The photo below is one of me taken a long time ago when I went to see Father Christmas in Fairytale-Land – actually it was in Lewis’s Department Store in Manchester (not John Lewis), but I thought it was wonderful.
Saturday Snapshot is hosted by Alyce at At Home With Books.
Today we woke up to the first snow of this winter. It wasn’t forecast! My new header shows the front garden and the photo below is of our back garden. See another photo David took this morning – here. As you’ll see he wished for snow!
A Saturday Snapshot post – see more on Alyce’s blog At Home with Books.
‘The Umbrellas’, a painting by Pierre-Auguste Renoir c. 1881 – 85 an oil painting on canvas, held in the National Gallery in London, shows an urban landscape – a crowd of fashionable Parisians in the rain under their umbrellas with a little girl in the foreground carrying a hoop. I like the contrast between the feathery brushwork of the people in the background and the harder outlines of the umbrellas and the precise drawing of the woman and little girl in the foreground. I also like the composition with the figures at the sides cut off as in a photograph and the way the painting conveys such a sense of the movement of the bustling crowd.
An ABC Wednesday post illustrating the letter U.
A few Saturdays ago I posted photos of Newcastle uponTyne’s bridges. Today here are some more photos I took on that grey, gloomy day. This time they are of Newcastle’s Castle Keep and Black Gate.
Our first sight of the castle was as it appeared behind the railway line:
The Castle was was built in stone during the reign of Henry II, between 1168 and 1178, at a cost of £1,144. There was an earlier castle on the site, a wooden motte and bailey castle built by William the Conqueror’s son, Robert Curthose. This was replaced by the stone castle – hence the name of Newcastle! It stands high above the River Tyne – Newcastle upon Tyne.
This is the Castle Keep, which is the only remaining part of the 12th century Castle:
It is a Scheduled Ancient Monument and is open to the public, but we didn’t have time that day to go inside. On our next visit to Newcastle, we will make time to have a proper look at the Castle Keep!
The Gatehouse to the Castle is still standing – the Black Gate. It was added to the Castle site in 1247 by Henry III. The wooden footbridge was originally a drawbridge.
Saturday Snapshot is hosted by Alyce at At Home With Books.
I began reading The Crocodile Bird by Ruth Rendell last night for no reason other than it has been on the top of a pile by my bedside for a while.
It begins well:
The world began to fall apart at nine in the evening. Not at five when it happened, nor at half-past six when the policemen came and Eve said to go into the little castle and not show herself, but at nine when all was quiet again and it was dark outside.
I had to read on, even though I was falling asleep. It grabbed my attention – what had happened? It must have been something bad, because the policemen came. Who is Eve? Who did she tell to go into the little castle and why? The little castle … what is that? If the thing that happened was so bad, why hadn’t the world begun to fall apart at five? Whatever happened at nine must have been much worse – or was it?
This is a Ruth Rendell book, so I expect it to be mysterious and creepy. I’ve read further on and it’s full of secrets that are slowly being revealed and so far I’m enjoying the experience.
Book Beginnings is run by Kathy at A Few More Pages.
How to participate: Share the first line (or two) of the book you are currently reading on your blog or in the comments. Include the title and the author so we know what you’re reading. Then, if you would like, let us know what your first impressions were based on that first line, and let us know if you liked or did not like the sentence. The link-up will be at every Friday and will be open for the entire week.
I love this bright, colourful painting by Monet of the terrace of his aunt’s house, near Le Havre. Monet painted it in 1867 whilst he spent the summer there. The high horizon with its line of boats and distinct bands of colour shows the influence of Japanese art. The painting almost has a 3-D effect, but most of all I love the contrast of colours and the delicate portrayal of the flowers and figures.
It was not such a happy time for Monet as his father, shown seated in the painting, was about to cut off his allowance because of his affair with Camille Doncieux, who had just given birth to Monet’s son.
The painting, oil on canvas, is now held at the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art. I wish I could see the original!
This post is a contribution to ABC Wednesday for the letter T.
BooksPlease 