Glorious Glasgow

Last weekend I was in Glasgow and went to the Kelvingrove Museum. A fascinating museum where you can spend hours exploring. These are a few of my highlights.

A statute in honour of Lord Kelvin.

Looking serious

The architecture is very grand.

So much to explore

Porcupines in the natural history department.

Needle sharp spines

Part of a painting by Lowry.

I am interested in how he paints figures

The Dancer by John Lavery. When you see paintings in real life they always look different from when they are reproduced.

So vibrant

The Glasgow Commonwealth Games mascot.

High five

An ancient Egyptian dog.

This could easily be a modern design

A reproduction of a prehistoric woolly mammoth.

The bone structure would have made an amazing sculpture

A tribute to Art Deco. Cut with great precision.

Wonderful

A camellia in bloom in Glasgow! 

Pretty in pink

I love this bagpipe cake.

Piping hot

Snow on the Pennines after a visit from Doris.

There is more snow on Cross Fell than Hartside

Spectacular Scenery

The days are lengthening and it is lovely to wake up and hear the birds singing. I have been busy making some more pottery this week and hope to get back to my gardens next week.

On Thursday I had a trip to Northumberland. I travelled there via Hartside.

There is still a lot of snow left from last weekends deluge. Not a lot of snow fell in the Eden Valley or at Alston but mainly on Hartside. 

Snow cleared from the road by the snow plough

The journey from the Cumbrian border into Northumberland is beautiful. There are many stunning vistas. This is Langley castle.

Very grand, a wedding venue

A willow deer that is now turning green.

Oh deer

Looking back to Alston from Hartside summit.

The bleakness has its own beauty

An abandoned house on the Alston Hartside road.

What a view from the windows

Looking across to the back of Cross Fell.

Browns and beige

Looking over towards the back of Cross Fell.

Can you see the river in the bottom of the valley?

A typical rural view in Cumbria.

Pastoral beauty

A very old sign on the Gloucester Arms in Penrith.

This pub has recently been restored

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We have had a few warm days so I took the opportunity to tidy up my allotment. I also found some of last years bulbs so I have planted them in front of my allotment shed. This late in the year they may or may not flower.

I had a walk along the river Eden to Lacy's Caves. The path in many places has collapsed due to flood damage.

There were many landslips along the route

This is flood debris that looks like a nest.

Has anyone seen a stork?

Looking up the river Eden towards Little Salkeld.

Look at the reflections

Lacy's Caves are man made.

Gothic arches

The walls are covered with graffiti.

Can you see any famous signatures?

Look how the tree grow out of the rocks.

Ripples and cracks in the sandstone

There were clumps of snowdrops on the forest floor.

These snowdrops have very large stems

The flower heads are bell shaped

A brightly coloured fungus.

A vivid yellow rim

A gnarled tree trunk.

An old alder tree with tiny red catkins

A view looking down on the Eden Valley from the fellside.

Look at the contours and the field patterns

Clouds in a landscape

 A metal bird I found in Wigton.

Tweet, tweet

A nineteenth century fountain in Wigton.

It features bronze reliefs

Sunset at Silloth.

The sun setting over the sea

I have been experimenting with glazes and this is my latest piece.

Glazes, oxides and colbart

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Rambling around Rome

I have been to Rome as my daughter is getting married there later this year. The wedding venue is stunning. There were lemon and Seville orange trees in the grounds.

Fresh lemons

Wrinkled Seville oranges

Cacti are growing wild even in January.

Look but don't touch

Here are some of the famous buildings in Rome.

The Colosseum

Stunning architecture

How many columns can you see?

The grandeur of Rome

I love this building

Friends Romans and countrymen

Italy is famous for its pizza and pasta.

Large or small we have them all

 This was part of Fortnum and Mason's display in Heathrow airport.

Fruity

At last the days are lengthening. This is the telescope at Jodrell Bank.

Is there anyone out out there Mr Tom

 The first snowdrops have appeared.

Always the first sign of Spring

Catkins dangling along the river bank.

Ropes of gold

We have had some dramatic skies.

Such movement and flow

As the sun is going down