winter – cbimages

27 February 2017

Late Winter in the Algarve

I visited the Algarve last week, flying from London Luton on the 0625 departure to Faro. That’s early, but there were plenty of people, travellers and workers in the cafés of the departure area of the airport.

People at a food bar with posters behind. — London Luton Airport food court

I visited my mother in the countryside, taking her to places that she cannot easily access; she liked Praia da Faro, not far from the airport, on a beautiful day.

Beach with couple walking — Sea, sand and sun on Praia da Faro

A portrait at post-prandial coffee in Olhão, a fishing port on the Atlantic.

Lady and coffee cup. — Savouring a media-leite coffee.

Olhão is a fishing port with a small fish market. It was being cleaned at about 3:30 in the afternoon.

Men in a market with wet floor in Portugal. — Fish market after hours, Olhão

Tavira is a Roman town straddling the river. There was an accordionist busking on the Ponte Romana.

An accordion player on the Roman bridge in Tavira, Portugal — Ponte Romana busker

My mother eats frequently at a small restaurant/bar in Moncarapacho. Here some locals are preparing to eat flaming chorizo, presumably after it has gone out. It was a very cheerful prospect . . .

2 men eat watch flaming chorizo, people watch in café. — Evening meal in the Algarve

The surround countryside is very quiet in places. This neglected tractor has been there for at least 12 years . . .

12 February 201713 February 2017

2017 Week 6

The weather has continued miserable. I had occasion to drive across country and passed a massive earthwork; it turned out to be a reservoir, thronged with birds under a grey sky. This is a camera panorama in which you might be able to see the “joins”, but it’s an effective depiction nonetheless.

Water and water birds under a cloudy sky — Wilstone reservoir

This is someone I know quite well; she is good at shopping, but this supermarket aisle demonstrates the complexity of the process of shopping, with so much choice that perhaps we don’t need.

Person in a supermarket aisle — Shopping, a complex affair

Detritus at a caravan park: several different organisations use the area, which is part of a working farm that has diversified, and no one keeps track of the discarded rubbish that builds up in the nooks a crannies of the different buildings and containers.

Refuse: traffic cone, signs, sink, metal etc . . . — Tents No Dogs

Finally, during a visit to the local vegetable stall, again part of a working farm, I carried my camera and took a few photos of the stall. The owner was interested and wondered if I would let him have a copy, so I got him to pose, perhaps a little awkwardly . . .

On the right is a photo of him with a massive cauliflower, next to today’s prices for the produce.

5 February 20176 February 2017

2017 Week 5

We’ve had a misty or foggy week, pretty similar to the previous week, but now it’s getting serious: flying is out of the question when the visibility is this bad. And this old bird has been grounded since the 1950s, as I understand it. I flew Hunters, single and two-seat, as part of my training, and I’d love to see this one fly again – preferably with me at the controls . . .

I had another visit to London a couple of days ago, this time on the occasion of a reunion – to see old friends and colleagues after many, many years. Again, London provided plenty of opportunity for different photos:

And here is the scene at the venue for the reunion: a former bank is now a pub with a large ground floor – plenty of space for a group of friends and colleagues to reminisce. We’ve known each other for many years; the beer was good, the stories better than ever.

22 January 201712 February 2017

2017 Week 3

Cold mornings persist this month, with high pressure dominating the weather for most of the week. That means misty or foggy starts with beautiful sunrise or sunset colours, with no cloud to obscure the sun. Here is my favourite wind farm, taken as I travelled north for some flying on Friday.

I had a tour of Cambridge earlier in the week, courtesy of the “Treasure Trail”. The tour was enjoyable and interesting and of course there were photo opportunities. I was sad to see that a couple’s life was outside in the cold.

King’s Parade, next to King’s College, is always a great place to get decent images. I used a Lumix GM5 for this shot, with no hood on the lens; the effect works pretty well, I think.

Sundials abound in Cambridge, and here is a rather beautiful example, at one of the colleges of Cambridge University.

Honour gate sundial, Gonville and Caius College