Gloves and Mittens Gone AWOL -No 9

Despite the warmer weather gloves and mittens continue to go absent without leave, and this particular example I found downright scary. Like a huge, thick spider it's crawled up on to a metal electrical box (perhaps to recharge), and there lies in wait. There's also something of the severed hand of horror movies about its stance. Perhaps that's why my normally steady hand was shaking just a little bit when I snapped this beauty -causing the exposure to be slightly out of focus. This was evening, and the light was though. However, I felt the image was startling enough to share anyway, as yet another example of the wanderlust of lonesome hand-wear.

Location: Oslo, Norway

World Book Day

It's World Book Day, so I thought it would be appropriate to share a picture that features books. This little collection is on display at a used-books shop in Heidelberg, so all the titles are in German. You might care to try guessing at some of their original titles if you've got time on your hands. Collections of anything that are similar yet unique are always pleasing motives, and part of the pleasure of collecting books is having them on display; unlike many other items, books are seldom untidy or "cluttered". The only thing that annoys me about these particular books is that the titles on the spines are printed "the wrong way" ie, in the opposite direction to what is generally normal. You'll occasionally get books like this and they exasperate me as I never know whether to have them upside down in my shelf so that the spine is commensurate with all the others, or to have the face the right way up, thus causing an anomaly in the row! But, as I have used up all my shelf space long ago and books are now piled up in stacks all over my flat, the problem is largely academic and books that are "the wrong way round" get banished to less conspicuous corners. However, the important thing is really the content, and books of all kinds continue to thrill, entertain, educate and inspire me. And I hope they do the same to you. Happy World Book Day!

Location: Heidelberg, Germany

Going Dutch

Time for some flowers, it's spring, after all and they're popping up all over the place to everyone's great delight. When I was in Amsterdam I felt it was almost obligatory for me to get a picture of some tulips and I spent half an afternoon trying to find some without falling deeply into the cliche trap of souvenir shops. This place seemed more genuine, and bright and colorful, and though there will later be many, many more flowers on sight both here and elsewhere, these tulips made me very happy for a while! And lest one should forget where one was, the name at the top says it all.

Location: Amsterdam, Holland

Touch of Extravagance

You'd be forgiven for thinking this magnificent building is to be found in India or somewhere exotic, but it's much closer to home; Brighton, in fact, for this is a view of the famous Royal Pavilion, built for George IV when he was Prince of Wales and fancied a little hut by the sea. Originally designed by Henry Holland, the greater part of what we see today is the work of John Nash who extended the building greatly. Not so much a beach hut, but a veritable palace on the coast! It's a fabulous place to visit (equally spectacular inside) and endlessly fascinating. I don't quite know why I shot this one in black and white, though maybe it was because the building is a rather bland beige colour. But still, it evokes the Regency period and lavish extravagance –and we all need a little of that at times!

Location: Brighton, England

Jawas Hanging Around..?

I had to look twice when I passed this sight the other day. And had it been dark I would probably have gotten quite a shock too. These are shrubs that have been protected for the winter by being wrapped up with sackcloth, but it can't just be me that sees a line of Jawas.. can it? (Jawas, by the way, are the cute busybody little creatures introduced in the first Star Wars film, you know, the ones in the desert on Tatooine who salvage droids). Well, if there were any droids passing here I'm pretty sure they'd be quite safe as these particular Jawas seem more drunk than busy. I just thought it was an amusing sight, worthy of sharing here. If you're not a fan of Star Wars, feel free to move along –these may not be the Jawas you are looking for! (Sorry)

Location: Oslo, Norway

British Market

Norwich has one of the oldest and finest markets in all of England, so well established that it's permanently covered and many of the stalls are pretty much miniature shops; yet the atmosphere is still very much that of any other market, with the certainty that once you go in you will find things you never knew existed and emerge clutching half a dozen things you don't need for every one item you do. But that's the fun of a market, and I for one love to explore such places; this one has essentially remained the same since I was a child, yet remains just as exciting and enjoyable. Now, I find it equally rewarding to photograph there whenever I visit the city. On this occasion, the market was just closing for the day so most of the stalls were boarded up. Boxes were stacked in the passageways between stalls that usually throng with people but which now were eerily empty. The light was interesting –pale sunlight filtering through the coverings of the market stalls giving a pale, almost underwater-like feeling. Here, I was attracted by the contrast of this to the bright Union Jack on the side of the box, and haphazard beauty of the pile of boxes itself.

Location: Norwich, England