket as she takes a photo. The other takes a giant step into the photo from the right. She wears a sweater with stripes the same green and a matching headband. While she's not taking a photo, the fact that she has phone in hand and is looking up makes me certain that she's on the search for the perfect place to take the next beautiful photo.

Along the west bank of the Willamette River, No. 8

Looking north, toward the Steel Bridge over the Willamette, in a photo that I took at 5:52 p.m. on Friday, March 21, 2014. The fly over across the river is involved with I-5. I haven't driven on it enough to remember for sure, but I think it is where you can exit I-5 and get onto I-84. Y'all correct me, Portlanders, please. I like the three checking a photograph, no doubt. And their shadows stretching to the river.



Looking south, toward the Burnside Bridge, in a photo that I took at 5:57 p.m. on Friday, March 21, 2014. The supports you see on the left are on the section of the bridge that crossed the Willamette. I like the little girl dancing in pink chiffon on the green grass, as well as the number of folks visible in this particular shot.

Along the west bank of the Willamette River, No. 6

Wait! There in the distance past the in-focus single Benson Bubbler I couldn't resist photographing because the plume of water resembled a giant cut diamond. Is that someone squatted beside the redhead in the gray hat?



Yep, he's checking out the screen on his phone. She's turned towards him. He photographed her at the same time I did, from a straight-on perspective, I imagine. He's wearing a darker gray hat and has a red fu manchu mustache and goatee. Serendipity!

Along the west bank of the Willamette River, No. 5

Surely someone is taking her photo, other than me. Surely. In this perspective, sunshine and shadow treated her just right. I think her red hair peeking out from the brim of her gray hat and catching the sunlight next to her cheek make this photo special. What do you think? I'm very curious to know your opinion. I took this photo at 6:21 p.m. on Friday, March 21. Right above her head, cherry blossoms. But, I'm happy that I zoomed in and got this photo.

Along the west bank of the Willamette River, No. 4

When the cherry blossoms bloom and the sun comes out, it's icing-on-the-cake time around here. Get your camera, get your phone, get your significant other, get the kid(s), get the dog, get your bicycle, get your blanket to sit on, get your layers to wear for when the shade inevitably comes your way as the sun sets, and get out there. I took this photo at 5:51 p.m.