Tag: photography

Life in Colour

Well we are half way through this year of celebrating colour. Six down and six to go. If you have been following this blog you will know what colours have been and gone which may give you an idea of what is to come.

January: Brown
February: Yellow
March: Green
April: Pink
May: Purple
June: White or silver

To find out more about this year’s photo challenge here on Travel Words, please read this post.

This month we will be looking for Blue. A primary colour that we look upon almost every day. But don’t forget about the different hues which include indigo and ultramarine, cyan and the other blue-greens such as turquoise, teal, and aquamarine. Blue also varies in shade or tint; darker shades of blue include ultramarine, cobalt blue, navy blue, and Prussian blue; while lighter tints include sky blue, azure, and Egyptian blue.

It’s nature’s colour for water and sky, but is rarely found in fruits and vegetables. It also happens to be my favourite colour.

“I will try to cram these
paragraphs full of facts
and give them a weight
and shape no greater than
that of a cloud of blue
butterflies.”
~ Brendan Gill

where will your blues Take me?

Flashback Friday #27

Crossing the Straits of Georgia was written in July 2013 following on from my stay in the city of Vancouver. We then moved over to Vancouver Island. One of the best place in the world in my opinion. Though at the moment my heart goes out to all those suffering from the dreadful heatwave occurring in that region.

After some deliberation as to when to pick up the rental car (early start vs extortionate parking fees) I collected the car from Hornby Street on the Friday afternoon and parked it at the Devonian park (24hrs) which was at least $10 cheaper than the underground car-park closer to the hotel. Parking in Vancouver I must add, is not cheap which is why I chose to use public transport to get around during the week. (Another point for those interested is that car rentals in Canada are much higher than those in the USA.)

We left the hotel early in plenty of time to catch the 10:30 ferry at Horseshoe Bay over to Nanaimo (Departure Bay) as we had reservations (these cost around £15 and not strictly necessary except in peak times unless you have to be somewhere such as the airport!), but if you don’t make that first ferry then you have to wait in line for the next and this can eat up a good couple of hours). £15 didn’t seem to be too much of a hardship for us to be on our way.

I love BC Ferries – they arrive on time, they depart on time and they are easy to drive on and off (particularly important for me whilst struggling to come to terms with a new car and its associated gadgets) then on board you can wander around during the crossing, have a meal, look at the views and if you’re lucky (as we were) see a pod or two of Orcas en route. On our previous visit to the Island we bought a circle ticket for the ferries which allowed us to drive slowly up the Sunshine Coast crossing the fjords by ferry and then over to Comox on the central coast of the Island from Powell’s River. If you have the time I thoroughly recommend this route for its beauty and peacefulness, (but be careful of the “granny traps” at the side of the road in places – deep gullies or drains at the edge – we saw several cars stuck in these and dread to think of the damage to the underside of the vehicle).

Lifeboat

On this occasion we chose to go directly to Nanaimo (home of the famous Nanaimo bar) as we were heading over to the Pacific Rim on the west coast for a few days staying in Tofino, surf capital of the Island. We didn’t bother with a GPS as there really isn’t much need for one on the Island – or so we thought… got a bit lost in Nanaimo as hubby got confused over route signs which meant we went around in a circle and tempers frayed somewhat! Eventually we found the correct route, confusingly there’s a 19 which is the Inland Island Hwy and a 19a the Island Hwy, but since they merge to the north we really had nothing to worry about and could relax and enjoy the scenery.

Continue reading Flashback Friday #27

Life in Colour

To find out more about this year’s photo challenge here on Travel Words, please read this post.

This month we will be looking for White or Silver. White is technically not a colour, white light comprises all hues on the visible light spectrum. White is the lightest colour and is achromatic (having no hue). White is seen to be pure and clean. A wedding dress, the pure snow, a swan’s feather, fluffy clouds, milk and the Milky Way.

Silver is a precious metal, indicating wealth. “Born with a silver spoon in your mouth“. A cool colour. Sparkling silver water. The light of the moon. It represents feminine energy, pure, emotional and sensitive.

Liquid Silver

Great crested grebe on the Norfolk Broads
next week we change colour so get your white / silver photos in quickly.

Flashback Friday #26

I first came across this National day of celebrating the Cream Tea back in 2015. A perfect way to celebrate all things summery and delicious. (June 25 2021)

National Cream Tea Day June 26 2015

There seems to be a national day for anything these days and I’d love to know who decides on what and when, but as a cream tea aficionado how can I let this one pass without a mention?

“There are few hours in life more agreeable than the hour dedicated to the ceremony known as afternoon tea”
~ Henry James

And surely there is a no more perfect one than the cream tea – whether Devon style (with the jam on top) or the Cornish style (with the cream on top) what matters most is the freshness of the ingredients. Light melt-in-the-mouth scones, fruity fresh strawberry jam, and lashings of golden crusted clotted cream. Are you drooling yet?

P1190929

The Waymarker, near Constantine, was named champion of the ‘Truly Cornish Clotted Cream Tea‘ in 2014 but I am doing my best to seek out decent rivals 🙂

Where and what is the best afternoon tea you have experienced? My most memorable is High Tea at the Victoria Falls Hotel, Zimbabwe – tiny crust-less sandwiches, Petit fours, scones, cakes and Earl Grey tea served on Stanley Terrace with spectacular views of the Victoria Falls bridge down the Batoka Gorge with the spray rising from The Falls.

This post is a contribution to Fandango’s Flashback Friday. Have you got a post you wrote in the past on this particular day? The world might be glad to see it – either for the first time – or again if they’re long-time loyal readers.