Glorious Gidleigh

March 9, 2024

Some say that a man is only as old as the women he feels! Well given that Mrs. C has spent the past 20 years basking between the magic ages of 39 and 40, I guess I have continued to feel extremely young at heart.

Another wise man once told me that ageing is just another word for living. As I look in to the bathroom mirror it would appear that I have certainly lived!

So as Mrs. C verges on becoming “a women of a certain age” (we have been married for 37 years and she tells everyone that she was a child bride) and given that we continue embrace the theory of “Carpe Diem” too its fullest extent, we decided to celebrate the occasion and book in to the wonderful Gidleigh Park Hotel, located just on the edge of the village of Chagford.

So we fired up the Polo, dialled Gidleigh in to the Sat Nav and headed across Dartmoor in search of paradise.

Now, I have neglected to mention that the wind was approaching 50 miles an hour and the rain was horizontal and coming across the moors like tracer bullets. Inclement weather can sometimes be an issue when driving across Dartmoor. However, regular readers will know that the Chivs have what is known as “Churchillian Fortitude” and basically this was a summers day for us hardy residents of Plymouth.

Now the problem with a Sat Nav is the propensity to blindly follow its instructions. As we headed through Princetown “Trixie” (yes that is the lady on my Sat Nav), instructed me in a polite yet domineering manner to turn left.

As an ambi-turner I immediately obliged only to immediately regret it! She had directed me down a country lane with grass growing down the centre of the road (always a bad sign in the West Country) that was only six inches wider than my car. As there was no turning point, the rain was getting harder and the light was beginning to fail I pressed on. Just when I thought things could not get any worse they did; we reached the bottom of the hill to be confronted with something that resembled the Sea of Galilee. The water stretched on for about 30 metres and there was no indication of how deep it was. I certainly could not reverse back up the road so “when needs must the devil drives” and I put my foot down and went for it.

Eventually and with some considerable relief on my part, we emerged on the other side relatively un-scathed and breathed a huge sigh of relief. Having crossed that particular rubicon we were greatly relieved to see the signs for Gidleigh along with another sign underneath which said “don’t give up you are nearly there”! Clearly there had been others who did not have our frontier spirit.

Then all of a sudden we turned a corner and there it was, our Xanadu, the Glorious Gidleigh Park Hotel.

As we walked through the main door I knew we had made the right choice. There were pairs of Dubarry Wellies of all sizes tucked behind the door, just incase we had forgotten ours (we had by the way).

Dubarry - Just in case you had forgotten yours.

We walked past the inviting lounge which seemed to have the words “please indulge in a rather superior brandy and then snooze” written all over it.

The ideal place for a brandy and a snooze

Then we were welcomed by Simon, our General manager and as if by magic our bags disappeared and we were sashayed in to said lounge to enjoy a plate of smoked salmon sandwiches and a couple of glasses of red. Yes we were both in our happy places.

Gidleigh may be termed as “old school quality” so photographically I tooled myself up in a similar vein with the Leica M10P and 50 summilux. I was in 7th heaven with the surroundings and mood lighting.

A bit of still life en route to the room

I believe that someone had spotted that we were in danger of spending the entire afternoon eating smoked salmon and drinking red wine. Not a bad way to spend a wet afternoon, when a charming young man appeared and offered to take us to our room.

As we walked in a smile came across my face. The room was beautiful and on the window sill was a decanter of Medeira and a flask of cold water. I assumed the water was there in case of fire so we proceeded to tuck in to the rather cheeky medeira, accompanied by some rather lovely chocolate truffles.

Madeira and chocolates - The flask of water was in case of a fire!

At this point I had a serious look outside the window and we certainly had a room with a view!

Room with a view - I spy a potential bench of contemplation

So reluctantly we tore ourself away from the Madeira, borrowed a couple of pairs of Dubarry’s and headed off for a walk through the grounds.

As you can see the grounds are absolutely beautiful. Everything is of course wet and damp, after all this is Dartmoor England although, the woodland is in fact almost like a tropical rainforest.

We managed our 5000 steps and headed back to our room, only to find that a bottle of Champagne had been placed on the dressing table with the compliments of the Management. That was going to make that long soak in a hot bath even more enjoyable!

Dinner was booked for 7.30 and Management had suggested that we might like to arrive a little earlier for an aperitif. Always polite Mrs. C and I duly obliged.

Dinner was absolutely delightful. There was no rush and each course was carefully explained by the Maître D’. I have included the menu for reference.

For the record, I started with the prawns, followed by the venison and ended with the cheese, all accompanied by a cheeky little claret. In addition there were various amuse bouches and pre-deserts and the whole culinary experience was quite fantastic.

Following dinner we moved back in to the lounge for coffees and petit fours and with a very nice touch our hosts sent a delightful message in celebration of our birthdays.

What a fabulous way to have a joint celebration of us both becoming personages of a certain age. Next morning we rounded things off with a traditional “Full English”; basically a pork-fest including wonderful black pudding and a local delicacy, hogs pudding!

Good things always come to an end and it was then time to fire up the polo and head back to Plymouth (this time ignoring Trixie and taking the A38 dual carriageway).

Ah, you thought I had forgotten. No blog can end without the Bench of Contemplation.

So that was a little Glimpse of us celebrating a major milestone in our lives. Still very much in love we continue to Carpe Diem and make the most of every minute together.

Lots of adventures to come so stay tuned and warmest regards from a wet and windy Plymouth.

Vodičkova 9 Prague..........

December 10, 2023

Well Christmas is coming which in the Chivers household means “Road Trip”!

Yes indeed, we like to travel to Europe to search out a Christmas Market and get in to the festive spirit (which normally means over indulgence on my part). This year was to be very special on three counts:

It was our first Christmas Market since relocating back to the UK.
We would be meeting up with our best friends from Dubai, Seth & Claire and their lovely boys.
We had chosen Prague, somewhere we had never visited.

Now as regular readers will already know our overseas visits are planned by Mrs C. With what can only be described as a military precision.

Of course, what everybody was really thinking was what camera I would be taking. As we were travelling super light I had decided on the Leica Q. I had been enjoying the 28mm focal length, especially for cityscapes and I also wanted something that was good in low light.

So it was off to London City Airport and on to a British Airways flight to Prague. For once the planets aligned and we all arrived within half an hour and there were lots of hugs and kisses as we met up in the arrivals hall at Václav Havel Aiport.

It is always so great to meet up with the people you love. As you can see I am already sporting my Santa look.

Our driver Vassel seemed to be a man on a mission; his mission being to get us in to town as quickly as possible. I am not sure what red light or stop sign is in Czech but to Vassel they seemed to be more inference than obligatory. I did not want to scare the kids so I only screamed out loud once!

Within what seemed a heart-stopping twenty minute drive we were outside our apartment, located at Vodičkova 9 and Vassel collected his fare, (approx 50 Euros) gave us a toothy grin and sped off to collect his next victims (Passengers).

As we entered our beautiful top-floor apartment it was clear that Claire had absolutely outdone herself on the accommodation front. This was my first image captured from the lounge window and I already knew that I was going to enjoy my visit to Prague:

Now they call Prague ”The City of 1000 spires” but truly it delivers on so many fronts. The minute I stepped outside the door my shutter finger went in to overdrive.

In addition to my attempts at being a bit arty there are also the many attractions that are obligatory to capture. The first of these was the Prague Orloj, otherwise known as The Prague Astronomical Clock, attached to the side of the Old Town Hall.

Installed in 1410 it is the third oldest astronomical clock in the world and the oldest clock in operation. It certainly is spectacular but a word to the wise, get there early in the morning as the crowds are huge, even during a freezing cold winter.

Which brings me to the subject of weather. As we arrived in Prague the snow started to fall and the temperature fluctuated between about minus 3 degrees centigrade to absolutely brass monkeys. So plenty of layers, walking boots and a good hat and gloves are essential.

There is no need to worry about self catering as the food is wholesome and inexpensive when compared to UK or Dubai. Well everything is inexpensive when compared to Dubai!

Our first morning we stopped off at Cafe 11 ( Instagram: @cafe11praha ). The girls really looked after us and plates of steaming mushroom and cheese omlette really set us up for the day.

Horatio is always the star of the show and like all 2 year olds can be seen here enjoying a post-omelette babychino.

Suitably fed and watered we set off for our destination for the day, The Prague Castle via Charles Bridge.

The entrance to Charles Bridge - The Malà Strana Bridge Tower.

Through the gloom you can see Prague Castle.

The Charles Bridge is a photographer’s dream. Spanning the Vltava River, it is a medieval stone arch bridge which has been fully pedestrianized. As a result, even in a full-on blizzard, it is packed with tourists and from a street photography perspective may be termed as a “target rich environment”.

The bridge is adorned with 30 mostly Baroque style statues situated on the balustrade which really lends a sense of theatre as you cross towards Prague Castle.

Prague Castle as viewed from Charles Bridge.

CAPTION COMPETITION: Please leave your suggestions in the comments section.

Approaching the end of Charles Bridge - Spot the Brit abroad bottom left.

Who doesn’t like steaming hot chimney cake?

As we walked across Charles Bridge the snow almost became a whiteout and it was so cold my hands hurt, even through my gloves. Fortunately my Leica Q didn’t miss a beat and I kept capturing images. However, it then came time to make a decision. Do we climb the three hundred or so steps to the castle or do we go back to the apartment for a steaming mug of hot chocolate.

You’ve already guessed it, “when needs must the devil drives” and with our usual Churchillian fortitude it was head down, teeth well and truly gritted and across the rubicon of pain to the castle.

At that point Horatio decided to fall asleep in his push chair. Not to be defeated, Seth and I manned-up and carried Horatio, asleep in his pushchair, up the three hundred steps to the castle.

Having recently become a “man of a certain age” it is fair to say that at about step 250 (yes I was counting) the legs were shaking, the snow had iced up my nose so I had trouble breathing and it is fair to say that the old heart was pumping in overdrive!

Once we reached the top I surprised myself as despite my trembling hands I grabbed this image of Prague Castle.

I could not understand why there were so many people milling around in the middle of a blizzard. I then realized that we had arrived just in time for the changing of the palace guard ceremony. Indeed I heard a guy say that there was a someone behind me with his chopper in his hand! Of course, it was the commander of the palace guard and his troop marching back to barracks.

I decided to be brave and capture some images of one of the sentries that was guarding the palace gate. These guys did not move a muscle, despite the freezing cold, but this was as close as I dared get to a man carrying a gun with a big knife attached to the end of it!

On the way back we took a detour via Wenceslas Square (and yes I did sing the song). The snow had really begun to settle and provided some excellent opportunities to capture Prague in its full winter coat.

Wenceslas Square with the National Museum in the distance.

Mrs. C still working the Prague Chic look.

After about 20,000 steps and chilled to the bone lunch was beckoning. We had booked a table at one of the establishments serving local Czech food aptly named Bar & Restaurant Local. It was a good job we had booked as the waiting time without a reservation was about 1 hour.

As you can see the restaurant might be described as Spartan and indeed was only nominally warmer than the street outside! However the staff were super friendly and the local Czech food delicious. We started with marinated pork belly accompanied by a spread of crushed pork crackling followed by roasted beef cheek, potato dumplings and steaming hot gravy. All this was washed down with a half litre of their local grog. All of this came to approximately £10 per head. You know it makes sense, unless of course you are a vegan!

Now the original purpose of our visit was to visit the Prague Christmas market. I have to be honest, the market itself was a real disappointment. It was full of fast food stalls interspersed with vendors selling what might generously be termed as tat. You would be better to shop for souvenirs in the local shops. This seems to be an ever increasing theme for Christmas markets in Europe but I did grab a couple of images for posterity.

Night out in Prague - One of the smaller local Christmas Markets.

There was so much to do in Prague and we simply scratched the surface. This bodes well for a return visit during warmer climes.

Being an avid supporter of all things Leica, I did search out the local Leica hub. As it happened it was situated a stones throw from our apartment and comprised the Leica Cafe (coffee was excellent) and the Leica Gallery where we viewed an exhibition called “ Private Journeys” by a local photographer.

“Framed” - Mrs. C whilst viewing the exhibition at the Leica Gallery.

Our final morning had arrived so we were up especially early and took our coffee and croissants to a nearby park to watch the sun come up and allow the boys some time to play in the snow. The light was super and I was able to capture some of my favourite images of the entire trip.

Let there be light - Sunrise over Prague.

So our time in Prague had come to an end and what a fantastic time was had by all although, for some, it was all a bit too much……..

So my creative year has finally come to an end, as we focus in earnest on preparations for Christmas and New Year celebrations with family.

I would like to thank all of you who have supported me across all the various platforms where I am active. Your support, advice and encouragement is always gratefully received.

2024 looks to be a fabulous year from a creative standpoint so until then, may I wish you and your families a very merry Christmas and a happy and peaceful New Year.

Warmest regards from Plymouth. U.K.

Cotehele......

October 28, 2023

Well, it is surprising what a trip to Waitrose supermarket turns up. Living in Plymouth our local Waitrose Supermarket is in fact in Saltash, which involves a drive across the Tamar Bridge in to Cornwall. Its free to get in to Cornwall but they charge you £2.60 to get out! At this point I normally go in to my rant about paying to go across the bridge but, in my new relaxed semi-retired state, I simply smile, take a breath and enjoy what Cornwall has to offer (even if it does cost £2.60!).

In this case a visit to our local Waitrose not only resulted in two bottles of Primitivo and a Bottle of Morganhoff Chenin Blanc (don’t forget Aunty Sarah was with us and regular readers are aware that she is head of family hydration) but also included a visit to Cotehele House, a National Trust property some 20 minutes drive from Waitrose Saltash and situated next to the River Tamar in a beautiful estate of some 1,300 acres.

As usual we arrived precisely as the café opened and so we settled down to a steaming coffee and croissant. Always best to start these visits from my happy place.

For this visit I was armed with my usual “National Trust Kit”; the Leica SL2 and the manually adapted 50mm Noctilux F0.95. You have to be prepared for low light and the Noctilux is a low-light beast.

With one eye on the weather (It rains a lot in Cornwall, about 400 days a year) we decided to leave the house for this visit and head down through the woods to Cotehele Quay, about a 15 minute walk.

I can feel myself relaxing as I press the shutter

Through an archway and the garden emerges

All of our sudden we had views of the River Tamar and quite different from the Tamar Estuary with its dockyards and marinas.

We then came to Cotehele Quay, which was a total revelation. Our first stop was a carpenters workshop, where we were warmly welcomed by Chris, a carpenter by profession, who was working on the restoration of what looked like an old wooden river boat. As we talked it was clear that Chris was a man who had definitely found his happy place and was doing something he really loved.

So generous with his time, even though he clearly had so much to do

I look forward to returning to speak with Chris once his restoration project has been completed. I really do envy someone who has the ability to visualize what they want to make, and then have the skill to bring the vision to a reality.

Leaving Chris to his work we continue to wander around the Quay, with its discovery centre and Edgecumbe Café, definitely a lunch spot for our next visit. Here are a few of the images I captured:

Is that a future Bench of Contemplation that I spotted in the foreground?

The Edgecumbe Café - There’s a pastie with my name on it next visit!

We did have a walk around the main house but I did not have the time to do it justice with my camera. So this will be the subject of a future visit. After all, there’s a pastie with my name on it down at The Edgecumbe!

So the moral of this story is that if you go to the Supermarket, always wear a camera, as you never know what might be just down the road.

All the best from a wet and very windy Plymouth.

The City of Discovery...........

October 26, 2023

For those of you who have read my most recent Blog, “Carpe Diem”, you will know that since our return to the UK and our life-change from being full-time expatriates, both Mrs. C and I have been determined not to miss any opportunity. Above all, we are enjoying the ability to have spontaneity in our life, rather than being governed by plane schedules and planning holidays and the simplest of trips six months in advance.

Needless to say, when our daughter Anna mentioned that we had been invited to Dundee, “The City of Discovery”, by Matthew’s parents, we immediately accepted. The last time we had visited Scotland was also one of our proudest moments, to be present at Anna’s graduation from Edinburgh University, so we were long overdue a return visit.

Anna simply said “leave all the arrangements to us, just turn up to our apartment in London on this date and everything will be taken care of “. So we were faced with spontaneity and being absolved of all responsibility. It seemed like a win / win to me!

Of course, arriving in London meant we had the pleasure of meeting up not only with Anna and Matthew but our son Simon and his partner Kitty. Collectively this meant a calorie fest and a great evening was had by all in China Town where we had an evening of “Double Duck”’. That is for another blog.

Suitably fed and watered, the next morning we headed for Kings Cross and the 10.04 a.m. to Glasgow. The six hours passed very quickly and comfortably. Matthew handled the catering via the on-board catering app and delivery service (a world with which I am distinctly unfamiliar) and there was a great deal of discussion as to what we would be doing during the next few days in Dundee. Anna seemed particularly concerned as to our ability to “keep up”?!

We were warmly welcomed at Dundee station by Matthew’s father Bruce, who was keen to give us a feel for Dundee. So we headed to the highest vantage point, the Dundee Law, which provided a fantastic view across Dundee, The River Tay with its famous road bridge and beyond in to Fife and the historic golfing location that is St. Andrews.

As the sun was setting we looked to the West and the approaching rain and storm clouds provided an ominous warning that the weather might be on the change. Prophetic words as four days later, following our departure, this part of Scotland would be subjected to the ravages of Storm Babet. We were literally in the eye of the hurricane.

Ominous clouds…Storm Babet knocking on our door.

Then it was off to Broughty Ferry to meet Matthew’s mum Janet and the two dogs, Isla and Teddy. Now Mrs. C is a little nervous around dogs but we needn’t have worried, Janet had these two beautiful golden retrievers fully trained and after their initial “enthusiasm”, we were accepted like a part of the family.

The handsome Teddy - favorites are not allowed but if they were, he would be mine

This was our first opportunity to meet Janet and Bruce but as they welcomed us in to their beautiful home it soon felt that we had known them for years.

That evening they took us for a meal at a country restaurant called The Lands of Loyal. We drank an aperitif in front of a roaring log fire in a baronial style lounge before partaking in a meal of Pheasant wrapped in filo pastry followed by Gressingham Duck with all the trimmings. As usual I was firmly in my happy place and once we returned home I was asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.

A good job really as Janet and Bruce are very much outdoors people and the next morning, after a hearty breakfast, we drove about an hour or so in to the country side to Loch Lee for a “morning walk” and to exercise the dogs. Mrs. C and I were fully prepared and had our hiking boots and multiple layers as a shield against the crisp Scottish wind and the possibility of precipitation.

To capture it all I had the Leica SL2 and the 90 mm App Summicron SL. Not a compromise in terms of image quality but for this particular trip, knowing we would do a deal of walking, I wanted to keep everything lightweight and with a degree of weather sealing.

For those of you who have never visited Scotland it is truly a land of beauty and as we walked towards the Loch there was ample opportunity to flex the shutter muscle.

We then headed off along the banks of Loch Lee. Our target to reach a small white cottage at the end of the Loch. We aimed to take lunch in the woods above the cottage. Once again calories provided the motivation to crack on.

Our lunch destination - the woods behind the white cottage at Inchgrundle in the distance

Once we arrived at our initial target the scenery changed as we entered in to a beautiful wooded area.

The perfect spot for our lunch - Janet and Bruce with their trusty hounds

Having located the perfect spot for lunch, everyone was very relaxed and an opportunity for me to grab a few images of the team.

They even took one of me and my 50 layers of clothing! - A good boy scout is always prepared!

After delicious corned beef rolls (a personal favorite of mine), a steaming cup of Bruce’s speciality coffee and Janets über delicious date and walnut bread, we set off for a rather steep climb to our final destination above Loch Lee and what a view!

View from the top - the beautiful Loch Lee

Having walked for about two hours it was not lost on me that we also had another two hour walk back to the car and going down a mountain seems much harder than going up!

The walk back seemed a lot quicker, perhaps quietly pleased that we had “kept up”.

As we passed the far end of the Loch we came to a beautiful chapel, Kirk Lees, which dates back to 1803. It is still in use today and unbelievably in this day and age was open to welcome all those who pass by.

The beautiful church organ - built in Vermont USA in 1891.

What a fantastic day. Needless to say I was once again out for the count as soon as my head hit the pillow.

Next Morning Matthew had decided to show us around Dundee. Were first headed off to the V & A which would not only give us an excellent morning coffee but was also situated next to The Discovery, the ship which was captained by Lieutenant Robert Falcon Scott, better known as Scott of the Antarctic. I just loved the Juxtaposition of the modern V&A next to a ship which was built in 1901.

The V&A is definitely a destination for a future visit as we only had time to scratch the surface.

We then headed off in to Town which gave me an opportunity for a bit of street photography.

Giving Dundee the full Noctilux at F0.95

Desperate Dan - Fans of the now defunct “Dandy” comic magazine will recognize Dan who was the comic’s mascot

Fisher and Donaldson - Bakers with a 100 year history - by Appointment to The Royal Family of course

Regular readers will already have guessed that our morning adventure would end in calories. Fisher and Donaldson are a master bakers dating back 100 years. They maintain a royal Warrant and specialise in traditional baking, renowned for their fudge doughnut.

Our mission, which we chose to accept, was to buy some bridies, a meat filled type of pastie plus some steak and haggis pie for our lunch. Janet had been quite specific that we were not to linger and were to avoid the fudge doughnuts. I could see the conflict in Matthew’s eyes as he gazed longingly at them. A testament to his will-power and good boy that he is, he resisted temptation. A treat perhaps for our next visit?

On our arrival back home with our treats, Janet (clearly a fabulous cook) had casually prepared two types of home-made soup to accompany our savories and delicious fresh-baked scones for afters with home made Lemon curd. Deep joy!

Now Janet hails from nearby Arbroath so after lunch we decided to take a restorative walk along the Seaton Cliffs at Arbroath whilst attempting to walk off the calories we had consumed during luncheon (I am afraid to admit that yours truly consumed more than others).

The view of Arbroath from the cliff path

Pebble Skimming - Anna said it wasn’t a competition, but if it was, she won!

The beautiful Isla on Seaton Cliffs always willing to pose for the camera

After our bracing walk we drove back through town. Bruce suggested we lower the car windows and we immediately had that beautiful smell of the famous Arbroath Smokies. Arbroath is famous for its smoked haddock, another treat for a future visit.

Our final day had arrived and for me was to be a real treat. We drove across the Tay road bridge and headed towards the town of St. Andrews. Famous for its great University, stunning beach but above all, is the home of the Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews, where I was hoping to obtain one of my bucket list photos.

Upon arrival in St. Andrews we parked next to the beach and headed off to give Teddy and Isla a run.

Following a good walk along the beach we then headed off to the home of golf.

I wanted a shot of the old clubhouse as seen across the 18th Green. As I took the image I could hear in my mind the commentary from the immortal Peter Aliss, “ just a chip and a putt and Steve Chivers will be presented with the gold medal and Claret Jug, as Champion Golfer 2023”. The stuff of dreams!

The 18th Hole with Club House in the background.

The Famous Rusacks Hotel, where many a glass of Bollinger has been supped

Rusack’s “Rock Weather Station” - it merits careful attention!

Then we came to a spot near the 18th Tee. The Famous Swilken Bridge where Open champions of the past have taken that special walk up to the 18th Green. This was the photo I wanted and what better than to be accompanied by my beautiful daughter Anna. A special memory with a very special girl. Do you think I look like a proud father? The only thing that was perhaps missing was for me to be holding the famous Claret Jug after having been crowned Champion Golfer. Well we are all allowed a dream aren’t we?

The Swilken Bridge with my beautiful daughter

Our thanks have to go to Janet and Bruce. Not only have they provided their wonderful son Matthew as a partner for Anna, but they were so kind and generous in welcoming us in to their home. We look forward to returning this hospitality and showing them the beautiful South West of England at the earliest opportunity.

Ah yes, you thought I had forgotten. Let us finish with a rather special “Bench of Contemplation”.

Warmest regards from Plymouth and see you all again soon.

Carpe Diem!.......

September 30, 2023

Sometimes, as creatives, we are guilty of running out of energy as the creative juices seemingly dry up. something akin to writers block.

For me, its that in the South West of England we are prone to some inclement weather (about 365 days a year!) and so there are times, when unless you wish to photograph pouring rain, we are forced to remain indoors. As a photographer I find this somewhat limiting as there is only so much “still life” photography I can undertake.

As a result and when we do get a break in the clouds, and that beautiful light streams through natures soft box, it is definitely time to “Sieze the Day” and make the most of any opportunity to get outside.

This is what happened last weekend. As we peered through the curtains we could see the early morning sun emerging through windswept clouds and so we decided to head out first thing for coffee and breakfast and just see what the day might bring.

Now we could have just walked around to the Barbican Plymouth to one of our local haunts but that particular day, by some form of serendipity, we drove some 15 minutes to Saltram House, a National Trust Property located on the outskirts of Plymouth.

This is a prime example of taking advantage of something that is actually on our doorstep.

The house itself is set in a beautiful Georgian country estate that dates back to the 1700’s. It was actually owned by the Parker Family from 1724 to 1957 until, like many of the landed gentry, the property was transferred to HM Government in lieu of death duties and then passed over to the National Trust.

There is quite a long walk, (about an hour or so) around the perimeter of the estate, including a beautiful stretch which winds along the banks of the River Realm and includes views over wetlands and a bird sanctuary. I can’t wait for that 100-400mm zoom to arrive.

However, today we decided, for the first time, to visit the house itself. As we passed though the entrance we literally set foot in to another world.

As always we had arrived early and had about 40 minutes before we were allowed in to the house and most importantly about an hour before the Chapel Tearoom was opened! So, we decided to walk around the side of the house and through the exquisite inner gardens to find The Castle Folly. Above all dogs are banned from the inner garden so (a) we didn’t have to constantly watch where we were walking and (b) Mrs. C, who is not comfortable around our canine friends could enjoy the whole experience in a relaxed manner.

Already looking promising from a photo perspective

What a promising start to our walk. The garden was a dream and presenting all manner of interesting photo opportunities. Indeed, there are some 1,500 species of plants in the garden and so I felt duty bound to capture at least some of these (albeit in my “artistic” manner).

What better place to take a break than under a 100 year old Rhodidendra!
I was so at peace as we sauntered through the grounds and after about twenty minutes we finally came to The Castle Folly.

Yes I had died and gone to photographers heaven!

Even Mrs. C was willingly participating!

Now Mrs. C has a limited tolerance on the modeling front and so not wishing to push my luck over that particular rubicon I suggested we head back to the Chapel Tearoom for a cup of tea and slice of cake.

The route back was equally as rewarding…

What a grand place to put a deck chair - memo to me for my next visit

Tree-lined avenue back to the Great House

And then our oasis that was the Chapel Tearoom emerged. A pot of Ceylon Tea and slice of Pumpkin cake and I was well and truly in my happy place.

My way of capturing tea and cake at F0.95 using a Georgian manor house as Bokeh

Mrs. C checking the old analogue sat-nav to see if we had missed anything

Suitably refreshed we decided that we should have a quick look around the interior of the Great House. Now we intend to come back again during mid-winter and spend much more time inside this wonderful property which includes a Robert Adams neoclassical Saloon, original Chinese wallpapers, beautiful ceramics and a remarkable collection of paintings including many by Sir Joshua Reynolds and Angelica Kaufman.

For this visit I settled on trying to record and show you what we experienced before an in-depth blog later in the year.

Well that should boil a kettle in no time

No doubt the maid had plenty of polishing duties

Chinese silks in the bedroom where King George allegedly spent the night.

Back to the car via the Stables and the obligatory National Trust shop

What a day we had. It started out with a decision to go out for a cup of tea and ended up with a wonderful day out and my shutter finger fully exercised.

Now you didn’t think I had forgotten did you? As usual lets end this blog with the Bench of Contemplation. Actually, I am breaking with tradition and ending with the Benches of Contemplation as there we two images I liked so I am showing you both!

So the motto of this story…..Carpe Diem!

See you next time and warmest regards from Plymouth.

Agatha...........

September 28, 2023

Now Mrs. C. and I are great fans of Hercule Poirot, the famous Belgian detective created by the wonderful Agatha Christie. We had just finished watching one of our favorite episodes, “Dead Man’s Folly” when Mrs. C pointed out that it was filmed at Agatha Chrsitie’s holiday home, “Greenways”, located about an hour from Plymouth. Moreover, the house is now run by the National Trust!

A quick call to Aunty Sarah and we agreed that an expedition to Greenways was in order. So we fired up the Polo, dialed Greenways in to the sat-nav and headed up the A38.

Now for those of you who are also great Agatha Christie fans and would like to visit Greenways, remember that you need to book a 3 hour parking slot in advance of your visit as it is a very popular destination amongst her legions of fans.

Another tip for young players is to get there early. The first slot starts at 10.30p.m. and they have a delightful café with excellent coffee and the usual National Trust gift shop etc.

After a restorative jolt of caffeine our first stop was to visit the house itself. Its not a huge property and so an hour in the house itself is more than enough.

When I first caught sight of the house and saw its location and views across the picturesque River Dart, I immediately understood why a creative like Agatha Christie would be drawn to this wonderful slice of Devon.

Once you step through the front door your are warmly greeted by a member of staff, provided with a guide book and told to simply enjoy the experience.

The light was streaming through the panes of the front door and I immediately captured a picture of an ornate bust ordained with a rather stylish hat, my favorite image of the morning, which I used as the “thumbnail” for this blog. I was surely now in Agatha’s world.

From this point onwards I can only say that the entire experience could be termed as a sensory overload. The house was crammed with artifacts from travels, collectibles and of course many books, but it struck me that she and her family were hoarders rather than collectors.

So my images of this initial tour of the house perhaps reflects this as I picked out those singular items which drew my photographers eye and piqued my creative sensibilities.

As we entered one of the sitting rooms there was a beautiful Steinway piano upon which, was a picture of Agatha. It was then that it dawned upon me that despite having read so many of her books and watched so many of her stories on television (Hercule Poirot and Miss Marples), I didn’t actually know what she looked like!

A rather beautiful image of the lady herself.

Then on to the Kitchen. Rather plain and functional which seemed to lead one to believe that food was not perhaps her greatest creative motivation.

I can only describe some items as “eclectic”!

Then I moved upstairs ahead of the crowd to find her study. This was perhaps her inner sanctum and of course we saw where she would have committed her thoughts to paper, a library of her works and a rather lovely original script of Dead Man’s Folley, signed by Hercule himself (David Suchet).

The lady could definitely write a story!

Now Mrs. C is an absolute mine of information and asked me if I had noticed anything particularly interesting about the dining table. Indeed, whilst all place settings had wine glasses, she had a jug in front of hers as it appears she only ever drank double cream with her food!

I continued my journey around Agatha’s house still trying to make sense of who she really might have been and collecting imagery which drew my attention.

The exit, guarded by a portrait of her son-in-law, Anthony Hicks

An hour had passed and I felt that I had barely scratched the surface. However, the weather was forecast to be changeable and I was determined to see the gardens and visit the Boathouse.

So we re-grouped outside the house and it was out with the analogue sat-nav to determine the best route down to the river.

So dear reader, that is my photographers view of 2.5 hours at the holiday home of Agatha Christie. In fact I made a further visit with our dear friends Cathie and Nick and still I feel that I have yet to scratch the surface.

I think this is one of those places that will always be on our list of places to visit and for sure we will see something different at each visit.

Well by now I had worked up a thirst. As you know Aunty Sarah retains the role as “Head of Family Hydration” and immediately suggested that we visit the White Hart Inn, located some 30 mins en route back to Plymouth, for a bite of lunch and a “quick sharpener”.

Here are a few images of our sortie and a “taster” of this lovely location and its immaculate gardens, which I feel should be revisited later in the year and merit a specific blog (memo to me).

I think the cured meat ploughmans has my name on it

Well dear reader, that brings us to the end of our day out. When I entered semi-retirement a friend of mine asked me if I thought I would get bored. I think not!

As always we couldn’t finish a blog without visiting the Bench of Contemplation:

I do hope you have been enjoying our National Trust adventures and as the weather starts to change and winter approaches I wonder what will be in store for our next outing.

Wishing you all good light and warmest regards from Plymouth.

The Tower......

August 24, 2023

All of a sudden August is upon us and Mrs. C and I have been feeling the need to do a bit of traveling. So, we took cousin John up on his kind offer to spend a few days in the country, fired up the Polo, entered Great Shoddesdon in to the sat-nav and headed up the A38.

Now cousin John, although retired, has many strings to his proverbial bow. He was and continues to be a great sportsman. In his day he was a fine cricketer and “Whispering Death Hurle” is still reveered in the hallowed corridors of the Trojans Cricket Club, as the bowler who terrorized many a batsman down the “corridor of uncertainty” whilst, when fortifying the middle order, subjecting many a naive young bowler, who dared to stray fuller than a good length, to the “long handle”. To cap-it off he is a member at HQ (that’s the M.C.C.) and one of the Somerset C.C. faithful.

During retirement, he turned his hand to Bowls and became Club Champion at Salisbury Bowls Club and was capped at County level having been selected for Wiltshire. He also enjoys the odd pint of Timothy Taylors best bitter so that’s all good then! However, I digress……

Being a keen historian, John now acts as a guide for the tours of Salisbury Cathedral’s famous spire. Although Mrs. C is somewhat altitudinally challenged, she was determined to overcome her fear of heights and experience cousin John’s “Tower Experience” first hand.

To give context to our visit to Salisbury Cathedral, John felt it was important to first visit the earliest settlement of Salisbury. Located some two miles to the north of Salisbury, the Iron Age hill fort of Old Sarum dates back to around 400BC.

The site continued to be developed during the Roman occupation, the Saxons later used it as a stronghold against the marauding Vikings and the Normans created a motte-and-bailey castle, a stone curtain wall and a great cathedral.

King Henry 1 built a royal palace within its walls and the site continued to be used for some 300 years until disputes between the Sheriff of Wiltshire and the Bishop of Salisbury caused the removal of the church into the nearby plain.

By the 13th century and as the ‘new Salisbury” developed, Old Sarum was slowly dismantled until the site was sold by Henry VIII in 1514.

Interestingly it continued to have a parliamentary representation and became one of the most notorious “rotten boroughs" and until the passing of The Reform Act of 1832, it served as a pocket borough the Pitt Family.

We chose a beautiful day to visit Old Sarum and here are a few images of our explorations.

What a day with views across Salisbury Plain

The ruins of the original Salisbury Cathedral

The Spire of Salisbury Cathedral as seen from Old Sarum

What must this view have looked like when the fortress was originally constructed?

Having gained an understanding of where and how it all started, we headed off for Salisbury and its beautiful Cathedral.

Salisbury Cathedral, formally the “Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary”, is an Anglican cathedral, is the mother church of the Diocese of Salisbury and is the seat of the Bishop of Salisbury.

The Cathedral can only be described as impressive and is widely regarded as one of the leading examples of early english gothic architecture.

Its main body was completed over a 38 year period, from 1220 to 1258. The Spire (our ultimate destination), stands at a height of 404 feet (123 meters) and has been the tallest church spire in the United Kingdom since 1561.

The Cathedral continues to hold a number of other records, having the largest cathedral close (the area immediately around the main cathedral building) encompassing some 80 acres and the largest cloister.

As we walked from the car-park to the main entrance of the Cathedral, I was in awe that a building of this size and intricacy could have been constructed over 800 years ago. Just consider the logistics alone of transporting all that stone by horse and cart, let alone the craftsmanship that was required.

As I walk closer the beauty of Salisbury Cathedral emerges

Interestingly, the Cathedral holds one of four copies of the Magna Carta Libertatum (translated from the medieval Latin as “Great Charter of Freedoms”).

This royal charter of rights was first drafted by the then Arch Bishop of Cantebury, Cardinal Stephen Langton, and was agreed by King John of England, at Runnymede, near Windsor, on 15th June 1215.

Its purpose was to make peace between the unpopular King and a group of rebel barons and promised protection for the barons against illegal imprisonment, provided access to swift justice and limitations on feudal payments to the Crown.

Whilst containing many good intentions none of the parties to the charter honored their commitments and the charter was annulled by Pope Innocent III.

In 1216, the regency government of Henry III reissued the document and it finally acquired the name “Magna Carta” (Great Charter). It was again reissued in 1225 and later in 1297, at which point it was confirmed as part of England’s statute law.

In order to protect this fragile document it is maintained in very low light and no photography is allowed. However there is a full translation next to the original and it makes very interesting reading.

Whilst waiting for the tour to commence, I took the opportunity to collect a few images.

Reflections in the water from the main font provides a different, albeit wonderful perspective

Now it was time for our tour. Comprising of 9 people plus our guide (cousin John), the duration of the tour is approximately 1.75 hours and involves five different climbs, comprising 332 steps, to an eventual altitude of 200 feet. It is not for the feint of heart. Oh and you better use the toilet facilities before you start, as once the tour begins there is no turning back.

Our first climb brought us to a balcony with uninterrupted views along the length of the Cathedral. It was here that I managed to capture the cathedral in all its glory (IMHO).

Having reached the base of the main Spire we were confronted with a vertical tower of spiral steps leading to the next level. I gulped and looked at Mrs. C who was keeping it together. If we were going to turn back it would have to be now.

However, “when needs must the devil drives” and always Mrs. C stepped up to the plate and we started to climb. I was trying to be brave and supportive but I must say that I had to take a few deep breaths along the way.

Crikey, you mean we actually have to climb up this!

Of course, John is an old pro and managed all the next steps in relatively easy stages and his inciteful historical knowledge and witty repartee made the whole process a joy.

Once you reach the 200 foot level, there are four doors leading to a very narrow outside viewing balcony. One is closed due to nesting by Peregrine Falcons but the other three provided spectacular views.

John and our merry band enjoying a truly spectacular climax to the tour

The Cathedral and Close from a different perspective.

I was so proud of Mrs. C for reaching the top and for coming out on to the balcony. The only way to defeat one’s fears is to confront them although easier said than done!

By the way, coming down is just as difficult as going up but buoyed by her success Mrs. C was like a gazelle and I had trouble keeping up.

I have only scratched the surface with my images and I leave the rest for you to discover when you take the Tower Tour. Trust me, go online and make the booking, you will not regret it.

Once we finished the formal part of the tour I was free to wander around the Cathedral. Here is a selection of imagery which I hope conveys the marvelous experience that awaits the visitor.

As we were leaving we came to a huge oak door which was locked. I managed to capture this image “through the keyhole”.

What a wonderful day and as all English, the best way to finish is a cup of tea in an English country garden. As I don’t take images of cups of tea here is my ‘artistic” interpretation.

As always my final image has to be Mrs. C in John’s beautiful cottage garden, sitting on “The Bench of Contemplation”.

So dear readers, another adventure comes to an end. As always we managed to combine, culture, calories and the odd libation or three with precious time spent with the people we love.

I hope you enjoyed our brief ntour of Salisbury Cathedral. There are many more adventures in the pipeline, so see you all again soon.

Warmest regards from Plymouth.

Culture In The Country .....

August 10, 2023

Well August certainly started with a bang. A visit to Doncaster to see our daughter Anna meant that Mrs. C could tick-off one of her longstanding bucket list items, a visit to the wonderful Yorkshire Sculpture Park (YSP).

As usual Team Chivers came fully equipped for all eventualities as the weather had been somewhat inclement and the morning weather report predicted rain of biblical proportions. I ventured to suggest that we might put-off said visit for another time but “She Who must Be Obeyed” was unanimous, we were going and that was that!

Under advice (a.k.a. pain of death) and given that this was predicted to be the best day of the week, we decided to take our chances. So, we dialed YSP in to the sat-nav, fired up the Polo and headed up the M1.

Now regular readers will already be aware that Mrs. C plans these excursions with what can only be described as a military precision. As a result, I merely point the Polo in the correct direction, ensure I have various cards for payments and light refreshments and pack my camera bag.

Given that this was going to be an “artistic” excursion, I decided to give it the full treatment with the Leica SL2 and the manually adapted 50mm Noctilux F0.95 (my favourite lens).

As aways we arrived bang on opening time at the Weston Entrance, so as to start the day with our usual steaming coffee and a croissant. The immaculate coffee shop did not disappoint and whilst everyone else was enjoying breakfast and discussing what sculptures they wished to look at, I decided to work on creating some art of my own.

“Bokeh Daisy” - Steve Chivers - Giving it the full Noctilux treatment at F0.95

Entrance to the Park is £9 for adults and parking is free. So suitably refreshed and ticket in hand we set out in to the Park.

Now walking boots and / or stout walking shoes are highly recommended as is picking up the old analogue sat-nav (for anyone under the age of 30 that is a paper map which shows you the route!).

I will not pretend to know too much about either sculptures or the artists that created them. However, we had great light, dramatic clouds and a very interesting subject matter, all set out in the 500 Acre 18th century Bretton Hall Estate in West Yorkshire.

They say that a picture is worth a thousand words so let us move forward accordingly.

I have to say that after the first 15 ,minutes of walking I was so enjoying both the art itself as well as the beautiful scenery of the Bretton Hall Estate.

Now I do not wish to provoke a debate about the nature of the sculptures but it is fair to say that Damian Hirst may not be everyones cup of tea.

However, in the next sector of the Park we came across my particular favorites by the wonderful Henry Moore. If I could afford to buy one (which I can’t), and had a garden (which I don’t), I would put one in it.

“Reclining figure:Arch Leg” - Henry Moore

“Large Two Forms” featuring Anna Chivers - Henry Moore

I loved the juxtaposition of the art amongst the beautiful Yorkshire countryside

At this point I had fully embraced the artistic concept and was up to about 4000 steps on the iPhone. Culture whilst burning calories, an interesting concept! However, we appeared to be off the beaten track and so it was out with the analogue sat-nav.

Fortunately, being a country boy, I have a natural sense of direction and I soon had us on the right track.

We had now traversed the entire Park and had arrived at the main entrance and the YSP Centre. As we walked through the centre the lighting created more photo opportunities.

“The Corridor Of Uncertainty” - Steve Chivers

Then we emerged in to a sector of the park where the exhibits somewhat challenged my concept of art although they did make me smile. An exhibition by Erwin Wurm. However, that is the beauty of art, it is all in the eye of the beholder.

Well, after the last selection of exhibits by Erwin Wurm my mind was reeling. So we headed in to the woods in search of familiar territory; Barbara Hepworth.

“Relics in the Landscape” - Daniel Arsham

Walk of Patrons - Our dear friends Rachel & Jonathan Ward

Well there we have it. Arriving back at the Weston we had covered about 4kms in about 2.5 hours. Exhausted but jubilant. To cap it off we had an excellent lunch at the Weston of cold cuts, local cheeses & steaming hot new potatoes oozing with butter. Be sure to book in advance or you will not be able to get a table. As always, I ended our visit in my happy place :-)

As per tradition the last image has to be “The Bench of Contemplation”.

“The Bench Of Contemplation” - Steve Chivers

What a fabulous morning and we felt that we had barely scratched the surface. All the more reason for another visit; something I would recommend to everybody!

See you again soon and warmest regards from Plymouth.

A Morning With Elizabeth......

August 9, 2023

Sometimes in life the planets align and a wish comes true. This just happened to me when I received a call from my brother, who asked me if I would like to spend a morning with a beautiful lady called Elizabeth and take pictures of her.

Okay, so my curiosity was piqued to say the least. Then I found out that Elizabeth was in fact a Mark IX Spitfire owned and operated by the wonderful people at Aero Legends ( aero legends.co.uk ) and that his neighbour, Mark “Maverick” Gifford, was one of the volunteers / enthusiasts who help run the air-days out of Compton Abbas Airfield, and he had arranged an all areas pass for me to take some photos of this wonderful aircraft.

For me this is “Boys Own” stuff! I have always been an aircraft enthusiast although I had strangely never combined this with my love of photography. This was going to be a very exciting and challenging photography experience and for the day I took my Leica SL2, with the 24-90mm Vario-Elmarit and the manually adapted 50mm Noctilux F0.95 M lens, plus my Leica Q Type 116.

Mark and I arrived at the airfield at 8.00 a.m. sharp. He had an operational briefing to attend and I would have an opportunity to grab some images before the crowds arrived.

I was introduced to Josh, who runs the Aero Legends side of things and to Andy, who runs the airfield itself. Josh was looking a little nervous as the good old British weather was up to its usual tricks and if it got any worse the day would have to be cancelled. Both Andy and Josh were extremely kind and basically told me to roam freely whilst avoiding getting anything chopped off by propellers……Sound advice in my book!

I was then shown in to the hanger and formally introduced to Elizabeth.

Well it was love at first sight. Such beautiful lines and even though she was made some 70 odd years ago she is still the centre of attention wherever she flies.

At this juncture I was introduced to our pilot for the day, Mr. Charlie Brown.

I have to say that Charlie is one of the coolest guys I have ever met. After all, who has a job description that simply says “Spitfire Pilot”? Absolutely charming and patient he took time to tell me about the history of the aircraft and about the work it takes to keep this wonderful aircraft in peak flying condition.

Charlie, or to be precise Flt. Lt. Charlie Brown, not only looks like a fighter pilot but is the real deal. He joined the RAF in 1981 and throughout his 30 year flying career he has flown all manner of aircraft including the Tornado GR1. A flying instructor and head of training at Aero Legends, Charlie has reached over 1000 flying hours in Spitfires and you could see the glint in his eye as he took me around the aircraft.

Charlie then politely excused himself to attend a comprehensive operational and safety briefing. Whilst the day is about giving a great deal of joy to those lucky few who get to fly with Charlie, nothing is compromised in terms of safety and operational efficiency.

The Team gathers for their morning briefing.

A great many of the team comprise volunteers / enthusiasts who gladly give their time to keep “Elizabeth” in peak condition. By the time they had finished their preparations she was absolutely gleaming and ready to be rolled out of the hangar.

Simply stunning, fuelled up and ready to be moved air-side.

At this point I decided to take a look at the cockpit. I managed to grab a few images and was amazed how simple and straightforward it all looked, albeit a little snug. I must say that if I ever have the opportunity to fly in this beautiful aircraft I might try to lose a few pounds beforehand!

Then Elizabeth was towed on to the grass airstrip ready for the first lucky passenger. Aero Legends run flights from a number of locations and if you follow the link to their excellent website you can see the various locations, aircraft and flight packages. Fair to say I am already saving up for mine!

Passenger safely installed in the rear cockpit

A puff of smoke from the exhausts and the wonderful Merlin engine roars in to life… What a sound!

Low level flypast -simply stunning and very emotional - I was already welling up at this point

One satisfied customer - I just had to record that smile

As you can see above, everyone to a man that flew in Elizabeth came back grinning from ear to ear.

Aero Legends have many different aircraft but one that caught my photographers eye was this beautiful Boeing Stearman. Formerly used as a military trainer this aircraft is in mint condition and that wonderful engine and glistening propellor just begged to be photographed.

I would like to extend my sincere thanks to Josh and Andy for giving me access to Elizabeth as well as Mark Gifford for making the necessary introductions. What a great team!

Now Compton Abbas Airfield not only provides a great flying experience but also provides plenty of great food and drink at their onsite restaurant. As I was there really early, I took a few arty shots. Let me tell you, the service is fantastic, the signature burger to die for and all washed down with a pint of the delicious local Gritchie IPA. I was once again in my happy place!

The Restaurant - Early morning before the crowds arrive

There are a couple of Gritchie Ales with my name on them

The Gritchie Brewing Co are on to a winner - My particular tipple was a cheeky IPA called “Session Lore”

Only one thing left to do and that was to have my picture taken with the beautiful Elizabeth.

As you can guess I could have taken hundreds of photos. If you want to see more please go to my gallery page and I have made a specific gallery entitled “Spitfire MK IX NH341 - Elizabeth”.

I hope you have enjoyed my Spitfire experience as much as I did capturing the images. I thoroughly recommend one of the flying days at Compton Abbas Airfield and once you have experienced the thrill of seeing this aircraft up close and personal, like me you will start saving for a flight in this wonderful piece of aeronautical history.

Stay tuned for more of my adventures and warmest regards from Plymouth.

Going For A Pastie With Drake.....

July 26, 2023

Well dear readers, we saw a break in the weather and the sun was threatening to come out from behind some very ominous clouds. So, we fired up the Polo and headed off towards Dartmoor and the wonderful Buckland Abbey, to visit the home of Drake (no not the well known Canadian rapper), Sir Francis Drake, one of England’s most historic figures.

Now for this visit our regular team was a man down, with Mike a little under the weather. So it was Mrs.C, Aunty Sarah and yours truly, armed with the Leica Monochrom Type 246 and the 50mm Apo Summicron.

Buckland Abbey from the car park…Those clouds were looking ominous!

It took about 30 mins to arrive at Buckland Abbey, located on the edge of Dartmoor near Yelverton. Unusually parking was free and for those of you who have yet to subscribe to become members of the National Trust, adult entry will cost you £14. If like us you are a regular visitor to National Trust properties, the annual membership at £139 for a couple is a no-brainer.

As always we are one of the first to arrive and headed to the lovely cafe, manned by super friendly volunteers and producing excellent coffee. Over a steaming hot flat white the girls convened to determine the order for the day.

Actually, the order of play was to be dictated by the weather, for as we looked out the window the heavens opened and it was like a monsoon for about twenty minutes. Seems like we were in the best place to wait it out.

It was decided that once we had a break in the weather we would take a walk around the grounds of the property before returning for a tour of the house. If I was good, Aunty Sarah was promising a steaming hot pastie for lunch! Sold to the man with the monochrome Leica!

All of a sudden our collective prayers were answered, the rain stopped and there was light! So without further ado we set about our tour.

Buckland Abbey dates back to 1278. It was originally a Cistercian monastery, the last one that was constructed in England and Wales. However, in 1541, during the reign of King Henry VIII and as a consequence of the Dissolution of the Monasteries, the entire Buckland Estate was sold to Sir Richard Grenville.

The Abbey was subsequently converted in to a Tudor mansion home. It was then that it was sold to Sir Francis Drake, the first Englishman to circumnavigate the globe during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.

One can only imagine the opulence during the 16th century.

With Mrs.C in charge of the analogue satnav (in older times we called this a map) and ably assisted by her partner in crime Columbus (a.k.a. Aunty Sarah), we headed off in to the grounds.

The light was challenging; when it was out is was super but it kept changing mid-shot. I used a four-stop ND filter on the 50 APO in order to avoid blowing out the highlights.

There is nothing like the countryside after the rain

Mrs. C and Aunty Sarah at one with nature!

It was all going so well until I spotted the girls scratching their head and consulting the aforementioned analogue satnav. Alas I made the fatal error of suggesting that we may be in fact lost. Have you ever tried taking photos when your wife has her foot on your neck?

However, quickly retrieving the situation I suggested that at times like this the best advice is to always turn left. Being an ambi-turner, left is my favorite direction and lo and behold we found ourselves back on the correct path!

The warmth of the sun disguising the fact that we weren’t so much lost again but merely off-course!

Oh dear, we seem to have another “conversation” about direction….Columbus is saying nothing!

Uncle Chunkle saves the day……finally back at the Abbey

After our little excursion and with rain threatening we decided to venture inside to see how our Tudor ancestors lived.

I must say having recently visited Llanhydrock House and Coleton Fishacre, much newer properties, Tudor England was certainly a less opulent place. However, Buckland Abbey would have been the height of luxury during these times and it was only from the profit of Drakes famous world voyage, that he could have afforded a property like this.

I love a good hat, with some bokeh added for good measure

I believe that the heart of these old homes is the kitchen. They normally had to produce food on a grand scale. At Buckland Abbey it was more rustique and utilitarian than I had imagined.

However, Buckland Abbey does have its treasure. In the Georgian Dining Room is a self portrait by Rembrandt. It took eight months of painstaking cleaning and restoration before it was formally confirmed to have been painted by the old master. I did my best to record it but there were so many reflections on the protective glass that I fear I did not do it justice.

Rembrandt’s Self Portrait - another man who liked a hat!

Regular readers of this Blog will know my love of “Embracing The Shadows” and also that I am a sucker for a good window. All these old properties are full of light and shade and Buckland Abbey did not disappoint.

As the sun tentatively ventured out again from behind storm clouds, we grabbed the opportunity to visit the Cider House and its wonderful garden.

Cottages amongst the beautiful undergrowth

Given that everyone was now so relaxed, the sun was beaming down upon us, birds were singing and butterflies were…. well doing what butterflies do, I gamely asked the girls if they were up for another quick portrait session. I believe that a picture is worth more than a thousand words. I leave it to you to judge!

To round off our day at Buckland Abbey we lunched at their delightful cafe. Steaming hot home-made pasties, full of meat and with buttery short-crust pastry, washed down with Luscombe Sicilian Lemonade. Uncle Chunkle was back in his happy place.

On that heart warming note and in accordance with tradition I end this Blog of our Buckland Abbey exploits with Mrs. C and Aunty Sarah on “The Bench of Contemplation”.

Stay tuned for more of our exploits in the coming months.

Warmest regards from a wet and windy Plymouth.

Coleton Fishacre.....

July 20, 2023

Regular followers of this Blog will know that since arriving back in good old Blighty, Mrs. C and I immediately joined the National Trust and have set about visiting the various National Trust Properties in the vicinity.

Now when aunty Sarah mentioned that we should all have a day out at a beautiful country home, in the midst if a tropical garden, situated by the sea and only an hours drive from Plymouth, I was to say the least intrigued. So we dialed Coleton Fishacre in to the sat-nav, fired up the Polo and headed up the A38.

For those of you who have never visited a National Trust property, its generally manned by super friendly and helpful staff, everything is super organized and you are to able to simply enjoy the property and its surroundings.

We always aim to arrive early in order to beat the crowds and, over a steaming coffee, allow ample time for Mrs. C and Aunty Sarah to plan our route-march, (sorry I mean leisurely sojourn), around the house and its gardens.

As you step out of the cafe and walk around the corner, you get your first glimpse of the house itself.

Coleton Fishacre - Rural Devon at its finest

Okay, time for the potted history bit. The location of the property was decided upon when Rupert and Lady Dorothy D’Oyly Carte where sailing off the Devon coast and spotted a valley leading down to the sea close to Pudcombe Cove. The rest as they say is history. Designed by architect Oswald Milne the property is blessed with fantastic sea views and beautiful light and just blends in to the surrounding countryside. The house was completed in 1926 and became the summer retreat for the D’Oyly Cartes.

The family lived in the property until 1949 when it was sold to Rowland Smith. He and his wife Freda maintained the house and gardens until his death in 1979 and the property passed over to the National Trust in 1982.

Mrs. C had already consulted her Met Office weather app and suggested we do the gardens and picnic first and then finish with a tour of the house; just in case the weather turned for the worse (much is weather dependent in the South west of England).

As we walked down through the gardens towards the sea we began to understand why they describe this as a tropical garden. I do not pretend to be a master of black and white plant photography so I didn’t try. However, I have enclosed a few images of things that caught my photographer’s eye.

Uncle Chunkle is getting all arty again….

Then all of a sudden we emerged at the top of Puddlecombe Cove. As we took a breath the peace was shattered by what sounded like a gun shot and then the crashing of leaves and wood as a huge branch of a tree literally fell off. Phew, that really was a close one!

The team at the viewpoint at Puddlecombe Cove

The view really did take my breath away and for once I put down my camera and took a moment to reflect and savour the view. At which point, Mrs. C grabbed the Fuji (yes a change for this visit as I was using the Fuji Xpro2 with the XF 55-200mm lens) and she captured an image of me “taking a moment”.

As you can see I was sporting my Raiders of the Lost Ark look…

Many other people were also enjoying this wonderful location which gave me an opportunity to indulge myself and capture a few different images which I believe reflect the vibe of the day.

Well, all this relaxing was starting to make me hungry and so we found a bench opposite to a wild meadow and munched through a rather superior picnic if I say so myself. Also the wild meadow proved to be an excellent opportunity to capture some more images.

Uncle Chunkle is getting all arty again at 200mm….

Suitably refreshed it was time to head back to the house itself and have a good look inside.

Now Coleton Fishacre differs from the normal stately home. It has a certain understated elegance whilst reflecting the fact that, until not that long ago, it really was someone’s home.

As I wondered around the house I tried to record images which I felt reflected how the family actually lived. Of course, your mileage may vary but as I often say, its not what we see but how we see it.

Standard issue for the period - Bag, gloves and cigarette holder

Everything you need to know about roses - No google in those days!

Very poignant - Michael d’Oyly Carte who died aged 21

As usual we end with Mrs. C and Aunty Sarah on “The Bench of Contemplation”

Well there you have it, my brief insight in to the wonderful world which is Coleton Fishacre. I wholeheartedly recommend you visit this wonderful property. When you do, bring a stout pair of walking shoes, a good picnic and of course your camera. I look forward to seeing it through your lens.

Warmest regards from Plymouth.

Back in the Box.....

July 16, 2023

What a month that June has been but the question was, how to round it all off? Easy, lets get all of Mrs. C’s side together for our annual visit to Somerset Cricket Club at the County Ground Taunton.

Now this annual event is a firm favourite with all the family, witnessed by the fact that we had 100% attendance (save for Anna and Matthew who were at Matthew’s brother’s wedding where Matthew was Best Man).

Robert, who has been a life-long supporter of Somerset hires out one of the hospitality boxes (we normally have the Bill Alley Suite) and we all come together to catch up on each others news, eat a hearty lunch, take a drink or three and oh yes, watch some cricket!

This was also the first time that we had had all four generations of the family in attendance at County HQ thanks to our lovely Maggie who was making her first class debut.

The Somerset Faithful awaiting the start of play.

Now we are a family of routine and so everyone very quickly reverted to type. “Mother” was in charge (she was unanimous about that), Grandad Robert thought he was in charge, the young ones went in search of food and alcohol, Aunty Sarah, being head of family hydration, was already one step ahead and had actually secured supplies of alcohol, Cousin John tried to explain the rules of cricket to Kitty, whilst I continued to candidly snap images so as to record the day.

Don’t worry team, Aunty Sarah has found the booze!

Now I listened with great interest as John explained to Kitty the intricasies of our beloved “Summer Game” and I must say it differed considerably from the potted version that I had explained to Kitty over breakfast.

My version goes along the following lines: “weather permitting, 11 blokes dress up in white, play with a red ball on the green bit, and try to get those that are in out, so that they can go in themselves whilst the other team try and get them out. Meantime, we have morning coffee, followed by a rather delicious lunch in the clubhouse, have a kip, followed by afternoon tea following which, we check the score to see who was most likely to win. Nothing complicated about that and rather eloquently explained I thought although, I do remember that Kitty’s eyes seemed to glaze over!

Whilst all that was going on I liked to roam around the ground with my Leica Q and try and capture a few images of the cricket from a different perspective.

Did I mention it was essential to wear a hat?

Its looking like a moody afternoon, hope they keep the Thatchers cold.

Now, the main event of the day was actually the cricketing debut of young Maggie. We felt that it was important for her future development that we introduce her to the “Summer Game” as early as possible. Naturally, she took to it like a duck to water and had a wonderful time.

What a beauty and Maggie looks lovely too!

Vital cricketing skills - Mum demonstrating to her daughter how to down a pint of Thatchers!

Well what a day we had. As always, thanks must go to Robert for making all the arrangements and bringing us all together and to all the family for being there. It really was a non-stop day but in the end and for some, it was all a bit too much……

Heres to next year at the box and regards to all from a wet and windy Plymouth.

The Boys Are Back In Town.....

July 14, 2023

Well June has been the gift that keeps on giving. Hot on our heels after seeing The Eagles we had news that the Chappels were going to be in Bournemouth. So, we immediately fired up the Polo and it was back up the A38 to visit our Dubai family.

For those regular readers you will already know that Seth, Claire and their three beautiful boys are family to us. We have known all the boys since birth and we have all shared so many wonderful experiences together during our time in Dubai.

I always get asked what I miss about living in the Middle East. I always say I miss those people with whom we shared so much of our time.

I have to say we were a little worried that after 7 months little Horatio wouldn’t know who we were. However, we soon dispelled that worry as on arrival there were cries of Aunty K8 and Uncle Chunkle! (by the way that’s what they call me due to my athletic physique….).

First things first was to undertake a family tradition. Every year Mrs. C bakes each of the boys a birthday cake so this time it was to be three in One.

So it was business as usual; Raif had a normal slice, Atticus had the big chunk with his name on and little Horatio, well he spent half an hour picking off and eating all the blue bits. Glad I am not changing that nappie mum!

Then we were off out to have an afternoon in nearby Burley. Actually this was an excuse to let the kids burn off some energy whilst us adults had a catch up.

You can be sure this trio were cooking up some mischief

Honest Uncle Chuckle it was Atticus who did it…..

Well what a wonderful first day. It is always the same with people you love; you don’t see them for ages and then as soon as you do it is normal service resumed. As you can see I was making up for lost time and unashamedly the Leica Q was in overdrive.

Next day there was a treat in store for me. As you know from previous Blogs, whilst Mrs. C continues to bask in the 20 years that all women have between the age of 39 and 40, this March I became “a man of a certain age”. So they took us for a slap-up lunch at the wonderful Chewton Glen Hotel and Spa. Trust me this was really a treat and the food was absolutely sublime.

Hey Auntie Kate, Uncle Chunkle is getting all arty again!

As always when you are having a great time it all went too quickly. During our last morning we all went to Hockey Farm for breakfast. So it was mega bacon and sausage sandwiches all round. Got to keep up the family tradition that whilst on holiday you have to have a portion of pork product in any form.

We then went out to the farm and found sone very scary looking Alpaccas.

Look Aunty K8 this one looks like Uncle Chunkle!

What a coincidence…we both have the same barber!

Well there you have it. So happy to be with everyone and so sad that we couldn’t have more time. So Just a few more images of the people we love.

So the motto of this blog is that whenever possible, wherever possible make sure you make the effort to take time out for the special people in your lives.

Warmest regards from Plymouth

June is bustin' out all over.....

July 13, 2023

To quote the lyrics from the old song, June had quite literally been busting out all over with wonderful adventures and meet-ups with family and friends.

For those of you who have never visited the Cotswolds it is one of the most beautiful parts of rural England. Better than that, it has the added bonus of being home to our oldest friends from Dubai, the Eagles

Cathie and Nick left Dubai a couple of years before us and they were greatly missed. We loved those Italian nights at Don Corleone at the Metropolitan Hotel, take away curry from Eric’s on the Sheikh Zayed Road (yes that really was the name of the curry house) and of course, Cathie’s Chilli Night at home followed by a movie. These may seem like simple things but for long-term expats these are the things you enjoy the most…real family time with the dearest of friends.

Mrs. C and I had been back in UK for almost six months and this get together was long overdue. However, with so much to do to get back in to the system and with our goods and chattels delayed by a couple of months (via Pakistan twice, India twice, Jeddah, through the Suez Canal, Tangiers, then to Hamburg before finally reaching London), we had been putting off a visit to Cathie and Nick until all was done and we could be completely relaxed. So, as usual, we fired up the Polo, put Carterton in to the sat-nav and headed up the A38.

What a joy it was to finally arrive and see our old friends in the flesh rather than through the screen of an iPad. As usual many hugs and kisses, lots of news to catch up on and of course a few gin and tonics to loosen everyone up.

Now the area in which Cathie and Nick live is absolutely beautiful and for our first evening they took us for a dinner at the nearby village of Shilton. Actually by took I mean we walked across a field, down a country lane and across a ford in to a picture perfect village.

Cathie and Mrs. C looking an absolute picture

Before partaking in the local beverages we did do a little sightseeing and had a look around the beautiful village church.

Having worked up an appetite we headed off to the centre of the village for dinner at the Rose and Crown.

Now I am always up for anything and then local brew is an interesting pint which goes under the name of “Shagweaver”. I am not sure how that translates across a myriad of languages, especially when I was asked by the barmaid what she could do for me and I replied, “A shag please!”. By the expression on her face that was not the first time she had received such a response! .

This was all followed up with a delicious dinner and once again, a few more pints and coincided with some fallibility with my manual focus skills. Funny that!

Knowing my propensity to grab an image, the next day we were taken to a couple of well known locations. I was all primed for some street photography with the Leica Q and I seemed to be getting to grips with this 28mm focal view.

First location was the beautiful Bourton On the Water.

As you can see the place is heaven and a firm favorite for tourists. After the girls spent some time browsing in the local shops we finished with jam scones at the Chestnut Tree Tea Rooms. Trust me they were heaven.

We then moved on to Burford. In fact Mrs. C and I had visited this beautiful village back when she was a “Child Bride” with our dear friends Shelagh and Clive and we had many fond memories.

As we walked back to our car I captured my favorite image of the day, an elderly gentleman at complete peace in the middle of his beautiful garden. He was clearly oblivious as to what else might be going on in the world. Seems like he is doing something right!

What a wonderful couple of days we have had with a couple of our dearest friends. We can wait for episode two when they come to visit us in Plymouth.

Warmest regards to all.

Surprise for Mudge....

July 10, 2023

Mudge…our mum, “Queenie”, the Matriarch and centre of our family.

I don’t believe in going backwards in life and firmly believe in forging ahead and making the most of what life has to offer. However, that two years of COVID lockdown impacted us all in so many different ways.

We were luckier than most and we got through it relatively unscathed. We all have our COVID stories (see my Blog “Creativity in Adversity) but Mudge and her partner Brian had a very difficult time of it. Locked down in Spain, some of the rules were particularly draconian regarding movement and other than our regular Zoom calls, no-one was able to visit for over 18 months.

So in brighter times and by putting that behind us, we are now determined to make up for some lost time.

Whilst Mrs. C and I and my brother Phil and his wife Jackie are now able to make regular visits, one thing that we knew Mudge really wanted was to have all her grandchildren together under one roof at our family home in Spain.

Now when I say grandchildren I actually mean working adults and their various partners. Everyone is super busy with life and work commitments so how could we possibly make the planets align and get everybody over to Spain at the same time.

Well, where there is a will there is a way. Some 8 months ago we floated the idea and everyone was up for it. Diaries were checked and co-ordinated and flights covertly booked. We told Mudge that just the four of us were coming over. Was she in for a surprise when 11 people would turn up on her doorstep.

Our thanks to her partner Brian, who we took in to confidence and in fact lent us his house, as it would be a logistical operation just to give everyone a bed for the night.

After the usual budget-flight delays, we all finally arrived at Alicante Airport, hire cars were collected and we headed off down the motorway to Los Alcazares. When we arrived at home the four of us went in and left the kids outside. When we brought Mudge out on to the terrace and she saw a row of grinning faces I can’t tell you how happy she was. Although I am a photographer and always seek to capture the “moment of emotional impact” I didn’t. I just watched and enjoyed!

Now regular readers will know that life with the Chivs involves family, food, drink and more food! So, next morning, we all headed off the the shores of the Mar Menor for our long overdue family breakfast.

We are lucky that my brother is a trained Chef and has his own catering consultancy specializing in Industrial catering. For with 13 mouths to feed every day it would be industrial catering and we needed a plan.

As usual it was not a problem and we kept it simple. So it was fire up the Barbie and yes even after all the wine I still have my eyebrows intact! although, after much “advice” from Mudge and ably supported by Mrs. C., the beard is now gone and I am told I look like my old self. According to Mrs. C. a cross between Brad Pitt and George Clooney…..hmmmm what is she after?

Alcohol, fire and gas…What could possibly go wrong?

Jackie and Harry just had to have a paddle

In my happy place - If you listen carefully you can hear Mudge moaning about my beard!

The rest of the week followed a similar trend of eating, drinking and making up for lost time. It made me so happy but what I really wanted was a family photo to remember it by.

Now trying to corral everyone in to a posable format whilst keeping their eyes open was something to behold and my admiration goes out to all wedding photographers. You couldn’t pay me enough to do that job. So I used the old “lets pull a funny face” to loosen everyone up.

Crikey no amount of post processing can fix this one :-)

However, I eventually got the image I was looking for.

I found this short blog so difficult to write; mainly because its so difficult to type with tears in my eyes. In all this happiness there was one person that I missed so much, my dear old dad. He would have had such a wonderful time with all his grandchildren around him. I made a few promises to my dad before he sadly passed which you can be sure I am in the process of keeping. However, I don’t mean to end this short blog on a sad note as I firmly believe he was there and smiling down on all of us.

Thank you to all the family for making the effort and for a fabulous time together. I love you all and lets make sure we make this a regular event because in my world, family keeps us all together and that’s what makes us stronger.

See you all again soon.

Tourist For A Day..........

July 9, 2023

Back in the day we lived and worked in London, (well way back in the day actually, bearing in mind Mrs. C was (a) a child bride and (b) is still basking in the twenty years that all women experience between the age of 39 and 40).

Somehow familiarity leads to a non-appreciation of what you have on your doorstep and its only when you return as a tourist that you realize what a beautiful capital city we have and just how much there is to see and do.

So, given that we now have some time on our hands, we decided to pay a visit to London and combine dinner with the kids with being tourists for the day.

As usual we like to start our day in Covent Garden and this visit we breakfasted at Pain Quotidien. Hot porridge followed by a butter croissant and a steamy coffee helped mobilize calories, fortify the arteries and stimulate the shutter finger, whilst motivating me to start embracing the shadows from the get go.

Embracing the Shadows at Pain Quotidien Covent Garden

On the photographic front I have continued with my creative challenge for the months of June and July of seeing the world from a 28 mm perspective. You see I naturally gravitate to 50mm and my favorite combo is the Leica SL2 paired with the 50mm Noctilux F0.95. This provides me with a sort of fusion which I describe as Jimi Hendrix meets Van Gough.

So I am trying to broaden my photographic outlook and try and capture the world, at least during June and July, from a much wider perspective.

Rather than achieving this with my M10P and 28mm Elmarit, I decided to go with the Leica Q Type 116 and its wonderfull 28mm F1.7 lens. A number of photographer friends have asked me why I have not upgraded this to the new Q3. My answer is in the images it produces. It produced super imagers back in 2015 when it was released and in my humble opinion still produces wonderful imagery (or is it me that frames the images and presses the shutter!).. Indeed, the original Q is an ideal street and travel set-up and the wonderful F1.7 lens helped me out on numerous occasions and in a variety of challenging lighting situations.

Now I admit that we were in London as tourists and according to Mrs. C. we were there to do a bit of sightseeing, co-mingled with eating and drinking and it was not to be a photography field trip. Yeah right! :-)

Of course, I am king of my own particular castle but for the sake of expediency and good health, mainly mine, I decided to take this advice on board. However, even though I would be “encouraged” to reign-in my photographic aspirations, I do like to have some sort of photographic objective whenever we are out and about and for this day, it was to try and take a series of images of St.Pauls Cathedral.

So, we set off from Covent Garden and walked along the Strand. The light was very contrasty and with all the tall buildings gave lots of shadows and interesting perspectives.

As we walked along Fleet Street memories of our time living and working in London started to flood back. Unfortunately some of them were still rather hazy as London in the eighties was a party town; all about big hair, shoulder pads, dubious fashion, food and of course the odd drink or three (so I am told).

Just as I saw St. Pauls in the distance we came across another famous landmark, the Central Criminal Courts, or to you and me, “The Old Baily”. With those fabled scales of Justice reminding everyone about the difference between right and wrong it reminded me of that wonderful TV series “Rumpole of the Baily” in which Horace W. Rumple was an “old Baily Hack” (played by Leo Mackern), with his domineering wife, known as “She Who Must be Obeyed!” and of course his beautiful colleague “Portia”. Anyway. I digress, but it is well worth looking up the book or repeats of the TV series. So a quick detour was in order as I tried to capture this building that one only wants to see from the outside as a visitor!

The Old Bailey - From a 28mm perspective.

Following our detour and in a rather roundabout fashion we eventually came to St. Pauls and indeed, I did manage to capture a series of images which I believe depict this wonderful landmark, which amazingly has graced the London skyline for over three hundred years, from a number of interesting perspectives. However, you the reader must be the judge of that.

St Pauls - Layered - From the Millenium Bridge

St. Pauls - From the South Bank - Could this really be central London?

I was really pleased with my set of images and from my perspective job done.

We then found ourselves at another Iconic building, The Tate Modern Gallery. Mrs. C. had been angling for a visit for some time so as she disappeared off to look at the art created by other people, I set about using this wonderful environment to try and create some of my own.

The Turbine Hall - My Industrial interpretation.

Embracing the Shadows - I called this one “Stairway to Heaven”

We could have spent all day at the Tate Modern but we were 15,000 steps in to our London expedition and still lots to see.

As we walked along the South Bank we came across an artist in full flow. He was totally absorbed in his painting and didn’t seem to mind me taking images of him.

I really would have liked to have been good at art. However, as a young man I was quite a good sportsman and so any artistic bent that I may of had was well and truly subdued in favour of football, rugby, cricket, tennis and golf. You get the picture.

In later life I did try my hand at pen and ink drawing. I bought a book by Betty Edwards called Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain. Betty explained that everyone can draw but what inhibits most people is the way they see things. After reading this book and putting some of her recommendations in to action, I did achieve a modicum of success. Then again isn’t it the same with photography? We can all press the shutter but its not what you see but how you see it. Anyways its well worth a read.

As we walked along the embankment I was amazed at how, over a period of 30 years, everything could change so dramatically. It would be fair to say that this part of South London would have been deemed “a bit rough” back in the day. Today it is no longer the case. It has been re-devloped with smart new apartments and lots of bustling restaurants and oozed new money.

We then came to HMS Belfast. Another blast from the past as it is moored opposite the old Billingsgate Fish Market. I used to work next door in St Magnus House for the old Midland Bank (showing my age now). Anyways the light was great so I grabbed an image for prosterity.

We were approaching the zenith of our day out and Londons famous Tower Bridge lay ahead.

After 28,000 weary but very enjoyable steps later, our day as a tourist came to an end. We hopped on the tube at Tower Bridge Station and as we travelled back to our hotel we both agreed that we had barely scratched the surface. So, more blogs to come as I continue my 28 mm experiment!

Warmest regards from Plymouth.

Lanhydrock.......

June 5, 2023

Well dear readers, we are well and truly on a roll. Inspired by our recent visit to Castle Drogo (see Blog “The Last Castle”) and armed with our new membership to the National Trust, we decided to go to the the “Dark Side” and take a trip in to deepest darkest Cornwall and visit Lanhydrock House and Gardens.

So once again, we loaded up a rather superior picnic (made by Aunty Sarah who was determined to raise the catering benchmark to, as yet, unimaginable highs), we fired up the Polo and headed off across the Tamar bridge, to a land that charges you to leave! (Enough said on that point!)

Lanhydrock is located quite close to Bodmin and is about an hours drive from Plymouth. The National Trust @lanhydrocknt has done a stellar job in the way it maintains and runs the entire property. Car parking is a cinch, the main cafe is a delight and then, as you wander through the beautiful grounds, you come across this stunning property.

The Cornish flag flies proudly over the entrance

Still retaining the charm of a time that most have forgotten

Now the excellent cafe opens at 9.30 a.m. but the house itself does not open until 10.00a.m. The National Trust are super organized and on arrival at the main door, you are directed towards lockers, where you can leave your bags so that you may enjoy the property unencumbered. Also, it provided my first opportunity to “embrace the shadows”.

Already embracing the shadows - and this is just the locker room!

As we were waiting for the doors to open we were approached by an absolutely charming gentlemen in full character dress. He said his name was “Mr. Potter” and held the position of Assistant Head Gardener. He and his wife worked from a cottage located in the High Garden and asked us to pass by later in the visit. Meantime he was very happy for me to give him the full Noctilux treatment.

Now I was fully prepared for my visit with what I call my “National Trust Photo Kit”. For the low light indoor shots and portraits (The National Trust does not allow flash photography inside their properties) I have the Leica SL2 and 50mm Noctilux F 0.95 manually adapted. For the wider shots I have the Leica Q (type 116) which allows me a 28mm perspective, whilst still handling low light well, by way of the fabulous 28mm F1.7 Summilux lens.

My objective when visiting these properties, other than creating family memories, is to try and record the history and way of life from a more artistic perspective, at least by my eye. However, you the reader will be the judge of whether I succeed or not.

A Potted History:

The estate dates back to the 1500’s although the house itself was originally built in 1620’s ( the architect was Sir George Gilbert Scott) and until it was handed over to the National Trust in 1953, it was the home of the Robartes family. It currently stands in approximately 890 acres of grounds . Much of the present House dates back to Victorian times and its a Grade 1 listed building. In addition to the House Lanhydrock Parish church stands in the Grounds (more of that later).

The House has gone through a number of reincarnations. It was in 1881 that fire destroyed the interiors of the South and West wings. The property was later restored and went on to survive both the First and Second World Wars. I would direct the reader to www.nationaltrust.org.uk for a more detailed history of the family and the property.

When I walk through these wonderful properties you will see that various things catch my photographer’s eye. I love to explore the shadows, window light often generates a wonderful mood, and there is an opportunity to capture still life, whilst also recording a lifestyle that you would have had to be truly priviliged to enjoy, when most of the surrounding country was living in a state of abject poverty.

Now you never know what to expect in these properties but as we walked in to the receiving lounge I knew that I would not be disappointed.

Beautiful window light creating the mood

My usual priority is to arrive early, get ahead of the crowd and search out the main dining room. There you will general find a high degree of opulence and a glimpse of how the family like to entertain.

That would do nicely for my Sunday lunch

I am always a fan of some nice cut glass with accompanying Bokeh

Somewhere to keep a couple of bottles of the good stuff!

Of course, a restorative cup of tea or coffee to accompany the Brandy

Having seen where the food is consumed my next priority is to find the Kitchen. This is when you realize that catering for a household of this size was truly a monumental task.

Whilst I consider myself a modern man, I retain values which I would term as “Old School”, particularly in the area of personal grooming and the standards that one should keep. When visiting the private chambers of the Master of the House, you see just how the elite maintained their immaculate image (aided no doubt by countless butlers and servants).

De rigueur dress for the Lord of the Manner

White gloves were the “must have” accessory

I was also very keen to explore the gardens. They have been beautifully laid out with various cottages and buildings blending seamlessly in to the foliage.

As we strolled through the wonderful gardens I did not think that it could get any better. It was then that we came to the Local Parish Church. What a setting!

As we left this place of serenity our party all seemed to be very much in their happy place. Ever alert, I managed to capture this image of Aunty Sarah, who was having, what I would term as, “An Audry Hepburn Moment”!

So one last image for the gallery. At every place we visit the girls like to have an image captured on what they term as “The Bench of Contemplation”.

So there you have it dear readers. A glimpse in to the beautiful Lanhydrock House; or at least a glimpse of how I see it through the lens of my camera. I cannot recommend enough that you stop by this wonderful property and see whether the lens of your camera has a similar perspective to mine.

Stay tuned for more adventures, courtesy of the National Trust.

The Last Castle........

May 29, 2023

Well dear readers. Following our relocation from Dubai Mrs. C and I have been following up on our pledges to (a) see as much of our family as possible (see recent blog “Pound Farm) and (b) re-start our hobby of traveling to interesting destinations.

This has also allowed me to continue to hone my creative urges by way of my love of photography, whilst combining the resultant imagery with the written word, by way of this Blog.

So, when Mrs. C and Aunty Sarah suggested that we should visit the last castle to be built in the United Kingdom and that it was only an hour or so from Plymouth, then my interest was definitely piqued. So in the spirit of adventure we made a batch of corned beef sandwhiches for our packed lunch (its what English people do), we fired up the Polo and headed up the A38.

By way of background and through my extensive use of google, (oh yes, even men of a certain age have at least a smattering of technological ability) I found out that Castle Drogo is considered to be a “mixed -revivalist castle”, located near Drewsteignton, in the County of Devon. I am also reliably informed that it was constructed between the years of 1911 and 1930, under the design and watchful eye of the famous architect Edwin Lutyens. The end result was indeed a real castle, which in turn became a truly wonderful family home, which was the realisation of the dream of Julius Drewe, an extremely successful and wealthy businessman (of Home and Colonial Stores fame).

I promise that this will not just be a history lesson as I took so many images during the day; many of which you are about to see.

However, in the interest of completeness, the property was given to the National Trust by the Drewe family in 1974 and was the first building constructed in the 20th century that the National Trust acquired. The castle is now designated as a Grade 1 listed building and its magnificent gardens are designated as Grade 2.

Once inside the castle you just have to marvel at the design of Lutyens and skill of the stonemasons who laid each of the granite blocks used in the construction.

The first room we entered was a wonderful drawing room where we were shown a short video on the history of Castle Drogo and already my eyes were being drawn to the wonderful mix off shadows and window light that I just love. So you are about to see my “arty” depiction of our tour of this magnificent building.

This was during the daytime. Can you imagine in the middle of the night!

Having left the drawing room our next stop was the magnificent dining room. The table was fully laid with all manner of Silver and crystalware that would certainly grace any royal palace.

For those of your with a deeper interest in the photographic element, you will notice that all the imagery has a particular rendering. Indeed, I decided to use my Leica SL2 (not usually considered a low light beast but with wonderful image stabilization) paired with the manually adapted light gathering behemoth which is my favorite lens, the Leica 50mm Noctilux F0.95 M series lens. Indeed all the imagery you will see was shot with natural light and mostly wide open at F0.95. This is testament to the superb electronic viewfinder of the SL2, providing a resolution of 5.76 megapixels, which made manually focussing this lens a breeze.

Whilst the living quarters of the castle were lavish, it was also fascinating to see “Downstairs”, the environment in which the many servants lived and worked.

Then all of a sudden we emerged in to the wonderful grounds and gardens of the castle and whilst we took a short break I managed to capture the beautiful (but camera shy) Mrs. C.

Aunty Sarah and Mrs. C on the “Bench of Contemplation”

We then took a walk through the beautifully manicured gardens. I can hear you saying that these should be in colour but I believe I have still managed to capture the essence in my usual monochrome and who knows, perhaps at some point I will go to the dark side and post a colour gallery….just not yet :-)

Just when you thought our visit to Castle Drogo had come to an end, we decided to take the three mile walk through the surrounding forest in order to find a suitable spot to consume those corned beef sandwiches that I mentioned earlier.

The girls seem to be in their happy place

There you have it dear reader. Our day out at Castle Drogo finally comes to a close. Our thanks to the National Trust for making this wonderful destination available to the public and if you are ever down Drewsteignton way, turn right and take a day out at Castle Drogo.

Warmest regards to all and stay tuned for our next adventure.

Pound Farm........

May 22, 2023

Well dear readers, having returned from 30 years of expat life in the Middle East, changed our lifestyle completely and become a “Man of a certain age”, Mrs. C and I have finally set up home in Plymouth and have firmly set about catching up with all the family.

We had arranged our annual get together with all of Mrs. C’s side of the family, and of course our son and daughter, along with their significant others, by bringing everyone together at the wonderful Pound Farm, located just outside of the sleepy Somerset village of Bishops Lydeard.

This is our second time visiting this wonderful property which dates back to 1708 (see previous Blog “Down on the Farm) . It may be date back to the 1700’s but our wonderful hosts, James and Katie have managed to keep that authentic 18th Century feel whilst equipping the property with all the latest luxury mod-cons that you could possibly require.

For Mrs. C and me, this was an opportunity to have precious time with all the family. Even more exciting was that this was the first time that we had all four generations of the family in the same place!

Of course, the star of the show was Maggie, the newest addition to our clan. Now I already have about 300 images of Maggie so I have limited myself to just a few:

Regular followers of our family adventures will know that thanks to Aunty Sarah and Mrs. C, they are planned and executed with a military precision. This years outing was no exception and as usual Aunty Sarah took charge of all family hydration requirements, ensuring all liquids were fit for consumption by way of what only can be described as a vigorous tasting regime!

“Special Medicine” for Aunty Sarah and Mrs. C

In keeping with the hydration theme, about a 15 minute walk away from the farm is the village of Bishops Lydeard and more importantly, the local Quantock Micro Brewery and its nearby farm shop. As “Chairman” and Patriarch Robert decided, in order to kick off the week in the correct manner, to covene a “family board meeting”. Strangely there were no apologies for absence, there was 100% attendance and I am pleased to say that we most definitely achieved a Quorum!

12 pints of your finest ale please landlord

The hard core doing their best to ensure there was no wastage

Copious amounts of the local ale and cider were consumed, along with hot pasties, pork pies and scotch eggs from the local farm shop. Of course, after three pints of Quantocks finest, I was in my usual happy place long before the food arrived. A delicious steaming pastie was simply the metaphorical icing on the cake, or should I say pastie!

Fortunately I had brought the Leica Q with me, which the discerning reader will already know has autofocus. Previous family gatherings, which have been libatious in nature, have taught me that under such circumstances autofocus is a must!

Fortunately we were able to walk-off the calories (and for some to clear our heads) as we took a leisurely stroll back to Pound Farm, through the picturesque village of Bishops Lydeard, for a well earned afternoon snooze, whilst taking the opportunity to gather a few images along the way.

Over the Garden wall - Now that is what I would call a well kept garden

Once back at the farm, the only rule was that there were no rules. Those that wished, present company included, headed off for a restorative forty winks, whilst “Les Jeunes” maximised their use of the facilities.

Other than eating and drinking there is plenty to do for those who take a bi-pedular approach to a holiday in the country. Mike is an avid Twitcher (no he does not have a nervous tick but is an avid and expert ornithologist). So we were quick to don the binoculars (and in my case The Leica SL2 and 24-90 mm Vario Elmarit), and join him for a ramble through the nearby countryside; and what countryside!

This rambling is not all hard work you know

As you would expect there is also plenty of wildlife and the farm also has a stable with some user friendly ponies.

This one was very keen to be photographed

Whilst I had a captive audience I took the opportunity to take individual portraits to update my family gallery. I make no apology for displaying our fine looking family. Must be something to do with the water in the South West of England!

The Kiss - Joe and Eliese - Getting in some practice for the wedding photos

Mrs. C and Aunty Sarah - Really rocking their slippers

Before I am inundated with WhatsApp messages on the family group there were two members of our party who managed to avoid my “Rogues Gallery”. I will be catching up with both Matthew and Kevin at the earliest opportunity and will photoshop them in, all things being equal, in the fullness of time and at the appropriate juncture.

Half way through the week Les Jeunes had to depart for work and other commitments and so the hard core were left to reflect on a wonderful few days, where we had all our loved ones around us. So we did what we always do when feeling a little sad, we booked a slap-up lunch at the Lord Poulett Arms in the picturesque village of Hinton St. George.

The Lord Poulett Arms is a beautiful thatched pub dating back to 1680. It is everything you can imagine and more. That traditional English feeling, superbly manicured gardens and of course, a restaurant with food to die for. Additionally, from a photographers perspective, it was full of beautiful light and shadow.

After lunch we wondered around the village to walk off a few calories and to allow me to grab a couple of images.

So our week finally came to an end. We had a wonderful time, in a house filled with laughter, with the people we love. Four generations together and yes there is one final image:

Thanks to everyone for coming together. We know how difficult life is in these modern times and how busy everyone is. However, it is only when we come together like this that everything is put in to perspective.

Love you all.

Uncle Steve x

Editors note:

All images captured with Leica SL2, 90 mm App Summicron SL, 24-90mm Vario Elmarit SL, Noctilux 50mm F0.95 manually adapted and the Leica Q116

Becoming A Man of A Certain Age......

March 24, 2023

Well then dear readers, I have just reached the age of two score and twenty, or what many people call, “A man of a certain age”.

Unlike many people who reach this age I am not undergoing my second mid-life crisis (I did that when I reached 50) but I am embracing it with unbridled enthusiasm. After all, people keep telling me that 60 is the new 40 (mind you the people who tell me this are all in their 30’s!),

However, I prefer to adopt the view that you are only as old as the woman you feel and as Mrs. C is still basking in that wonderful decade that all women seem to have between the age of 48 and 49, I am all good then!

So, how was I planning to mark this milestone? My regular readers will have already guessed correctly; by surrounding myself with the people I love most in all the world and engaging in a bout of unrestricted eating and drinking! After all, the family motto is “ Ad Excessum” (To Excess!), or as our children like to call it, “Being Jolly whilst cracking open the Bolly”! That would have been our family motto but my colloquial Latin is a tad rusty so please email any suggested Latin translations in the comments section below.

When I mentioned my celebratory plans to the kids they all cleared their diaries at lightning speed, confirmed their availability and we arranged to meet up in London for a weekend to remember.

In preparation, Mrs C and I arrived in London a day early, so that I could visit my doctor (all men of a certain age have a doctor) and undergo my pre-60 check-up. The good news was that everything was where it should have been, was in full working order and nothing appeared to be in danger of dropping off! Perfect, the bar was now officially open and mine’s a large one….oops sorry wrong blog!

So what next? Easy, head to Ladurée at Covent Garden for lunch. The temperature in London was absolutely baltic and so I couldn’t wait to get inside and sample the delights of Ladurée. Our charming waitress then asked if she could get us some water…?! I replied, “why was there a fire”? Instead I settled on a steaming bowl of French Onion Soup and a Vodka Martini with a twist. Wishing to redeem herself and sensing a huge tip in the offing our waitress then said that she assumed my Martini would be shaken not stirred! Good save I thought. “Money Penny” (a.k.a. Mrs C). and I then enjoyed a deliciously romantic lunch.

After lunch we decided to watch some of the street artists. One gentleman in particular seemed to be struggling to gee up the crowd and so I thought I would lend some encouragement (read as thoroughly embarrass Mrs. C). Our entertainer was indeed trying his best, never easy when you are up a ladder in 4 degrees Celsius dressed in a kilt. Scanning the crowd he honed in on me with a laser-like focus (clearly he was looking for “a man of a certain age”) and before I knew it I was front and centre and became part of the show.

Our artiste certainly knew how to work a crowd and whilst juggling three huge knives he set about improvising our impromptu double act. He threw me a couple of the knives which I deftly caught without dismembering myself. At this point I was standing on a box in front of about two hundred people.

To my surprise an attractive young women with a rather shapely ankle and an apparent keen eye for a sharp blade shouted out that she would give me a tenner if I showed her my chopper? Oooerr!!. The crowd roared enthusiastically (read expectantly) and my co-artiste sensed that he was in for a good pay-day with his new stooge and whispered that I should do anything they ask for a tenner!! Now, I am normally the master of the double entendre and Mrs. C knows me well. Indeed, I never back down from a challenge and she was preparing not to look, unlike the two hundred people watching the show who knew exactly where to look and who were now becoming increasingly enthusiastic at the prospect of me becoming even more participative than originally envisaged!

Given that I did not have a “chopper”, either physically, figuratively or metaphorically, but was clearly expected to whip out something, I dropped the knives (and nothing else!), jumped off the box and did what any “man of a certain age” would do when under pressure to perform an act of exposure; I whipped out my Leica M10P with the 50mm Summilux and snapped a few images. True dedication to my art!

The show finally wound up with the other half of our impromptu double act, still up a ladder, stripping down to his Y-fronts whilst juggling with three large knives. Here is the image to prove it.

Following raucous cheers from our “fans” they then started to throw money, which he deftly collected. With a wry smile my comedic partner gave me a toothy grin, shook my hand, thanked me for being such a good sport and exited stage left. Meantime I left pot-less but with a feeling that at least I had done my good deed for the day.

Back in tourist mode and despite the fading light, we then headed for the Embankment so that I could get a few touristy shots of familiar London landmarks:

What a first day in London, which was topped off by a great meal at one of the many fine purveyors of sub-continental cuisine (read curry houses) in Tooting Broadway. A mutton Byriani, some samosa chat and channa masala and I was in my happy place.

The next morning we rendezvoused at the café located in the wonderful Victoria and Albert Museum. Majestic surroundings from which to start our London extravaganza.

After a steaming Americano and a pain au chocolate, Team Chivers explored the V & A in order to soak up some culture. Now culture is a luxury but calories are essential and in true family spirit we found ourselves in Ceru, a cheeky little Lebanese restaurant in the heart of South Kensington. The food was sensational, traditional Lebanese but with a twist! Well done Matthew, great recommendation. We had the traditional arabic starters and dips accompanied by a aromatically spiced beef cheek, half a rabbit and some chicken shish tawouk. The memories were flooding back.

In order to burn off the calories we decided on a walk through Hyde Park. But where to start? The usual Chinese Parliament ensued and it was out with the sat-navs.

First off was the Albert Memorial which I tried to capture from a different perspective.

The one thing that never ceases to amaze me is how much green space there is in the heart of London, which is filled with wildlife, all of which have become very tame as they seek to be fed by the tourists. Now the manually focussed Leica M10P and 50 Summilux combo is not renouned for nature photography, but I did manage a couple of images that I was quite proud of:

As we walked out of the park gate we even encountered a Rhino!

The final destination had to be Harrods. We naively thought we would pop in to the food hall for a quick coffee and a cake. Not a hope in hell, it was absolutely rammed, so we decided to leave that for another day.

Having suitably warmed up our taste buds the main event was dinner at Roka Charlotte Street. Now we were a regular at the wonderful Dubai Roka and it has always been a firm favourite with all the family. As the evening was likely to get a bit messy we decided to have a group shot and then invoke a no camera rule. Just good food, good company and a libation or three and of course, we were jolly and we certainly did crack open the Bolly!

We spent our final day in Hampstead North London. Matthew lives there and was our guide for the day. What a fab time we had exploring the village itself, Hampstead Heath and the calorific delights of the neighbourhood.

I also didn’t know how many hills there were in this area and once again, London delivered with beautiful greenery and scenery. We did manage a visit to the Pergola which provided me with the opportunity to grab a few images of the kids. We were going for the ‘Country Life” look which seemed quite appropriate really.

Mrs. C and I couldn’t be happier. We had left the expat life to share quality time with the people we love and hopefully we have started how we mean to continue. My favourite image of the weekend was one I grabbed of Anna and Simon outside of Harrods.

Mrs. C and I feel so blessed to have such a wonderful family. From the bottom of my heart thank you for making my 60th birthday so special.

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