-
Royal Botanical Gardens of Madrid
I went to Madrid this year, partly to visit these gardens which I had read about but never visited on previous trips to Madrid. The gardens were founded in 1755, by King Ferdinand VI, and moved to their current location in the centre of Madrid in 1781 by King Charles III of Spain. The Royal Botanical Gardens…
-
Launching the lifeboat
Scarborough got a new lifeboat station in 2016, and shortly afterwards, in 2021, a brand new lifeboat to go with it! The all-weather Shannon-class lifeboat was named after Frederick William Plaxton, the founder of Scarborough coach building firm Plaxton Ltd. It cost in excess of £2 million pounds and is capable of reaching a speed of…
-
This amazing digital age: sampling paintings
It was not that long ago that it was prohibited to take photographs in art galleries like the National Gallery. The reason given was that flash light was harmful to the paintings. Even though flash could be turned off! Fortunately, that policy changed in 2014 for the National Gallery (earlier for some other galleries), although…
-
Kittiwakes with nowhere to go!
Imagine coming back from a winter spent at sea to find that your nest site is no longer there! That’s what’s happening to many kittiwakes in Scarborough this year. You’ve come back and have found your long lost love – kittiwake pairs do not stay together during the winter – but the euphoria is heavily…
-
Christmas Eve
Follow me on my walk this evening as the sunset (at 15:53) builds to a climax. Photos, not words. Sharnbrook, Bedfordshire, UK.
-
A short essay after walking along a country road🤣
Gigantic tractors towing huge loads, irate Tesla drivers itching to get past; Amazon delivery vans speeding along carrying cardboard boxes for the masses, supermarket delivery vans trundling more sedately with their baskets of goodies; the odd badger and squirrel lying dead in the road, chosen at random as sacrificial roadkill; the 3:30 traffic jam of…
-
Armed Forces Day: Scarborough
Saturday 29th June 2024 was Armed Forces Day in Scarborough; an annual event celebrated around the country to commemorate the service of men and women in the British Armed Forces. Whatever you may think about celebrating the contributions of ex-servicemen and women, it is a great opportunity for photography! Personally, I think we owe these veterans a…
-
Another visit to the National Gallery!
The National Gallery was less crowded than when I visited a few weeks ago. We do not charge entrance fees for access to museums in the UK, which is all well and good, but it does mean that they can get get rather well attended, on occasions. Teachers are very fond of bringing their classes…
-
Long Covid and ME
I have not been on an aeroplane or done any travel outside the British Isles since before the pandemic. The reason is that I have been on a long road of recovery from a Covid-19 infection. I contracted Covid (give it its full name: coronavirus SARS-CoV-2) in Aug 2022, my one and only infection, as…
-
A short visit to the National Gallery
I often visit the National Gallery when I am in London. There is always something new to see or old favourites to revisit and admire. When I was younger, I was completely taken by Impressionist artists, like Degas (below), and would generally walk rather briskly through the Old Master galleries, containing Renaissance painters and the…
-
Subscribe
Subscribed
Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
Ray Cannon's travel and photography blog 