Jakesprinter Sunday Post

Window!

You know I can’t resist Jake’s Sunday Post, don’t you, but I really can’t call this a Sunday Post on a Friday! Hence the title. My resistance is low today and I’m just going to squeeze in a few of the lovely windows I gazed at, or through, on my recent Algarve trip.

Closer to home, I loved the evening light reflected on these

The view from my favourite Tavira restaurant, “A Taska”

Faro has many beautiful windows but I especially like these

And I love the Columbus Cocktail Bar too.

I’ve had my eye on this seafront window for a little while.

But how delightfully shabby are these?

And how graceful are these, on the side of the Carmo Church in Tavira?

Click on a photo to start the gallery rolling.

Memories! Memories! Don’t you love them? Thanks Jake for brightening this grey English day for me. Soon be Sunday again.

Jakesprinter’s Sunday Post : Entrance

I would love to be able to make an Entrance, but I’m more the kind of person who’s prone to falling up the step and making a fool of herself. I do know someone who can make a superb entrance though.

Lisa and Leo make the perfect entrance to married life

And she’s well equipped to make a neat exit too!

As ever, her hand sewing is exquisite.

When I first saw the big-eyed girl, looking around the door on Jake’s post this week, I thought of the other meaning of “entrance”- to fill with intense delight”. Lisa is well capable of this, too.

But neither of these photos are mine, so not really eligible for Jake’s challenge. My kind of entrance goes more like this:

Entrance to Whitby harbour

A well worn entrance in Tavira

Entry to a folk ceremony in Alte, in Portugal’s Algarve

The portal of the University in Wroclaw- a grand entrance

Entrance to the town square in Guimaraes

Entrance to a lighthouse?

Fun entrance

Old entrance

Heraldic entrance

As usual, click any photo to start the gallery rolling.

I’m very late with this post, and Jake will already be working on entrancing us with next week’s theme, so I’d better hit that Publish button. No accidents this time!

Come and meet Jake via the links or the lucky snake logo. His graphics are amazing and all visitors are made truly welcome.

Jakesprinter’s Sunday Post : Sentimental Value

Jake gave us a beautiful post this week for his theme, Sentimental Value, and I almost decided not to take part. I have so many silly, sentimental things that I’ve hoarded down the years, and some of them are deeply personal. But this is a travel blog, isn’t it, so in the interests of “the show must go on”, I’ve found some things that I can share with you.

Ticket montage

Over the years I don’t know how many ticket stubs I must’ve pushed into a handbag pocket as a souvenir of whichever boat ride or ancient monument. Some of them, I forget are there till months later. But recently I had a great idea. I’m going to compile some of the more colourful ones (as above) and decoupage them onto a coffee table top. Well, if I’m truthful, I hoped that my daughter might do this for me, as she’s so much better at crafty things. Still, I think I might manage. What do you reckon? It would make a great conversation piece, wouldn’t it?

I’ve kept old Snoopy watches that no longer work, cards that I have to cull every year otherwise they’d flow down the stairs, and, of course, postcards. I used to buy them in quantity, in case the holiday photos weren’t a success. In these digital days that’s not such a problem, but I still struggle to pass a postcard stand without a surreptitious glance. I also used them as a holiday diary. Nowadays I’ve progressed to a notebook.

Let’s share a couple of favourites. Why would I want to part with them? The memories are invaluable.

The Dalyan peninsula, Turkey

Salzburg in Austria

Kas, also in Turkey

Sukiennice, Krakow

And, of course, Tavira

I’m feeling thoroughly sentimental now. Thanks, Jake. I’ll be over to check out the other entries later. Click on the lucky snake logo or the links to go with me.

Jakesprinter’s Sunday Post : Bay

A Turkish gulet gliding across the bay

It seems like most of my life I’ve been admiring bays. I can get lost in this photo, which was taken by my husband on our honeymoon, oh, so many years ago. I’m tempted to go and dig out the photo albums and meander around a Greek Island or two, but this is Jake’s challenge for the Sunday Post this week. I’ll never make it in time if I wander off down Memory Lane.

Bodrum has the perfect Turkish bay

Sirmione on Lake Garda is a bit special too

Algarve clifftops overlook many fabulous bays

Like this

And this

I love peeking at a bay through flowering shrubs, don’t you? Madeira, of course.

North Yorkshire bays are seriously rugged

Often with leaden skies

Robin Hood’s Bay is a beautiful Yorkshire village

And this is the bay- no Robin Hood in sight

The slideshow runs when you click on the first photo.

We have some wonderful bays with pebbly beaches, remnants of our mining heritage, just up the road from here. I planned to take the camera along after lunch, but it’s bouncing with rain. I guess I’ll stick to memories, and the other entries on the Sunday Post. I’m sure to find some beautiful bays there.

Visit Jake with me by clicking on the lucky snake logo or the links.

Jakesprinter’s Sunday Post : Arrangement

An Arrangement naturally speaks to me of flowers. For many years I have been captivated (wasn’t that last week’s theme?) by the artistry of the Chelsea Flower Show. Each year I think, maybe this year? Well, it might be, but in the meantime let me show you some of the most striking arrangements of flowers that I have ever witnessed.

Once every 4 years Tomar in Central Portugal comes alive with the Festa dos Tabuleiros. When you see the number of paper flowers involved I think you will know why it only takes place 4 yearly.

Let the show begin!

One of 400 breadbaskets carried aloft at the Festa dos Tabuleiros, Tomar

I couldn’t believe my eyes!

Balanced on 400 heads!

A once plain house declares its colours

Blooming lovely!

Even the church got in on the act

This was a favourite

Bluer than the sky!

So pretty!

Simple, but effective

Wall art!

A bouquet?

Spot the natural or the fake?

Not a plain street in town!

I’d love to live over this shop

A shady spot!

A truly amazing moment at the Festa dos Tabuleiros in Tomar

What a statement!

Chelsea it’s not, but every bit as special in it’s own way. Click on the first photo to start the slide show rolling. This link will take you to my original post on the Festa dos Tabuleiros. What a day that was!

What else does arrangement signify? Arranged marriages came to mind, probably because I’m reading a historical novel at present. Check out Jakesprinter’s page to see other interpretations. Just click on the lucky snake logo or the link.

Jakesprinter’s Sunday Post : Captivating

Can’t resist having a little fun with this week’s subject Captivating. So many things in life can be captivating, including Jake’s Lucky Snake logo with it’s hypnotic eyes. It captures my imagination, holds it, and makes me smile- that’s a great definition of captivating.

Me, capturing “me” and an elephant

I loved this elephant clock, proudly displayed on the mantelpiece at Thrumpton Hall. I had just waved Lisa off on honeymoon and was speeding through the building, trying to capture as much as I could of this most captivating of venues. Posh frock packed away, and not expecting ever to visit the Hall again, every click counted. I didn’t mind being caught on camera. It was one more bit of evidence that I really was there. It wasn’t just a fairytale, though it well might have been!

This is how it looks without me- even more captivating!

I find this photo rather captivating too. All of twenty years ago.

Lisa and James, in Nottingham marina

Sentiment set aside, today I’m feeling much more mischievous. Is this a captivating image? Who is captive here? We were sitting on the seawall at Lagos watching the water dogs perform- a very captivating sight.

Which one is me?

Held captive by the camera! I’m developing a liking for this kind of shot, though I suppose it belongs more to the subject of shadows. Just for today, I’m calling it a captive image.

The prisoner, in his exotic jail

I found this little fellow somewhat captivating, and his happy friend below. The gnomes of Wrocław were endearing in the extreme, and I expect I’ll have to return someday to track down a few more.

Friendly, or Wellwisher gnome

But the photo I find most captivating of all, has to be this one. I will never forget the moment that I stood stock still and simply stared. Porto, with all it’s crumpled and faded beauty, is a memory that will stay with me forever.

Hauntingly lovely Igreja de Santo Ildefonso, Porto

I know that Jake’s Comments box is going to be packed full of captivating images this week. One of my Sunday pleasures, when the chores are done, is to admire the other Sunday Post entries. Come with me? Just click on the lucky snake logo or the links.

Jakesprinter’s Sunday Post : Plains

It was like a domestic comedy in our house. “Planes? You don’t have any photos of planes!” After a little remonstrating, we reached the point where I said “No, p-l-a-i-n-s!” And we then agreed that I probably didn’t have any photos of them anyway! I’ve never been fond of flat, open spaces, and my photographic skills are incapable of doing them justice.

But it’s meant to be a challenge, isn’t it, so with grim determination, I set forth.

View from the village of Salir, in the Algarve

Across the valley to the water tower in Salir

The Algarve’s not really the place to hunt for plains, so I moved north to the Alentejo. Wide open skies, they most certainly have here.

View from the castle at Elvas

But, as you can see below, heavy grey clouds don’t really do much for them.

From lofty Monsaraz over the River Guadiana

I know that my Dad’s native Poland has endless flat and forested plains through it’s centre, and I have seen many. Photographic evidence? None. My excuse is that we were usually hurtling along to the next destination at breakneck speed, Polish style.

So I’ll settle for another landscape that I know pretty well, and much nearer home- the Cleveland Hills. I should be out walking this morning but with snow and rain, the ground has become pretty unpleasant and I’m tired of carrying half a field on the bottom of my boots.

Looking out towards Roseberry Topping from Sutton Bank

Roseberry Topping from another angle- it’s ever present in North Yorks

And I think that with that, I may well conceed defeat, admonishing myself to hang out of the car and take some death defying shots on my next trip to Poland.

You should head off to Jakesprinter’s page to see a few more successful attempts on the challenge. Better yet, can I see some of yours? Many thanks, as ever, to the brilliant Jake for sharing his graphics and ideas. Click on the lucky snake logo or links to pay a visit.

Jakesprinter’s Sunday Post : Unforgettable

Unforgettable, one of my all time favourite songs. Isn’t it yours? I don’t even have to mention Nat King Cole and it’s smouldering away in your head. He certainly had that “unforgettable” quality.

Some of you know that I have just experienced one of the most unforgettable weekends of my life- the wedding of my daughter Lisa to Leonardo. The honeymoon alone is worth a post, and I wasn’t even there! But I will tell you that they had snow in Venice- a magical thought. It swirled around the lagoon like a giant snowdome. And the claxons sounded for Aqua Alta whilst they were at a masked ball. The water rose and rose to the first floor of the hostess’ home in Ca D’Oro, and they had to remain till 4.30 in the morning when the level had dropped sufficiently to escape. Never mind- the band and the opera singers played on, and the food was good. I think that definitely comes in the category of “unforgettable”, but the memory isn’t mine to cherish.

: Lisa and Leonardo, hand in hand, as they shoud be

: Where I like to end my days- my Tavira roof top

: Sunrise on my roof terrace, the moon still in the sky

: Appearing in the Carnaval myself at Loule was unforgettable

: “That” bridge- I’ve shown you it from every angle

: Tavira beach with its lone cockle shell hunter

: An almond blossom walk through the Algarve countryside

: A very special city for me, Porto

: And that long dreamed of trip on the Douro

Click on any of the photos to view them gallery style.

I’m pretty sure most of you will have unforgettable moments in your life, and I’m looking forward to sharing them with you. Click on the lucky snake logo or the link to visit Jakesprinter with me. Thanks Jake for being unforgettable yourself.

Jakesprinter’s Sunday Post : On going

I’m sharing a little luck this week, in the Chinese year of the snake, courtesy of Jakesprinter. The theme for his Sunday Post, On going, also gives me the long-awaited opportunity to share some rather special photos. Nothing in my life is more “on going” than my love for my children.

Lisa and brother, James- here’s to them!

Lisa, with (left to right) Jema, Amy and Eva

Bridegroom and grooms

The frock in reverse

Sleeve detail

Bodice

The motifs on the skirt,symbolising where they met, got engaged, and married

The shoes/spats

The bouquet

The cake

With Leo

Just James

And Lisa

Some of you will know that I’ve just returned from the wedding of my daughter Lisa to Leonardo, and that the guests were invited to wear historical costume. Lisa designed and made her own costume, in totality; the coat and waistcoat Leo is wearing (over a 3 year period); the bridesmaids dresses (with help from Jema); the waistcoats of the grooms; flowers for the church, and buttonholes and bouquets.

With Jema she made and decorated the cake. Each layer is a different flavour, progressing from lavender at the top, through Earl Grey and orange, white chocolate and almond, down to dark chocolate and cherry. I was unbelievably proud of her efforts.

One of the best aspects of the wedding, for me, was to see her together with her brother, James. There are 19 years between them in age, and many miles in distance, so they spend very little time in each other’s company. My pride and joy at seeing them together on this very special occasion was immense. Can anything be more on going than love for your children?

Thank you so much, Jake, for the opportunity to share this snippet of my daughter’s wedding. And for the new logo to brighten up my posts. I hope everyone will follow me to your Jakesprinter’s Sunday Post to admire your amazing graphics and read the other posts.

Click on any of my photos to see them in slide show, and the lucky snake or links to take you to Jake’s page. Many thanks.

Sunday Post : Hope

Jakesprinter is celebrating Hope with his Sunday Post this week. Newly returned from the Algarve, I’m afraid my hope is very selfish- that my dream of retirement in this beautiful place might not be too far off.

Some day I’d love to have a tile-fronted home

With maybe a door and windows like these

A tessoura roof and trim would be pretty

With a little roof garden

Of course, a little TLC might be in order

I love the blue tiles, but maybe brown could be good.

But wouldn't a lacy balcony be just perfect?

And wouldn’t a lacy balcony be just perfect?

Then there’s the joy of chimney pots

I could have such fun!

I’d have wonderful flowers in my garden

But one thing is certain- I'd always be close by boats and the sea

But one thing is always certain- I’d have to be close to boats and the sea

Thank you, Jake. I may be home again, but the hope is still very much alive. I’m looking forward to seeing what everyone else is hoping for this week, so join me over on Jake’s page? You won’t be sorry.

Just click on the flying dragon or the link.

restlessjo

Roaming, at home and abroad

Jakesprinter Sunday Post

Window!

Jakesprinter’s Sunday Post : Entrance

Jakesprinter’s Sunday Post : Sentimental Value

Jakesprinter’s Sunday Post : Bay

Jakesprinter’s Sunday Post : Arrangement

Jakesprinter’s Sunday Post : Captivating

Jakesprinter’s Sunday Post : Plains

Jakesprinter’s Sunday Post : Unforgettable

Jakesprinter’s Sunday Post : On going

Sunday Post : Hope

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