It was stormy and grey on the streets of Stockholm where I was visiting family last week, so for a change I was photographing the glow of a Scandinavian Christmas, but indoors. Tastefully designed, as you would expect, Christmas here knocks the stuffing out of the predictable old tat that it often brings out . . .
Better than the real thing
My dear old Dad loved Christmas and did his very best to provide a magical morning of surprises under the tree. During the years when he was left alone with four girls under the age of 9, his inner child often went shopping for the kind of presents that any small boy would adore. We girls got cowboy suits, holsters and dart . . .
Faltering
Maybe because of my connections with Sweden and my love of Patti Smith, I was thrilled to hear she would be singing in Stockholm at the Nobel Prize Ceremony. I decided to watch it live on my tiny phone after seeing a tweet that it was to be live streamed. I was also hoping to catch Bob Dylan's speech and the . . .
Easing softly into the frosty morning
On days like this I open the curtains slowly so as not to startle the neighbours. Sure enough, when I do, there are five rabbits frolicking in the early morning frost just a few steps away. A good start to Christmas morning, when I often remember the giddy excitement of my childhood. Today the magic is in this moment, in the simple . . .
In the bleak mid-winter
I've been laid up with a resistant bacterial infection which has made me housebound beyond even what I can bear. So photographing the view from the window is limited by the lens capacity and the increasing greyness of winter..... I've amused myself by seeing how far I can reach . . .
Taking flight
The family of swans living on the lake are nurturing their fly-by skills at the moment. The resident small family also seem to be babysitting 5 extra cygnets for the last few weeks. Where have these new babes come from and why? I don't know....... Every day they circle the lake in flight formation. I am usually so drawn to . . .
Just a little bit of magic and a whole lot of hope……..
Christmas is here! I hope you find some solace in retreating a little from reality. Adventure stories and films, riding a one horse open sleigh across the snow, seeking out the magic in frosty dew drops. I will . . .
