𐌎 think pink

{original photo taken by Louisa}

◧◨ down my street or yours

there's something unchanged about garages:

unnoticed:

memories of kicking a football

against the locked shutters:

wondering what's inside?

as kids, the garages on our council 

estate were a meeting place:

strewn crisp bags and dandelion flowers:

the first time I visited Tate Modern

I saw a small painting on wood:

not oil or watercolour, but Humbrol:

the artist ~ George Shaw:

scenes from the passion by George Shaw 2002:

this intricately rendered image resonated 

with me:

six years later I visited a gallery in Bethnal Green

to see more of his work:

'Woodsman 2009' 

where first & last things sound the same:

time standing still:

the broken drain:

 hauntingly familiar:

no returns:

easily missed when of neutral mind:

spaces we would have played in as kids:

where adults didn't go:

simple times:

on Sunday I was delighted to find a two page

interview with the artist:

finally an article telling more about him:

monet of the midlands:

all I have to do now, is plan a trip to 

Baltic to see the exhibition:

⏏ and the shutter clicks

this beautiful image was taken by my

friend Suzie:

she is giving away a free place on her

fabulous online film photography course

shooting the breeze

about time someone gave us a chance 

to learn the intricacies of 35mm film:

and on a well thought out and interesting

course too:

I know I'll be signing up:

what are you waiting for?

go see HERE for your chance to win:

good luck!

{look she's even got a shop so you can

buy her gorgeous images as well}

⸉⸊ everyone loves a treat

what a lucky girl I am:

after a conversation with Mr Mondo and 

his lady on Monday ....

Mrs Mondo knocked on my door 

strumming this ☟

a beautiful yellow ukelele gift for me:

seems Mr Mondo had three ukes

and I had none:

now I have one:

then an s-o-s for hangers just like this ☝

brought donations from Mrs Mondo & Lois:

they're hard to come by you know:

to be turned into these ☝

the latest editions for an upcoming fair:

and as if I haven't been spoiled enough

today, Anna has given me these ☝ 

yummy treats from her recent 

trip visiting family in Finland:

thank you all my gorgeous friends:

feeling ❤

𐌎 turn the page

when I was a child, we visited a

library in Westcliff-on-Sea:

single storey, yellow brick & steel framed:

glass fronted and designed by

P F Burridge in 1968:

skipping across the floor to the 

children's section:

choosing books from the shelves:

thumbing through the heavy reference books:

not for borrowing, only for looking:

that smell of books:

zigzagging coloured spines:

sitting in the courtyard in the Summer:

despite owning a few books 

some given

some gifts

we still used a library:

now I have something else:

my next novel will be read on it:

is this the new library?

it won't be for me:

reading books is not about owning books:

and I do own many:

those first visits to the library introduced me to

the wider world of literature:

picture books, atlases, poetry:

books we could never afford to buy:

they are all still there:

and more ....

have you got a ticket?

when was the last time you went to the library?

use it or lose it:

ਿੀ colourful gifts to brighten our wintery day

a hand sewn package:

from far away:

we carefully unwrapped:

excited and puzzled:

what can it be?

sunshine yellow:

amber incense:

cosmic orange:

pale green:

hand sewn delicacy for savasana:

fine cotton scarf in my favourite shade:

and delicious wool in skeins

for us to ravel into balls:

a little piece of India at home:

threads from under the same sky:

namaste:

≍≃∼ drifting in uncertain seas

this houseboat broke free from it's 

mooring in the Thames:

once the star of a tv show:

it had been floating in the Estuary for a few years:

empty and abandoned:

I got used to seeing it out there

moving along with the tides:

it's distinctive shape staying the same

through sunshine, rain and haze:

 still broken but now set free:

 after time of wondering what it

looked like:

it felt strange seeing it close up:

I wonder what the next part of it's

journey will be?

I shall miss looking for it

out there in the sea:

☯ passing by

 yesterday, the sun came out:

just for the day 

as we said goodbye to a friend:

she was beautiful and brave:

but the things that made me connect 

and admire her for 

were her impulsive side and no-nonsense

approach to life:

I shall really miss going over to her allotment:

picking runner beans and laughing at

 misshapen potatoes & cues:

dirt under our nails

in the sunshine:

I have some dried beans, left over

from last harvest:

they will be grown in my own garden:

a green legacy to one very special lady: