Author Archives: JDO

I had to wake myself up during the night, from a nightmare in which I was waiting for someone I’d upset to break into the house and kill me. It was still pitch-dark, but the clock told me that it … Continued

You know that thing they say about it being a bad idea to go food shopping when you’re hungry? Well, I’d also advise you not to go into a shop that sells expensive Scandinavian-style jumpers when you’ve just spent two … Continued

This old and rather tired rowan tree lives in the front garden, and mostly fails to enhance it. We’ve discussed taking down and replacing it, but I always reprieve it because in late summer the blossom provides a brief but … Continued

The flooding in the village has receded, but the Avon is very high along the whole of its local length, and out of its normal bounds in a number of places. This black-headed gull is standing on top of what … Continued

The village did flood overnight, but not as badly as a couple of weeks ago, so I hope that all our neighbours’ homes stayed dry this time. There were only a few inches of water over the lane outside our … Continued

Purrlease – just make it stop. It’s raining again. The farmers don’t need it – the land is completely saturated. Householders in flood risk areas certainly don’t need it – which includes our village, where the water is already over … Continued

R and I went into Stratford for lunch today. A passable morning was in the throes of turning into a gloomy afternoon, so while R went ahead to get the wine in, I walked along the river in search of … Continued

After my maungy day yesterday, the elements took pity on me – or possibly on the rest of humanity – and provided an unforecast day of nice weather. So I went off to Slimbridge, which worked its usual charm and … Continued

Day Two of living in the twilight zone. Even when it wasn’t raining it was dark, and the rest of the time it was dark and wet. I’ve had to resort to shooting a white thing on a white background, … Continued

I’m glad that I was out and about with the camera during yesterday’s sparkling morning, as it seems to have used up our entire quota of light for the week. When I woke up at 8am this morning I was … Continued