Marcus invited me to do the blog today so here goes........

We took ourselves off to Westonbirt as the sun was shining and most of the UK was descending on Bath for the annual Christmas Market! 

  

Knowing we only had an hour as had to get back for Rob to fix our gutter, we headed off at a fair lick.  

 

 

 

 

 

The boss was there keeping an eye on me. Standards and all that!!  

Poor old Bella gets tired very quickly.....

 

Only a quick trip today but oh so worth it

 

 

 

Boiler Numbers, Pavement Mug and Music in Nailsea

The day started grey and then looked as though it might brighten up - but this was as good as it got.

The saga of our boiler continues - our heating engineer rang and asked me to find a particular number from a sticker under the boiler. The easiest way to find it was to photograph it upside down and then look at my phone (all while on the phone to him).

Out with Bella, stopped to admire our cherry blossom. 

Found this mug carefully left on the pavement. 

Went over to Nailsea to see Bob and play some music after a gap of more than two months. Luckily, he was expecting me so I was allowed in.

Went out to the Ring O'Bells pub for lunch and passed this modern Tithe Barn next to the church.

In front of the church, saw this extraordinary plaque. 

Bob and Vicky's back garden has acquired even more animal statues.

And yet more statues and animal decorations on the other side of their (astro-turf covered) garden. 

This day a year ago, I was taken by these unusual cloud formations at the end of the afternoon.

When We Were Young(er) on Tilos in 2003 this was the view up the bay from our apartment.

Christmas Trees, Plaques and House Names

Out and about this morning, admired this smart entrance on Manvers Street.

Just along from the Royal Hotel and the train station. 

A Christmas tree up and decorated in the big square between the train and bus stations. 

Popped into Prior Park Garden Centre, which is very well stocked with pre-trussed Christmas trees. There'll be no escape for the next four weeks or so!

For the first time ever, we drove down Holloway from Bear Flat to Widcombe and saw this poem on an old wall. 

Just along from it was this explanatory plaque. 

Out with Bella this afternoon, it continued to be a grey and featureless sky- happily relieved by the trees which have hung on to their leaves. 

This one looked magnificent. 

As we got closer, I realised that it was the one with the interestingly peeling bark. 

Down the hill a little, I've walked past this house lots of times, but never stopped to wonder what it means. I'm still none the wiser, as Google just points me to an hotel in Malawi - maybe that's the connection? 

The house has a second name, which again could do with some investigation. 

This day a year ago, after my last Pilates class of the year I helped unload a big load of logs for our stove before dozing off in front of the fire. 

When We Were Young(er) in 2005 on Symi, we enjoying this mid-morning scene.

Cinema, Grey Skies and Decorations

Went to the Little Theatre yesterday evening to see Gloria, an eponymous Chilean film about the main character and her encounters. Most enjoyable…

I admired some of the Christmas decorations. 

Today has been a grey day with few photo opportunities. Out with Bella this afternoon, after another visit to UWE for project supervision, I saw another car with artificial flowers on the dashboard - strange.

"What do you build?" "We make fields" - surely not!! 

The brightest part of our walk was this flashing light outside the Royal High School. 

I've never noticed this decorative door glass before - it really stood out in the dusk. 

This day a year ago, I was also at UWE where Left At The Lights were practising in the Surround Studio ahead of an upcoming open mic night

When We Were Young(er) in early May 2003 on Tilos, we found lots of Spring flowers to enjoy.

Glorious Morning Light and Skies

Another lovely sunrise today.

The scene at the back of the house was, if anything, more breathtaking - with frost on roofs and mist in the valley. 

The sun grazed the top of the valley. 

Wispy clouds in a blue sky. 

Out with Bella, this car roof showed off how cold it was last night. Cold enough to make more leaves fall off our winter-flowering cherry.

More wispy clouds on the skyline. 

Red berries and silvered leaves. 

A frosted wheelbarrow tyre caught my eye. 

A wintry morning view. 

The sun showed off these leaves beautifully. 

Looking down Malvern Terrace towards Little Solsbury. 

This dog and cat both looked very suspiciously at Bella as we passed.

More stunning clouds and blue skies. 

In our back garden, the sedum looked most elegant with a dusting of frost. That was the best part of the day - shortly thereafter, the skies clouded over and I went to UWE for the afternoon. We're off out to see the Chilean film Gloria at the Little Theatre this evening - review tomorrow.

This day a year ago, I was impressed with how these teazles looked so late in the year.

When We Were Young(er) in 2005, we had an overnight stay on Rhodes before we caught the ferry to Symi. Came across this memorial to 1604 Jewish victims of Nazi concentration camps - "Never Forget".