It was a brilliantly busy week that saw me in London, Suffolk, Norfolk and back to London. It was then a case of re-packing the unpacked bag for two nights away at a blogger conference. Enjoying family time and restoring a sense of calm was essential when I returned. Blowing away those cobwebs is just the best, even more so when your office is also your home. All we needed was a little time out to restore the balance.
It’s hard to believe we’re over half way through the year already – it seems to have flown by! Thank you to everyone that joined in last week, as always so many really great posts.
Welcome to What’s The Story? for w/c 7th July 2014.
If you’re new to What’s The Story? it’s a photograph based Linky which enables you to share the stories behind your photographs. To join in all you have to do is share a photograph and the story behind it. You can write as little or much as you like and your photo/s can be from any time.
Feel free to use the What’s The Story? badge or include a link to PODcast in your post – I’m happy to share it in return. Please do take the time to comment on some of your fellow bloggers posts when you can. What’s The Story? is open every Monday through to the following Sunday.
There’s a community on Google Plus so do pop over if you haven’t already. You can find me at Charly Dove or PODcast.
Have a lovely week #whatsthestory.
If you love black and white photographs the Black & White Photography project is right up your street!
From Sunday 13th July, we’ll be sharing our favourite black & white photographs, providing tips on how we can improve this style of photography and appreciating the greats.
How to join in
It’s easy to join in – just link up a short post with a black and white photograph. No words, a few words, an old or new photograph, it’s entirely up to you. You can include more than one black and white photograph as well if the post is not too wordy.
You can share your post in the Black & White Photography Project Facebook Group. You can also post a photograph on Instagram using the hashtag #bwphotoproject (PODcast is here).
When
The Black and White Photography Project runs every Sunday (from 13th July). A Linky is open every week from Sunday through to Saturday. If you include a link back to PODcast I’ll share your post for you.
Inspiration on Pinterest
If you’re looking for inspiration, the Black & White Photography Project board has a wealth of amazing photographs. The lion face is definitely the personal favourite so far!
It’s been the week of two halves. From fun in the garden and shenanigans in a lavender field to snapshots of London. Welcome to week #27.
Day 181
A perfect day for the garden. It saw POD paint a sheet, herself and clovers before helping Daddy paint. He’s done a superb job fencing off an area at the bottom of the garden – created by re-purposing the decking I previously broke my wrist on!
POD was so covered in green paint by the end of the day she resembled a little green elf. Here she is admiring her leaf hat while holding a collection of twigs she later hid behind!
Day 182
After gymnastics POD and I headed over to Hitchin for a blogger meet-up organised by Annie at Manneskjur. It was a great afternoon spent with some wonderful people in a beautiful lavender field.
The views across the fields were incredible especially with the bright blue sky.
Day 183
The rain appeared and provided a great opportunity to capture raindrops on the sedum.
Day 184
This isn’t a sight you see every day. A pretty humbug snails with one of the European ladybirds.
Day 185
There have been a lot of photographs taken on the London underground this week. This was a full tube leaving the platform at Farringdon.
Day 186
I’ve been tagged on Instagram a few times while I’ve been at Waterloo. This is one of those occasions under the impressive clock there.
Having enjoyed my first falafel in Leather Lane this week, I ventured back to check out the other food options. It’s only 5 minutes walk from the office and just buzzing.
A slightly shorter one from us this week as we have a busy Saturday. How’s your week been?
Thank you to everyone that joined the Alphabet Photography Project with their letter G over the past week.
This week I thought I’d introduce you to one of the wild horses that roam at the Devil’s Punch Bowl in Hampshire. Managed by the National Trust, it’s an area of outstanding natural beauty with breathtaking views across a natural amphitheatre.
How to join in
The Alphabet Photography Project runs every Wednesday. If you’d like to share a post or link up an Instagram image, a Linky is live from that day until the following Tuesday. If you include a link back to PODcast I’ll happily share your post for you.
You can share your photo in the Pinterest or Facebook groups, Google+ community or on Instagram (PODcast is here) too. The hashtag to use is #alphabetphoto.
Ideas for letter H
The #alphabetphoto theme can be interpreted in any way you choose. The letter H might be a photograph of a house for example, an object that resembles the letter H or a photograph of the letter H using props. It could also be an adjective. Have a look at the letter hints in last week’s post. If you get really stuck, an online dictionary is a good point of reference!
Inspiration for letter I
Here are a few ideas to get us thinking about letter I:
Ivy, irises, ice-cream, ice lollies, ingredients, icicles, ice, insects, industrial, indigenous, inspiration, iridescent, important, impossible, innocent, inquisitive, Italy, interior, ice rink, imagination, idyllic, image, ink, isle.
There are also lots of inspirational photographs on the #alphabetphoto Pinterest board
You know it’s going to be a good day when you drive past a herd of horses. Magnificent wild horses in flat fields strewn with yellow flowers. Norfolk is a wonderful part of the country.
We were there to visit SEA LIFE which promised a world of strange, beautiful and amazing creatures. Situated on the Great Yarmouth seafront, there are close-up views of everything from jellyfish and penguins to crocodiles and sharks. Some 50 displays including a 250,000 litre tropical ocean exhibit and tunnel where you can gaze at SEA LIFE’s largest inhabitants.
Having not visited an aquarium the size of SEA LIFE before, POD squealed with delight when we arrived. Submerged in darkness, she was thrilled to be transported into an underwater wonderland. There was much pointing and cries of “look Bubba look” as POD pointed excitedly at the giant tanks in front of her. Bubba is one of her grandparents and lives with ‘Gaggam’ (as POD dubbed him) in nearby Suffolk.
There’s a wonderful atmosphere in the shipwreck area. We saw large fish called Giltheads plus conger eels and spiny starfish. POD even did a celebratory dance at one point – sadly I missed that one on camera!
Jellyfish are interesting creatures. In the open sea even the harmless ones terrify me but behind glass they’re fascinating to watch. These Compass Jellyfish were amazing. For the most part their tentacles trailed gracefully beneath them but they also had the ability to suck them under their bell.
These Upside Down Jellyfish were exactly as you imagined them to be and again captivating to watch. We also saw Moon Jellyfish Polyps and Moon Jellyfish as well as Edible Jellyfish.
Next stop if you’re following the route is the Humboldt Penguin pool. They were more than happy to be photographed! There’s also a baby penguin at SEA LIFE and although we didn’t get to see it. I’m sure Mum Moozles and Dad Woody are keeping it safe in their enclosure.
In the Great Yarmouth Harbour section we saw Pacu which are related to Piranhas but vegetarian. POD enjoyed feeding them although as you’d expect it was a fairly speedy affair.
Nearby was the most fabulous display of rays. We’ve swum with rays on holiday before and they’re intriguing creatures. Little did we know they peep above the water as if they’re attempting to say hello. You could almost see their faces smiling at you.
Heading towards the SEA LIFE Nursery we saw another Catfish and a fabulous collection of anemones. They reveled in a bathroom style tank complete with a bubble generating toilet – much to POD’s amusement!
SEA LIFE is the World’s biggest Seahorse breeding network. They’ve also had behind the scenes breeding successes with various species of shark, tropical fish, jellyfish, octopus and corals.
Not the greatest of photographs but we absolutely loved this baby ray!
POD’s never seen a rockpool before so it’s no wonder she didn’t want to touch the starfish. A stark contrast to our usually fearless three year old! Although she missed out on the medal at the native rockpool, she was fascinated by the hermit crab, sea urchins and anemones. There were also tropical rock pool cleaner shrimps which offer a manicure.
Around the corner we came face-to-face with two African dwarf crocodiles (named Ntombi and Masozi) sunbathing.
We were most excited to see the sharks. Dragons Den provided a great introduction to the lost city of Atlantis display where we could see them swimming around.
The Ocean Tunnel was awesome. We saw Noah the sea turtle first, initially resting to the side of us and within minutes gliding above our heads.
There are several species of shark at SEA LIFE including the nurse and zebra sharks. The Ocean Tunnel provided an ideal means of watching them especially when they glided above us. POD has never seen sharks before so it was an amazing experience for her.
POD always enjoys the film Finding Nemo so she was thrilled to discover Nemo’s Cave! You can absolutely see the joy in her face here although it does look like she’s about to eat Nemo! Clownfish are all born males but once they grow older the biggest and strongest ones become females. Who knew.
There’s a new section at SEA LIFE called Sea Stars which enables you to get up close to starfish. POD loved the Sea Star tunnel but there are also peek-a-boo holes with starfish of various shapes, sizes and colours. You can also feel the different types of starfish and see the Sunflower starfish which is the Ocean’s largest.
We had the best time discovering this fabulous underwater world. To top it off our meal deal in the restaurant meant POD ate for free. Although we skipped the pirate themed soft play, Buba kindly bought her her own Nemo for the bath! SEA LIFE has recently launched a parent and toddler ticket which is great value at only £10. POD is already asking when she can go to the ‘qarium again!
Linking up with #whatsthestory here on PODcast.
Disclaimer: We received complimentary tickets to SEA LIFE Great Yarmouth for the purposes of this review. All opinions are our own.
Hello everyone, welcome to What’s The Story? for w/c 30th June 2014. I hope those of you that were at BritMums have managed to catch up!
If you’re new to What’s The Story? it’s a photography based Linky which enables you to share the stories behind your photographs. To join in all you have to do is share a photograph and the story behind it. You can write as little or much as you like and your photo/s can be from any time. You can link up a old post if it’s relevant.
Feel free to use the What’s The Story? badge or include a link to PODcast in your post – I’m happy to share it in return. Please do take the time to comment on some of your fellow bloggers posts when you can. It’s always worthwhile checking back later in the week too. What’s The Story? is open every Monday through to the following Sunday.
There’s a #whatsthestory community on Google Plus so do pop over if you haven’t already. You can find me at Charly Dove or PODcast.
Have a lovely week #whatsthestory.
We discovered Frensham Little Pond in Surrey this week. It was the perfect place to chill after BritMums. We got to have a paddle and feel the sand in-between our toes, Daddy and POD even went for a dip! Aside from that it’s been another busy week with three days spent working in London.
Welcome to Project 365: Week #26.
Day 174
This is POD holding Monkey and dressed in a ballerina skirt – perfect attire for a visit to the local shop. She looked like a little fairy!
Day 175
It was the first day back at home after BritMums so we escaped to Frensham Little Pond. An idyllic spot located in Surrey, it’s a site of special scientific interest, a special protection area and a special area of conservation. Having walked through the woodland we got to feel the sand between our toes and paddle in the water. POD and Daddy even had a dip!
Thankfully they were out of the water when this little fella swum past! Such a rarity too, it’s not every day you see a grass snake in Surrey.
Day 176
Not much time today but I did manage to capture these new blooms in the garden.
Day 177
First day of a new contract in London today. I thought this would be the week where I learnt how to take photos with my iPhone but the ones I took this day didn’t prove successful! This is the back-up taken on my SLR when I got home.
Day 178
I’ve taken a lot of underground photos this week especially here.
Day 179
Another day in London. This photo was taken after I grabbed a sandwich and lost my sense of direction!
On Friday evening the sky was blue, the clouds dramatic and sun bright. This is the view from the train having left a much busier than usual Waterloo.
Day 180
POD enjoyed a spot of painting outdoors before the heavens opened today. Orange was the preferred choice.
Having popped out for a bite to eat, we returned home just before a storm.
