A couple of years ago, my friend and I visited the British Ironworks Centre in Oswestry, Shropshire. The centre says:
Each sculpture has its own unique message and aims to educate our visitors on global issues and spread our motto:
Art With Conscience
It’s a cool motto I think and such a great way to get the message across.
It’s a great place to visit – there’s lots to see and do from a sculpture park and grounds to explore to shopping and creative workshops. The first thing I explored was the ladies toilets where I met this fellow taking up one of the cubicles – could have shut the door!
There is a garden full of scrap metal sculptures you can buy.
In the grounds, there are all sorts of sculptures.
You can walk around the Extinction Trail which features endangered wildlife.
This close up photo of a Komodo Dragon sculpture shows the individual components of the whole piece.
There are some interesting figures as well as mythological and well-known pieces.
And ones that make you want to look closer.
All of the sculptures have more information about the individual pieces, but better yet, go and see for yourself! I thoroughly recommend it.
Since I took a break from writing for talkingthailand, I haven’t been sitting idly staring out of the window in my free time. I’ve been busy with other projects and one of those was a second book in my Flying Solo series. It didn’t start out as a series, but I wrote Still Flying Solo and I’m currently working on Only Flying Solo. Who knows if there will be more – how much flying solo can I do? My mind is full of ideas bouncing around at all times!
still Flying Solo. memories to be treasured
I sometimes wonder how I have come to be living in my hometown again after spending so many years living in Thailand. I sometimes think I was living my best life, especially when I returned to Thailand in 2014 and made Bangkok my home.
But, we make choices in life and my choice was to return to the UK. Everything happens for a reason, right? And my reason was I wanted to be closer to family and friends because living halfway across the world from those you love means I missed out on so many things.
My life in Bangkok was great and I never thought I would see the day that I started to think of leaving, but a conversation with my best friend, Chris, was what set the ball rolling for my move. If we had never started talking about it, both of us wonder whether it would have actually happened – me moving back home and him moving to Rotterdam. Who knows, but we must accept the choices we’ve made.
I’ve been home since 2019 and I feel settled. I have a job I love, I get to see my family and friends as often as I like, but I often think about Bangkok and all the special times I had there.
My new book is a compilation of memories and stories of the wonderful years I spent in the city I called home for 4 years.
Flying Solo. A Woman on the Wings of Life is available to buy on Amazon and Amazon Kindle.
Today, I’d like to share my ‘Images of Australia’ from morrisophotography!
Images of Australia
February 4, 2024
I love Australia and these images bring a smile to my face as I fondly remember my trips to visit my family in Queensland and South Australia, exploring Noosa National Park alone, and visiting Lake Hart as part of a 6-day tour. Fabulous Memories!
Something that has turned into an annual thing, my tales serve as reminders of my life through the years. Here is my 2022!
January
I started the new year with healthy habits, cooking good food, getting back into regular exercise and going out for walks. I discovered a marina which I’d never seen before in all the years I have lived in my hometown!
Marina
February
It’s always such a joy when you come across wildlife, and so close to home too!
March
The lovely All Saints Church on Church Lane, Little Billing has a Saxon front and built around 1100 – I just had to take a photograph.
April
I love taking photos of animals in all their shapes and forms, but photographing smaller creatures has its challenges. For once, these beauties stayed long enough for me to capture them.
May
I love taking photos of flowers. So many varieties and colours, they really do brighten up your day!
June
In June, I travelled to Leicester to meet up with some of the guys I used to work with in Bangkok. It was a really fabulous afternoon – we chatted over food and drinks and it was like I only saw them yesterday.
Bangkok Reunion
Also in June, capturing the sunrise one morning at 5 am. Just look at those colours!
July
The Washlands in Northampton is always good for photo opportunities.
I also took a stroll around Abington Park.
I published my first calendar ‘Out in the Countryside’ – an 18 month calendar (July 22 – Dec 23) featuring images from Thailand, Vietnam, Australia, New Zealand and the UK. Getting out in the countryside is a great way to get some fresh air, to feel healthy, and to feel alive.
August
What a wonderful August I had. I got to spend two glorious weeks on holiday with my friends. And where better to go with them, than to one of my favourite places on earth – my old home of Thailand! Plus, we spent three days in Singapore – a new destination for me.
Marina Bay Sands Hotel, Singapore
Marina Bay, Singapore
Soon enough our time in Singapore was over and we headed to Phuket in Thailand. In all my time living there, I had never been to Phuket, so it was nice to see somewhere new. The views were epic!
Mai Khao, Phuket
We took a trip to Koh Phi Phi. I had been there in 2008, so it was nice to see it again.
Maya Beach, Koh Phi Phi
Back in Mai Khao, we were right next to the airport and every day – many times a day – we watched planes take off over the water – what a thrill!
Sunset over Mai Khao
September
I was unhappy in my previous job and I have always said that if I am not happy, I will do something about it. So when I was offered a new job on the spot, I could not have been happier!
Take action. Find a new path and follow it until you can see the wood from the trees – Gill Morris
Sometimes, the paths we follow are not the right ones for us, but I came to realise that we will eventually reach a place of joy once more!
“Every experience makes you grow.” Anonymous
My mantra has always been that everything works out in the end and it usually does!
Everything works out in the end
October
I can’t resist taking photos of the vivid colours of nature while out walking.
November
This Pink Fuschia is from my parent’s garden, always blooming in the summer. When I go to see them, I always spend a few minutes taking photos of their beautiful flowers.
Pink Fuschia
When I go to see my best friend, Chris, we always make time to have drinks at Cafe Steijn -one of our favourite haunts in Rotterdam
Cafe Steijn, Rotterdam
December
The weather changed for the worse in December and we had snow on the ground.
But, whatever the weather, I am grateful for all the special moments and experiences I had during 2022.
I finally published my photographic book – A Book Of Photographic Images. A collection of my photos with matching quotes. I matched the photo with the quote.
Book of Photographic Images
February
I left one job for another. I was not happy, so I found myself working for Mencap. I was so relieved and was looking forward to it. Little did I know then, that this new job would be more stressful than the one I’d left. It was all part of my journey.
March
I finished another painting – a colourful African Savannah.
African Savannah
April
I added a new cookbook to my collection. Dishoom is a beautiful Indian cookbook with lots of delicious recipes, stories of how the restaurants came to be and a map of traditional cafes and restaurants in Bombay. The Chicken Ruby has to be the most delicious curry I’ve EVER had!
Dishoom
I also took a trip to the stunning Everdon Stubbs to see the forest carpeted with bluebells and views across the countryside.
Everdon Stubbs
May
I treated myself to a lovely lavender plant – one of my favourite plants for it’s luscious smell and beautiful colour.
Lavender
June
Couldn’t resist this photo over the rooftops of the interesting cloud formation..
The skies over the rooftops
July
The best things in life are free, so they say, and July proved that because my BFF, Chris, came to stay. We had been talking about getting together as soon as we could, but COVID stopped us. Then, things started to open up and Chris wanted to visit his family in Looe, Cornwall, but he still had to self-isolate for 10 days. We came up with the idea that he could self-isolate with me and then travel down to see his family. So, that’s what we did. We literally did nothing because we couldn’t! The only thing we did was to take a walk to the post box to deliver his COVID test. Although we couldn’t go out for dinner or drinks, it was just lovely to spend some time with him.
Chris and I
August
I love visiting historical places and I can add Warwick Castle as one of the best places to visit. It was great exploring the castle and its grounds.
Warwick Castle
September
I went to Birmingham for my sister-in-law’s hen do. We had bottomless brunch, played bubble football and crazy golf and drank a lot over the weekend, but it was a fabulous and fun time together.
My sister and I
October
My brother and sister-in-law got married and we had a brilliant day celebrating.
Trev & Julie
November
I managed to get to Rotterdam to see Chris in November. Despite having to pay extra for COVID tests to go there and upon my return to the UK, I was desperate to have a change of location and to spend time with my best friend. It was just what the doctor ordered! And the views weren’t too bad either!
Windmill on Voorhaven
December
My December was full of family, food and getting out into nature.
I always get excited when I see beautiful sunrises like this one.
Frosty views across the Racecourse.
I love real Christmas trees and mine was up at the end of November!
A 7.5 mile jaunt around Pitsford to blow the Christmas cobwebs (and overindulgence of alcohol) away.
The time goes so fast, but my 2021 was full of happy memories.
Abel Tasman National Park is located at the north end of the South Island of New Zealand and is named after Abel Tasman who was the first European explorer to sight the country in 1642.
Back in 2008, I visited the park with a fellow traveller. We started our hike on a deserted beach, picking up a coastal trail which took us inland around headlands and lush forest with so many different species of trees. There are gorgeous beaches and estuaries which showcased the diversity of the place. And, as this was July, and the low-season in New Zealand, there was nobody else about, so we had the place all to ourselves, which was a very special experience.
Well, what a start to 2020! The very first day of the new year, I got to spend a glorious day with my best friend and life partner – Chris! (He loves it when I call him my life partner! Hee hee)
Chris and me
I was on a trip to Brussels and Chris came to meet me for the day. We had such a lovely day together – reminiscing about the past, making new memories for the future, but more than that – we had a lot of fun, as always. You know when you just get on with someone – that’s Chris and I!
I also went to Bruges for the day and spent 4 hours wandering around, snapping away with my camera.
Canal Spiegelrei, Bruges
February
On the TV, news of a virus made me really think about whether I should go on my trip to Barcelona, but I was glad I did, it would be the last time I went anywhere for a while. It was my first time there and I had a fabulous time wandering around the city. I was especially ‘wowed’ by the Sagrada Familia.
Sagrada Familia
March
We all found ourselves in lockdown! What surreal times those were! Now, it seems a lifetime ago and I still can’t believe it actually happened. Not much else to do apart from exploring the garden!
Exploring the garden
April
My birthday in 2020 was probably the quietist on record, but I celebrated with wine and a curry and spent time with my brother and sister-in-law.
I went for a walk most days which kept me sane while we were locked up. Sometimes I just walked along with music in my ears and sometimes I took lots of photographs. Who would have thought there was a waterfall in the woods behind my brother’s house.
Waterfall in Little Billing
May
Still in lockdown, we had to find new ways to amuse ourselves and my brother Trev came home with his hair dyed blonde! We took to calling him Slim Shady. Now, will the real one please stand up!
The Real Slim Shady?
Trev then decided he was going to go one step further and dye his hair all the colours of the rainbow, so I ordered some hair dye. This is how it turned out. Rocking the rainbow bro, and his tribute to the NHS. Thank god it was temporary and washed out!
Hair dye number 2
June
Still off work, I went to meet my mum, sister and niece in the park for a picnic. It was lovely to spend time with them, enjoying the sunshine, playing Frisbee and looking at the birds. For me, the simple pleasures are always the nicest.
A trip to the park
The biggest news of the month was that I have moved into my own place. A lovely little duplex apartment near the town centre. I was anxious about moving whilst in lockdown, so I waited until things had eased a bit. Then I was worried about finances, so I waited some more. In the end, I decided to take the risk and just go for it. I have always said, if I become unhappy I will do something about it. I loved living with my brother and his fiancé, but it was time to move on.
First night in my new flat
July
I took a trip to Newark to visit my friends – Doyle and Mel. It was so lovely to see them and their kids again. Mel and I went out to the garden centre and, on the way back, we went to the marina in Farndon and had a cheeky drink by the river.
Photo Credit: Melody Armstrong
The following weekend, I went to Rotterdam to visit Chris.
We had such a fun weekend, as we always do when we get together. Chris was an exceptional tour guide and he took me to new parts of the city. It was such a lovely couple of days making new memories!
Exploring Rotterdam
August
I had been on furlough since the end of March with no clue as to when I would be returning to work, but then we were asked to attend a meeting. We were told that, due to the virus, there would be redundancies.
With this news, I took up painting by numbers to try and stop the constant sick feeling in my stomach.
Painting by Numbers – Amsterdam
September
I was made redundant! My boss came right out with it… “we have to let you go.” Even though I kind of knew, it was still horrible to hear it. I could feel the tears coming, but I didn’t want to cry in front of her – it wasn’t her fault. I got back into the car to drive home and I cracked!
I got home and immediately set about looking for a job.
I have never felt so stressed, I felt sick every day with a feeling of dread in my stomach. I lost all motivation to do anything – even exercise! I was applying for 2-3 jobs a day, every day, and feeling very frustrated because NO-ONE replied!
October
I was finally offered a job! It turned out, it was all just a matter of time! Time that I didn’t think I could bear to wait! I could not be happier and I felt like the weight of the world had been lifted off my shoulders!
To celebrate, I went out with my sister which was fun, albeit strange. Groups of people absolutely plastered at 6pm on a Saturday night, temperature checks and ID checks before you went into a pub and bouncers telling people ” YOU CAN’T PASS WITHOUT A MASK!” which I thought was quite amusing and that became the quote of the day.
My sister and me
November
I went for a wintery walk in the park with my lovely mum. She is always great company to be around.
A walk with my mum
December
We came out of a mini-lockdown at the beginning of December and I made my own Christmas wreath. I was quite proud of my creation!
My homemade wreath
Christmas day came around and, although everyone was under a 1-day restriction, I was lucky enough to be able to have a lovely day with my mum, dad, sister and niece – memories to be treasured.
My sister and I on Christmas Day
Then, on New Year’s Eve, I spent the evening at home, talking with Chris online. I even got to celebrate two New Years – one in Rotterdam and one in the UK because of the time difference.
Then, we were back in lockdown or tier 4 until at least mid-February 2021.
Despite 2020 being a strange year, I still managed to experience many moments to be grateful for.
A couple of years ago, I went to Warwick Castle for the day.
I love visiting historical places and I can add Warwick Castle as one of the best places to visit.
You’ll find the Peacock Gardens with their beautifully manicured lawns and resident peacocks wandering around.
The Conservatory Tearoom overlooking the fountain.
Then, follow the path through the trees towards the river and the jousting area and Britain’s largest trebuchet. Check the times on your ticket for exciting shows and entertainment every day.
Cross over the river and explore all around the castle.
Enter the castle through its main entrance.
Inside the castle, you can sit on the grass, have a break with a refreshing drink, and take in the impressive architecture.
Make sure you climb the stairs and wander along the ramparts for fabulous views of Warwick and the surrounding countryside.
And, it would be a shame not to see inside some of the rooms where you can learn about some of the castle’s history.
The town centre of Northampton is small when you compare it to the likes of Birmingham and London, but it’s surprisingly full of things to see.
I live close to the centre, so I always walk there and, with camera in hand, I find some things that I have never noticed, others that bring back memories and some things that just make me smile.
I walk passed the Garibaldi Hotel all the time. I have never been inside, but something compels me to take a photo – I think it’s the green-painted wall with the sign on one side – but then I notice the date at the top of the other side. It was erected in 1897 – making it one of Northampton’s oldest pubs and it’s still open!
On the corner of Sheep Street and Church Lane, I manage to get a photo without any people and then I notice further up the street a club called Passion (the small white building on the right hand side) where I partied with friends on a mad Saturday night out many moons ago.
I’ve walked through the graveyard of St Giles Church before, but never stopped to just be in the present moment before.
I stand for a while watching this squirrel scamper about – it brings a smile to my face.
I also notice the trees full of beautiful pink cherry blossom.
I’ve spent many nights / afternoons with friends and family at the Mail Coach in the past. It’s one of the places I still go to. I remember meeting everyone there before I jetted off back to Thailand in 2014, they all came to say farewell, it was such a great night. This photo is again devoid of people which surprises me as I took this photo at 4.00pm on a Friday afternoon – I’m not complaining though!
I was on a mission to see things I’ve never seen before and I spot the ‘Rosa Concordia Signum’ which means ‘the Rose, Emblem of Harmony’ After a little research, I realise this is Northamptonshire’s motto.
There are two little alleyways in the town centre. One is Frances Jetty, leading from Bridge Street to St Peter’s Way. All the times my friends and I used this alley to get our taxis home after a night out on Bridge Street, I never knew its name. It really is amazing how much we miss sometimes!
The second alley is called Jeyes Jetty and this one used to run between the Drapery and College Street. Again, I was interested to find out that this alley is linked to the invention of Jeyes Fluid and used to be called ‘Screaming Alley’ due to painful dental extractions that happened there.
I’ll let you read the notice on the gate.
The New Testament Church of God is housed in this Greek-style building, complete with columns and arched windows and these carved stone faces and decorative capitals on another building up the road. Both things I hadn’t taken much notice of before.
I can’t wait to see what else I can find, what else evokes memories and what else will make me smile. 🙂
