Il Parco Dell’Etna

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Mount Etna is one of the most active volcanoes in the world and last year, just after my visit, it became a UNESCO World Heritage Site. As recently as last month it was putting on a pyrotechnic display, closing the nearby airport at Catania. All was calm when I was there. Travelling friend and I stayed in an hotel with a distant view – if you craned your neck a little on the balcony, and ignored the buildings in the way.
We went up twice, first of all independently and we couldn’t resist a guided tour a couple of days later.
Here are some photos taken at about 2000 metres, cool and grey with mile after mile of lava from various past eruptions.


In June there were miles of empty roads, lots of stopping places for photos and an almost creepy stillness.
You quite quickly descend to sunshine and there the flora and fauna is pretty.


Etna can be seen from all over the east of Sicily and when you’re up there the views down are amazing.
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Going down.

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Towards the sea.

I enjoyed  looking back on my time on Etna, I’ll post some photos of the guided tour soon!

WHY

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Tony calls it a rant but I totally agree with him, WHY, WHY, WHY? Pop over and read, let him know your thoughts.

2far2shout's avatar2far2shout

PUBLIC HEALTH WARNING

Here follows a rant…

021

Why?

Why do we war with each other?

On a bright sunny morning why can’t we rejoice in the wonder of this world and vow to live in peace?

Why?

Human Beings have forever waged war, ever since there have been too many people to comfortably live an existence which provided all we need. When we began to travelled and saw what others had, we wanted it too, at first to share then to have exclusively. We made war for water, for access to rivers seas and oceans, for precious metals, for oil, for drugs and for slaves to do our bidding.

Our leaders taxed us compulsorily and we gave to them the means to make weapons to wage war. We still do. How much peace can you make with an aircraft carrier?

We have made war in order to dominate, to impose…

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A gathering summer evening

Posted on Posted in Food, UncategorizedTagged , , , 19 Comments

Since June I’ve been regularly checking on a tree when I walk the dogs. At first it had tiny green berries and by early July they looked like small green olives. Excitement mounted as they began to colour, just tinges of purple at first, but they didn’t seem to grow any bigger because of the relentless heat we had. Busyness meant I didn’t take that route for a while and then last week I jumped with joy, they were starting to ripen. I had a bag with me intending to pick blackberries but instead I picked windfalls. Have you guessed what they are yet?
damsons
Who needs blackberries when there are damsons? Last year there were so few that they weren’t worth picking, but now they are all over the ground under the tree. I don’t think that anyone else picks them, can you believe that? They are in a public place that has a good number of walkers and yet they just fall and go to waste, except for the birds and squirrels. Perhaps because its in a city rather than the country, people don’t know what they are or what to do with them. Doesn’t anyone else like damson jam or blackberry and apple pie? Surely one of the joys of summer is going to pick blackberries? I love to get free food, and spreading damson jelly on my toast through the dark winter helps to make it tolerable.
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What do you gather? Or am I the last of a dying breed of hedgerow raiders?
damson2
Why not go hunting in your area and see what you can find? If you’re not sure what to pick, ask an old woman like me or of course just do an image search on the internet. Foraging is the perfect way to spend a summer evening.

An English Market Town

Posted on Posted in England, Photography, TravelTagged , , , , , 19 Comments

Do you have towns that you regularly drive by and just don’t get round to stopping? I have several, and on Saturday I did get round to this one! Bridport, in Dorset (my second favourite county) is just 40 miles from home. I bypass it nearly every month on the drive to see my daughter, often wondering what it’s like. This time I got to visit because my friend and I had a table at a craft fair there, for the first time.
Bridport is known for its thriving arts and hosts the prestigious Bridport Prize for writing each year, I’d like to be good and brave enough to enter one day. The craft fair took place in the Arts Centre, where Dee, the manager fell for my hand made cards, thanks Dee 🙂
Saturday is market day and this particular one was also the annual carnival, so the little town was positively bursting at the seams, buzzing and vibrant, with tourists mingling with locals and market traders.
I love markets and dashed around like a headless chicken, wanting to buy, see as much as possible and soak up the atmosphere. All the time I was aware that my friend was on her own and possibly busy while I went walkabout, snapping away with my phone camera and wishing I had my big girls Canon. Never mind, here are some of the things I saw.

I managed to resist buying anything! The book stall was most tempting – of course, but I’ve forbidden myself from buying any more until I’ve reduced my unread pile. And stuff? well I mustn’t take anything home unless I’m prepared to take something to the charity shop. What I did get though was bread, glorious locally made with green olives, sun dried tomatoes and cheese and the most heavenly texture. I wish I’d bought more. I won’t be bypassing Bridport on a Saturday again.
Hope you enjoyed my visit!

Running shadows

Posted on Posted in Photography, Weekly Photo ChallengeTagged , , , , , 28 Comments

Photography is all about experimenting with light, and then positioning yourself (or your subject) in the right spot to achieve a certain effect. One such effect is a silhouette, in which an outline of someone or something appears dark against a lighter background. Silhouettes can be very dramatic and resemble black shapes without any details, but the effect varies from picture to picture.

Says Cheri Lucas Rowlands. I thought of this image I took recently on the beach at Exmouth, and I quite like it.
running
Join in the challenge with a silhouette shot at, http://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_photo_challenge/silhouette-2014/

Chutney for Madhu and Tess

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I told you about runner beans recently, and both Tess and Madhu asked if I would share the recipe. Well as I think it’s delicious, even though I actually can’t stand runner beans then it would be rude not to!chutney
So here goes.
You will need

1lb runner beans
3/4lb onions
3/4lb sugar – half and half soft brown and demerara is good
3/4 tablespoon ground turmeric
3/4 tablespoon mustard powder
3/4 tablespoon cornflower
3/4 pint malt vinegar
Optional but nice – 1 teaspoon curry or ginger powder
Top, tail and de-string the beans – a mix of young and old will make for a good texture chop them quite small, I made them about a centimeter square , and boil until tender.
Finely chop the onions (cry if you have to) and boil in most of the vinegar until soft.
Mix the rest of the ingredients with the left over vinegar, drain the beans and mix the lot into one pan. Boil this up for about 15 minutes.
Put the chutney into clean, sterilised jars – remembering not to put hot chutney into cold glass.
You’re supposed to leave it for at least a month before eating, but I’ve never done what I’m supposed to do!

Let me know if you try it or if you have a better runner recipe to share.
Oh and the brown stuff in the background is beetroot and apple!