We Had A Early Start,

I dropped Diana off at work at 04.00AM

arriving home I played with a few photographs and posted the blog, towards midday back out to pick Diana up from work and drive here, Coombe Wood, just outside of Croydon, as it happens we were here a few weeks ago and said that we would return when the rhododendrons were in flower,

and here we are, 

looking at the pool at the entrance to the gardens,

whilst Diana looked on,

looking back towards the weeping willow,

Diana took one of me on her telephone, 

Diana was using her phone,

to take a few photographs, 

just here some of the parks gardeners had cleared away the overgrowth, so it was easy to see the small natural waterfall,

not so here, 

we both liked these, they really did look like they were made from crepe paper, 

we walked to and through the rockery, 

on the other side some ornamental onions in flower, in the distance,

some of the rhodendrens were now in flower, 

a couple of poses from Diana,

the first ones we looked at were a lovely red, these the more usual purple, 

next as we passed them,

some pastel shade of pink, 

fading to white,

slightly darker mauve I guess you would call it, 

the blooms,

huge, 

with plenty more still to open,

and as you can see some were the size of Diana's head, 

well I just had to!

we always know when we are getting near the yellow rhododendrons, as their aroma fills the air,

a few more pale pink blooms,

then this huge tree, 

covered in blooms,

looking back,

as we walked past it, 

we were now in the valley by the steps, 

we went a different route this time,

and found our first all white blooms of the day,

not a blemish of another colour on them,

one more pale pink bush, 

and there was the newly open restaurant in the wood, 

one more look at a rhododendron, 

before we saw this, 

as far as we could tell, 

the only magnolia in the wood, 

we made our way back to the car,

and in no time we were entering Sevenoaks, 

to go to Polhill Garden Centre, and breakfast,

and what better than a pot of whelks?

inside I started taking a few photographs,

 after we had bought some apples, plums, almond macaroons, fruit cake and some saveloys, 

a few cactus, 

and fancy pots, 

I had a quick look in the tropical and coldwater aquatic outlet there,

and took a few photographs,

of some of the fish, 

these all in the coldwater section,

specially bred, 

for their different body shapes, all descended from a normal goldfish, 

but this section,

has only tropical marine fish, 

and invertebrates, 

outside an amazingly profuse rhododendron, 

unfortunaly past its best, we went to the restaurant, but it was late, all of the meals that we were interested in had stopped being served at 3.00 in the afternoon, so home it was, I was soon out again,

past the snail mail box,

on to a number 54 bus, passing the green,

as well as This 'N' That and the Kathmandu Masala, 

arriving here, at The Elm Tree, I wanted to book a table for next weeks nature group from the Beckenham Photographic Society that I belong to, I spoke to Liam the night time manager and although he cold not put a poster up for us, 

he kindly said he would keep this area free for us, which was great news, so if anyone is interested in photographs from the world of nature please pop along next Tuesday 12th. I will be there from 07.30 in the evening, back onto the number 54 bus and home, 

the wisteria now well past its best on Foxgrove Lodge, 

in the side garden a hanger on the fence was new, 

filled with these lovely blue flowers,

in the distance storm clouds,

but I arrived home dry and starving hungry, whilst I was out Diana had prepared a huge bowl of leek, celery and ham soup for both of us, then feet up for our evening film, a real gritty drama treat,

 Angela's Ashes, the film is a 1996 memoir by the Irish-American author Frank McCourt, the memoir consists of various anecdotes and stories of Frank McCourt's impoverished childhood and early adulthood in Brooklyn, New York and in Limerick, Ireland, it also includes McCourt's struggles with poverty, his father's drinking issues, and his mother's attempts to keep the family alive, Angela's Ashes was published in 1996 and won the Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography, it is hard to imagine the trials that families went through in those time but this film brings it all back as it was, after that we were off to bed.