Evening cherry blossom, Islington

Several days in and around London presented both familiar and new subjects for my camera (and phone camera). I noticed this one as we got out of the car and, because we were laden with bags, I took out my phone to get the shot. At our previous home we had a cherry that produced this type of blossom. I took plenty of photographs of the aged tree but not once did I photograph it during the hours of darkness. That's probably because the darkness of a village is so much deeper than the darkness of a capital city. Here the street lights and reflections made for a better image.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: iPhone

Moorhen

Familiarity, it is said, breeds contempt. As far as birds go there is some truth in this observation: common birds are not looked at with the attention that is given to those that are less familiar. Consequently few see the "stars" and beautiful iridescence of the starling. The humble house sparrow is given only the most cursory of glances and so the similar but clearly different tree sparrow is unknown to the man in the street. Most stretches of water provide a home for the familiar moorhen and therefore its charms go unseen. This bird was on the narrow ribbon of water known as the New River where it is above ground in Islington, London. The camera allows us to study its striking beak, colourful legs and subtle brown, blue-grey and white plumage.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

Terrace, Amwell St, London

London has magnificent and historic houses a-plenty, but, being a major city of long standing it also has a wide variety of lesser houses, buildings for middling and lower incomes. On a recent walk through streets I've never been down before I came across this Late Georgian terrace in Amwell Street, Islington. It is on a slight slope, dates from 1828-29, and is the work of William Chadwell Mylne, Surveyor for the New River Estate. Like many houses of this era they feature yellow stock brick in Flemish bond. Each is three storeys with a basement and the roof hidden behind a parapet. The iron railings and balconies look original, as do the fanlights of the two leftmost houses, and most of the glazing bars. It is unremarkable housing, not without utilitarian charm, and still providing homes nearly two hundred years after they were constructed.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Sony DSC-RX100