Late Afternoon Sun

An early end to the Test match and rain falling for most of the day prompted me to read eight more chapters of ‘Little Dorrit’, and consequently to scan eight more of Charles Keeping’s excellent illustrations.

‘Mrs Sparkler began to wonder how long the master-mind meant to stay’ is another two page spread.

‘Lying in the bath was the body of a heavily-made man’ sandwiches the text between the ends of the bath.

‘Mr Clennam, I think this is the gentleman I was mentioning’

”Young John surveyed him with a fixed look of indignant reproach’

‘Arthur turned his eye upon the impudent and wicked face’ which we now all recognise.

‘The gate jarred heavily and hopelessly upon her’

‘She staggered for a moment, as if she would have fallen’

For ‘The old house collapsed and fell’, the artist had no need to draw the building – he simply produced the effect.

Late in the afternoon, the sun emerged and drew us into a forest drive.

All along Sowley Lane

shaggy ponies tore at the hedges for sustenance;

colourful cock pheasants played Chicken crossing the road;

and snowdrops scaled the banks of the verges.

The pink-tinged water of the lake now surrounded bordering grasses;

and similar tints touched the puddle reflecting a gate above it.

Sunset. was arriving over St Leonard’s Grange

and lingered slowly for a while on our return journey.

This evening we dined on oven fish and chips; green peas; pickled onions and gherkins, with which Jackie drank Hoegaarden and I drank more of the Garnacha.

72 comments

  1. Your photo of the light at the end of the dark, overshadowed tunnel is wonderful.
    I hope that roadside pony takes care. And the cock pheasant – they have a habit of playing chicken. Always seeming too keen to show off their magnificent colours with self important strutting regardless of the cars – we had one playing a similarly dangerous game with a fox in the garden; luckily, the fox was overwhelmed with the bird’s pomposity, so both went their separate ways!

  2. I love seeing the pheasants but we’ve seen less and less of them lately.
    As always I enjoyed the pony pics – initially I thought the reflection of the gate was a double gate.

  3. Keeping’s drawings continue to amaze me Derrick, and these lines caught my interest
    “Physician was glad to walk out into the night – was even glad, in spite of his great experience, to sit down upon a door-step for a while: feeling sick and faint”

  4. It’s great living in a place where 10 – 30 minutes in any direction can take us into places of solitude and relaxation as well as God’s beauty all around us.

    It seems you and Jackie have that privilege too. Thanks for sharing. 🙂

  5. YAY for some reading time! I always look forward to Mr. Keeping’s illustrations that you share with us! Those faces and expressions always capture me in!
    YAY for a drive and a bit of sun! 🙂
    So good to see the ponies (Those gorgeous soulful eyes!) and that pleasant pheasant (What a fashion sense has he!)!!! 😉 😀 Love your C alliteration and reference to the pheasant playing chicken. I snorted! 😀 😛
    Love the gate photo and the photo above it…how you “framed” the water with the bank, grasses, tree, etc., is gorgeous! 🙂
    SIGH-worthy sunset photos! “Good-night, Sun! See you in the morning!” 🙂
    (((HUGS))) 🙂

  6. I like how the pink tinged lake with the grass is framed by the tree overhead, and of course the lovely sunset. Thanks for the ponies!

  7. That illustration certainly captures implosion. What a ride you had in the forest—ponies, snow drops, pheasants, the setting sun. Any one of those would make me happy.

  8. Such beautiful photos, all of them! The ponies always please, but I especially love the sunset with black lace trees and standing stony skeleton. What was that structure?

  9. I loved the continuation of Keeping’s priceless illustrations. The very first picture posted by you is quite close to the illustration of the fallen building somehow. Lovely golden-hues silhouettes made my day!

  10. The late afternoon light made for some beautiful photos. As much as I like the sunsets, I have to pick the last photo with the gate reflected in the water and the mountains in the distance as my favorite. (I think they’re mountains, unless they’re a bank of clouds?)

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