Tag Archives: sunset

The beauty of Milton Keynes

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The nearest major town to our village of Aspley Guise is Milton Keynes. A product of 1960’s town planning, Milton Keynes takes a fair bit of stick for its roundabouts and concrete cows. “What’s the difference between yoghurt and Milton Keynes? The yoghurt has culture” or so the joke goes.

The town has facilities to meet all the needs of it’s citizens, all easily accessible and convenient – shopping, leisure, transport, it’s all there. Everything is so well planned and dispersed, and people’s needs so well catered for that, even standing in the dead centre of the city, it feels a little like an industrial estate – faceless building, wide roads, lots of cars, lots of trees and a distinct lack of people. It feels, well, a little soulless.

But then, when you least expect it, Milton Keynes surprises you.

I was in the city this afternoon running some errands and, as the sun set behind the Church of Christ the Cornerstone located in the centre of the city, beauty appeared.

December Rain

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The locals in Positano have always said that the weather in November would be fine but in December it would rain. And on cue, yesterday it rained for the first time in just under a month. And as with most things in Positano when it rains, it rains properly. With no real storm water drains the water soon turned the streets and steps into mini streams.

On the plus side the temperature was still in the mid teens and the complete absence of wind meant umbrellas were ideal protection. Sadly we’d left ours at the villa so it was a soggy paddle around the village to do our weekly shopping.

But by mid afternoon the skies had started to clear and Positano provided a new variation on it’s usual sunset, just as a way to make up for the rain.

Twilight in Positano

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The sun went down and the lights of Positano gradually came on over the next half hour. This is an HD move so for best effect use the “share” button and download a better quality version.

It’s officially home

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You can always tell when the girls feel at home.  They start barking at everyone walking past and go nuts when anyone visits.  Based on this, as of last Wednesday Villa Greta became “our place”.  For the next few weeks anyway.

Every cloud has a silver lining

Gallery

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This gallery contains 4 photos.

Italy came off daylight saving on Sunday and the days got an hour shorter.  It was already getting dark at 7pm, so suddenly the days got dramatically shorter. The change meant that Positano beach and village lose the sun around … Continue reading →

Autumn in Tuscany

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Spending Autumn in Tuscany was not something we were particularly looking forward to.  After the heat of summer the thought of going from the mandatory shorts and sandals to Autumn’s jeans, shoes and socks filled us with loathing.

But Autumn has been a pleasant surprise.  The weather is settled and the days are warm.  It’s an ideal temperature for getting out and seeing things.  Mornings are crisp and sometimes misty but the day warms up enought for an al fresco lunch and a gelato in the afternoon which can be eaten before it melts – something simply not possible in the height of summer.

The countryside has taken on a yellow and orange hue as the trees prepare for winter and the days have got noticeably shorter.  All this has meant is a new and exciting series of sunsets to capture on film.

Autumn sunset

Really hot

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Watching the sun go down

The last week has been unseasonably hot.

Temperatures have hovered in the late 30 degrees during the day which is great for pool life but not good for cottage life or for the dogs.

Relief comes in the evening when it becomes bearable to sit outside and enjoy the sunset.

Wednesday Sunset

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Sunset from our cottage

Another of those no reason posts really – other than this was the sunset last night from the verandah of our cottage.