Paris, wedding clothes a la mode! Shop window displays near Montmartre..

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Paris, shop window displays near Montmartre showing the latest fashions for  wedding clothes,  including a bride who looks more like a tragedy queen!

Paris, fettered clothes displayed on the pavement.

  Clothes on display on the pavement outside a dress shop in Paris, Place d'Aligre.

Art nouveau buildings in Palma de Mallorca.

Photographs of fine Art Nouveau style buildings in the centre of Palma de Mallorca.  Art Nouveau is a style of art/ architecture of c1890 - 1910. It was inspired by naturalistic forms and structures in curved lines. The famous Architect Lluis Domenech i Montaner worked in Palma and was probably responsible for the above buildings, they are delightful works of art.

Winter pansies and washing hanging on the line.

Winter pansies and sprouting buddliea.

washing hanging on the line in France.

Cranes migrate South diagonally over Creuse, Central France.

Cranes fly South diagonally over Creuse in central France towards Aquitaine.  They are flying to Southern Spain and Portugal.

Cranes (gruidae) are large, long-legged,  long-necked birds. They fly with their necks outstretched, and live on all continents except Antarctica and South America. They eat a range of items and are opportunistic feeders, sometimes insects, fish, small rodents, amphibians, various plants, acorns, grains and berries. Only certain cranes migrate travelling thousands of miles each year from their breeding sites. They have a wide vocabulary of specialised calls, flying in an echelon (arrow format) at speeds of up to 50 mph. Thousands of Common cranes fly South from Scandinavia  spending time at two Northern French lakes, Der-Chantecoq and La Champagne. They cross France diagonally via Nievre flying toward Aquitaine then cross the Pyrenees toward Southern Spain or Portugal.  In the photographs above cranes are flying over Creuse. I have seen many thousands of cranes this year and feel very lucky to live on the crane flight path.

Palma de Mallorca. A woman 'down and out' who lives there in a premier street.

A woman 'down and out'. This woman told me she had lived on this stone bench at the head of the premier shopping street in Palma de Mallorca for four years! All her belongings are covered by this plastic sheeting.

Conspicuous consumption. A shop window located near the woman 'down and out' photographed above.

Another shop window in the same street.

Another shop window in the same street.

Conspicuous consumption! A shop window full of gold etc Rolex watches. This shop and the others above are just a stone's throw from the woman 'down and out' pictured above.

Palma de Mallorca, the ancient central courtyard/patio of a house (now a Hostal).

Photograph shows the entrance courtyard to a house (now a Hostal) in the ancient heart of Palma de Mallorca. 

Huge fungus, growing on an ancient felled chestnut tree, and a farmstead in France.

A beautiful giant pale orange fungus grows on a huge felled chestnut tree in France.

Another view of fungus.

View of an old farmstead in La Creuse, France.

Round bales of hay in an ancient French barn.

Round bales of hay. These unmanageable round bales (formerly square, formerly sheaths) are stuffed awkwardly into an ancient barn in France.

'Large hat and flowers', and 'Black and white', two paintings by Tessa Bennett.

'Lady in a hat with flowers'. Painting by Tessa Bennett.

'Black and white,' painting by Tessa  Bennett.

Swallows prepare to leave France for Africa.

Swallows meet up and prepare to leave for Africa. This photograph shows a few of the many swallows that gather on electric wires outside my house. They will feed up on insects before they fly, and make sure their feathers are in tip top condition.. They have a perilous journey to Africa ahead.

Blackberries and a nest in France.

Nest found attached to a rambling rose twig in France,  possibly a wren's nest. 

A small trug full of newly picked blackberries from  hedgerows in France.

Antique tiles, 18th and 19th century, English, French and Dutch.

 18th and 19th century wall and floor tiles, painting by Tessa Bennett.

Herring gull at the quay side, Berwick-upon-Tweed, Northumberland, England.

Herring gull stands sentinel on the quay side at  Berwick-upon-Tweed,  Northumberland,  England.
Paintings by Tessa Bennett.

The intelligence of a herring gull, you can see it in his eye,  but can he remember?

Skye, the rough haired Jack Russell from Berwick-upon-Tweed, England

Little Skye, a Jack Russell.

Skye would like to sleep.

2 Warren's Liquid Blacking pots, early 19th century.

2 early 19th century liquid blacking salt glaze pots.     These stoneware pots were first made by Jonathan Warren in c1795, his premises being at 18 Great Suffolk Street, London.      In c1800 Jonathan's brother Thomas opened a shop at 14 St. Martin's Lane, Charing Cross, London.    Thomas died in 1805 and his son Robert moved the business in 1816 to 30 The Strand,   then in 1821 Jonathan moved from Great Suffolk Street to Hungerford Stairs, London  selling the business in 1822.   Robert Warren continued making blacking, eventually selling out to Cherry Blossom. Poor Charles Dickens worked as a boy at a blacking factory at Hungerford Stairs, he was only 11 years old but was sent by his father whose finances were in a precarious state. He pasted labels onto liquid blacking pots and put paper covers onto blacking paste pots. Blacking was used extensively in the 19th century for the cleaning and polishing of boots and shoes, floors and doorsteps. The pots above show one with the Charing Cross address c1800, the other would have had a paper label and is c1820.

Amarylis bulb in glass jar, 3 views of the unfolding bud, painting by Tessa Bennett.

Painting of an amarylis bulb growing in an old glass jar. Three unfolding views of this magnificent flower.

Antique tiles, Dutch, English, Spanish, and Portuguese, and books, painting.

6 antique tiles, Dutch, Spanish, English, and Portuguese, books by Albert Camus, Desmond Morris and George Orwell,  painting by Tessa Bennett.

Angels in stained glass, c1880

We all need an angel, this one stands at the half way point of an imposing staircase in Berwick-upon-Tweed. She holds peace symbols, white lilies and a white dove.

Another angel stands at the top of the same staircase. She floats,  and gathers roses.

Life of a Tulip, 24 drawings and a short history of the tulip

Geese fly North over a Northumberland beach towards Scotland at Cocklawburn..

Geese fly North over Northumberland, England, towards Scotland.

Geese  fly North over Northumberland, England, towards Scotland.

Spring flowers, tulips, snowdrops, and polyanthus, two paintings by Tessa Bennett

Snowdrops and polyanthus.

Pink Tulips.

Pink roses in antique spill vase.

Pink roses in English antique porcelain spill vase.  

Tessa Bennett with some of her paintings in Mark Irving's Gallery

Tessa in Mark Irving's Gallery, Berwick-upon-Tweed, Northumberland, England.

Three cyclamens in pots, and white orchid

Fishing boat in harbour at Berwick-upon-Tweed, Northumberland, England.

'Lady M', small fishing boat in the harbour at Berwick-upon-Tweed, Northumberland, England, with daffodils.  Painting by Tessa Bennett.

Vallauris pot, Poole pottery etc on formica table

Vallauris pot, Poole pottery, zinnias etc on French formica table,

 

 

 

 

 

Painting by Tessa Bennett.