Nature through the eyes of my camera

  Monday 7th September We are having a short break on the North Norfolk Coast staying in Thornham. We left home earlier enough so that we could visit Wells-Next-to-Sea before travelling on to Thornham. On arriving at Wells we took the road to the sea front and had a wander along the beach. It was a cloudy day with a gentle breeze. This is a beach that has sand banks and when the tide is out people wander from one sand bank to another. The lifeboat siren goes off four hours before high tide to warn people to move back to the main beach so they don't get cut off by the in coming tide. Walking along the beach in the other direction there are lots of beach huts and far more people.   Looking across to one of the sandbanks I spotted some seals resting on the sand. We then made our way back to the harbour where we had scampi and chips sitting on the harbour wall watching people crab fishing. We later visited RSPB Titchwell before heading for our cottage which would be home for ...

 From watching programmes on television and from having visited some myself I have realised that there is not only a lot of architectural interest in cathedrals in this country, but also a tremendous amount of history. I intend to visit various cathedrals around the UK and discover more about them. Bury St. Edmunds Cathedral St. Edmunds cathedral first became a cathedral in 1914. St. Denis's church stood on this site as early as 1065. In the early 12th century Abbot Anselm rebuilt St Denis's and renamed it St. James. Anselm was responsible for building the Abbet Gate which served as the Belfry, and still does today. The belfry has a ring of twelve bells. St. Jame's was largely rebuilt in 1503 and further building work took place in the 18th- 19th centuries. After the church became a cathedral more work was carried out and between 1959 - 1970. The Victorian chancel was demolished and a new Quire and Cloister were added on the west side. Also the Transepts, a Lady Chapel and ...

 Quilting is the stitching together of layers of padding and fabric and may date back as far as 3400 BC. Much of early quilting was a technique to provide physical protection and insulation. Quilting appears on more than just quilts, it is found on clothing, particularly jackets. Quilting was stitched by hand before the invention of the sewing machine in 1856. My granddaughter and I made a quilt during covid from all the odd pieces of material that I had. Originally it was a cover for her doll, but eventually it became a cover for her own bed. My granddaughter loved using the sewing machine to stitch all the squares together (under supervision, as she was only eight years old). The quilt still lays on her bed today. It is from this experience that I decided I would like to have a go at making a quilt myself. Rather than jumping in at the deep end I have started by making a square foam cushion and am now making a tote bag.  Square cushion ...

 Mandala art originated in India. The Buddhist monks spread Mandalas along the Silk Road in the form of Rangoli designs. It spread throughout Asia and was soon adopted by other cultures like Tibet, China and Japan.  (The Silk Road is India's ancient network of land and sea trade routes that connect East and West).  The word Mandala is Sanskrit (language) for 'circle', and symbolizes the universe, with designs around a central point. By the 20th century Mandalas had been introduced into western culture as tools for self-exploration and for achieving inner balance. I found Mandala art through Pinterest and thought I would like to 'give it a go'. I already had some acrylic paints and I found sound thick card pieces that I had saved. In January I started by making some circle shapes. I enjoyed dotting my circles and so went on to make some coasters using various designs. I preferred using black backgrounds as I felt this showed the colours I was using better. Each desig...