The Cursed Unidentified White Van

Our first trip today was to the Efford Recycling Centre where we transported 18 bags of garden refuse – just half of those Martin had accumulated since Christmas.

After lunch we drove to Andrew Sharp’s at Brockenhurst where were collected a second refurbished Art Deco Carver chair in which he had re-glued all the joints, bolstered the seat and tightened its hessian bottom. We delivered a small Victorian captain’s chair that had belonged to Jackie’s grandmother and now needed the animal glue treatment.

Later we stocked up on food, petrol, and cash at Tesco’s, then took a short forest drive. Just as we were leaving Bisterne Close a backlit white tailed deer dashed across the lane and dropped down to form an ideal image against a pool glowing from the low sunlight. As Jackie was poised to click her shutter for a perfect shot an unidentified white van sped past her ruining the picture and frightening off her subject. We vented our frustration.

We then dropped down to Barton on Sea where we anticipated a photogenic sunset.

Here is my gallery of the moment; and

here is Jackie’s.

As we turned for home we noticed the sad sight of a burnt out house which had once been rather splendid.

This evening we dined on Jackie’s wholesome chicken and vegetable stewp and fresh crusty bread.

68 comments

  4. That deer photo would have been so beautiful.
    I love the sunsets. So lovely. I saved some of them on my phone. I hope that’s okay. They are too beautiful.
    My love to the chef

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  6. “We vented our frustration.” I bet you did! 😉

    However, beautiful sunset photos by both of you. I like Jackie’s photo of you in action and the pastel-striped horizon.

    That’s very sad about the ruined house.

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  8. An unidentified white van parked up here, usually meaning a traffic officer with his camera “speeding ticket” on the way, if you’ve caught!

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  15. Your sunset pictures are gorgeous, and I love the one of you, Derrick, photographing the sunset. Those white vans are scary – you never know what they’re going to do. I’m very thankful the deer was not hurt, and you, too!

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  17. A cursed white van indeed! Still, the sunset pictures could not be marred by the same and observing the peaceful end of the day must have helped your ire to subside 🙂

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  18. What a day full of activity! From productive trips to the recycling center and picking up beautifully restored furniture to spotting wildlife and chasing sunsets, it sounds like quite an eventful outing. It’s a shame about the missed deer photo—those moments are so fleeting—but your descriptions painted a vivid picture nonetheless.

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  21. I’ll try a comparison of two set as well; I particularly think the one of yours with a silhouette of a person I assume is Jackie on the far right – the first one where the sun is way over on the left.

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    1. Thank you very much, John. No – just an anonymous one of the several others lined up to take the shot. I’m glad you liked it because it was diffract to get her in with the sun.

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  22. The sunset photos are lovely and it’s unfortunate Jackie missed her photo op because of the white van. How sad to see the burnt out house which makes me wonder what happened. During our day trips, we’ve seen burnt out and collapsed structures and curious as to why they are not cleared away.

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  24. What a lovely set of sunset images. How sad about the house; I can’t help feeling sorry for the family who must have loved it.

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  30. That sundown was indeed beautiful, and beautifully captured, Derrick. Jackie’s photo documentary of the sad house that was once grand was poignant. I can see it was once a beautiful brick building. I hope it is rebuilt and not allowed to decay.

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