No secret, it was 1963-70, brother and sister a few years later. It's so long ago that those years now feature in the GCSE exam history syllabus!

Some of the teachers who taught me had taught my mother when she was young. They seemed so old to me at the time. Surely we who were kids at the time don't seem old to the kids of today???

Steve

OK, I'll admit it. Betelgeuse Pangalactic Rovers playing away at Dorchester Town F.C.

The camera didn't lie, but from the right location the trees hide not just the Avenue Ground but also the adjacent Tesco (and that's something to be grateful for).

Steve

Me too (and brother and sister) - it's a small world!

The buildings were demolished a couple of years ago even though the developer hadn't received planning permission.

Sunbury Tesco on the A308 used to be cheaper than most. Haven't been there for 7 years though.

Steve

I remember the fuss about that bit of wanton destruction!

And very useful it was too, when driving up to visit parents. You'll have presumably heard of Ashford, where they lived for their adult lives and I lived until going to university?

Very true (except for parts of Dorset where time moves very slowly). My mother found out when registering my father's death that he had been born on the north runway of Heathrow Airport. Apparently, the airport wasn't there at the time...

Steve

Hey, that's my bit!

I vaguely remember my parents and neighbours thinking that Surrey would be better than being swallowed up by London. In practice, it all seemed to get swallowed up by Heathrow Airport and the M3 and M25 motorways, none of which seem to take any notice of whether they are in Middlesex, London or Surrey.

Steve

So with him being from west of the Pennines, you won't know "While shepherds watched" to the tune of "On Ilkley Moor Baht 'at" (my wife is from Yorkshire, me from Middlesex).

Nice to have Middlesex mentioned, doesn't happen much nowadays apart from the county cricket club.

Steve

Seen while walking the dog this afternoon. Hanging silent and motionless in the mist. Flat with lights on the underside or round the edge. Seems to have a bump on the upper side. No trickery, slight crop and curves tweaked, and the camera never lies ...




Happy New Year. And may it be a good one for your photographic creativity and imagination.

Steve

It's the tune for the old German carol "O Tannenbaum" ("O Christmas Tree"), so not subversive at all. No idea how it came to be used for the Red Flag. On the other hand, lots of what we think of as traditional tunes for Christmas carols actually started off as tunes for other songs.

Steve

Ah, that last one ... what a way to finish a set. The colour and ripples on the water lift it from being a good picture of a bird to being a great picture that happens to be about a bird.

The others are good, too. I particularly like 3 (flying goose) and 4 (landing swan), the textures and detail in the wings are excellent.

Steve

The last one is stunning - composition spot on, reflections spot on, duck spot on, absence of horizon spot on. It deserves to be printed big and hung on a wall.

The second stone tower comes a very close second for me. Perhaps there's a bit too much blank sky at the top, the brightness seems to be in conflict with the subtle colours of the rock in the bottom right (which is where my eye wants to settle but can't!). Cropping closer to the top of the tower might help to give more balance.

Here's hoping you get another foggy day and time to make good use of it.

Steve