Gloves and Mittens Gone AWOL -No 8

Time for another example of that tenacious species, the abandoned but wandering glove. This fine specimen has hit the ground and is about to navigate its way across the flow path of a drain –which is fortunately dry here. The glove's innards seem to be emerging from three of the fingers, but perhaps this is a sign of spring! We wish the determined glove bon voyage on it's journey of discovery down the pavement.

Location: Oslo, Norway

Perfect Little House in the Snow

Winter is slowly coming to an end, at last, and everyone seems impatient to greet spring, briskly, before getting on to the business of summer. I have taken more pictures of snowy landscapes, snowmen, blizzards, snowstorms and icy streets this year than I care to count and I too long for the bright colours of a new season. But like nature itself, I can't quite let winter go yet, for snow undeniably makes things very pretty and peaceful (at least to start with) and is a great reflector of light. This is a picture that I find particularly pleasing in composition and tone. The house is a small out-building on the grounds of the Oslo Museum in the park near where I live. I'm unsure whether anyone lives in it, but I would be happy to do so. I find, both the house and the picture gives associations to Hollywood sets of the 1930s and 40s, where snow is unreal but looks perfect and all features are skilful products of succinct art direction.I love the fence and the way its slats are shadowed on the virgin snow, creating interesting patterns. The sky is also lively, the clouds tempering the bright sun somewhat and making for a more interesting picture. The house itself seems content, at rest. With this photograph, I conclude my "winter" pictures for this year; with Summer Time officially starting this weekend with the clocks going forward, I promise something warmer next time!

Location: Oslo, Norway

Street Furniture Standoff

Street furniture fascinates me in all its forms. I suppose most people (quite sensibly) take it all for granted, not giving much thought to the various benches and posts and myriad other features that they pass by on a daily basis, but imagine how naked a town would be without street furniture –and how dull! I've written before about how much street furniture defines a country or city and I never tire of observing the creativity and individuality. of the essentially mundane. The postbox here may look familiar in shape bearing an uncanny resemblance to the bright red ones in England. Indeed this would have been red long ago, but this is Ireland, and so they were painted green when the country gained its independence (a practical way to save money rather than having to redesign and replace them entirely). As for the red and yellow "box", I'm not quite sure what that is, but it is certainly striking, a bit like a vast slice of layer cake left on the pavement, being perused by the postbox. The quartet is completed by the lanky signpost and the short, lowly wooden bollard. I like all the colours here (Cork is a surprisingly colourful place) and the sense of emptiness -at least of people; here the various items of street furniture can bask in their own sense of purpose.

Location: Cork, Ireland

Footbridge in Nuremberg

I was watching a documentary last night about the last months of the Second World War. It partly dwelt on the city of Nuremberg which with its long Nazi past was particularly targeted and damaged as the conflict intensified. In fact, much of it was totally destroyed, flattened. Yet like numerous other cities that suffered a similar fate, it sprang up from the ashes to be reborn and to reclaim its historical heritage. When I visited the city a few years ago I was struck by how successful the reconstruction had been, and how little of the destruction and effects of war was visible. The city was not "modernised" or changed to suit new styles, but went back to its roots, recreating what was there before, without this seeming to be forced. A fine city to explore, especially on a warm summer day. Here we are by the river, looking at a quaint covered footbridge that seems to have been there for generations but is obviously -in its present regeneration– much newer than it looks. The vibrant colours of the trees and roofs and blue sky reflected in the water and the novelty of the bridge itself make this at least a mildly interesting picture; one to soak up and enjoy on an otherwise grey day in March when looking back (or forward) to hotter days is a tempting and rewarding pastime.

Location: Nuremberg, Germany

Gloves and Mittens Gone AWOL -No 7

Yet another mitten has lost its brother (or sister), this time in the stately setting of the Royal Palace in Oslo –glimpsed here in the background. Could this mitten have belonged to a wandering royal or a clumsy courtier? Now forced to linger atop a rubbish bin (shudder) it nonetheless manages to retain something of a regal state in the way it presents itself to the world, or is it perhaps begging for change so that it may be reunited with its partner...?

Location: Oslo, Norway

The Sledging Party

With much of Europe battling unprecedented winter conditions (taken in stride in Norway) it is uplifting that people are making the most of the snow and taking to winter sports and activities with a vengeance. This group of five girls and a sledge marches as resolutely through the snow as arctic explorers heading for the pole. I like it that they are in a line rather than bunched together and the body language is interesting –is one of the girls less thrilled about the upcoming sledging activity than the others? And is the sledge-puller herself perhaps texting for back-up troops or castigating some shirking confederate who has failed to show up for the fun. I just felt it was a nice wintery sort of picture to share while we all wait for the coming of warmer days.

Location: Oslo, Norway