Category: Travel

Hot, sultry river

It doesn’t happen often in these parts. You have to make the best of what I call the ‘sultry light’ when it does… The rich greens and golds take on a different hue… more ‘earthy’, a bit like a child’s fairy story. Even the River Kent feels subdued; as though it would rather pose for photos than thunder through the Sedgwick Gorge. ©Stephen Tanham … Read More Hot, sultry river

Moments in Italy (1)

A mild May evening…. Lake Como, with its steep glacial sides, seen at its ‘softest’. The plentiful ferries have all been berthed for the night. It’s peaceful and gentle. Taken from the promenade in the small town of Managgio, about two-thirds up the west shore of the lake. ©Stephen Tanham 2024 All photos taken and processed on an iPhone 12 ProMax or created using … Read More Moments in Italy (1)

Postcards from Sirmione

We have observed over the years that our best holidays are those where we have to ‘do a bit of work’ to engage with the destination landscape. Just getting on a cheap flight and staying in a sanitised resort is no longer satisfying, though a few days of sun at the end of a Cumbrian winter is much needed! Our best ever trip was … Read More Postcards from Sirmione

An Older Venice

Venice is, by definition, old. But much of the area near to St Mark’s Square is given over to modern tourism. A fifteen minute stroll through the crowds will bring you to the Rialto Bridge. Where hundreds of people are taking photographs of the Grand Canal, which divides the central island in two. Once across, and through the nearby markets, you can take just … Read More An Older Venice

A Place of Tranquility

(📩 Irish travel, lots of photos, 1000 words. A good cup of coffee…) We all need a place of tranquility, a haven where we can take a retreat from a busy or even mad world. It may be a room in our house where we keep objects that mean something special to us. We may meditate there, or read books that have become special … Read More A Place of Tranquility

Girl on a Motorcycle – Part One

My father’s eldest sibling – my Auntie Mary – though hailing from the family hometown of Bolton, Lancashire, married a highly decorated and highly tall (6’4”) Scottish army officer at the end of WW2. In 1946, on the way to begin her new life as the wife of a now Glaswegian police officer, two English serviceman in the same train carriage advised her to … Read More Girl on a Motorcycle – Part One

Edinburgh Fringe 2023

Our first ‘Fringe’. Three days of hectic dashing from one side of the city to the other to find small or even tiny venues where the hopeful entertainers work their socks off. We loved it… but couldn’t have taken another day. Fabulous drama, incredible live music and acrobatic skills to make you gasp. Our favourite was a street juggler cum knife thrower cum reincarnated … Read More Edinburgh Fringe 2023

Wet Summer Light

Ulverston on a June day. Immediately after a dowsing in one of the rainstorms that have ended two solid months of sunshine and blue skies here in the extreme north-west of England. It’s actually a pleasant change, though I have no desire to ‘hex’ the lovely summer we’re having. We’re in Ulverston – a lovely market town that used to be in north Lancashire, … Read More Wet Summer Light

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#SundayHumour : first day in heaven

I’m a simple man when it comes to food.. Especially simple, old-fashioned grub when we go out for a meal; which, given the presence of the Collie, is a rare treat. A reunion with a much-loved former neighbour in Whittle-le-Woods, near Chorley, Lancashire, saw us sharing the pub’s dining room with a funeral and having some of the best ‘home cooking’ I’ve ever had. … Read More #SundayHumour : first day in heaven

Reborn in innocence

©Stephen Tanham 2023 Stephen Tanham is a Director of the Silent Eye, a journey through the forest of personality to the dawn of Being. http://www.thesilenteye.co.uk and http://www.suningemini.blog

Platform Three

Er… Perhaps I shouldn’t be on this platform! Last Friday. 15.57. Lancaster station; waiting for a train back to Oxenholme, our wonderfully local Lake District station. Look at the electronic train information display. The London train (Euston) is a large express going south. The rest of the trains are going north. Each is stopping at Platform 3. My head hurts… there’s only one track … Read More Platform Three

And Cherries on Sunday

©Stephen Tanham 2023 Stephen Tanham is a Director of the Silent Eye, a journey through the forest of personality to the dawn of Being. http://www.thesilenteye.co.uk and http://www.suningemini.blog