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not an everyday sight on Ryde Pier ........

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happy day 90! love the blue and white ... my contribution is rather more monochrome ...

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today's theme is blue and white .........

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tonight i was so lazy.

this is pretty much where i spent my whole evening.

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it was painful to have to sit at a computer all day while the sun shone ........

at least today's photo got me into the garden ...... spot the imposter .........

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a touch of realism against a background of abstraction ....

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abstraction on my lunch time walk

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paper dahlias ...

maybe one day i will be able to grow the real thing.

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another cracking day ....... which encouraged my cherry tree to burst into flower .........

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a day off work - bliss!

spent the morning sitting in the sunshine;

not bad for a monday.

excellent news about dave's new job ...

looking forward to having a house guest!

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gretchen snatching a few quiet moments on a pile of duvets ...

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to the top of the castle ......... a day to celebrate mitsubishop's success!!!

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a beautiful sunny day for lunch outdoors ..... the question is which of us was sporting these trendy socks?

[a clue : 60% of the lunch party had hairy legs]

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i suppose you might call this photo a gift horse ..... i was in the right place at the right time with a camera ....... it was an advert for a ploughing match on april 1st at shorwell

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billowing sheets on the line ...

it's spring!

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heading back down to the isle of wight ... looks like it's going to be a glorious weekend.

 

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guns n ........ daffodils

looking like a good weekend for gardening!

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a long day ending with pottery ..... no not this creature but my first go at making multi-section pots ...... i'm now exhausted ......

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i had to get up much earlier than usual today for an early start at work.

the sun had only just come up and there was a lovely soft light on the wall

which reminded me of all singer sargent's whites that aren't really white when you look closely.

much like many things in life,

if you look closely.

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equally frantic day:

arranging russian visas;

managing guest list for 200 tomorrow morning;

performance reviews;

[intermission: going to the hockney exhibition again at lunch time just to sit in front of his calming videos;]

phone calls;

diary clashes;

meeting rooms;

traffic;

folk songs;

tube;

train;

car;

blog;

bed.

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frantic day, double booked appointments, long list phone messages, longer list emails, interview on Vectis radio, writing copy for leaflet, researching exhibition, looking after volunteers, trying to say "no" politely to people, standing in as phone receptionist, explaining to Southern Water man that I could not help him locate the donkeys' water supply which has seized up .....

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oh good heavens i didn't realise the clocks were going forward ........ this fact and the photo are reminders to start some work in the garden at the weekend

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i can't believe the clocks go forward this weekend.

i don't know where this year's going;

it's starting to fill me with panic!

there are so many things i want to do

and the weeks are whizzing by.

here's a lovely spring sunset in woking ...

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5pm, st martin-in-the-fields.

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the blue sky defined the day today ..... ab fab.

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there are certain times of day when i just love this room.

one is evening, when the lights are lit.

another is a specific point in the late afternoon, when the sun drops below the line of the trees

and sends an orange finger of light shooting straight across the wall.

and i remember sitting here in the deep freeze of winter

when the pine trees were silent and heavy with snow

and the room was filled with a bright clear light.

today i went to a nineteenth century dance workshop.
it was fun, and exhausting,
and i met some really lovely people.
now to persuade my second in command to join me for the next one ....

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a woodland bothy at Aldingbourne Centre ...... recycling in action ......

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explored Lewes on Saturday ....... love the old buildings and cobbled streets

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watched the dress rehearsal of alice's adventures in wonderland

at the royal opera house ...

a brilliant way to spend a rainy saturday.

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washing up. hardly the definition of friday fun,

but he still managed to make me laugh like crazy.

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had to go to the dentist for a temporary tooth "repair" this morning ...... the permanent repair is yet to come :o( ....... the estimate is more than I spend on expensive car repairs!

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there was a complete white-out here too this morning

but by the time i reached london the spring sun had broken through the fog.

everything is bursting into life here ....

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fog hung around brading all day but was just clear enough to get this view from indoors onto one of the seat sculptures

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the museum prides itself in its recreation of medieval life through its authentic models and reconstructions ........ what is that ....???????

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faberge egg on the south bank.

this week feels tough. i think i need a holiday ...

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so much happened in three days.

we put an offer in on a flat.

we waited.

we got scared.

we put another offer in.

we got excited.

our nerves got a bit jangly.

we waited some more.

we were turned down.

we were back where we started,

but that's not so bad.

not bad at all.

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went to freshwater this afternoon ...... if you venture to the far west of this island you have to be prepared for some rather different local wildlife ......

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the next project begins to take shape ...

knitting is an excellent distraction from the more serious things in life.

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the sun was just burning through a lifting mist when i got to work this morning ........ everything was dripping wet with the morning dew .....

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a pleasant stroll this afternoon on the sussex downs plus encounter with pride & joy of 100s sunday bikers .......

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this is my belated saturday picture hence number 70.........

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we made a new friend today.

she spent the whole afternoon helping us re-pot strawberry plants,

and chasing sticks around the garden.

her name is gladys.

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today was a bit of a blur

of hopefulness and excitement

of pros and cons,

of weighing things up,

waiting and thinking ...

we distracted ourselves by sowing seeds in the garden this afternoon.

i love this time of year; everything is waking up and it all seems so positive.

our first cup of tea out on the doorstep in the sunshine,

shirt sleeves and warm earth under our fingernails.

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i was glad to escape work after a bit of a friday afternoon meltdown today,

and spent a very happy hour in the gallery listening to sam lee and friends

performing some traditional folk songs with a contemporary twist - 

an absolute pleasure.

tonight life stepped up a gear and got suddenly more serious ...

and i don't think either of us will be able to get much sleep ...

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had a circular left this evening re a missing cat - the picture is so cute that i'd be reluctant to give it up if i found it ......

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perspectives: the view through my beer bottle.

i hasten to add that only one beer was consumed,

and that this view was taken whilst sitting entirely upright.

i just can't think where this week's gone.

is it just me or has time speeded up this last year or so?

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i'm always spoiled by dramatic scenery on my journey home from brading ......

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home.

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the carry over theme from last night is evidently ....... yellow ......

a strange day at work of intense discussion amongst many this morning, and entirely alone pm

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i'm going bananas.