Southampton Five Parks.

Walking through the centre of Southampton on a cold afternoon last week, I discovered Palmerston Park and made a detour to take a look.  There were statues, trees, autumn crocuses, heathers, hydrangeas, a bandstand, people walking, people sitting on benches, more trees, avenues of trees, and acres of green as far as the eye could see.  It was lovely, and the afternoon sun beautifully picked out the autumn colours.  I didn't have my camera with me, but I snatched a few shots with my cell phone and happily went on my way, determined to find out more.

It turns out that there are five Grade II listed historic and linking parks in Southampton city centre (Hoglands Park, Houndwell Park, Palmerston Park, Andrews (East) Park and Watts (West) Park); I'd actually walked through two of them (Palmerston and Houndwell) and could see a third and fourth in the distance (Andrews and Hoglands).  This was all too much for me, on paper, so a few days later I went back to Southampton with my camera and walked all five parks.  No afternoon sun this time, but some nice photos, a head full of history, a heart full of happiness and a healthy glow to my cheeks!

The pictures above show the Gas Column, and inscription, flanked by lime trees in Houndwell Park, Southampton, Hampshire, at 15:28 on Wednesday 14th November 2012.

To see more of my Southampton Five Parks photos, click on the link below:-

http://susanvale.tumblr.com/post/36420978495/the-five-city-centre-grade-ii-listed-historic

To read about the five Southampton Parks, click on the link below:-

http://www.southampton.gov.uk/s-leisure/parksgreenspaces/citycentreparks/

Brent Geese.

Ambling around the marina yesterday intent on capturing the melancholy of a still grey day, I barely had time to get out my camera before the cloud cleared and the sun came out!  Undeterred, I snapped away at the colours; the sky, the trees, the fallen leaves, the water... and a gaggle of Brent Geese, paddling about on the slipway, their white bottoms glowing in the autumn sunshine.

The pictures show a wide-shot and a close-up of Brent Geese on the slipway at Hythe Marina, Hampshire, at 15:15 on Saturday 10th November 2012.

To see the rest of my autumn colours photos, click on the link below:-

http://susanvale.tumblr.com/post/35490492027/the-colour-of-autumn-in-hythe-hampshire-on

To read about Brent Geese, click on the RSPB link below:-

http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdguide/name/b/brentgoose/index.aspx

RMS Queen Mary 2.

I suppose it was inevitable; after watching her sail by my windows dozens of times over the past few months and years, I'd slowly persuaded myself that a trip aboard the largest ocean liner in the world was an experience not to be missed.  A short, taster type of thing, that's what I'd go for.  And that's exactly what I did.  An Autumn Getaway; 5 nights, 9th-14th October, round trip, Southampton to Southampton, calling at Rotterdam, Zeebrugge and Le Havre.  It was astonishing.

QM2 is a wonderful ship and it was a real thrill to be on board, to see and feel the size of her, to be actually walking the decks.  I loved the ports of call, sailing in at dawn, disembarking, nosing around, seeing the sights, climbing the gangplank, sailing away, out to sea and into the night.  It was an incredible experience and I'll probably do it again.  But I'm still not sure I liked it!

The picture shows RMS Queen Mary 2 alongside at the Port of Southampton, Hampshire, at 08:28 on Sunday 14th October 2012 (the final day of my Autumn Getaway), seen from inside the Ocean Terminal.

To see more of my pictures on board RMS Queen Mary 2, click on the link below:-

http://susanvale.tumblr.com/post/35209981262/on-board-rms-queen-mary-2-an-autumn-getaway

To see my pictures of Rotterdam, click on the link below:-

http://susanvale.tumblr.com/post/35209077401/the-port-and-city-of-rotterdam-netherlands-on

To see my pictures of Zeebrugge and Brugge, click on the link below:-

http://susanvale.tumblr.com/post/35208752696/the-port-of-zeebrugge-belgium-plus-blankenberge

To see my pictures of Le Havre, click on the link below:-

http://susanvale.tumblr.com/post/35205006231/the-port-of-le-havre-france-on-saturday-13th

1st November.

After a long night of high winds, heavy rain, thunder and lightning, it was good to see the sunrise this morning and the unfolding of a beautiful day. There were still rain clouds coming in from the west, but set against the blue sky, they looked very dramatic and framed the moon beautifully.  A fine day for a wedding anniversary, and All Saints Day to boot.  Congratulations and Happy Anniversary Mum & Dad; married on this day in 1947 - 65 years ago.

The pictures show a long shot and a close-up of the moon and sky over Hythe, Hampshire, looking west, at 07:57 on Thursday 1st November 2012. The moon phase today is Waning Gibbous 94% of full. The moon phase on Saturday 1st November 1947 was Waning Gibbous 92% of full. I'm not sure what I find more remarkable; the fact that the moon phases then and now are almost identical, or that I can actually find the information at the click of a button; OR, indeed, that my parents have been married for 65 years!

Click on the link below to see the moon phase for 1st November 2012:-

http://www.calendar-12.com/moon_calendar/2012/november

To see the moon phase for 1st November 1947, click on the link below:-

http://www.calendar-12.com/moon_calendar/1947/november

Swans Return.

I caught sight of the two local swans and their five cygnets yesterday morning and, eventually, they came close enough for a photo.  The cygnets must be almost fully grown now; it was so good to see them and to know that, this year, they survived.

The picture shows a close-up of one of the cygnets off Hythe foreshore, Southampton Water, Hampshire, at 09:21 on Monday 29th October 2012.

To see photos of the entire family group, click on the link below and visit my picture blog:-

http://susanvale.tumblr.com/post/34631600105/the-local-swans-and-their-five-cygnets-off-hythe

To read more about the Hythe swans, click on the links below to my previous blogs dated Tuesday 19th June 2012 and Sunday 24th June 2012:-

http://susanvale.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/swans.html

http://susanvale.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/swanupmanship.html

Sail The World - Lord Nelson.

It's been a lovely damp and drizzly week in Hythe, full of mist and fog, high tides and low skies.  It was the same at the weekend, but on Sunday the fog lifted and the mist cleared in time for me to see the Tall Ship Lord Nelson readying herself to leave Southampton and sail round the world.  She's a wonderful looking ship, crewed with a mix of able-bodied and disabled people, and the next time we see her in Southampton it will be October 2014!  God willing.  It will be an awesome feat and the 10 legs of her voyage are breathtaking; the first being 55 days from Southampton to Rio de Janeiro (see below for a link to Sail The World and the rest of the Lord Nelson itinerary).

The pictures show the Tall Ship Lord Nelson leaving the Port of Southampton, Hampshire, at 12:34 on Sunday 21st October 2012 (Trafalgar Day); a wide shot with a water-spraying tug escort, and a close-up, five sheets to the wind, as she passes the Itchen Bridge.

Click on the link below to read more about Sail The World, STS Lord Nelson and the Jubilee Sailing Trust:-

http://www.jst.org.uk/sail-the-world.aspx

To read more about Trafalgar Day, click on the link below:-

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trafalgar_Day

Rainbows.

A day of sunshine and showers earlier in the week produced an astonishing number of rainbows.  They appeared and disappeared quite quickly and I spent a happy morning dashing in and out with my camera to photograph what I could.  Some of the photos capture a full strength rainbow, most of them a beautifully fading rainbow, all of them span Hythe village, Hythe Marina and Southampton Water.

The picture shows one of the rainbows over Hythe and Southampton Water, Hampshire, at 08:15 on Tuesday 25th September 2012.

To see more of my rainbow photos, click on the link below:-

http://susanvale.tumblr.com/post/32584435496/a-morning-of-rainbows-over-hythe-hampshire-from

A Walk Around Hythe Marina, Hampshire.

A sunny day, a couple of hours to play with and an urge to be out in the autumn air, had me stepping out with my camera this afternoon to snap away at whatever took my fancy.  I headed for the marina and had a fine time taking pictures of this and that; a sort of photo essay.  The sun was hot, the air was cool, a light wind from the north-west; I saw big fish, big ships, tug boats, ferry boats, red admirals, blue skies, cabbage whites, late roses, turning leaves, flocks of gulls and other lovely things besides.

The picture shows a big fish in Hythe Marina, Hampshire, breaking the surface and disturbing the reflected clouds, at 14.34 on Saturday 29th September 2012.

To see a few more of my photo essay pictures of A Walk Around Hythe Marina, Hampshire, click on the link below:-

http://susanvale.tumblr.com/post/32541021792/my-photo-essay-of-a-walk-around-hythe-marina

Bird's Eye View.

Looking out across the water yesterday, the world glowing in the late afternoon sun, silvery-blue waves gently lapping against the shore, I noticed a beautiful little bird, perched on the sea wall in front of me, sharing the moment and making my heart sing.

The pictures show a close-up of the bird on the sea wall (I think it's a fledgling wagtail?) and a wide-shot with  Southampton Water and the Port of Southampton in the background.  Both photos were taken from Hythe, Hampshire, at 18:29 on Thursday 27th September 2012.

To read about Wagtails, click on the link below (NB: when the RSPB page opens up, click on the second of the three illustrations to see a juvenile Pied Wagtail):-

http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdguide/name/p/piedwagtail/index.aspx

Southampton Central to London Waterloo.

It's not often that I travel without something to read, but a couple of weeks ago that's exactly what happened.  I was at Southampton Central on board the 10:30 inter-city service to London Waterloo and as the train pulled away from the station, I reached into my bag to pull out a magazine and found my camera and a mobile phone, but no magazine; nothing to read.  I played with my phone for a few minutes and then did the only sensible thing and set myself a photo challenge; taking pictures of the passing countryside from my seated position by the window; making it all the more interesting by choosing to sit with my back to the engine, unable to see what was coming!

It was a fascinating exercise and the hour and twenty minutes journey time went by in a twinkling.  I usually read the latest issue of The New Yorker magazine on the train, but next time I travel, I might just pack my camera!

The picture shows a passing train near journeys end at Vauxhall towards London, at 11:44 on Thursday 13th September 2012.

To see more photos of my journey from Southampton Central to London Waterloo, click on the link below:-

http://susanvale.tumblr.com/post/32320858023/photos-of-my-train-journey-from-southampton