Poppies At The Tower

Like millions of others, I recently visited the installation, 'Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red', at the Tower of London.  A total of 888,246 ceramic poppies will fill the moat by 11th November, one for every British life lost during the First World War.  The title comes from a poem by an unknown World War 1 poet.

The blood swept lands and seas of red,
Where angels dare to tread.
As God cried a tear of pain as the angels fell,
Again and again.
As the tears of mine fell to the ground
To sleep with the flowers of red
As any be dead
My children see and work through fields of my
Own with corn and wheat,
Blessed by love so far from pain of my resting
Fields so far from my love.
It be time to put my hand up and end this pain
Of living hell. to see the people around me
Fall someone angel as the mist falls around
And the rain so thick with black thunder I hear
Over the clouds, to sleep forever and kiss
The flower of my people gone before time
To sleep and cry no more
I put my hand up and see the land of red,
This is my time to go over,
I may not come back
So sleep, kiss the boys for me

Deer Watching in Richmond Park

Last week, I spent a morning in Richmond Park photographing the deer.  Despite having a friend who lives just around the corner, it was my first visit to the park.  It took me a little while to find the deer, but once I did, I spent a few hours shooting them in glorious light.

 

Chatham Details

Some detail shots taken during the trip to Chatham Dockyards.

Chatham Docks Salute To The '40s

Last Saturday saw a coach load of CCC members head to Chatham Dockyard for their 'Salute to the '40s' event. 

Tall Ships Festival

On Sunday I joined some other CCC members in London for a visit to the Tall Ships Festival.  We started at Woolwich Arsenal, but events there seemed rather subdued, so we quickly moved onto Greenwich.  The ships were complemented with living history reenactors, various kids entertainers and all the usual food and drink stalls.  I spent some time getting shots of the reenactors, before following the Thames path down as far as the Millennium Dome.  The day was flat calm, so the few ships moving up and down the river had to do so on their engines alone.  Those sails that were up were purely for show.  I was particularly taken by the juxtaposition of the ancient tall ships against the modern and even taller buildings of Canary Wharf.