Monthly Archives: May 2017

College Farm, Haddenam

On Sunday 28th May Primavera’s owners, Jeremy and Sheila Waller (figures in sculpture, right) hosted an Open Garden in conjunction with the National Garden Scheme at College Farm, their Haddenham home.   It was an opportunity to roam around the … Continue reading

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Sun, Trees & Coffee

A good start to the Bank Holiday weekend.  First, lovely late May weather, the day dawning bright and clear, the sun rising through a blue sky flecked with the merest traces of cloud.  And warm enough to sit and have … Continue reading

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Instagram

In his column, ‘A Fortnight at f8’ in Black+White Photography, June 2017, Tim Clinch despairs of the fact that he finds many photographers in the upper age bracket are ignorant of the wonders of Instagram.  It is, he argues, ‘where … Continue reading

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Beechwoods – Patterns

Alex Schneideman explores the importance of patterns in his ‘Thinking Photography’ feature in the May 2017 issue of Black+White Photography.  He defines patterns in three ways: as repeating graphic shapes; as related to an order or system; and as a … Continue reading

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Paul at St Pauls

I had my best ever pain au raisin at the café/patisserie Paul last Thursday, moist and rich under a dark sticky glaze.  Only it wasn’t a pain au raisin, it was and ‘Escargot Raisin’ and that Gallic touch made it … Continue reading

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Dyke’s End, Reach

U3A walk at Reach today with lunch at the Dyke’s End. In 1997 the then owner of the pub applied for permission to change use to residential.  The community prepared a viable case for keeping pub open and ECDC refused … Continue reading

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Photography & Painting

On the 11th May I went to London to see two Exhibitions: The Radical Eye – Modernist Photography from the Sir John Elton Collection, at Tate Modern; and America after the Fall – Painting in the 1930s, at the Royal … Continue reading

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Tate Modern

                  Photos: Tate Modern, London, May 2017

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Beechwoods Carvings

The lives marked in the beech bark are usually reduced to initials, dates and a runic symbol of love (see post 23/9/16).  They are enigmatic.  This is no less so.  Who was Harvey, why and when was he here and … Continue reading

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Sr Matthew’s Church

St Matthew’s Church, built to designs by local architect Richard Reynolds Rowe in 1866, has a distinctive plan: a Greek cross with octagonal centre.  Christ stands in the central lancet of the apse window.  The apostle (Matthew?) on the left … Continue reading

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Beechwoods Regeneration

Beech woodland is shady and often characterised by a dense carpet of fallen leaves and mast husks, which prevent most woodland plants from growing.  Young beeches prefer some shade and may grow poorly in full sunlight, however. In the Beechwoods … Continue reading

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Beechwood Roots

The beech usually grows on drier, free-draining soils, such as chalk, limestone and light loams. The root system is shallow, even superficial, with large roots spreading out in all directions.  This makes trees susceptible to drought and high winds.  In the … Continue reading

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Beechwoods Boles – Elephant Tree

‘Old trees: hugely domed, usually much branched; occasional survivors of the fellings of two wars with 15-20m straight, cylindrical bole’, is how The Field Guide describes the common beech.   Some of the trees in the Beechwoods fit the first description.  … Continue reading

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Waresley Old Church

Waresley has had three church buildings. The original church, which stood in the east of the village, was destroyed by a storm in 1724. In 1728, it was rebuilt “in humble imitation of the chapel at Pembroke College” (Waresley was … Continue reading

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Beechwoods – Spring Leaves

The trees in the Beechwoods are coming into leaf, but in a strangely erratic way.  Many are almost devoid of leaves and retain their winter tracery of bare branches.  At the other extreme a few have dense crowns of green … Continue reading

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