This church is St. Andrew's in the Square in Glasgow.
It's quite an impressive building with its tall spire. It was built in the 18th century and is modelled on St. Martin in the Fields in London.
It's no longer used as a place of worship but is a lovely concert hall and wedding/ceilidh venue, with a very nice cafe too.......worth a look if you are passing by.
Taken at the Dean Gallery in Edinburgh. This statue is by Emile-Antoine Bourdelle and is called 'La Vierge D'Alsace'; click here to read more about it. It stands in the grounds surrounding the gallery, and is, in contrast some of the other statues seen there, quite traditional; I like it very much.
Fairly slim pickings this month, due to bad cold and busy work. But the autumn colours are rich and my crocheting is getting better, and giving me a lot of pleasure and much stress relief.
At Loch Lomond, playing at a wedding at big posh hotel, I managed to catch this lovely late afternoon view as I was leaving just before the light started to fade.
The colours of autumn are looking beautiful at the moment. I walked in the park yesterday and loved what I saw. It was a lovely day, sunny but a bit cool, perfect autumn weather.
This is the way I usually start my walks in the park. I love the shadows on the path in the above photo. The paths around the park are all lined with trees so there's big opportunity to enjoy all shapes, sizes and shades of trees with turning leaves.
The colours are breath-taking, they shine with a real zing on such a bright day.
I love the golden yellow above, it really is mellow yellow!
When you're surrounded with such rich hues, it's hard to feel sad at the coming of autumn. Although the leaves are turning and will fall, I love the variety of colours in the transition of the seasons.
I'm trying to get fitter so am planning a lot more walks like this(and some cycling too). I feel really encouraged now, after seeing all this wonderful colour. I hope I can keep it up come the winter!
Hope you are enjoying some autumn colour and sun wherever you are this weekend!
Sorry I've been AWOL for a while; I've been spending some time with an unwelcome visitor and these friends for company.
I think I'm on the mend now!
Yesterday I took a trip down the coast to Irvine, to get some sea air and walk on the beach.
After a week of coughing and sneezing, I needed to get out and blow away those cobwebs. It was a lovely day for a walk, a bit windy but lovely and sunny. The beach was quiet too, with only a few dog walkers and in the distance I could see 2 horse riders trotting along.
I felt so much better for being in the sun and fresh air. There's nothing like being by the sea on a beach, I find it so calming and soothing in the summer when the sun shines, and love it when it's stormy and blustery in the winter, very bracing and invigorating. I would love to live by the sea, that's a dream that I hope to realise one day!
When I was going back to the car, I saw a little girl laughing at her dad who had, for reasons best known to himself, waded into this harbour up to his bum whilst fully clothed and was walking along with soaking wet jeans! Funny! I tried not to laugh, well, until I'd walked past, then I had a good giggle too.
Amazing how an hour by the sea can have such restorative powers!
At Glasgow Uni for a concert, I took a few photos of the wonderful buildings on the campus.
It really is magnificent, how wonderful to study in such splendid and inspiring surroundings. The university has been in existence since the 15th century, but these buildings were erected in the 19th century when the university moved from the ever-growing city centre to the leafy (and now trendy) West End of Glasgow.
The views across from the uni to nearby Kelvingrove Museum are grand too; here it is seen through the trees of Kelvingrove Park
A lovely last day of September. Autumn colours with sunshine, let's hope it continues like this for a while longer!
Yesterday was another sun-filled day, and I went with my sister to Greenbank Garden, for a bulb fair, and a good look round this beautiful garden. The bulb fair was good,with all the usual spring flowers, with lots of different varieties. We both indulged in a little purchasing!
The Greenbank Garden is a National Trust property, in a quiet leafy area of Glasgow. It's set in between woodland and fields, and is a walled garden with a lovely mixture of formal and less structured planting.I visited once before in spring 2008, before things had really started blooming, which was still enjoyable, but it was more lush and colourful this time. The first thing we saw was this buddleia festooned with butterflies and bees; there must have been at least 4 of these butterflies!
There is an elegant Georgian house at the front of the garden which isn't open to the public, a shame as the views of the garden from inside must be lovely.
Shades of Jane Austen!
Once we'd crossed this immaculate lawn in front of the house, we saw this gate inviting us into the walled garden
It really is a garden of delights, so much to see. Paths lead you round the garden
This one was lined with bamboos, which swished in the gentle breeze
There's some interesting topiary - I love the snail and the dog!
Lots of flowers of course
Some beautiful tall thistles
and teasels
This lovely water nymph fountain was hidden away behind a hedge - only the sound of the fountain guides you to it
We both loved this sheep having a nap in the shade
There are plentiful benches to sit and take in the view- I liked this arbour with rose design
Exotic flowers and plants in the glasshouse
There are some autumnal touches here and there adding to the rainbow of colours
Wonderful to sit and feel the sun on your face and look at the blue sky
I'm so glad to have visited this garden when it looked so lovely, and to enjoy it with my dear sister. It was a real shot in the arm for us both; sunshine, flowers, shopping and tea and scones, that's got to be a winning combination!
Charles Rennie Mackintosh is famous all over the world for his unique architecture and design, nicknamed the Glasgow Style. There are many examples of his work in Glasgow, and to the west in Helensburgh is another of his designs, the beautiful Hill House.
As its name suggests, the Hill House is built high above the town, with great views of the Firth of Clyde, although these were completely obscured when we visited because of rain (I refuse to let the inclement weather keep me inside!) The house is owned by the National Trust and they don't allow any photography inside, so no pics of the lovely interior: the main living room and master bedroom are a mixture of cream and pink with typical Mackintosh rose design and gesso panelling, and most of the rest of the house has dark wood panels with tall thin windows. I found these 2 images just to give you an taste of what it's like.
If you click here you can see a few more detailed interior views.
The house was commissioned by Glasgow publisher Walter Blackie, who also had Mackintosh and his wife Margaret design the interiors and much of the furniture for the house. I like the fact that although the house appears to be built on straight lines, on closer inspection one can see it is anything but symmetrical. Windows are different sizes and shapes, the roof is on several levels with chimney stacks of different heights and there are some turrets and curves too.
I like this curved wall at the back of the house which encloses the main staircase.
This is the view of the back of the house from the orchard
I'm not sure what happened to this tree!
There was a small vegetable garden
and a huge garden, mostly lawned with flower beds nearer the house. My mum told me about a TV programme she saw recently about children from Glasgow who were evacuated to the house (still privately owned) during the war; it must have been wonderful to have the run of a huge garden like this, and to stay in such an original home.
There is a cafe which is in the old kitchen, although it's self-service it's still posh! Proper china cups and plates and the delicious cakes on stands with lids. There's a souvenir shop with much tasteful CRM themed merchandise and a design shop with some gorgeous glassware, pottery and jewellery.
Despite the terrible weather, I still enjoyed visiting this lovely piece of architectural and design history. It is beautifully preserved and restored, hard to believe that the house and many of its contents are over 100 years old.
My favourite shots from August. I was thinking what a quiet month it has been, and also how awful the weather has been, as I look out at the pouring rain and grey clouds; but I'm cheered up looking at this collection of photos because of the variety of colour and all the good memories it's brought back. Especially the sunshine!
I am Marie, a musician who likes to take photographs and write about what I'm making, reading and enjoying.
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