Category: Monthly Photo Challenge

The Changing Seasons post hosted by Su at Zimmerbitch.

Well, what a start to January 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)

We both used to live in Bangkok and saw each other all the time and now he lives in Rotterdam and I live in the UK we don’t get to see each other often, so when he came to meet me in Brussels, it was a very special day.

I met him at Gare du Midi train station just after 10 a.m. and we went for coffee to warm up.

We spent the rest of the day walking around. We went to the Christmas market near St Nicholas church and had hot rum – not the nicest drink I have ever had. You could smell the fumes from the alcohol as you took a drink. I ended up throwing mine away, but Chris enjoyed his!

After some more wandering, we settled in the lovely Cafe Metteko which reminded us of one of our favourite haunts in Bangkok – Cafe des Stagieres.

We stayed at Cafe Metteko until it was time for Chris to head back to Rotterdam on the train. 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!

The next day, I took myself off to Bruges. I spent 4 hours wandering around, snapping away with my camera.

I walked around the city..

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I also made a bee-line for the canals and one of the prettiest streets in Bruges – according to the Rough Guide to Belgium!

I’ll write more of Bruges later, but, for now, if you would like to take part in the Changing Seasons, here are the guidelines..

About The Changing Seasons

The Changing Seasons is a monthly challenge where bloggers around the world share what’s been happening in their month.

If you would like to join me and the others in this challenge, here are the guidelines:

The Changing Seasons Version One (photographic)

• Each month, post 5-20 photos in a gallery that you feel represent your month
  
• Don’t use photos from your archive. Only new shots.
• Tag your posts with #MonthlyPhotoChallenge and #TheChangingSeasons so that others can find them

The Changing Seasons Version Two (you choose the format):

• Each month, post a photo, recipe, painting, drawing, video, whatever that you feel says something about your month
• Don’t use archive stuff. Only new material!
• Tag your posts with #MonthlyPhotoChallenge and #TheChangingSeasons so others can find them.

The Changing Seasons post, inspired by the lovely Sarah at Secret Art Expedition and hosted by Su at Zimmerbitch.

First and foremost, HAPPY NEW YEAR! I hope everyone had a very merry Christmas and enjoyed time with loved ones.

Instead of doing 3 separate Changing Seasons posts to cover the last 3 months, I’m just doing one.

October

I went to Ibiza with my sister and niece which was fabulous. We chilled around the pool, had fun at the mini disco, went to the hippy market, and had a few drinks with my friends who were there to celebrate their 40th birthday. If you ask my niece what her favourite part was, she’ll say the swimming pool!

I started learning Spanish with Duolingo. It’s fairly basic, but you only have to spend 5-10 minutes a day learning a language. It’s repetitive, but that’s a good way to learn, and you get the chance to speak in Spanish and also write the translation in Spanish and English. It will hopefully come in handy for a couple of trips to Spain later in the year.

I’m also addicted to an app called Happy Colour – painting by numbers! It’s art without the mess!

One of my best friends died in October. Mark had just got to Mexico. He had been talking about going there for a long time. He finally made it, had a stroke and died of pneumonia a week later. He was someone who lived his life to the full and he would be nothing short of happy that he had made it to Mexico! R.I.P my friend!

November

In November, I had the pleasure of going on a girly weekend to celebrate another friend’s 40th. (Good grief, they’re all catching up with me LOLLLLL) Now I live back home, I can see my family and friends at the drop of a hat.

December

One of the perks of my job is I get to travel and, in December, I went to Amsterdam to support an event. At the same time, I got to hang out with my best friend, Chris. Always a pleasure!

On 18th December, it was a year since I left Bangkok. I still can’t believe I have been back in the UK for a year. Time flies doesn’t it? Who knows how I will feel or what I’ll be doing in another year, but I’m enjoying the ride!

I went to the Christmas market in Birmingham with my sister in December too. I love being able to spend time with her and doing things like this.

I spent New Year in Brussels. It was just great to walk around seeing all the sights, having food and drinks – alone. Although, it’s fab being able to see everyone when I want in the UK, I used to do stuff all the time on my own when I lived in Bangkok and I miss the solitude.

And that’s what I’ve been doing for the last 3 months. I want to leave you for now with this video. It will definitely put a smile on your face and put you in the right frame of mind for the year ahead! Much love and peace!

If you want to get involved with the Changing Seasons in 2020, here’s what to do…

About The Changing Seasons

The Changing Seasons is a monthly challenge where bloggers around the world share what’s been happening in their month.

If you would like to join me and the others in this challenge, here are the guidelines:

The Changing Seasons Version One (photographic)

• Each month, post 5-20 photos in a gallery that you feel represent your month
  
• Don’t use photos from your archive. Only new shots.
• Tag your posts with #MonthlyPhotoChallenge and #TheChangingSeasons so that others can find them

The Changing Seasons Version Two (you choose the format):

• Each month, post a photo, recipe, painting, drawing, video, whatever that you feel says something about your month
• Don’t use archive stuff. Only new material!
• Tag your posts with #MonthlyPhotoChallenge and #TheChangingSeasons so others can find them.

The Changing Seasons post, inspired by the lovely Sarah at Secret Art Expedition and hosted by Su at Zimmerbitch.

September flew by, didn’t it?

Apart from a couple of fun nights out with friends, I didn’t really do much in September.

One of the things I did do, was visit Abington Park Museum, somewhere I’ve never even thought of going in all the years I have lived in Northampton.

There was an exhibition that I wanted to see – Northampton artist, Aasen Stephenson’s Death on Two Legs. He has created something wonderful from the fallen leaves around the park.

I’d also like to share a few photos of the beautiful surroundings where I work.

I hope you’re all enjoying your October 🙂 x

About The Changing Seasons

The Changing Seasons is a monthly challenge where bloggers around the world share what’s been happening in their month.

If you would like to join me and the others in this challenge, here are the guidelines:

The Changing Seasons Version One (photographic)

• Each month, post 5-20 photos in a gallery that you feel represent your month
  
• Don’t use photos from your archive. Only new shots.
• Tag your posts with #MonthlyPhotoChallenge and #TheChangingSeasons so that others can find them

The Changing Seasons Version Two (you choose the format):

• Each month, post a photo, recipe, painting, drawing, video, whatever that you feel says something about your month
• Don’t use archive stuff. Only new material!
• Tag your posts with #MonthlyPhotoChallenge and #TheChangingSeasons so others can find them.

The Changing Seasons post, inspired by the lovely Sarah at Secret Art Expedition and hosted by Su at Zimmerbitch.

For some of July, it was all about the memories of living in Bangkok. I don’t usually take much notice of the memories that Arse..ahem..Facebook churns out, but I have been looking at them and sharing them more since returning home.

A lot of my most beautiful and cherished memories are of spending time with my best friend, Chris.

I spent a lovely evening out with my parents. We went for Thai food which was lovely, but they were having a Thai event on, and it was so loud we could hardly talk. After dinner, we walked along the road to a quieter bar, so we could talk over another bottle of wine.

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I took a walk around Summerleys Nature Reserve near Northampton. I’d never been there before, so it was nice to go somewhere new with my camera.

One of my favourite subjects to photograph are flowers and you don’t have to go far to find some. These flowers are blooming in my parent’s back garden.

I took a trip to London to see the Van Gogh Exhibition at Tate Britain. I used to go to art galleries and exhibitions all the time in Bangkok, so I thought it was about time I started to explore what the UK has on offer.

The walk back from lunch to my office beats the Bangkok streets, it’s so green. It’s very peaceful and it’s full of wondrous nature.

My brother, his girlfriend and I had an impromptu BBQ. It hadn’t been arranged, but we decided to make the most of the gorgeous weather that we had been having.

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About The Changing Seasons

The Changing Seasons is a monthly challenge where bloggers around the world share what’s been happening in their month.

If you would like to join me and the others in this challenge, here are the guidelines:

The Changing Seasons Version One (photographic)

• Each month, post 5-20 photos in a gallery that you feel represent your month
  
• Don’t use photos from your archive. Only new shots.
• Tag your posts with #MonthlyPhotoChallenge and #TheChangingSeasons so that others can find them

The Changing Seasons Version Two (you choose the format):

• Each month, post a photo, recipe, painting, drawing, video, whatever that you feel says something about your month
• Don’t use archive stuff. Only new material!
• Tag your posts with #MonthlyPhotoChallenge and #TheChangingSeasons so others can find them.

The Changing Seasons post, inspired by the lovely Sarah at Secret Art Expedition and hosted by Su at Zimmerbitch.

The month of March started with a lovely evening out with my friend Trudy and, on the way home, we were talking about how dead the town centre of Northampton is these days at night and how it used to be buzzing when we used to go out in town all the time. To which Trudy’s son Zack replied, “Well you did use to come out in town over 30 years ago!!” Thanks for that little chestnut of a reminder! 😉 But, age is just a number – we’d still party these youngsters under the table! 😉

I also spent an evening with my little sister! We went to her friend’s birthday meal. It’s nice to be able to do things like this while I am on my little hiatus!

I made an impromptu trip to Rotterdam and Amsterdam in March too! The light of my life left Bangkok and arrived in Rotterdam to begin his new life with his boyfriend. I took the Eurostar for the first time. It was awesome and I was very happy that I was able to take a bottle of red wine on board! 😉

We spent the next day exploring Rotterdam.

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The next day, I left for Amsterdam. I wandered around the streets with my camera before having a beer in the sunshine. It’s so lovely sitting by one of the many canals there.

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I entered one of my photos into Lens Culture’s Street Photography contest. Why not enter one of yours? The deadline is 24th April! 🙂

About The Changing Seasons

The Changing Seasons is a monthly challenge where bloggers around the world share what’s been happening in their month.

If you would like to join me and the others in this challenge, here are the guidelines:

The Changing Seasons Version One (photographic)

• Each month, post 5-20 photos in a gallery that you feel represent your month
  
• Don’t use photos from your archive. Only new shots.
• Tag your posts with #MonthlyPhotoChallenge and #TheChangingSeasons so that others can find them

The Changing Seasons Version Two (you choose the format):

• Each month, post a photo, recipe, painting, drawing, video, whatever that you feel says something about your month
• Don’t use archive stuff. Only new material!
• Tag your posts with #MonthlyPhotoChallenge and #TheChangingSeasons so others can find them.

The Changing Seasons post, inspired by the lovely Sarah at Secret Art Expedition and hosted by Su at Zimmerbitch.

The month of February started with a little snow in Northampton. As usual in this part of the world it never lasts long, but it everything looks pretty in white.

One of my photos received a Top Shot Award on Viewbug. A little boost for me at the beginning of the month! Even the small things bring joy 🙂

One Sunday in February, I just couldn’t motivate myself to work, so I spent the afternoon watching Bohemian Rhapsody with my sister-in-law. If you haven’t watched it, I recommend you do, especially if you are a fan of Queen. It’s a fabulous celebration of the life of Queen and their brilliant front man – Freddie Mercury!

Since I moved in with my brother, I’ve had to find new routes to go running. I never realised my hometown was so pretty. I try to go running 3 or 4 times a week, and one day I managed to run 10 km for the first time in ages! Another high-five to me 😉

About The Changing Seasons

The Changing Seasons is a monthly challenge where bloggers around the world share what’s been happening in their month.

If you would like to join me and the others in this challenge, here are the guidelines:

The Changing Seasons Version One (photographic)

• Each month, post 5-20 photos in a gallery that you feel represent your month
  
• Don’t use photos from your archive. Only new shots.
• Tag your posts with #MonthlyPhotoChallenge and #TheChangingSeasons so that others can find them

The Changing Seasons Version Two (you choose the format):

• Each month, post a photo, recipe, painting, drawing, video, whatever that you feel says something about your month
• Don’t use archive stuff. Only new material!
• Tag your posts with #MonthlyPhotoChallenge and #TheChangingSeasons so others can find them.

The Changing Seasons post, inspired by the lovely Sarah at Secret Art Expedition and hosted by Su at Zimmerbitch.

December was a major life changing month. I left Thailand forever! It’s a decision I made over a year ago, and the time finally came when I would pack up my life, into 2 boxes and 2 suitcases, and leave my home for the past 10 years.

I spent the month packing, visiting old places, and spending time with my BFF, Chris. I said goodbye to my work mates and friends who have crept into my life over the years – and that was tough enough, but it was saying goodbye to Chris that was the most heart-wrenching.

We spent as much time as possible together as my departure day grew nearer. I had butterflies in my tummy for weeks before, and as the time went on those butterflies turned to a feeling of dread – dread that I was leaving Bangkok and everything I love about the place, and dread because I would be leaving my friend – I (we) felt sick!

It’s not like I am never going to see him again, he’s leaving too, and I’ll see him in Europe before long, but we spent so much time together, he really was (is) a big part of my life.

We managed not to cry as we said our goodbyes, I wanted our last few days to be full of joy and happy memories. But, there were tears and I knew exactly the point I would start crying – when I was on the plane taking off!

As we sped down the runway, I was pressed up against the window, tears rolling down my face as I watched Bangkok disappear from view. Once I couldn’t see it anymore, the feeling of dread I’d had in the pit of my stomach disappeared and I started to look forward to my new life.

I spent the next 10 days in Hikkaduwa, Sri Lanka where I passed the time working (yes, I am a fully fledged full time writer now!), lazing on the beach and enjoying the most delectable Sri Lankan curry (5 times in the space of 10 days!)

Then, I flew to the UK for the next 10 days and spent time with my nearest and dearest before flying to Valencia where I planned to set up a new home and get on with the next chapter of my life!

That was the plan at least, but that’s another story!

About The Changing Seasons

The Changing Seasons is a monthly challenge where bloggers around the world share what’s been happening in their month.

If you would like to join me and the others in this challenge, here are the guidelines:

The Changing Seasons Version One (photographic)

• Each month, post 5-20 photos in a gallery that you feel represent your month
  
• Don’t use photos from your archive. Only new shots.
• Tag your posts with #MonthlyPhotoChallenge and #TheChangingSeasons so that others can find them

The Changing Seasons Version Two (you choose the format):

• Each month, post a photo, recipe, painting, drawing, video, whatever that you feel says something about your month
• Don’t use archive stuff. Only new material!
• Tag your posts with #MonthlyPhotoChallenge and #TheChangingSeasons so others can find them.

The Changing Seasons post, inspired by the lovely Sarah at Secret Art Expedition and hosted by Su at Zimmerbitch.

At last, the rainy season is behind us and now we are looking forward to the best season of all – the cool season. Warm days, cooler evenings, and less humidity. It really is the best time to be in Thailand. Have we seen any evidence of this? Not even so much as a sniff! Hopefully it will get cooler as the days go on. One can but hope!

In October, I went to the Bangkok Art and Cultural Centre to see an exhibition called Imaginarium, by Oleg Shuplyak. A very talented artist who paints pictures within pictures. Most of them are of the faces of famous people from history, which are not always apparent when you look up close. I had to stand back before I could make the faces out. He has, very cleverly, hidden features in his paintings – a bird, a house, even a person turns out to be part of the face. You could, and I did, stand there for a long time, giggling each time another part of the painting becomes apparent.

I also went in search of street art which was part of the Pipat Banglamphu Street Art Festival. It was such fun to wander around the streets following the map. There were 12 pieces of art and the walk took me along main roads, and down small, leafy alleys, hidden from tourists and filled with friendly locals. Some of the locals said hello and asked me where I was from, but all of them were curious about why I was there – made apparent by their stares. I went down the wrong way in places, by-passing them more than once, which only added to their curiosity. It was so nice to explore new places (even though they were just a stone’s throw from the busy Banglamphu area.)

The rainy season was in full swing in October and I went out one day to give some old clothes to a charity across the other side of Bangkok. Once I had done that, I got on a motorbike to take me to my favourite place for lunch. No sooner had we set off, the heavens opened and torrential rain soon flooded the busy streets. I was soaked to the skin, so I gave up, got off the bike and sheltered in a nearby market until the storm subsided. Once it did, I walked the rest of the way to the restaurant – the rain hadn’t quite stopped and I looked like I’d just got out of the bath, fully clothed! I didn’t mind that so much – it’s nice walking in the rain sometimes. 🙂

By the time I got there, I was hot and sticky, drenched, and my shoes were filled with water. It didn’t take long to dry off and I enjoyed the rest of my afternoon watching the changing colours as the day became evening. The simple pleasures in life are the best ones! 🙂

About The Changing Seasons

The Changing Seasons is a monthly challenge where bloggers around the world share what’s been happening in their month.

If you would like to join me and the others in this challenge, here are the guidelines:

The Changing Seasons Version One (photographic)

• Each month, post 5-20 photos in a gallery that you feel represent your month
  
• Don’t use photos from your archive. Only new shots.
• Tag your posts with #MonthlyPhotoChallenge and #TheChangingSeasons so that others can find them

The Changing Seasons Version Two (you choose the format):

• Each month, post a photo, recipe, painting, drawing, video, whatever that you feel says something about your month
• Don’t use archive stuff. Only new material!
• Tag your posts with #MonthlyPhotoChallenge and #TheChangingSeasons so others can find them.

The Changing Seasons post, inspired by the lovely Sarah at Secret Art Expedition and hosted by Su at Zimmerbitch.

Time keeps ticking on and I can’t believe another month has passed. Hopefully you have all enjoyed September as much as I did.

My friend Mark was in town. He used to live in Thailand before embarking on a digital nomad lifestyle that has seen him living in Sri Lanka, India, Nepal, and Bali. He’s back in the UK now before heading to Spain and then who knows where. While he was in town, I met up with him for a good old catch up.

I started reading The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga, a fabulous read about India’s underbelly. It’s unputdownable! That’s all I’m saying – you’ll have to wait for my review on Goodreads

The newsroom, a.k.a Facebook, reminded me of one of my favourite tunes – For an Angel, by Paul Van Dyk. I saw him play one New Year’s Eve at Don Valley Stadium in Sheffield. It was a memorable night, if only for the smart arse who decided to climb up the tent’s scaffolding, just at the stroke of midnight. Paul Van Dyk stopped his set until the idiot was brought back down to earth by security – at which point PVD punched him in the face for spoiling his set! (Or so the story goes!) Just a few days later, I was in New York with my boyfriend at the time and we went to a club where Paul Van Dyk was playing. In true cringe-worthy style, we made our way to the DJ booth and planted our NYE tickets (which we’d kept for this purpose) against the screen. PVD looked up, smiled, and gave us a thumbs up. The things you do when you’re a clubber!

Last week, I decided to go out for lunch at a restaurant that sells the most delicious Thai food. For me to even say that, let alone go to the other side of town from where I live, the food must be that good. I got off the skytrain and walked the rest of the way, so I could take some photographs. I’ve been to this little restaurant before and the Khao Soi was just as good as I remembered.

My photo walk took me to Chong Nonsi Bridge…

…across Sathorn Road…

…along Naradhiwat Rajanagarindra Road…

…along Chan Road…

…and into Yen Akat Road.

It’s the rainy season here in Thailand at the moment and we get rain most days. Sometimes it hammers down for hours on end, but mostly it’s just a brief shower followed by the relentless heat once more. In the space of three days, we went from afternoon stormy skies…

…to gorgeous morning blue skies without a cloud in sight (we like those the best)…

…to blue skies with a few clouds (They’re OK)…

…to pink evening skies. It really is wonderful to witness the changing face of mother nature.

About The Changing Seasons

The Changing Seasons is a monthly challenge where bloggers around the world share what’s been happening in their month.

If you would like to join me and the others in this challenge, here are the guidelines:

The Changing Seasons Version One (photographic)

• Each month, post 5-20 photos in a gallery that you feel represent your month
  
• Don’t use photos from your archive. Only new shots.
• Tag your posts with #MonthlyPhotoChallenge and #TheChangingSeasons so that others can find them

The Changing Seasons Version Two (you choose the format):

• Each month, post a photo, recipe, painting, drawing, video, whatever that you feel says something about your month
• Don’t use archive stuff. Only new material!
• Tag your posts with #MonthlyPhotoChallenge and #TheChangingSeasons so others can find them.

The Changing Seasons post, inspired by the lovely Sarah at Secret Art Expedition and hosted by Su at Zimmerbitch.

The month of August is behind us and we are one month closer to the end of the year. Why does time roll on at the speed it does? It’s because we are having fun and enjoying each and every day. I didn’t do that much last month, but it was still a blast.

On my day off, I met my friend for lunch at a restaurant on soi 101/1. You can’t really call it a restaurant as such, more like a family run shop with a few simple tables and chairs out front. The first time we went there, our ears were accosted with all the loud noises of the street, our conversation halted by cars tooting, motorbikes revving, and people trying to attract customers to buy durian and pineapples from the back of trucks. Still, it adds to the charm of that kind of place and we have been back a few times since then.

After our lunch of Pad Krapow Moo (pork and rice), we wandered down the road to what has quickly become one of our favourite hangouts – Zinc 101, a cheap and cheerful local bar which has a quirky promotion on Fridays. Forget “Happy Hour”, Zinc 101 has “Pressure Hour.” Every week between 7pm-8pm, large bottles of beer are just 65 baht (£1.53), but the discount is only available until the first person either goes to the toilet or leaves the bar! They barricade the toilets and you better hope your bladder doesn’t explode for a whole hour! (Not easy for me, especially after a couple of drinks!)

The following Sunday, Chris and I took a trip over to Sathorn to go to one of our favourite restaurants for a few drinks and we were shocked and disappointed to discover the place was closed. Shocked – it’s never closed on Sundays! Disappointed – we were so looking forward to sitting on the street under the canopy of trees enjoying a few drinks! We soon forgot our disappointment once we found a little Italian restaurant – Di Farina – a charming little place that looks like it does great pizzas (we are going back for the food), but it was only a quick pit stop while we discussed our new plan of action.

We decided on Charm Eatery, a place we have walked past many times, but never ventured inside, until this night. What a great choice, if only for their fabulous happy hour deal – 3 wines for 500 baht (a cheap option for Sathorn).

After we’d guzzled our drinks we ended up in Smalls, a buzzing bar with a delectable barman, Danny, who was happy to chat with us all night and recommend drinks to us. I stuck to my trusty red wine, but young Christopher was on a mission to try just about anything they had on offer – including Absinthe, the strongest of which was around 80% ABV.

So, although our evening had started with disappointment, in the end we went to new places, met new people, and had a really fun night out – although I was paying for it for the next few days! I really can’t cope much these days with late, boozy nights!

Let’s talk about some non-boozy things that happened in August.

One of my photographs got voted as top image on Viewbug which means it’s my most popular image in terms of how many people have liked it. As I have said before, there are millions of photographs and hundreds of photographers on this website, so it’s really fabulous when I get this kind of feedback.

In an attempt to master my writing craft, I signed up to Udemy’s – The Complete Freelance Writing Online Course. I have heard of Udemy before, but have never used them until now. The freelance writing course is designed for beginners, which I’m not, but it has still given me ideas that I can use to help me on my freelance journey. I recommend looking at their website if you are yearning to learn something – there are hundreds of courses available, you can even become an instructor if you have something to teach people. Check out their website TODAY as many of their courses have massive discounts.

I’ll leave you with one of the songs from an all-time favourite movie of mine –  The Rocky Horror Picture Show. 🙂 It’s guaranteed to lift your spirits and make you smile! 😉

Have an amazing September!

If you would like to join me and the others in this challenge, here are the guidelines:

The Changing Seasons Version One (photographic)

• Each month, post 5-20 photos in a gallery that you feel represent your month
  
• Don’t use photos from your archive. Only new shots.
• Tag your posts with #MonthlyPhotoChallenge and #TheChangingSeasons so that others can find them

The Changing Seasons Version Two (you choose the format):

• Each month, post a photo, recipe, painting, drawing, video, whatever that you feel says something about your month
• Don’t use archive stuff. Only new material!
• Tag your posts with #MonthlyPhotoChallenge and #TheChangingSeasons so others can find them.