Autumn colour

Glorious autumn colour

There are some lovely autumn colours around at the moment. These trees outside our local supermarket are looking really lovely. [Tweet this]

The weather has been very mild, much warmer than we expect in mid to late October, and the colours develop best when it's not too cold.

But this is nothing compared to some of the photos out there. Try this Google search to bring up some really glorious photos!

There's also a good Wikipedia article with more information on autumn colour for anyone interested.

(If you liked this you might also like Journeys of heart and mind and Quote me on this.)

Flowers in the autumn

Summer flowers cling on

Summer is over and autumn is well under way. But summer is reluctant to give up altogether.

This photo shows bedding plants in the centre of St Neots, right by the river. They're still in full bloom, looking great and promising to continue until the frost gets them, perhaps in November.

It seems the plants are reluctant to give in to shorter days and long, cold nights.

(If you liked this you might also like Journeys of heart and mind and Quote me on this.)

Life of the river

St Neots is built on the River Great Ouse with its source near Banbury and mouth at King's Lynn. As you can see from the photo, it's a wide river here in the town. The narrowboat with the man at the stern give some idea of scale (click the photo for a larger view).

A narrowboat on the River Great Ouse

Because of the River, the town has an excellent rowing club, some of the members compete at high levels of the sport.

After taking the photo this afternoon I was thinking about the life of the river. It seems to be unchanging (although the course of the river does change slowly over the centuries).

But if you follow the river from source to mouth it parallels a person's life from birth to death. The river starts off young, just a tiny brook in a deep-cut channel. It flows quickly, is active and uncontrolled.

As it matures it passes through teenage where it looks much more like a full-grown river but is still quite unpredictable and has changing moods.

In maturity it begins to wander across the landscape, full-grown, mostly placid, and able to cause serious damage if it floods out beyond its banks.

And in old age it is slow moving, set in its ways, and finally comes to the end of its course where it dissipates itself into the brackish waters of The Wash. Finally it is totally lost to view, even at low tide, and spreads itself out imperceptibly into the great North Sea.

What happens to a person when they die? Like the river they vanish from this world. Are they lost (just as the river vanishes) or do they become part of something greater (as the water of the river becomes part of the vastness of the ocean).

What do you think?

I think people become part of something infinite, not only physically but spiritually too. Visit Spiritual Journeys for more on this.

(If you liked this you might also like Journeys of heart and mind and Quote me on this.)

The Old Falcon

The Old Falcon Inn is a landmark in St Neots Market Square. Except that for the last eight years it's been more of a blot on the landscape because it's derelict and uncared for.

The Old Falcon Inn

It's a sad story. The old inn has a long history and is a listed building. It has a plaque on the front proudly announcing that the district and county councils with English Heritage paid for its refurbishment in 1983. The plaque states, 'Historic Building Restoration'.

Part of the inn dates to the fifteenth century though it's been substantially extended and modified since then.

Since 1963 the inn has been owned by a limited company which appears to be moribund.

The present owner has struggled to get the necessary permission to redevelop the property. Dennis Whitfield bought it in 2005 and eventually managed to persuade the local authority to allow the demolition of a boathouse at the rear (the property backs onto the River Great Ouse). The agreed plan was to aquire a strip of land from the dentist surgery next door so that a walk could be built connecting the east end of the town bridge with the south-west corner of the Market Square.

But the dental practice won't sell the strip of river frontage. The deal has fallen through. Dennis Whitfield is tired of waiting (after eight years) and is giving up.

The Falcon is now up for sale and an Estate Agent's board (Giggs & Company) is visible at the back.


(If you liked this you might also like Journeys of heart and mind and Quote me on this.)

Swans and cygnets

As I walked home from town I spotted these cygnets on the bank of Hen Brook, some of the youngest I've ever seen. Mum and Dad didn't seem the least bit concerned about people passing close to their offspring.

Swans with cygnets

Just after I took this photo, a father with his young daughter arrived on their bikes and they stopped to take a picture as well.

When you think about it, it's really quite astonishing how wildlife adapts to the presence of humans. Mr and Mrs Swan are not alarmed because they see people passing all the time and  they are sometimes a source of free food, but rarely a threat.

Last year's cygnets are of course fully grown, but many of them still have a few grey flecks amongst their new, white plumage. We have a lot of swans in St Neots, I think more than I remember in previous years.

I headed on home, leaving the swan family in peace and quiet - at least until the next camera-toting passer-by comes on the scene. I took the image on my phone; it's great to have a camera always to hand  in my pocket!

(If you liked this you might also like Journeys of heart and mind and Quote me on this.)

The Rocket Park

Donna and a bunch of her friends from Open Door went to a women's day in Bedford, Ash had volunteered to look after Leanne's kids for the day so she could join them; I'd offered to give Ash a hand with this and they spent the day at our house.

Working the mechanical digger

Donna had left out a big box of craft materials, and that along with a pizza and spaghetti hoops lunch occupied much of the time. But for part of the morning I was at 'The Rocket Park' with one of the girls as she is really, really keen on the play equipment there.

The photo shows her shovelling sand on the little mechanical digger. I'd have loved one of these when I was little, but they're a relatively new idea. Simple but fun.

Why is it called 'The Rocket Park'? It's not an official name, just what the kids all call it. One of the larger pieces of play equipment is a big climbing frame in the shape of a rocket nose-cone. There are climbing walls, ladders, scramble nets and bars in the lower part and an upper floor with a central opening to access it. All the children love it.

Sometimes simple things are all that's needed to keep children occupied for hours. That was certainly the case today! And, if you think about it, far better than time spent in front of a TV or games console. And I had the opportunity for some conversation with one or two parents.

(If you liked this you might also like Journeys of heart and mind and Quote me on this.)

Traction engine in St Neots

This not a sight you often see these days, a steam traction engine on the streets of St Neots. From the date on the front of the canopy, this one was built exactly 100 years ago.

A one hundred-year-old traction engine

Traction engines like this one were used for transport sometimes, towing a trailer like this one. But far more often they would have been put to work in the fields, this one on a vegetable grower's land in nearby Gamlingay.

They were used for pulling large, multi-furrow ploughs across a field. Two engines would take turns to pull the plough through the soil, winching it slowly but relentlessly back and forth.

This example was probably built locally, perhaps in Bedford, and would have worked the land until the 1930s or 40s when early tractors would have taken over. Although a tractor could not turn so many furrows at a single pass, they were more manoevrable and only one man was needed to do the work.

The day of the steam traction engine passed away and many of them would have rusted away and been scrapped. A few survived (including this one) and many of the survivors are now in the hands of enthusiasts who restore them and keep the polished and active.

This one was most likely on its way to a local vintage steam fair.

(If you liked this you might also like Journeys of heart and mind and Quote me on this.)

Moving the movies

St Neots is having a six-screen cinema, originally due to be finished this autumn. But something has gone wrong and it will be delayed until early next year. The photo may give you a clue.

Old and new positions

Believe it or not, the new cinema was being constructed in the wrong place. At first it appeared that the developers, Turnstone, were at fault. Perhaps they misread the plans?

But no, they faithfully began building accurately in the wrong place - the fault seems to be with the architects. The plans were wrong.

Some of the local residents complained because the building was going to be some 800 mm closer to their properties than agreed. The developers decided the right thing to do was move the steelwork (it was almost complete by then). So the cinema framework has been partly unbolted, large sections moved as single pieces, and bolted down onto new concrete pads. It's been amazing to watch.

The photo shows one of the vertical steel beams in its new position with the old position marked in blue.

Sadly we will have to wait a little longer for our cinema. We were hoping to see the second part of 'The Hobbit' here this winter, but now it'll involve a trip to Huntingdon.

(If you liked this you might also like Journeys of heart and mind and Quote me on this.)

People networks

Donna and I live in St Neots, a lovely town in Cambridgeshire. The photo shows part of the river front right in the heart of the town.

The River Great Ouse in St Neots

I walked down there this afternoon and took the photo from the town's main bridge before visiting Caffè Nero for a chat with some friends.

We sat outside this afternoon, it was warm but not hot, a grey day with no wind. The conversation covered all kinds of topics as it usually does.

I think many people today lack this kind of socialising. At work there are always people to talk to, but for those out of work or retired it can be a lonely business being at home. We all need people around us, even if we feel comfortable alone.

People create networks quite without thinking about it. The most basic units are family and tribe, but in the modern world there are many others. The workplace, the cafe, the pub, mothers with young children, groups of teenagers, people with hobbies or interests in common. I'm sure you could easily extend the list.

Any one person may belong to several of these groups and in this way they are all interconnected to make a human society. What a rich tapestry we form!

(If you liked this you might also like Journeys of heart and mind and Quote me on this.)