A quick catch-up ..

Not had much chance to blog lately .. real life's been getting in the way! We've been busy with the gîte and garden and I've been form-filling to get myself into the French tax system (Oh, goody!) ..

Like England, we've had lots of heat and thunder lately .. which has kinda slowed down my plans to paint the outside of the gîte .. but I'm back on track and should have it finished by the end of this week. (Gosh, that's interesting Martin!) ..

Not a lot to report on the photography front, other than to say I'm shooting a lot of landscape and flower pictures. Oh, and sunsets! From our garden we get a great view of the western sky, and I'm usually to be found out with a camera at sunset in the hope of adding another cracker to my collection. So where was I when this one occurred? In the bar, of course! I should add that I was there enjoying one of mein host Jean-Marc's fab 'Apero' evenings, which he throws on a regular basis. The key here is that it's important always to take the photograph, even if the positioning isn't the most perfect (Lesson over!) ..

Speaking of socialising, we were invited to dinner the other evening .. in our gîte! A family who've stayed there in the past returned again for a fortnight, and invited us round for a meal to say Thank you. A lovely evening, and we didn't have to wait for a taxi home. And, not only that, but we've taken our first booking for June. That's June 2019. (Hurrah!) ..

I'm in clover ..

Today is another Bank Holiday in France  - VE Day - and, driving through the glorious French countryside yesterday, my attention was caught by a bright red field over in the distance. "Oooh, poppies," I cried "Look at all those poppies", and I decided to pop back there last night to get some shots for today's blog. The poppies turned out to be clover! But, my God, how beautiful! I've never seen anything like it, and the setting sun really brought out the detail in the flowers. I vowed that a picture from the 'shoot' would be the theme of today's blog regardless, but then what happened? Sunrise happened, and today's second picture appeared like magic from our garden. There are gorgeous photographs to be had everywhere! 
 Man, I am in clover ..

Jets ..

We're right at the heart of the French countryside and when the street lights go off at night there's no sign of another human being visible from our house. However, as the sun went down last night, I was reminded that the world we live in these days is a small one. I counted no less than 12 jet con-trails overhead. You're never that far from anyone, anymore ..

Ma première exposition ..

'Small, but perfectly formed' is the best way to describe my first ever exhibition in France, now open at a punk club called El Doggo in the French city of Limoges. I've only managed to squeeze in eight pictures - it's a small bar - but it will give visitors a taste of my Joy Division photography and, hopefully, lead to more shows in my new country.

You might be seeing a trend here. As I sat down to write this blog, Facebook flashed up one of those 'Your memories on Facebook' things from three years ago. It was a blog about the opening of a Joy Division exhibition!..

May Day, May Day ..

My Mum used to tell us that if we washed our faces in the dew on May 1st then we'd have great complexions in later life. Obviously, it didn't work for me but, as a mist rolled over our garden this morning, I couldn't resist going out to photograph the new month's cool freshness. It's the first day of May, our first May in France, and the first time I've ever celebrated a Bank Holiday 'Tuesday'. Yes, the French do things on the day, which means a lazy day for us and a chance to make sure everything is ready for tomorrow. Tomorrow is another first - my first exhibition in France. Ok, it's more like 'hanging a few pictures in a bar', but it all counts and I'm so pleased to be getting my Joy Division shots out to a new audience. They'll be on show all month at a Punk club called El Doggo in Limoges. Hope you can make it ..

Ps: I washed my face anyway. It's never too late ..