AYMER COVE, near Kingsbridge, Devon.

I also belong to Ivybridge Camera Club and on Thursday, we had an evening out at this location.  I had been here once before with the kids and their friends for a barbecue, and frankly, I didn't hold out much hope for anything half decent.  But it was a chance to socialise with club members - and there was a pub meal to follow!  

I was jolly glad I went!  Just a few of the fascinating rock patterns I found!  Will definitely go back another time, hopefully on a receding tide, when the wet and dry patterns on the rocks should look really good.

Aymer Cove - just starting to get interesting light when we had to rush off to the pub!  It's a tough life!

A few rock patterns - 

An amazing place!

Forest of Dean

Exeter Camera Club organised a week's self-catering holiday in the Forest of Dean this year.

It's a location I've not been to before, and didn't really know what to expect.  However, Ros the girl who organised most of it, had lived in the area for many years, and knew it pretty well, and proved to be an excellent "tour organiser and leader"!

I was lucky enough to share one of the chalets with her.  During the day, we tripped around to various locations and in the evening had huge communal meals with much laughter and drinking till the early hours!

The weather was wonderful - apart from the first two days - but it didn't stop us going out and about with our camera!

A few of the images taken during that week.  I'm still processing some of them.

One of the Chalets with the barbecue heating up!

Ros our organiser and Bryan our President enjoying the evening noggin and natter!

Gloucester Docks - first day in the rain!

Gloucester Docks - still raining - but it makes nice pictures!!

A hapless barman - persuaded to 'model' for me!  He was a natural!

Martin finding something interesting in the undergrowth!  Move over David Attenborough!

Another person I persuaded to 'model' for me in Puzzlewood!

Puzzlewood was a spooky place - which suited infrared I thought.

Mud flats at Lydney!  Just liked the shapes.

I won't bore you with any more - but in any case, I am still feverishly processing them.  We plan to have an evening in September when we will look at everything we took that week!  Really looking forward to it!

ELLA DOES IT AGAIN!!

There's no stopping her, it seems!!

Following her success last year, when she won a Natural History painting competition, with a £100 prize and her picture was framed and hung in the Mall Galleries in London - our clever granddaughter has excelled once more!

This time, it was a competition within Surrey schools, where all junior children throughout the county were invited to depict the Magna Carta!

Ella is very creative, and is frequently to be found on her bedroom floor with her tablet computer, videoing little scenarios with her Lego people and toy animals, using her bedside lamp to illuminate the little set-ups!

That was how she created the picture below!  She downloaded the various banner images, resized them, cut them out and stuck them to cocktail sticks, which were then stuck to the little models hands!

She won!!

Once more, she will be "exhibited" and Rachael is under strict orders to record the event when it occurs, as I still don't know when or where it will be - and wouldn't want to miss it for anything!

Granny had to print a 10" x 8" image for her - and a smaller JPEG which will be projected sometime during the event.

Maybe I will be able to post more about this as and when I get to know about it?

Ella's Magna Carta winning image!

New Found Relations!

Out of the blue, I suddenly discovered a new relation!

All my life, we were a "unit" of mother, father and four siblings.  We knew and had met my father's parents - but other than that - we didn't really know that we had any more relations.  My mother's parents had both died before I was born.

Then, a few years ago, I met Gail.  We are a similar age - and got on really well.  The family tendency towards art ran in her blood too, and Gail is a very accomplished artist using oils, gauche and watercolours and has had work exhibited and produces her own greeting cards and prints.  A really talented lady - who also sculpts!

Imagine my surprise to have an invite from Gail to go to London and meet up with ANOTHER cousin!  One I had known nothing at all about!

And so, in early June, we went to London, staying with Gail's son in North London (yes - another relation!!  They were coming out of the woodwork all of a sudden!)

The spooky thing was that I recognised Jinks first when she came into the restaurant we were meeting up in!  She was a dead ringer for one of my sisters!  And even more spooky - she recognised me, saying I reminded her of a 98 year, recently deceased relation!  (Says a lot for how I look these days!)

Anyway, a very personal blog this time - showing off the three cousins!  I hope my sisters will confirm with me that Jinks certainly has a strong family resemblance!

Cousin Jinks

Gail and Jinks

Ann, Gail and Jinks

Gail's son, Geoffrey

The art tendency has followed the line through Jinks, who designs jewellery and Geoffrey designs graphics for promotional purposes for businesses and has his own business with a staff of six, all using 27" Macs!

Did I drool!!