Today the Peace Run visited Oxford. We visited the Oxford Union and two local schools. It was a rewarding day.
Magdalen Tower.
“Lasting peace must begin within the depths of the individual, and from there spread in ever-widening circles as a dynamic force for world change.”
– Sri Chinmoy
A local dog walker gets to meet the run. (more…)
Spring is here, and the star of the show in the back garden is this Cherry Tree coming into full blossom.
Close up. (more…)
This is a photo I took on the road to Burnsall. The photo has an artistic quality.
These are some artistic interpretations of the same photo. Good art hints at the underlying quality and soul of the image.
Burnsall Road. Style of Camille. (more…)
First flowers of the year. Spring crocus popping up from my newly laid Cotswold gravel.
Time is flying by at the moment. Not much time for photography or even writing. But, the exciting news is that traffic at Tejvan.co.uk has doubled from 20 people a day to 40 page views per day on account of ranking for “Shakespeare Jokes.” (more…)
When I went to Oxford University, I remember a professor handing back an essay with a mark B+. He added the comment – “Very good, but it would have been an A – if you had given even the briefest attention to correct grammar and spelling”. I remember being very happy to get a B+ from Oxford. That was good enough for me!
Since, almost by accident, I have become a ‘professional blogger’ / ‘professional writer’, I am endeavouring to improve this aspect of writing, and over the years have learnt to enjoy this aspect of writing more. (1)
I did intend to write an article here, but it made more sense to share at my Cycling Blog, for my long-suffering cycling readers.
This is the article from Cycling Uphill.
Bodleian Library. Sunlight through the arch.
Radcliffe Camera and All Soul’s from Queens College (more…)
Last year (2016), I spent a lot of time reading the news. I also felt I was wasting my time – just getting frustrated with things out of my control. In Greece, I took a break from news, and surprised myself that I kicked the habit almost completely. In summary, the news embargo gave a feeling of great joy and freedom – and perhaps it was a little easier to meditate too. I wrote an article at Write Spirit about spending less time online.
Back in Britain, I have somewhat slipped from the purity of this ‘ignorance is bliss‘ motto, and always seem to come across the days headlines. Although I have a general knowledge of what’s going on, I do tend to stay well clear of online news, with its capacity to suck you in. Occasionally, I have taken a weekly print newspaper which gives a summary of last week’s news. One thing I noticed about taking a break from the news – is that afterwards – you feel you have less appetite for it. When staying with my parents, I just couldn’t eat a meal and have the six ‘o clock news on at the same time – it gives me ingestion. To be fair, after an unorthodox life of meditation, vegetarianism, intense cycling and alcohol abstention – they took my ‘dislike of news whilst eating’ in their stride. (more…)
I like the way the stone wall blends into the surroundings of the environment. At a glance, the tree could almost be growing out of the stone wall. In the sun, they reflect a similar hue.
The previous day was cloudy. These photos are almost black & white. (more…)
I often cycle in the afternoon from 1pm to 4.30pm. It means around this time of the year I’m cycling back into Oxford around sunset. Sunset can be a magical time; it also is a time for birds to congregate and look for the best roosting spots for the night.
The photos above were taken on a flat road from Eynsham to Oxford. I have been on it many times, but today took a little detour up a dead end farm track and looked back across the flat plains. I was attracted by the quantity of birds flying around – sitting on electricity pylons and the trees.
There is something about trees in winter which I find more fascinating than in summer. (more…)
When cycling in the Chilterns I am often accompanied by Birds of Prey soaring majestically overhead. It is fascinating to see them effortlessly gliding in circles, eyes glued to the ground below for prey. Sometimes they fly quite low, just above head height. Very occasionally you hear of Birds of Prey attacking cyclists, but only when a helmet is mistook for a predator.
The numbers of Red Kite have increased quite significantly since they were reintroduced back into the Chilterns, in the 1990s. Sometimes you are making great effort on the bike, and the Red Kite’s above is gliding twice as fast with seemingly no effort.
