Sun and Moons

What’s the best time of day to take a photo of a new garden ornament? Hopefully, it’s when it’s in use. But in this case, the light outshines what you can actually see. The result is a miniature sun that’s descended into the garden and brings everything that’s in black into shadow. The two eyes are from a solar-powered owl but if you look at the photo as a thumbnail, you’d be forgiven for thinking it’s a dragon with more grey spouting out from behind the right to act as legs. It certainly looks as if Aslan from Narnia’s suddenly going to bring all the stone creatures to life. There might even be something hidden in the plant pot waiting to jump out. I t certainly brings a sense of mystery, and it’s no surprise that all sorts of creatures have been visiting to view our magnificent sights. And not all of them are in a rush to leave in a hurry.

 

Background Bodies

She’s a brunette and slim with a petite figure, and just about tall enough to be curvaceous from behind. She has short hair which curls at the top or is put into a ponytail when she wants to be less formal or be practical when becoming an equestrian. She has a beautiful smile but can be soft-spoken and often likes to take a background place rather than be at the forefront of the entertainment. Rather than sharing and caring her reflections and opinions, she only shares the big moments in life. When not being a family girl, she sells bits of crafts to make ends meet, but doesn’t have the entrepreneurial spirit to go it alone and must rely on friends and family to get by to make those sales. It’s a kind of pity sale. But it’s been that long since I’ve seen her that I feel that I ought to buy one out of guilt. 

Chaos in the Ranks

There were about ten sets of people in front of us waiting their turn to see the receptionist. There are rumours that people have brought the wrong documents and are being sent to the library to get internet access to edit and reprint their forms and get them photocopied. These copies are something which we don’t have. Spying a photocopier by the wall at the end of the line, I find a coin, copy our forms, and return to our place in the queue. We’ve been travelling all day to get to this appointment; there’s no way that we can afford to re-schedule another one. I later think whether these people are just starting a rouse to try and get other people out of the queue, or at least create a context that there’s only a limited number of visas available. We reach the front of the queue and show our appointment to the receptionist. She looks at our paperwork and gives us a number and invites us to sit in the lounge, where we chat to a young man who’s applying to teach English overseas. Then we’re called. There are very few questions asked, and after exchanging our passports for a receipt we’re free to leave. 

Spaced Out on Alexa's Space Deck

I wondered if this was another orbit app to tell me what’s above my head at the moment, but after reading up on it I gather that it’s more to do with personal space and relaxation than the orbital one. A bit of clicking around is required to get this skill to work, as for some reason it tries to open it through my TV again. I’m not going to leave my TV plugged in for the sake of a little round dot. The first thing I hear is a rumbling sound and I think it might be a rocket taking off before remembering that this is a calm feature designed to alleviate stress so it might be the sound of the ocean. I wonder if someone actually stood by the sea with a microphone for an hour. More reviews tell me that people do believe that they’re on a spaceship warping through the stars which is odd as there’s no sign in space. You could just as easily be on a flight passing through air. Oh well, at least you’ve got lots of leg room.

A Mad Dash Around Manchester

We were ready to head to the visa office. We’d had a cooked breakfast at a pub in Birmingham, so food wasn’t our primary concern. We’d found the office and had time for a wander before our appointment. We also met Emmeline Parkhurst in her statue form, standing on a chair in a priestly pose. Suddenly, we’d realised that we hadn’t bought any envelopes to receive our modified passports. I quickly scoured google and found a newsagent that offered a full post office service half a mile away. We quickly bought the required documents then realised that we’d lost our bearings and it took a while before we’d orientated ourselves back in the right direction. Thankfully, we’d got back to the reception five minutes before our appointment and joined the queue to be booked in. We stood half out of breath awaiting our turn to see the visa officer to give us permission to go on holiday.

 

Full Autumn Mode

It starts with the trees. The leaves turn from green to yellow to orange, as if they’ve slowly been roasting all year and they’re finally baked and burnt and fall off onto the ground to make a natural gloop in our towns and cities. For some people, it can be tough to get through them. The clocks have gone back so there’s less daylight about and you can spend your day without seeing any light at all if you commute in darkness and return through it. It’s hard to say if this man-made effect has a big impact on our lives as no-one wants to take the risk of being out of sync and discovering the alternative. You’re bombarded with spells of rain and wind and a chill breeze, and the natural instinct is to take shelter rather than to venture out to environments that you’d normally enjoy. The world seems a colder place and the only way to avoid that is to open your wallet and put the heating on.

Kids in the Wild

Excitement mounts as tiny feet are let loose into the colourful plateau beyond. Some charge off ready to explore, while others are more apprehensive about leaving their carer behind and are unsure about what lies within. Often, these need encouragement or guidance to make those exploratory steps, and some may need accompanying into the unknown. The air is full of laughter and squeals. Occasionally a few tears may be shed, either from those who are too tired to continue or those that don’t want to depart from this colourful land. Some may experience a fright or injury such as another more confident child passing them at speed or being pushed out of the way to fulfil their excitement. These too may eventually be drawn to tears, by receiving punishment if the act is witnessed by their own carer, and the conflict can occur amongst the adults if the act is witnessed between them.