FALLING SOMEWHERE AS RAIN

Since I was able to recognise the sensation as unusual, I have been subject to something which I much later discovered as ‘grapheme-synaesthesia’. Synaethesia is a neurological trait, whereby one sense automatically triggered another involuntary reaction. Grapheme Synaesthesia means that an individual associates colours specifically with letters or numbers, for example the days of the week for me, all have a specific colour associated with them I.e Monday - red, Tuesday - green, Wednesday - air force blue, Thursday - brown, Friday, dark blue, Saturday - pale yellow, Sunday - pale gold. A similar effect occurs with numbers and dates, so as the new year approached, I felt that 2026 would be a bright pillar box red. 2025 by comparison has been a warm chocolate brown, like cocoa powder. Consequently, my recent choices of photographic filter have leaned distinctly into the red, with an emphasis on a phone app called Fimo, using a specific film simulation called X-Red. This emulates the clas...

To start the festive season off in fine spirits, I recently had the pleasure of a short city break in Copenhagen. Flying out from Manchester on a dismal grey day, I had the misfortune to have one of the most stomach turning take off's I have ever experienced, as the plane cut through several layers of bad air and turbulence. However, minutes later, we were above the low clouds and in full sun, for the brief hop across the North Sea. Just over an hour later, we were in Copenhagen's vast airport and then a brief train ride later, in a luxurious hotel right next to the train station. A short walk across the main square was Tivoli Gardens, one of Europe's oldest theme parks, which had begun its yuletide celebrations on the day we had arrived. Not being a fan of theme parks, I was a little apprehensive, but as the trip was a birthday gift for a family member and my 18 month old grandson was with us, it was the ideal place to visit. After a little queuing and almost being run ove...

A final project which has arisen from the old maps I came across is a retrospective of the 2017 trip to the Scottish Highlands. Part of the trip involved a ferry journey from the base at Oban to the Isle of Mull and a stop at Tobermory. It was a lovely clear spring day and visibility was excellent and as we left Oban harbour to navigate between the rocks and the islets, I noticed several lighthouses and markers. As I have always loved the romantic concept of a lighthouse, I was busily snapping away at anything and everything visible from the boat. Immediately we left Oban harbour, we sailed past Maiden Island, a small rocky outcrop, which is now a haven for seabirds. Sat in the estuary I was taken by its similarity to Tracy Island from Thunderbirds TV series! On the opposite bank I spotted a tall pole, standing out near the rocks. A check on a modern map reveals it to be Kerrera Lighthouse. Not far away on the same channel is a white lookout post too. Leaving the main channel and passi...