Tag: sunset

The Assistant Photographer Saves The Day

This morning I posted https://derrickjknight.com/2022/02/24/a-knights-tale-107-instow-part-1/

After a heavy fall of sleet at lunchtime the darkly brooding clouds slunk away and the sun shone for the rest of the chilly afternoon. We did not receive the expect snowfall.

Jackie drove me to Lymington where I collected a large print for Jan and Bob Beekman; a flash gun for my camera, and two printing inks.

We continued across the forest to Bramshaw where I photographed the gravestones of the 12th Century St Peter’s Church.

From there we continued to Nomansland where I photographed ponies cropping the cricket outfield on the village green.

When I loaded these photographs onto my computer screen every single one was out of focus. How could this be, I wondered. I then checked the settings on my 35 mm lens which I had used for these shots, and found that that it was set for manual focus, which I never use. When the shop assistant who had set up my new flash gun to be fixed on automatic he had said “you could do it on automatic, too”. I had replied “please don’t confuse me with that. I never go off automatic”.

The only shot we have of that earlier trip is this one Jackie took of a footpath sign beside a stile leading into the church.

Even that would have saved the day, but Jackie went one further by suggesting we drove on to Barton on Sea to watch the sun going down. For this I had changed to the

70/300 mm lens which had been left alone.

Used Fireworks

All was quiet and still early this morning. Storm Eunice had passed on and the sun shone.

We began by shopping at Tesco. After half an hour the skies darkened, the wind speed rose seemingly faster than the predicted 46 m.p. h., and heavy rain steadily descended throughout our subsequent forest drive.

A team must have been on standby to carry out the amount of early clearing up that was in evidence.

A fallen tree on Silver Street had brought down a telephone line which stretched along the verge and across the road. Everyone drove over the cable on the tarmac. Open Reach engineers were in evidence throughout the day.

Broken branch debris, like this on Agars Lane and along Brockenhurst Road remained scattered.

Some fallen limbs, such as these either side of Silver Street and Brockenhurst Road had clearly traversed the thoroughfares.

On the corner of Silver Street beside the bank of snowdrops at Congleton,

lay a burgeoning branch ripped from a tree that was nowhere in sight.

Trees had fallen in South Sway Lane;

and in Mead End Road.

This fallen and sawn tree along Brockenhurst Road had already been well chewed by an ungulate, but I don’t think that is what brought it down.

These smaller branches were nearby.

As we kept our eyes open for fresh fallen trees we remembered our childhood searches for used fireworks along London streets the morning after bonfire night. Chris and I simply salivated over them as we sorted and graded the empty shells; Jackie and her sisters had scraped out powder residue and attempted to light it on the open fire.

The rain kept up into the afternoon. When I woke up after dozing with my hand on the mouse the sun shone once more and the wind had lessened, enabling me to photograph

scenes of the garden from above, showing that we had come off quite lightly really.

Today’s sunset was much more cheerful than that of yesterday, although when walking down to the back drive to find these shots I did discover

a displaced section of fallen fencing fortunately not our responsibility.

Elizabeth is experiencing a lengthy power cut so she came to our house to warm up and have dinner which consisted of more of yesterday’s with more chicken and more rice and tender green beans with which Jackie drank Hoegaarden and Elizabeth and I drank Azinhaga de Ouro Reserva 2019.

Later my sister discovered that the problem would not be fixed until tomorrow. Fortunately she had brought her pyjamas just in case.

Venison, Chicken, Swans, Ducks, Geese

Jackie cut my hair after lunch. Then we enjoyed a late afternoon forest drive.

Swans, casting long shadows, with a group of mallards, which took to flight upon my arrival, wandered across the sward at Beaulieu River.

At East End a donkey and foal clipped a hedge, while a burnished pony watched the traffic passing by.

The lowering sun was reflected along with trees in a pool beside Exbury Road.

The tide was out. at Lepe where I focussed on the Isle of Wight and a container vessel on the horizon between Southampton and the island; while

Jackie photographed a chicken in a field.

We turned down Lower Pennington Lane in order to catch the sunset on the way home.

Here the Assistant Photographer photographed a deer and three geese.

I photographed a skein of geese over head, and others enhancing the sunset.

These shots are Jackie’s.

This evening we dined on more of the Culinary Queen’s wholesome cottage pie with fresh carrots, cabbage, and runner beans. Mrs Knight drank Hoegaarden and I drank more of the Douro.

A Family Visit

After lunch we enjoyed a lovely surprise visit from Danni, Andy, Ella, and Jack. Our great-niece began as usual by dragging her father into the library to bring out the toy box. In there she was delighted to find her pea which she had left behind last time. She kept hold of it for most of the visit and made sure she took it home with her this time. She was very keen to be photographed with her brother.

Ella hadn’t eaten on the way here, so enjoyed her snacks, some of which ended up in her hair which was unclogged by her mother. She had sat on the sofa with her parents listening to the Sound Storybook, pressing as appropriate for specific noises.

Jackie was delighted to converse with Jack.

Upon departure, Ella calmly put on her shoes by herself.

Later I did not need to leave our garden to catch the sunset.

This evening we dined on Jackie’s wholesome chicken and vegetable stewp with fresh crusty bread. Neither of us imbibed.

Released From Classroom

Today we made a start on rehanging those of our pictures we have room for.

We began with drawings of and by family members spanning some 40 years.

Jackie photographed the long and short views of the wall above the white sofa. Each of these images carries a story.

Let us start with the 1965 pencil portrait the sixteen year old Jackie made of her mother. When my new girlfriend showed me this in 1966 I asked her why she had not told me she could draw.

Chronologically the next is this now very foxed pencil portrait I made of Jackie in 1966. The story of its presumed loss and recovery is told in https://derrickjknight.com/2012/07/15/portrait-of-a-lady/

I made this quick charcoal sketch of Michael reading to Matthew at 76 Amity Grove in October 1973. It appears to contain a few spatters of white paint.

I completed this pastel portrait of my father in the early hours of 25th December 1988, a year to the day after he died. It had been a present for my mother who kept it on her bedroom wall until she died on 15th September 2021. The story of its creation is featured in https://derrickjknight.com/2012/08/07/would-you-believe-it/

Florence was eight when she produced this drawing in 2004 in response to a school prompt to draw something that made her feel warm and cozy, or words to that effect. It stayed on her school hall wall until the end of the year, when it was presented to me.

We collected the Modus from the garage just in time to nip down to Barton on Sea to catch

the sunset with its peach and indigo cloudscapes.

Suddenly, joyfully tripping, frolicking, gambolling; gleefully, excitedly, shrieking, like schoolchildren released from the classroom, came three exuberant young men toting mobiles and bottles to dance along the cliff edge where they

focussed on the splendid scenery as they lapped it up. We were soon in pleasant conversation. A team of roofers from Sheffield, they were carrying out a job locally which required them to stay in a local caravan site during the week with weekends at home. They were taking in as much of these unfamiliar pleasant sights as they could as soon as they had finished work. I was happy to give them pointers to places of interest and nourishment.

This evening we dined on chicken Kiev, chips, and baked beans, with which Jackie drank Hoegaarden and I finished the Fleurie.

Piet Mondrian’s Pigments

Just as the sun was thinking about sinking into Mudeford Quay today,

gulls circled the Wolf Moon,

or basked in the bay,

in which a man stood on the sandbank and another walked his dog along the reddened shingle.

Easier to focus on the reflected sunlight bouncing off glowing windows

It took me a while to regain my vision from the first picture in this post, and from others that followed.

Until the golden orb dropped behind the Sailing Club window Piet Mondrian’s pigments plastered the single pane.

One more dog walker took advantage of the low tide.

This evening we dined at Lal Quilla. My main course was chicken Jaljala, Jackie’s, chicken Korma. We shared egg fried rice, egg paratha, and sag bhaji; and both drank Cobra. The food and service was as good as always..

More Normal Weather For January

This morning I posted https://derrickjknight.com/2022/01/04/a-knights-tale-88-the-firing-squad/

Either side of lunch we cleared most of the various items blocking the areas that Martin P is to start plastering tomorrow.

Afterwards we drove to Fordingbridge to deliver a backpack left behind by Stephanie on Boxing Day. We took a leisurely route through the forest.

Ponies grazed on the soggy green at Ibsley, where a swollen pool reflected the trees above.

Similar reflections were mirrored by the stream below Gorley Common;

trees etched their gnarled limbs into the skies;

the less hardy field horses rugs contrasted with the forest ponies’ winter hair on this much colder and brighter day than we have seen for some time;

and we encountered several sightings of deer.

We sped off the main road from Fordingbridge to Ringwood in order to catch the sunset at Bickton, where gold and pink hues transformed the sky and reflected in the mill stream.

Jackie photographed a viburnum bush, the wake of ducks on the river, and refections of the sunset.

Sunset Slicing Slate Skies

Slate-dull as it has been, today we experienced the warmest New Year’s Eve since records began.

Plasterer Martin Paulley, who on 5th will begin the work which will complete the Kitchen Makers project visited to check what he has to do.

After lunch I posted https://derrickjknight.com/2021/12/31/a-knights-tale-86-more-running/

Later this afternoon Jackie and I collected medication from the Milford Pharmacy and went on to meet Becky and Ian at the Beachcomber at Barton on Sea.

A photographer on the clifftop at Milford had difficulty locating the throughly obscured Isle of Wight;

a child stood too close to the ever-crumbling edge for my comfort;

others walked along the path which has more than once been brought further inland.

Choppy seas slipped back from the shingle before reaching the rows of beach huts.

We emerged from the Beachcomber with the western skies lightened enough for us to see walkers along the seafront and for the sunset to slice the slate skies.

This evening we dined on cottage pie topped with fried potatoes; firm roast parsnips and Brussels sprouts; crunchy carrots and cauliflower; and tasty gravy. Jackie finished the Sauvignon Blanc; Becky and Ian drank the last of the Zesty; and I drank more of the Merlot-Tannat.

A Day Of Two Halves

We drove through tears wept with varying velocity and frequency by this morning’s miserable skies, first to Ferndene Farm Shop for the purchase of a Christmas tree, then to the forest for a drive.

On one side of Braggers Lane

a curious cow left its companions in a field in order watch the cars go by;

on the other, field horses enjoyed individual helpings of fodder,

while other bovines stretched out on the brow of a hill.

Some birches retained lingering leaves,

and mushrooms simulated flower petals.

This tree along Ringwood Road has been propped by a slab of wood for as long as we have been driving past.

After lunch we applied ourselves to preparing for Christmas. Jackie revised the present list and I made a start on the cards. We noticed how each year the numbers are reduced by death. As I typed this Jackie called out “I’ve just found Scooby on the Christmas list”. This was Becky’s dog who is buried in our garden.

Later, we visited the Everton Post Office to buy stamps and post a couple of cards abroad. By this time

the skies were smiling, so we diverted to

Barton on Sea to catch the sunset, then on to Milford on Sea where there was still enough light to catch

the Christmas decorations on the village green.

This evening we dined on second helpings of the roast chicken with fresh vegetables and Yorkshire pudding with which Jackie finished the Sauvignon Blanc and I drank more of the Rioja.

As The Sun Sank Slowly Into The Sea

Before lunch I posted https://derrickjknight.com/2021/12/05/a-knights-tale-74-if-you-know-this-dog-please-return-him-to-his-owner/

Later this afternoon, after I had read more of ‘Dombey and Son’, my Chauffeuse drove me to

Highcliffe Castle where she parked the car while lights were being switched on in the exhibition room, and, clutching ice-cold metal rails, I walked down

steep, slippery, steps to the sands below. Despite notices urging us to keep left a couple of families who didn’t seem to know made my descent rather more precarious.

Through trees rising upright from the slope I glimpsed walkers I aimed to join.

As the sleepy sun sank slowly into the sea, walkers walked; a jogger jogged; a couple kissed with enthusiasm; smooth waves lapped the shoreline; the Isle of Wight and The Needles lighthouse eyed the scene; and I climbed back up to the Modus.

This evening we dined on succulent roast chicken thighs; roast potatoes; sage and onion stuffing; crunchy carrots and cauliflower; firm Brussels sprouts; and meaty gravy with which Jackie drank more of the Sauvignon Blanc and I drank Tulga Joven 2019