Category:

Simply..the island of Gigha....

11/5/2025

..is owned by the people who live there. See the community website here.

A lovely place for a simple holiday and in glorious weather it's a little paradise. One restaurant (very good, best to book), one cafe, one shop, one small campsite, cycle hire and a lovely woodland garden to visit.

Beautiful beaches and just enough information..

The apprentices in the gardens are encouraged to be creative.

The ferry is very small and in high summer you can have a long wait. We were very lucky to get there as the day after we arrived the ferry was off and a rib was used to get the scholchildren home. Island life!

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Simply..early this morning....

29/4/2025

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..on the Clyde..

The book group took a two ferry trip to Kilcreggan on what turned into a warm sunny day.

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Simply..on the pier....

11/4/2025

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We took a local bus from Norwich to Cromer - famous for crab. So we sat on the pier, with the rhythmic sound of the waves and the music from a man playing the accordion and ate delicious crab sandwiches. Idyllic!

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Simply..a sad tale....

9/4/2025

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St Gregory's, one of the 31 churches in Norwich, is now an antiques and collectibles venue.

On seeing these I was reminded of Hemingway's poignant Story In Six Words -

For sale. Baby shoes. Never worn.

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Simply..old and new....

8/4/2025

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,I think Norwich does a good job of integrating old and new. The converted warehouse we stayed in (10 Calvert Street - lovely) was a good exanple and here in the magnificent cathedral I loved these modern windows by artist John McDonald.

They perhaps look a bit incongruous in just photgraphs, but the modern wndows are in a dark side aisle close to the transept and in situ, look wonderul. If you ever get the chance see them for yourself and decide. And let me know what you think!

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Simply..texture....

7/4/2025

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On a lovely trip to the historic city of Norwich with three wonderful friends, I was struck with how textured everything felt. Cobbles underfoot and flints and rust and carvings, and so many different materials, put together in so many different ways - including fragments of old buildings randomly flung into walls!

Bright sunshine enhanced all the effects.

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Simply..Fishertown....

3/3/2025

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Fishertown in Nairn consists of tiny cottages down narrow lanes all in a huddle. They were clearly not designed for cars, wheelie bins and our predeliction for 'stuff'. I like it for the absteact compositions I find of gable ends, windows, angles and shadows.

Although it is a conservation area there are ugly extensions on most cottages and some of the small gardens have two or even three sheds. Understandable but chrmless though in summer much of it is pretty with flowers and climbing plants.

I really loved my face to face February. Do you have anyone you really want to spend face to face time with? Can you organise it? It is a different and perhaps more meaningful and rewarding experience than screen time, wonderful though that can be.

Make it happen!

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Simply..face to face....

1/3/2025

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..and four straight days of sunshine in the fine little town of Nairn in the Scottish Highlands. Lots of interesting details on the late 19C municipal buildings if you look up in the High Street.

The spring flowers are up..

but so are the Christmas decorations!

I met face to face my two sisters, a niece and her husband, a nephew and my brother-in-law and for the first time three lovely great-nieces. I had only seen them on screens before. Walks through the town and on one of the lovely beaches, delicious meals, coonversations and laughter. Wonderful.

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Simply..York....

6/1/2025

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I could never tire of it! There's cute,

there's crooked,

there's medieval- Kinf's Manor. (Part of the university - I used to teach in this lovely building.)

there is Gothic and always scaffolding somewhere on the Minster, and Roman - I always say hello to the Emperor Constantine,

there's Georgian elegance..

LOVE IT.

I put Christmas away today and looking forward, got to thinking about Jinny Ditzler's book Your Best Year Yet.

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Simply..a city tour.....

4/1/2025

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..Joy in January and a new word for the new year..

Do check out Amelia's lovely idea for joy every day in January. See in comments on this post. Will you sign up?

My word for 2025 is DECISIVE. Life got better for me after I decided to decide in this post last October. Have you chosen your word yet?

There is so much to see in my favourite city. Visual stimulus of every kind at every turn..

There are crowds of course - people enjoying the sights

but just the other side of the Minster are quiet streets

with beautiful doorways

and unusual buildings

with hidden lanes and courtyards

More tomorrow..

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Simply..catching up....

4/12/2024

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Still catching up with myself after a wonderful trip to Edinburgh.

Meanwhile here is our capital city looking amazing.

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Simply..the Kelpies....

2/11/2024

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I am a little shocked to realise how much of my own country I hardly know!

I have just spent a couple of days in East Lothian with lovely friends who showed me the Kelpies, the Falkirk Wheel and the attractive town of Linlithgow.

A kelpie is a shape shifting mythical water sprite in Irish and Scottish folklore.

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Simply..just as well....

3/10/2024

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..I have a grasshopper brain as we had an incredibly varied programme! A brilliant talk by Amanda Herries about creating the exhibition Eye To Eye about Sir Henry Raeburn was followed by an interview with Gelong Thubten, a Buddhist monk whose Handbook For Hard Times I am listening to on Audible.

We went to a Jazz Afternoon Tea, and a talk on the history of the gut! Rumbles by Elsa Richardson. We caught the last day of the Raeburn exhibition in Kikedbright which was excellent - one of the best exhibitions have seen in a long time. Kirkudbright is another pretty town.

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Simply..a pretty town....

2/10/2024

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See more about the Book Festival here. It continues till 6th October.

Wigtown has interesting architecture, some lovely new shops and pretty gardens (a delightful garden behind ReadingLasses bookshop is worth a look) and there were still lots of flowers everywhere. We were lucky enough to have several sunny days.

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Simply..the Wigtown Book Festival....

1/10/2024

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..got off to a spectacular start with a great firework display. I took this rather odd photograph!

But later that night we stood under the starriest sky I think I have ever seen. The Milky Way seemed to take up most of the sky and was so thick with stars that it was hard to make out the constellations. Awestruck.

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Simply..my favourite photograph,,,,

28/5/2024

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Several people have said they look liike children's drawings of houses.

Here are a link which give a flavour of life on this thriving Hebridean island.

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Simply..more....

28/5/2024

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..about Tiree. This was the lovely house my friends and I stayed in, on the edge of a small tidal creek.

The walls are 5 feet thick in places.

The peaceful view from my bedroom window.

Larks, lapwings corncrakes and snipe were heard along with the constant piping of the oystercatchers and the bleating of the lambs. The occasional put put of a fishing boat..

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Simply..a wee wee hoosie by the sea....

27/5/2024

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I adored the houses on Tiree. It's a very windswept island with few trees, walls, hedges and gardens around the houses. Sheep have priority here and many of the houses are grazed right up to the walls, and I love the way they sit on the close-cropped land.

There are red toofs, blue roofs, green roofs and thatched roofs. I am told the pink house has to be kept pink because it is described thus on the Admiralty charts.

Do you have a favourite?

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Simply..flew....

26/5/2024

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..in a Twin Otter to the lovely island of Tiree.

Land of silver beaches and the cutest houses

More tomorrow..

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Simply....

6/5/2024

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..the farm's turn for the shinty team's laundry.

That's a lot of socks!

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Simply..not sure....

29/4/2024

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Is it vandalism? Graffiti? People's Art?

Or is it just a bit of innocent fun? And I wonder who was the first to think that putting their sticker (given with your ticket to the Art Gallery) on the bench was a good idea. Do you approve?

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Simply..thriling....

28/4/2024

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The SMK in Copenhagen is a wonderful place - the collection, the architecture, the cafe and the shop - loved the shop!
gallery
Everything spacious and airy and clean, and everything in Copenhagen seems to work. I find the city and the gallery very elegant and at the same time friendly.

The huge modern extension is gorgeous.

We especially wanted to see the collection of Hammershoi's work, which didn't disappoint. He paints two of my favourite things - silence and empty space. I can see why he is sometimes called the Vermeer of the north.

There is nothing like the thrill of standing in front of the original. What a brave painter Matisse was!
I came across the Matisse unexpectedly - I know this painting well from reproductions and did not know the original was here. How different from Hammershoi - extrovert and vibrant.

I love them both.

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Simply..wonderful, wonderful....

26/4/2024

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..Copenhagen!

Ballet shoes and bicybles

Brides! Thank you Grace for the great photograph.

Bouquets

Blossom everywhere

and beautifully wrapped bread

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Simply heading off....

15/3/2024

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on a Highland retreat.

Weather forecast awful. Full waterproofs packed and lots of layers.
Have a lovely week

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Simply..a beautiful journey....

28/12/2023

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Thank you so much for the good wishes and for the poems - that was lovely! I hope you all had a happy time at Christmas.

I spent time with family and although we have had some foul weather I had a beautiful journey home on the single bright and calm day in a week.

My friend drove us out of the city to the west past fine terraces of Victorian and Edwardian houses, the golden stone looking amazing in the low sunshine. Along the western shores of Loch Lomond detouring for a look at the pretty village of Luss. Through the Arrochar Alps and over the Rest and Be Thankful pass, on to Loch Fyne and Loch Eck, over the Larach to Loch Long and home for a leissurely lunch. My daughter had kindly put some heating on and it took no time to get a good blaze going in the stove and to light lots of candles.

So blessed.

I hope you are sheltered from the storms.

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Simply..the island of Gigha....

Simply..early this morning....

Simply..on the pier....

Simply..a sad tale....

Simply..old and new....

Simply..texture....

Simply..Fishertown....

Simply..face to face....

Simply..York....

Simply..a city tour.....

Simply..catching up....

Simply..the Kelpies....

Simply..just as well....

Simply..a pretty town....

Simply..the Wigtown Book Festival....

Simply..my favourite photograph,,,,

Simply..more....

Simply..a wee wee hoosie by the sea....

Simply..flew....

Simply....

Simply..not sure....

Simply..thriling....

Simply..wonderful, wonderful....

Simply heading off....

Simply..a beautiful journey....

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