CLASSICAL

All things CLASSICAL is the theme for Carmi's challenge this week.

I love simple lines, and having been to Greece many times in the past, I admire the Grecian style.



This beautiful glass jug was given to me as a present when I left my last full-time job of work many years ago. It is gorgeous when the sun shines through it, but it's hard to find exactly the right place for it here.




The RHS Gardens at Wisley, in Surrey, however, make used of classical-inspired urns for planting. And very nice it looks too!




And there's got to be classical cars somewhere! These were waiting for a wedding party outside the Town Hall. Lovely, sleek lines, you've got to agree!

DRINK UP !

Carmi's challenge this week is DRINK UP! This is my first effort - a shot taken at a family Christmas - before we got into the stronger drink!

BRICKS AND MORTAR

Ah, nothing like an old brick wall - preferably part of a walled garden, sun streaming down, scent of lavender, marjoram, roses..........

Well, I've got nothing like that for Carmi's Challenge this week but I have found some old brick building.




These chimneys are at Losley Hall, in Surrey,




as is this brick arch. I thought at first that the old bit at the top was brickwork, but on looking closely, it is stone. Brick-shaped stone, but still stone! Obviously at some time, the arch was cut through, and brick used to build it.




The last photo is of ancient brickwork in Bruges, Belgium. The old arches are lapped by the waters of the canal, and I wish I knew what the grilles were for! Bruges is full of beautiful brick-built buildings and a wonderful place to visit.

METALLICA

METALLICA is the theme this week for Carmi's Thematic Challenge so I dug out some photos of various metals.




This is a pile of stacked chairs at Tittesworth Reservoir Visitor Centre, in Staffordshire. The chairs were not actually very well stacked, and the next person to take one had the whole lot tumbling down!




These unused sunbeds were firmly tied down when we crossed the Arctic Sea on our way to Svarlbad. Boy, was it rough! But seeing as how it was the Arctic, the sunbeds were definitely not used!




Security can be good-looking! This is the grille across the door to the Storage and staff shed at South Park, in Macclesfield, (Cheshire - not the one in the US!)

EDIBLE

Carmi's Thematic Challenge this week is EDIBLE. You can see lots of yummy photographs here but these are my contributions to the table.



We eat a lot of fruit, and I love red grapes.........




........and nectarines and plums.




I don't do much baking as there are only two of us, and one is diabetic, but I did make a pineapple upside down cake for a special occasion. Hadn't made one in years, so it won't win any prizes. But it tasted good!

TRIANGLES

Carmi's Challenge this week is TRIANGLES. Go over there and see his fantastic picture of a roof!




My first offering is the growing tip of a young monkey puzzle tree, in black and white, for a change. We bought it in a small pot, and luckily it is growing very slowly, as they do, apparently, as I really do not want a large Monkey Puzzle Tree in my garden!




The cranes at Zeebrugge, one of the biggest container ports in Europe, made an interesting pattern.




And lastly - I can do roofs too! These are at Tromso, in Norway,. Way, way above the Arctic Circle, it is a lovely town, with interesting museums and friendly people. They do good coffee, too! I would love to go back there.

SIGNS OF AUTUMN

Carmi's Challenge this week is SIGNS OF AUTUMN. I can't compete with the wonderful colours in North America, and our trees haven't started to colour up yet, but we do have BERRIES!



Chinese Rowan berries in our garden. I found this tree as a seedling, and it is now about 15 feet high and flourishing.




Cotoneaster horizontalis - also in our garden




Another sort of Cotoneaster.




Hypericum - our garden as well!



Ripening crab apples in the park behind our house. When they fall, the Blackbirds love them.




This is one I took earlier - last year in fact. A Hazel tree in the park




And lastly, we've had very high winds lately, and a lot of leaves are falling without going a decent colour, just brown, so we have plenty of these!