October Apples

Swardeston, Norfolk, October 2016.

Taking Flight: Dark Skies

A lone bird in Attleborough, Norfolk.

The Hanging Tree

Spidertree

Quietly

On a back lane outside Dunwich, Suffolk.

Signs of Signs: Staples and Pins

A few weeks ago, one of our cats went missing for eight days. A hideous week, and so homemade 'Lost' flyers were stuck through letterboxes and posters put up around the local area. Thankfully, she reappeared as mysteriously as she disappeared (4am, and noisily, at the bottom of the bed), so all the posters were taken down.

Even as distracted as I was, I kept noticing the telltale signs of other signs and posters. Many may not have been lost posters, of course - home-printed posters advertising zumba are fairly common round here - but I did view the rusted staples and pins with an understanding empathy.

Tree Sprites: The Fairies by Norwich Market

Christmas fairy lights in the trees on Gentleman's Walk, Norwich. It wouldn't be the most energy-efficient idea in the world, but I propose a cultural shift: instead of Christmas lights, towns and houses light up over the winter with more general 'seasonal' lights. Mid November through to late February, say, to help counter the New Year blues a touch. The stripping of the lights in the grey early days of a year always feels so harsh and brutal.

Christmas in Doggerland

Another couple of images lurking on my hard drive, from (I think) January 2011. It was certainly into a new year. Have always quite liked the image of discarded (natural) Christmas trees following the festive season. They make the unremitting misery of January feel even more bleak. This tree, dumped in the wash on the beach just outside West Runton, also ties into my neverending fascination with the decaying coast.

From the Smallest Acorn: Kett's Oak

An early-morning visit to Kett's Oak, on the road between Wymondham and Norwich. This is said to be the spot at which the rebel Robert Kett addressed his followers and swore an oath to 'reform the Church and the State,' before marching to Norwich in the failed Norfolk Rising of 1549. There is uncertainty as to whether this is the actual tree in whose shade the rebels once stood, or whether it was planted in commemeration some time after 1549. Either way, it is a local landmark, and is being preserved by the Norfolk County Council. Another 'Kett's Oak' once stood on Mousehold Heath, at the centre of the rebels' camp, ensuring the oak tree became something of a symbol for the uprising.