Category:Essays

A Misty Morning in Helsinki

Wanderings in the Mist After uploading a few Photo of the Day posts from last week’s misty morning, I thought I’d gather them all into this collection and add a few that hadn’t made it up yet. It may have taken me a little longer to make it into the office that morning as I wandered from one spot to another but it definitely made for a lovely way to start the day. And always fun to see the world […]

Continue Reading
Flag of Finland

An Isolated Jaunt to Tallinn

Ferry Ride Like most of us in Finland, we had not been away as a family since before the lockdown and decided that we’d risk a few days in Tallinn before the end of the summer. Suitably prepared with our face masks and spending most of our time up on deck, we hopped on the ferry and arrived a few hours later. There were some scattered showers along the way but we were fortunate that they never came directly overhead. […]

Continue Reading
Brexit

London Town in Brexit Land

In September, 2019, I visited London on two separate occasions; one to chaperone my daughter’s class of 25 students on a week’s school trip, the other to celebrate a good friend and mentor’s birthday. I didn’t have much time to myself but, looking through the selections, there are definitely a few images that are worth sharing. And, in case anyone is wondering, the featured image above has been doctored by me to read the word Brexit. Some of these images appeared […]

Continue Reading
Nordic Life

Nordic Life

A general call-out was made to photographers based in the Nordic countries to go out and capture images over a specific few days during the summer 2019. The theme was Nordic Life and an eponymous book was to be published at a later date. As I generally wander around with a camera on me, I thought I’d give it a go and see what I could come up with. As you can imagine, none of my images were chosen for the […]

Continue Reading
Oviedo

Oviedo: Gracias por su visita

As I usually do when I go on holiday with the family, I get up before anyone else and head off into the early morning light to get a couple of hours of me-time with my camera, returning in a relaxed frame of mind, often with some local treats for breakfast. It’s a win-win situation for all, though I feel I get the better part of the deal when I’m in a place as gorgeous looking as Oviedo, the capital […]

Continue Reading

Liberty in London and Beyond

Visiting London with our two teenage children has become much more of an extended shopping trip, with the occasional cultural interlude and frequent food stops. Not that I’m complaining as I enjoy restocking my wardrobe just as much as they do and eating is something I do well. Hearing that our kids had never been inside the Liberty department store, my wife left me to continue getting my manly fix in the two Filson stores round the corner in Newburgh St., the first Filson […]

Continue Reading
Norfolk

A Misty Morning in Norfolk

We were spending a few days at a friend’s thatched cottage somewhere in the Norfolk countryside, eating well and drinking plenty as we caught up on each other’s news over the last 2-3 years. I woke up early on our final day, more bleary eyed than hungover this time around and before either of our families were stirring. I decided on the spur of the moment to go off for a wander with my camera gear to see if I could capture a […]

Continue Reading
Burger Joint

Buenos Aires, the Last Word

When I say ‘the Last Word’, I don’t mean that I’m going to be able to give you all the low down you’ll need to get yourself around Buenos Aires, far from it. This is more the last word on my own particular journey, the final entry of my South American journal. Even though I started and ended my journey here, I don’t feel I have a handle on this sprawling metropolis that you sometimes hear described as ‘the Paris of South […]

Continue Reading
Sea view from Lima

Memories and Reflections of Lima

Arriving at Jorge Chavez Airport in Lima after my timeout in Máncora brought back memories of all those times I and my siblings had flown in and out of here as children; the sadness of the parental goodbyes quickly evaporated if you were lucky to find other friends travelling at the same time as you; then returning for the holidays, mum’s chocolate cake unlikely to survive the first sitting, the joy of greeting our two dogs, grumpy Ming and flirty Fanny, the various cats, seeing […]

Continue Reading
Mancora Beach

Mancora Beach and Existentialism

After having been on the road for over a month and with my birthday looming, I decided to check out and head off to a beach for some well-deserved R & R. I’d heard good things about Máncora up in the far north of Peru and booked myself a flight from Arequipa to Piura. It’s all well and good roughing it on overnight buses for a while but every now and then you’ve got to treat yourself to a creature comfort […]

Continue Reading