when I look to the sky

festival-goers looking at the sky

Friday night found me and Himself at the O2 Academy in Islington, north London. Squashed up against other excited fans in what is, basically, a small concrete box with a small stage at one end and an even smaller bar at the other.

We were there to see Train. Seven years since they last played a gig in London and, oh, what a night!
Their music is best described as 'roots rock' - little bit of folk, little bit of country, lotta rock and a whole lotta soul! You may recall their single 'Drops of Jupiter (Tell Me.)'




Anyhoo. They were great. Really great.


Pat Monahan, lead singer

The post title refers to one of my favourite songs, When I look to the Sky (and is part of my continuing effort to keep to the theme of 'Look up'.) Been trying to find a link to let you hear it, but can only find a cheesy video & some poor quality stuff on youtube. Sorry! We'll just have to make do with another photo from Friday night.


Jimmy Stafford, lead guitarist

looking up at

some castles in the air ...


palazzo sasso hotel, ravello italy



water tower in manhattan, new york


castel del monte, abruzzo italy


notre dame cathedral , paris

a walk in glen affric

Continuing with the theme 'look up'

theme thursday - pink

Today pink is a colour associated with femininity, but this was not always the case. Until the 1940s pink was thought to be a very suitable shade for boys to wear, as it is related to red, which is a 'strong' colour. Blue, believed to be the 'weaker' colour was for girls!


The Sugar Bowl, Scottsdale AZ

Blushing Pink Soda

1 (8 ounce) can crushed unsweetened pineapple, drained
1/2 cup mashed fresh strawberries
1 quart strawberry soda, chilled and divided
1 quart vanilla ice cream, divided

Combine pineapple, strawberries, 1 cup strawberry soda and 1/2 cup vanilla ice cream in container of electric blender; process until mixture is smooth. Divide mixture evenly into 6 glasses. Add 1 scoop of ice cream and 1/2 cup strawberry soda to each glass. Garnish with strawberry fans, if desired.

Strawberry soda is not so easy to get hold of here in the UK, so I guess you could use cream soda and substitute strawberry ice cream for the vanilla. Yumm.


pink hydrangea in my garden

"I'm just sitting watching flowers in the rain"
Flowers in the rain - The Move (maybe they were pink flowers?)




parasols at the greenbelt festival, cheltenham uk

Marta: I'm Marta, and I'm going to be seven on Tuesday, and I'd like a pink parasol.
Maria: Well, pink's my favorite colour, too.
from The Sound of Music


pink wellies at greenbelt

Happiness

John had
Great Big
Waterproof
Boots on;
John had a
Great Big
Waterproof
Hat;
John had a
Great Big
Waterproof
Mackintosh --
And that
(Said John)
Is
That.

A A Milne

watching

At the foot of the Coit Tower in San Francisco, I looked up.
And this little guy was watching me!

garden

dandelion

Very English weather in our garden yesterday. Sunshine, rain and hail.
Himself has been gardening (read 'clearing up from the winter cos we haven't had time to do it before.')

I took these at the weekend.


bleeding heart


tree peony


lilac


tree peony

this is where the journey begins

Flag - Jasper Johns

A year ago Himself and I drove across the USA from West to East (including a diversion to the Gulf.) This Road Trip of over 3000 miles celebrated our 50th birthdays. I kept a journal and I've been reading that this week as well as looking at some of the 1500 photos we took between us. Any hopes of this trip soothing my wanderlust were misguided. Just fuel to the fire, I'm afraid, and we're talking about doing something bigger when we retire.

I'd planned to maybe blog my journal, or at least write a post for every day we were away, but I managed just three last year. So, I'm sitting here thinking perhaps I'll do a post per state that we visited. An overall impression, or a 'snapshot' if you like. Well, three posts last year on California is enough, don't you think?

Maybe there's room for a few more pictures ...


checking the route


convenience store on Campo Road somewhere between San Diego & the next stop!


cactus flower