April Photoblogging Challenge, Day 18: Mood suggested by @agilelisa
April Photoblogging Challenge, Day 16: Flâneur suggested by @chrisaldrich
☔ It’s pouring outside, and not particularly warm either - Spring, from a few days ago appears to have taken a leave of absence. Right now I am grateful for a roof over my head, and heating in the home.
April Photoblogging Challenge, Day 14: Cactus suggested by @christopherchelpka
April Photoblogging Challenge, Day 12: Magic suggested by @DaveyCraney
April Photoblogging Challenge, Day 10: Train suggested by @starrwulfe
🧹 A lot of the clean up has been done, but as the final family members head on their way, vacuuming is what is needed now.
April Photoblogging Challenge, Day 8: Prevention suggested by @anniegreens
Monday April 8, 2024 Newsletter letter
Monday April 8th, 2024
Dear Friends,
Well the weeks feel as though they are creeping up on me quicker. Though this one could well be because I have had a lot going on.
I am writing to you from the opposite side of the world. I have returned solo to England for my mother’s 90th birthday celebrations and am spending a couple of weeks here to catch up with friends and also some work as well. The celebrations were a great success, and I’m grateful to my sister for seeding the idea of a party last year.
Travel has always been a part of my life, as my On The Road series shows, ebbing and flowing in time at home and time away. As I have got older, I’ve noticed that it is harder to get me out of the front door, even for a short trip. I’m fine once I am on the road, but I can sense in me resistance to departure as I get ready to leave, and almost have to be kicked out of the door on that final day. This trip was no different.
A photo challenge is now taking place through April on Micro.blog, the platform that hosts my blog. In the past I have made it to the end with some photo challenges. Others I have run out of steam on a few days or weeks into the challenge, getting stuck on one of the photo prompts and before I know it I’m not posting any more. As of writing this letter I have managed to complete every day so far, and I hope to cross the finishing line. So you will see that a number of the posts for this last week are photographs from the April challenge.
Thank you, as always, for reading.
David.
🎶 I’m up early enjoying a cup of coffee. After the birthday celebrations yesterday, my mother’s apartment is still and quiet. Outside a blackbird is singing its heart out. I grew up listening to and loving this bird’s song. I recognize anywhere - here in England, or while watching a movie set in this country. For me, it’s the sound of spring and long summer evenings here.
April Photoblogging Challenge, Day 6: Windy suggested by @Miraz
An overcast windy day on the Isle of Skye, as spied through the ruins of an old church.
🎂 We are celebrating my mother's 90th birthday today. With my family having spread themselves out around the world, it feels like an international gathering with accents from the US, New Zealand and England filling the room. Happy Birthday Mum, and congratulations.
April Photoblogging Challenge, Day 5: Serene suggested by @chiawase
My quiet spot, wherever I am in the world, by the River Wye at Tintern Abby
I’m sitting alone in the bar at an airport hotel at San Francisco International Airport (SFO). Back in Maui, where I flew in from an hour earlier, it is just before six o’clock in the evening. Here it is almost nine at night. It’s late but it’s not, depending on which time zone I choose to see myself in. My mind tells me to head to bed, my stomach tells me to eat. I choose to listen to my stomach, but I don’t want the full service of a restaurant. The bar feels more relaxed and informal.
People are chatting, television screens show live sports, voices and the sound of clattering cutlery drift over from the nearby restaurant. So different from the world that I have just arrived from.
For all the activity, and the sound and stimulation that come with it, I find myself in my happy place. I’m by myself despite and maybe because of this busyness around me? And yet I love sitting in this anonymity. I’ve used this phrase before, but I’m sitting alone in the company of others. For this introvert, I can feel more comfortable around such strangers than in a room full of people who I know.
I am returning to England for my mother’s 90th birthday celebration. There will be a gathering of relatives, most of whom I have not seen in a long while. I am looking forward to seeing everyone, catching up on news, finding out where life has taken them…and I can already feel in me the angst of the gathering. This might be hard to understand for the socializers in the room, but for me small talk and what I will experience as the busyness of a party can get the best of me. I am soon exhausted. If I lock onto a conversation with someone about something that really interests me, I can still be sat there in that conversation when everyone else are packing up to leave. I loose myself in the conversation. Introvert, yes. Short on words, no…given the right circumstances.
However, that evening at SFO the company of others was very welcome. I sat quite content alone, in the company of others. That evening I remember fondly.