DERELICT SUNDAY

We enjoyed watching and taking part in Communion at Church, albeit online, but it was a great sermon and I enjoyed all the worship songs and learned two new ones too.

After a horrible grey, dank, dismal and grey day yesterday, today dawned bright and sunny so after Church we went out for a drive.  I was trying to remember a derelict tree I had seen, somewhere near to Harnhill, but sadly we never found it - but it didn’t matter, we had a lovely time just driving around the country lanes in the sunshine.

We headed towards Down Ampney where I knew there was an old hut - but it was so wet in the field, I decided not to venture in.  However, I did take several shots - and you can see them in my collage - the top one is a beautiful panorama with some poplar trees in the distance and I thought it was a typical English landscape. At the bottom left is a very large house with an impressive gateway but sadly we couldn’t find out the name of this property, although we did search at the property and online.  At the bottom right is a photograph of the Lych Gate with All Saints Church in the background.  

In fact, Ralph Vaughan Williams, the famous English composer, was born in The Vicarage, in Down Ampney, on 12 October 1872.  Interestingly, whilst I was out taking photographs, Mr. HCB stayed in the car because the paths were so messy, but when I got back in the car, what should be playing on Classic FM but “The Lark Ascending” by the very same RVW!  For your information, The Lark Ascending is a short, single-movement work by Ralph Vaughan Williams, inspired by the 1881 poem of the same name by the English writer George Meredith. It was originally for violin and piano, completed in 1914, but not performed until 1920.  Do listen if you don’t know this piece and enjoy it again, if you do.  

However, the bottom middle shot in the collage is how NOT to take a selfie but I thought I would put it in so that you could have a laugh at our my expense.  I wanted to take a selfie today because a friend had given me a lovely scarf so I encouraged Mr.  HCB to get out of the car - he did grumble a bit, but I told him that his modelling fees would go up in 2022, so I think he remembered that and got out quickly!  In the field  behind us was a large dung heap, so I jokingly said, “Better make sure we don’t have that dung heap behind us in the selfie!”  We had to move around because the sun was in our eyes, but eventually, I took several and saw when I put them on my computer that not only was the dung heap behind and between us in the shot, but you can also see the shadow of my selfie stick.  

One of these shots would have been my main one, but as we drove towards Latton, I saw a pile of old bicycles in a yard, so we stopped so that I could have a better look.  We weren’t quite sure why they were there, but I decided that as it is Derelict Sunday, they should have their last few minutes of fame on Blip before being broken up and going to a proper scrapyard, which they obviously will because many of them were past repair.

“I never get tired 
     of the blue sky.”
Vincent van Gogh