Blenheim Palace

Blenheim Palace is a rather magnificent country estate in Oxfordshire, birthplace of Winston Churchill and the Place My Mother Wouldn't Shut Up About When Talking About England for my entire life.

I probably visited in the spring of 2012 for the latter reason, rather than the former - and immediately saw why this place had such a huge impact on the 9 year old mind of my dear Mummy which has never quite left her. Glorious paintings, furniture, history - everything you expect from a big old house that has been standing for as long as the Palace, and has been kept in breathtakingly perfect condition.

Rather surprisingly I haven't been to many country estates, so I don't have much to compare the Palace to in terms of grandiosity.  It certainly left an impression (when can I move in?). We spent a whole day here and I would gladly go back for seconds. Except that the year long pass I got from this visit has expired. Sigh.

Unfortunately they are quite strict about not taking photographs inside the house, which means I enjoyed looking at all of it with my eyes for a change. However the grounds are quite spectacular (more on those later) and the tiny chapel is extraordinary, with its tiny pews and huge marble sculptures.

My parents are over this summer, and I'm surprised Mum hasn't professed her desire to return here. I'll probably take her anyway, any excuse.

Blenheim Palace is in the small Oxfordshire town of Woodstock, and is easily accessed by train from London. I shot these pictures in 2012 on my Yashica TL Electro X on Ilford 400 Delta 35mm film.

tiny kisses

Butterflies in the butterfly house at Blenheim Palace.

at home

Cemetery Tour - St Pancras Old Church.

St Pancras Old Church has been the site of Christian worship since the 4th century. The churchyard was used as a place of burial until 150 years ago, when tombs and graves where exhumed and moved to make way for railways by that Victorian lot. The tombstones were all plonked against the base of a near-by tree, which has since grown to surround said tombstones. Its known as The Hardy Tree and I decided to pop down and visit one weekend when I was in the area.

I loved this beautiful, old churchyard, situated out the back of St Pancras train station in one of those quiet spots that makes you feel like you have discovered some secret hidden in the otherwise busy city of London town. Its always slightly magical to stumble upon these places.

Particularly when you notice the Hardy Tree. Grey tombstones tucked in the embrace of a beautiful old tree, laden with floral offerings and fallen Autumn leaves which reminded me of the shrines my sister and I would make when we were young, pretending they were left by fairies.

I couldn't help but wonder if there was some wild group of teenagers lurking about, leaving these bundles of flowers and drinking cider when the churchyard is otherwise closed in the evenings.

You can read more on the churchyard and the history of the Hardy Tree on the official St Pancras Old Church website.

These photographs were all taken on a rainy November afternoon with my Canon EOS5000 using Kodak Ektar 35mm film. You can see more cemetery tours here.

Denver Art Museum & Clyfford Still Museum

I had a few cool hours to kill in Denver last October, and chose to do so by taking in some art and culture at the Clyfford Still and Denver Art Museums in the city's Cultural Complex.

The Still Museum was peaceful, the art and architecture beautiful.

The DAM was something else. Floors and floors of art both modern and classic, interactive areas, a beautiful collection of Native American art and artefacts.

I was completely taken by the Western Art floor. Duh - cowboys, horses, buffalo, it was all a bit like what the inside of my head looks like a lot of the time.

I also got really lost.

It was worth it.

These photographs were all taken on my Yashica TL-Electro X using Kodak Ektar 100, in October 2013.

grey mornings

Early Morning at Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn. Shot on Kodak Ektar 100 with my Yashica TL-Electro X.

Cemetery Tour - Green-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn.

Green-Wood Cemetery is one of the oldest cemeteries in the US, and quite spectacular to boot. I dragged some friends along for a walk on a balmy Autumn say in early November and although we only saw a tiny corner of it, I was pretty impressed.

Green-Wood has a wonderful mix of mausoleums and headstones from throughout the 175 years it has been in place, and its huge. You can do trolley tours on certain days, and upon entering the cemetery you are given a nice map of famous graves to visit. I couldn't quite get over how tidy it all was compared to some of the big cemeteries in London which harken from the same era, and generally have become sprawling, overgrown wildlife sanctuaries (which I love). It was nice to see a big old Victorian era grave yard in its intended state, with lots of beautiful trees decked out in their autumnal best on a gloriously sunny morning.

This lady was waving at the Statue of Liberty who was waving back to her, it was magical.

There was lots of good military and masonic symbols were hidden here and there.

Everything looks a bit new which was weird.

These were all shot using my Yashica TL-Electro on Kodak Ektar 100 35mm film in early November, 2013. You can see more Cemetery Tours over here.