Sunday 20 April 2014

Uphill All The Way

It was being in need of a topic for this blog that made me realise I hadn't  entered a post for some considerable time now. Not for want of something to say but mainly because I have been embroiled with the stuff of everyday life, such as friends visiting, sorting out the flat and last but not least, work. As usual my job is so multifaceted that while all absorbing for me with its varied, daily challenges, perhaps not such good reading for everybody else. Stay with me though friends, as one day in the distant future I will be continuing my bike ride around the world which will awaken that spark of interest in your want for more adventurous reading. My feet made more itchy recently, by reading that my Belgium fellow cyclist  and friend that I met in Kavala in Greece while on my travels, has now, after a short break, jetted to Australia to begin three months of cycling around that particular continent.

So, I'm afraid, until the time comes for me to start pedalling again, you will have to put up with my more mundane tales of everyday life that have included over the past few weeks, another visit to Ronnie Scott's to see Kyle Eastwood but this time taking along a few friends and colleagues from work, as well as visits from friends (great to have my own place now so they can stay) and with more friends coming soon, I'm hoping my sofa and chair will be here in time. After three months on order, it will be great to have somewhere other than one chair to sit on and using a pink plastic storage container as a coffee table. And while filling the wall space with a various selection of my photographs, I suddenly thought I might do what rock bands do when they have nothing really new to say - they bring out a 'best of ' album. 

So bereft of anything different than I have been doing over the past few months, I've decided to put a selection of my favourite photos and images together, as a kind of 'Best of Brady' issue with a few captions here and there. They are big files so I have decided to post them in three separate blogs. To get the best out of them, press the slide show button or just click on a photo for a fuller screen view. Here are some of my favourites from years past. Hope you enjoy them too.

Travellers tales:  Landscapes

Cycling through France for the first two weeks of my world travels with my friend Astrid, who had already completed her world cycle challenge a couple of years previously
 
 
                                       Champagne country in France


Empty wine bottles in Auvers Sur Oise, France
 
Kavala in Greece: red topped roofs of old town and modern Kavala harbour
 
'Does the road go up hill then all the way?
Yes, to the very end'
And will the journey take all day long?
 'From morn till night my friend'
(Christina Rossetti's '  Up Hill )
the road I cycled through the Pindos Mountain across Greece.
 
 
Kavala Aquaduct: Greece
 
 
One of the highlights of my journey, riding the historic Via Appia Antica
the old Roman road that leads all the way to the port of Brindisi in the south of Italy
 
The port of Brindisi in southern Italy and where I caught the ferry to Greece
 
WW2: the bombed Cloth Hall in Ypres in Belguim. Ypres was the first
town on my cycle itinerary that followed historic routes through Europe.
 
The restored  Cloth Hall, Belguim
 
Fishing boats in Ionnista in Greece
 
the town of Metsovo nestled in the Pindos Mountains and where I stayed for
three days.
 
steps up to house in Renoir's village of Essoys in France.
One of my themes during my cycle ride was to explore the art and artists of each country I rode through.
 
sailing boat leaving Kavala Harbour in Greece.
 
tourist themed boat sailing around Thessoloniki Harbour in Greece.
 
fishing boats at Draycote Water Reservoir in Rugby, England
 
 
Fisherman at sunset: Draycote Water Reservoir in Rugby, England
 
 
The iconic symbol of Cassiobury Park, the lone Cedar tree, where I work in Watford.
 
Cassiobury Park in Watford
 
the Cedar Tree in Cassiobur Park early morning mist
 
 
an early morning bike ride in Suffolk
 
rocky inlet - Draycote Water Reservoir in Rugby England
 
scary chair lift looking over the Bodensee in Austria
 
air ambulance landing at Draycote Water Rugby England
 
storm clouds over  a lonely church on coast of Northern Ireland
 
punting on River Cam in Cambridge
 
traffic jam on the River Cam in Cambridge
 
sheep trail in Greece
 
shepherd on the Via Appia Antica in Italy
 
Under the ancient Sweet Chestnut Tree: Whippendell Woods
 
 
Portraits and People: 
 
Cathy
 
mountain shepherd - Pindos Mountains Greece
 
 
END OF PART ONE   - part two follows in new blog.
 
 
Deborah Brady
 
(c) all photographs and words in this blog are copyright of Deborah Anne Brady  2014
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 

Uphill All The Way - PART TWO

I love street/ documentary photography and the following photographs show a variety of this style.

enjoying the snow - Rugby England
 
Boys jumping into a river in Essoys France
 

a nature walk in Cassiobury Park
 
the Clifton Boys - Rugby England
 
 
street dancing in Brussels, Belgium
 
drummer girl - Bristol
 
on the far horizon . Rugby England
 


 
homeless in Oxford England
 
nuns resting in Lindau harbour, Lake Constance, Germany
 
lady in the library Rugby England
 
girls reading on steps of Amsterdam house, Holland

 
street art - Expedition Paddock in Watford
 
train station near Amsterdam
 
AND ANIMALS DO THE STRANGEST THINGS........
 
Dog in Brussels town square....
 
woman in Paris
 
Airdale Terrier in Watford
 
the eyes have it.  Cassiobury Park Watford
 
 
 
The End of Part Two
 
Part three and the last in this post following
 
 
Deborah Brady
 
(c) All photographs and words in this blog are copyright of Deborah Anne Brady 2014
 
 
 
 
 


Uphill All The Way - Part Three

Just a few more to finish this triptych of the best of....

tourist trade in Metera, Italy
 

Andre Chenin Opera on the Bodensee in Bregenz, Austria

Opera on Lake Constance in Bregenz, Austria
set in the days of the French Revolution
 
and talking of 'off with his head'.....street art in Lindau
Germany
 
Monet's Gardens north of Paris
 
grabbing the moment, on the canal in Rugby
 
Suffolk harvest
 
round robin
 
 
Cherry Blossom in Cassiobury Park Watford
 
A Walk in Whippendell Woods, Cassiobury Park Watford.
 
 
 
I'm in the middle of taking photographs for the latest coffee table book my manager, Paul Rabbitts is producing of the History and Heritage of Cassiobury Park, due out in October. It should be a riveting read as there is much to the history of this wonderful place where I work.
 
 
Catch up with you all next blog
 
Deborah
 
(c) All photographs and words are copyright of Deborah Anne Brady 2014