PhotoHunt: Water

Oh no! I'm late for this week's PhotoHunt. Never mind, better late than never!

I'm certainly not stuck for images for this week's water theme. I'm surrounded by the stuff! I live on the coast, and there are rivers and ponds galore in the area. But I'll have to show pics that some of you have seen before - sorry. My laptop died a few weeks ago, and although I saved all my data, I haven't transferred it to my desktop - and I'm too lazy to hunt out my CDs.

The first shot was taken along the banks of the River Tawe (pronounced Ta-weh), close to sunset.


This next shot shows boats moored in the Marina. If you enlarge the pic, you can see the Moon has just risen.


I saw this swan nearby, on the river.


This man was enjoying a sunset jog along Swansea Bay.


Here's Swansea Bay on a hot, sunny afternoon.


This patch of pink thrift was growing above Caswell Bay, on the Gower Peninsula.


Finally, here's one of my favourite places in the whole world, Worm's Head, which sits in Rhossili Bay.


Hope you enjoyed my water pics. Have a lovely weekend!

PhotoHunt - Emotion(s)

This week's PhotoHunt theme is Emotions(s). I thought I'd interpret the theme somewhat liberally. I don't have any pics of me looking in any way emotional. I have some suitable pics of family and friends, but they don't want their pics online. So, I've decided to use some appropriate pics of my cats. And don't anyone dare tell me that cats don't have emotions :). They do!

The first shot shows my cat, Leo, adopting a rather aggressive pose. It's his "I'm an angry rock star, fed up of having cameras shoved in my face" pose.


Here he is again, with a look that suggests indignation and a little anger. I don't think he likes having his photo taken.


This is a rare shot of him grinning widely for the camera. Stay away from those teeth. They're sharp - I know. Ouch!


Here's my other cat, Liberty, also having a jolly good old laugh. No idea what the joke was, as they wouldn't tell me. Probably something along the line of "how many humans does it take to change a litter-box?"


Here she is again, looking very pensive and contemplative. Or is she just eyeing up a wiggly caterpillar?


Here's Leo again, looking decidedly hostile. Note the narrowed eyes - definitely a "get that thing out of my face, stupid human" look.


Here's Liberty, looking positively outraged and offended by the intrusion of my camera lens. What is it with cats and cameras?

Oh well, that's all for this week, folks. Have a lovely weekend - and don't get too emotional!

PhotoHunt: Bad Hair

This week's PhotoHunt theme is bad hair. I have dozens of images of me with bad hair. But you're not going to see any of them! Sorry to spoil your fun :). Instead of making fun of people with bad hair, I thought I'd show you some images of animals having a bad hair day.

First up is this sheep I met, whilst taking a walk along the cliffs at Rhossili, on the Gower Peninsula. She was having a seriously bad hair day. I hope she complained to the salon and got her money back!


This pony is having a little hair trouble as well. Maybe she should try some shampoo for flyaway hair. I also met her on Rhossili cliffs, as well as the ponies in the next two shots. This pony, by the way, was a seriously grumpy mare.


This pony seems to be sporting a 1980's style New Romantic hairdo - short at the back, with a big, floppy fringe. She was very friendly, although that may have been due to the fact that I shared some cookies with her.


This windswept creature kind of looks like she belongs in a heavy metal band, with all that long, windswept blonde hair. She was quite shy, but not grumpy like the brown mare.


Oh well. That's my PhotoHunt for this week. Hope you're not having a bad hair day! Have a lovely weekend.

PhotoHunt: Shoes

Almost forgot PhotoHunt again this week. It's getting to be a bad, nasty habit!

So, on to this week's theme - I'm not especially in the habit of photographing my shoes. I don't own any dainty kitten heels, as I have arthritis, and would probably break my neck if I tried to walk in heels. So most of my shoes tend to be very practical - and not especially sexy. However, someone I know absolutely loves my shoes, and has spent many a long hour playing with them. She especially likes my slippers, as they're nice and soft - and easy to fight.

I'm talking about my cat, Liberty. Although she's almost fifteen now, she still loves a good fight with a slipper. And when she's not fighting them, she likes to warm her toes in them.


She eventually destroyed this pair of blue moccasins. Luckily, they were only cheap things, not real leather.




And when she's not warming her toes in them, or fighting my slippers, she likes to take a good sniff. Eeeeeeeeewww! Rather her than me!


Anyhow, that's my PhotoHunt for this week. Have a lovely weekend!

PhotoHunt: Candy

Oh poo! I almost forgot about this week's PhotoHunt. Never fear, here I am, with some very tenuous, and arguably, desperate links to this week's theme.

Here are some nice, candy-pink jasmine flowers, which sneak over the wall every summer, from my neighbour's garden. The scent is very powerful, and makes my garden smell like one of those New Age, hippified shops. Is there such a word as hippified? Well, there is now!





And stretching the theme even further, here's my sweet-as-candy cat, Liberty, sitting next to some candy-pink hardy geraniums. See? I told you my links were rather tenuous and desperate.





Have a lovely weekend, everyone!

PhotoHunt - Share any photo

It's been a while since I participated inPhotoHunt. My laptop, which has now completely died, was giving me a lot of problems, and all my data was stuck on it. Luckily, I was able to retrieve everything before the laptop finally died, so I now have lots of images to choose from again. As this week's theme is open, I thought I'd break a habit of a lifetime, and post a couple of pics of my very own chops. The first one is heavily Photoshopped, the second one untouched, so you can see my eye bags and lines in all their glory :).




My hair's no longer the colour it is in the second one, and I no longer wear the nose ring, which I've replaced with a tiny stud. Both pics were taken about 18 months ago. I've always been hypercritical of my appearance, but I guess I don't look too ancient for a 40-something year old - until you hear my arthritic bones crunch. I hope everyone reading this has a lovely weekend, and I look forward to visiting as many of you as possible today.

PhotoHunt: Glass

I've had problems finding images for this week's PhotoHunt. I'm not generally in the habit of photographing glass things, so I've had to interpret the theme rather loosely. So all my images, except the first one, are of scenes shot through glass.

The first image shows a local church. I often take a short cut through this churchyard. One day, I had my camera with me, and decided to try to get some shots of the stained glass windows. However, when I looked closer, I realized the windows were covered with protective bars, to stop vandals smashing them. It's a sad indictment on today's society, that a church has to protect its windows in such a way.


The next image was taken through the window of a writing shed used by famous Swansea poet, Dylan Thomas. The writing shed isn't in Swansea, though. It's in Laugharne, near the Dylan Thomas Boathouse, the poet's former home. If you look closely at the image, on the right hand side, you'll see a flash of copper-coloured hair. That's me, reflected in the glass. Look above my reflection, and you'll see some blonde hair - that's my mother's reflection.


This next shot was taken through a car window, in deepest, darkest Carmarthenshire, in West Wales. This row of very old cottages is in a tiny village called Cwmdu (pronounced Coom Dee).


The next shot was also taken through the car window, on the same journey, as my cousin drove us over the Brecon Beacons.


The last two shots were taken somewhere in the Swansea Valley, between Pontardawe and Swansea. I didn't dare use the flash, as it would have reflected back at me off the glass. I could have also blinded oncoming drivers and caused a crash!


If you enlarge the last pic, you'll see a bird perched high on a lamp post. If I remember correctly, I think it was a bird of prey of some kind.


Anyway, that's my PhotoHunt for this week, a collection which mostly shows things photographed through glass. Have a lovely weekend!

PhotoHunt: High

I haven't participated in PhotoHunt for the last few weeks. No particular reason - I've just not felt like blogging as much as I normally do. I'm late, but as the old saying goes, better late than never.

For the first couple of images, I've dug up some old pics from a CD, which were taken on my first ever digital camera. It had a resolution of just 2.2 MP, so the pics aren't of the best quality. The first one shows the high clock tower at Swansea's Guildhall. The Guildhall houses several departments of the local council, as well as a concert hall known as the Brangwyn Hall, and some courtrooms.



This immense, high hill is called Constitution Hill. I call it Constipation Hill, because it's a pain in the butt to climb! You will need to click the image to see the full-sized version, to realize just how high this hill is. I live at the top of this hill, but you can't see my house in the pic, as it is a fair walk away from the area shown.



These next images were all taken on my current camera. They show a high tide at Swansea Bay, caused by a storm surge. I didn't use fancy effects in this shot - the colours you see were caused by the stormy weather.



The following pics are a little blurred, because my lens kept getting splashed with salty sea spray.







I had to abandon my walk at this point, as the waves were so high, they kept coming over the barriers and soaking the promenade.



Anyway, those are my pics for this week's PhotoHunt. I'm now going to snuggle up in front of the fire, because there's a high wind screeching outside, not to mention the heavy rain. Have a great weekend!

PhotoHunt: Wooden

Oh no! I almost forgot to do this week's PhotoHunt. Silly me. Okay, without further ado, let's get into it.

This first image shows the blossom of a blackthorn tree, which I came across during a walk, last spring.


I've no idea what kind of tree this is, but I snapped it because I liked the look of the yellow lichen on the bare branches. It was taken during the same walk as the above shot.


Also, during that walk, I saw this couple sitting on a wooden bench, overlooking Three Cliffs Bay, on the Gower Peninsula, a few miles from where I live.


On a different walk, about four or five years ago, I came across the wooden remains of a shipwreck, poking out of the sand on Rhossili Beach. This place is also on the Gower Peninsula.


Finally, here's a shot I took last year, of my overgrown, semi-wild garden. It has a wooden fence all along one side, forming the border between my garden and my neighbour's. If you look beyond my fence, you'll see my neighbour's wooden shed. Just behind his shed, you'll see his wooden sticks, which he used to support a small crop of runner beans.


Anyway, that's my PhotoHunt for this week. Better late than never, I guess. Have a lovely weekend!

PhotoHunt: Free

This week's PhotoHunt theme is Free. How do I interpret this? Should I display images of things that are free? Or does it mean we are free to post whatever images we like, on any theme? You can tell I've been to law school, can't you? I must be the only person to use the principles of statutory interpretation, in deciding how to tackle this week's PhotoHunt.

Seeing as I don't have anything I didn't pay for, I'm going to have to take a liberal approach, and show you some images shot whilst doing something that is free. What am I talking about? Walking - it's a free activity that all mobile people can enjoy, including many people with disabilities. It's good for your heart, and can help keep you in shape. So what did I find the last time I participated in this free activity?

During a stroll around a nearby neighbourhood, I came across these once-grand, but now crumbling buildings. I used to live a stone's throw away from them about sixteen years ago, and can remember when they were both in use. This first one was the RAF social club for many tears, until it closed, when it became a convalescent and retirement home.


I think this one was also a retirement home. Sadly, both buildings have been severely vandalized and set on fire by louts. Thieves have also stripped the roofs of their tiles and lead. I guess they fancied some free building materials.


Just a few metres away, you'll find this house, in a similar style to the two derelict ones. This one, however, is a well maintained dwelling house.


This next house is a little further along the same road, on the opposite side. It would have been a rather grand family home at some time. I think it's now an activity centre or day centre for people with sensory disabilities.


During a later stage of my free walk, I aimed my camera through the trees of a small park known as St. James' Gardens, to take a shot of this grand-looking Georgian terrace. Originally a row of upmarket town-houses, the terrace is now home to several offices. I doubt they get to trade there rent-free!


Anyway, that's my PhotoHunt for this week, and its very tenuous link to the word 'free'. I'm off out on another of my free walks soon, so I'll check out fellow Hunters when I return. Have a great weekend!

PhotoHunt: Heavy

This week's PhotoHunt theme is Heavy. I was tempted to post a pic of me - but I didn't want to frighten anyone :). Now, this is NOT a pic of me! But this cow looks rather heavy, don't you think? I wouldn't like to have her step on my toes.



This next image shows Arthur's Stone, a Neolithic monument which stands on Cefn Bryn, which is an area of high, bleak moorland, a few miles outside Swansea.



To give you an idea of just how big and heavy Arthur's Stone is, here's an image of my cousin, Wayne, standing in front of it. He's about 5' 10 and quite burly, but he looks quite small beside the stone.



Anyway, those are my heavy pics. I'll be back in a while to visit some other PhotoHunters. Have a great weekend!

PhotoHunt: Narrow

OMG!I almost forgot about this week's PhotoHunt. I've been busy working on a new website, so everything else has fallen by the wayside this week. I've still not been able to get out and about to take some new photographs. However, I already have some that will do nicely for this week's theme, which is Narrow. Apologies to anyone who may have seen these pics when I first posted them last summer.

I decided to take the famous Heart of Wales train from my local station here in Swansea, all the way to its ultimate destination, Shrewsbury. This town lies over the border in England, in the county of Shropshire, and its fairly near the UK's second largest city, Birmingham. Shrewsbury is a lovely old town, and the River Severn curves around it in such away, its almost an island. But what I liked most about Shrewsbury, were the narrow medieval lanes, known as shuts. Quite often, walking along one of the shuts will lead you to some interesting and unexpected sights.



This particular shut is called Grope Lane. There are several interesting local theories about how Grope Lane got its name, during medieval times. Some people believe it was a haunt of medieval prostitutes - and that Grope Lane got its name for obvious reasons! Others say the name Grope Lane came about as a result of how medieval revellers would find their ways home after a night of carousing in the many local taverns. There were no street lights in medieval times, and the narrow lane was so dark at night, people would literally have to grope their way along it, especially after too much mead (an ancient type of fortified wine made from honey) or beer. No-one really knows whether any of the theories of how Grope Lane got its name are true.




After climbing up the steep, narrow Grope Lane, I came across another narrow little lane, known as Fish Street. No fish in sight, just a pub and a church.




A few minutes later, I came across a narrow flight of steps, known as Bear Steps.



I think the steps are also very old, and lead to another collection of narrow streets.

Oh well, those are my narrow pics. Have a lovely, warm and safe weekend!

PhotoHunt: Old-fashioned

This week's PhotoHunt theme is Old-fashioned. Alas, I don't own any antique furniture or vintage clothing, and can't find the CD containing images from visits to various museums. So, I've had to dig deep for pics for this week's theme, and have been forced into yet more repetition. Ugh. Never mind.

I used this first image for a Wordless Wednesday post a few months ago. For those of you who haven't seen it before, it shows a very old-fashioned thatched cottage in a coastal village called Oxwich, a few miles from where I live. It's very old - at least 300 years, if not more. The founder of the Methodist faith, John Wesley, stayed here on numerous occasions.



Here's a closer look at the plaque on the wall, commemorating Wesley's visits. If you click the image to enlarge it, you should be able to read the plaque.



Just along the road from the cottage, you'll find this old-fashioned craft shop and tea rooms. It's called Y Bwthyn (pronounced Uh Boo-thin) - which is Welsh for 'The Cottage'.



I'm afraid that's all I have for this week. Hope you all have a lovely weekend, and I look forward to visiting as many other PhotoHunters as possible.

PhotoHunt: Important

This week's PhotoHunt theme is IMPORTANT. So, I thought I'd show you some pics of the two most important members of my household - the cats. Well, they seem to think they're the most important members, anyway.

First up is Liberty. She's fourteen now, and has kidney disease. But she's still pretty lively and playful for her age. She's a little bit out of sorts at the moment, as she's getting over a mild bout of flu. Here she is resting on my bed a few days ago.



Despite being an elderly lady, she's still very interested in everything that happens around her, and her eyes grow huge whenever she sees something that catches her attention.



Here she is, sitting on my lap first thing in the morning (excuse the hideous pyjama bottoms), giving me one of her adoring looks. She's a very sweet-natured, affectionate girl. In fact, she's so affectionate, I often have to fight her off. The other cat, Leo, torments the living daylights out of the poor old girl, so she likes to seek refuge from him on my shoulder.



This guy, Leo, thinks he's the most important thing in the whole world. He's a very arrogant and bossy cat, who likes to have his own way for everything.



He's seven years old, and still full of mischief. In fact, he's one bad cat! Favorite tricks include ripping open human legs, chewing holes in human arms, smashing ornaments and climbing onto the kitchen counter to claw holes in all the fruit in the fruit bowl. He bullies Liberty terribly. He thinks he's so important, he tries to hog all the cat food, and does his best to sleep in two furry radiator beds at the same time, just to make himself feel more important than Liberty. He's a large, muscular cat, who launches sudden attacks on humans. When he locks onto a leg or arm, he has to be hauled off by the scruff of his neck. I call him Pitbull Cat.



Here's a rare shot of them together. As you can see, Liberty doesn't look too happy at having Leo so close to her. She was lying on the end of the bed, near my feet. Then, Leo came along, and because he thinks he's more important than her, he pushed himself in between me and her, in order to be closer to me.



Oh well. I guess my interpretation of this week's theme is a little lame and tenuous. Blame the great British weather. I haven't been able to get out and about with my camera for weeks, so I've no new pics to post. Have a lovely weekend, wherever you are!

PhotoHunt: Skinny

I had no problems coming up with an idea for this week's PhotoHunt. I have the perfect subject sitting in one of my kitchen cupboards - perfect for PhotoHunt, that is. I bought this box of Cappuccino Skinny as I was surprised to find that my usual instant cappuccino contains 3.8 grams of fat per sachet - including a large percentage of hydrogenated, artery-clogging fat. This troubled me, so I decided to try the Skinny version, from the same range. It only has 0.9 grams of fat per sachet, so it made sense to switch to a healthier version.



Unfortunately, I didn't like the Skinny version much, and the box is still sitting in my cupboard. Maybe if I'd tried it first, I'd have been happy with it. But compared to my usual instant cappuccino, the coffee itself had a weak taste, and the foam on top collapsed very quickly. So despite all my best efforts, I'm back to my favourite, un-Skinny version. One day, I'll buy an espresso/cappuccino machine. Until then, I'll stick with instant cappuccino, to which I add about three quarters of a teaspoon of pure instant Arabica coffee granules. Delicious! It tastes just like the real thing.



Oh well, that's my PhotoHunt for this week. Not very exciting, I know. But at least it fits the theme. Have a lovely weekend!

PhotoHunt: Delicious

I must admit, I'm slightly at a loss as to what to post for this week's PhotoHunt. 'Delicious' makes me think of food, and I don't generally take pics of food. So, I've had to dig deep into my image files for something that vaguely fits the theme. I'm afraid this is the best I could do.

The first one shows a wild blackberry. These delicious fruits grow in hedgerows, fields, on wasteland and roadsides - in fact, almost anywhere they can take hold, including on walls or in ditches. They can be used to make all sorts of delicious things, such as pies, crumbles, summer pudding, jam or wine. They're especially delicious baked in a pie or crumble with apples.



This next pic shows a pint of Guinness I enjoyed a couple of years ago. This pic wasn't taken in Ireland, but at Rhossili, on the Gower Peninsula, near my home city of Swansea. The last time I had one of these was about eight months ago. I'm not a big drinker at the best of times, but I now have to take several types of medication, none of which is safe to mix with alcohol. So nice, cold pints of Guinness are a thing of the past, at least for now.



Anyway, that's my PhotoHunt for this week. Not very thrilling, I know. Never mind. There's always next week. Have a lovely weekend!

PhotoHunt: Messy

This week's PhotoHunt theme is Messy. These pics show the hideous, messy sight that greeted me one spring morning, a couple of years ago. I was taking a walk towards the city centre, when I passed an empty house which had been taken over by squatters. This messy, unfenced patch of land, littered with broken furniture and other bits of garbage, was actually the back garden. For some reason, the wall had either fallen, or been knocked down, so it was used as a dumping ground by illegal fly-tippers. (I obscured the name of the street on the sign, as it's not too far from where I lived at the time).



Just along from the unfenced back garden, I spotted a pile of household refuse spilling out of torn sacks, on what could have been a nice, raised patio area. As I drew nearer, I saw several rats eating decaying food from the plate situated near the edge of the wall. I'm pleased to say they scattered as soon as they realized I was there.



The house wall also looked messy, with graffiti daubed all over it.



You can't actually tell from this pic, but when I peeked through the window, there was a hideous mess inside, loads of junk, garbage, rotting food, takeaway cartons, bottles, beer cans, syringes, etc.



I took the above pics to show to the local council. I was disgusted by the filth outside, and the vermin it was attracting. I'm pleased to say that the property has since changed hands and been renovated. The garden is fenced off, the unofficial rats' cafeteria is now a patio area, and the graffiti has also been removed. It has had a total makeover, with new, clean occupants, and no longer looks messy.

PhotoHunt: Light

This week's PhotoHunt theme is Light. Just one pic this week, which I've recycled from an earlier blog post, as I've had no time to take any new pics. It shows the clouds and sky reflected on the wet sand of Port Eynon beach on the Gower Peninsula, in South Wales. And as we all know, LIGHT plays a big role in creating reflections.



Happy holidays, everyone!

P.S. My PhotoHunt button isn't showing at the moment, haven't got time to find out why!

PhotoHunt: Small

This week's PhotoHunt theme is Small. I've not been able to get out and about with my camera lately, what with the weather, and it being a busy time of year. So I've had to recycle some pics from posts made earlier this year. I don't think I've used them for PhotoHunt, though. Apologies if I have.

This pic, taken back in the summer, shows a pair of swans and their small cygnets.

This next pic gives us a closer look at one of the small cygnets, alongside its not so small parent. I have no idea if that's mum or dad.


Anyway, that's all for this week, folks. Have a great weekend!

PhotoHunt: Long

This week's PhotoHunt theme is Long. I'm late with this week's entry, as I couldn't immediately think of any appropriate pics for it, and the weather's been too foul for me to go out and take any new pics. So I searched old image files and came up with the following. They were all taken on different days, at one of my favourite places, Rhossili, near my home in Wales.

This first pic shows the long fence along the cliff top. Along with a wooden gate, it prevents sheep wandering from the cliffs into the village. This shot was taken with my current camera.



The next two pics were taken a few years ago, with my old camera. It only has a resolution of 2.2 MP, so the pics aren't very good, unfortunately. However, the old camera did manage to capture a fairly good representation of the four mile long beach at Rhossili, as well as the long path snaking along above the beach. You'll probably need to enlarge the pic to get a good view of the path.



The next pic shows the long, narrow island of Worm's Head, as well as the long causeway that joins the island to the mainland at low tide. Always be careful to check tide times before crossing the causeway to the island, because you could get stranded there, or worse still, overwhelmed by the tide when you're crossing back.



Oh well, those are my long pics. Have a great weekend, everyone!