Lily...

OK, where we going...?

...to Paddy's kitchen?

I'm only asking cause I think him being locked in there means the million monkeys on a million typewriters are going to tell us a million times about his Twittering

As some of you know I quit my job last week, asking at the time that it be kept as quiet as possible for as long as possible...

Unfortunately that only ran until yesterday, so it's now public knowledge around work.

Yesterday I got a phone call and an email and I reckon I'll have a few more emails to wade through this morning, and probably some face to face questions too...

So here we are, out and public... my last day will be the 14th cause I've got 6 days of outstanding holiday to take so that'll eat up some of the end of my notice period...

Bit nervous but happy bout my decision... now, does anyone want to hire a photographer?!

...and thought of a couple of bloggers from this fair parish

Is the leaf greener on the other side? One drop contemplated jumping...

Drops...

Loner...

King of the Castle...

Dive in?

Drink up...

The three amigos...

Hanging for his supper...

Snack time...

"Hmm, nice flowers..."

...he's a very naughty boy.

Rule number one of flower photography, the subject should be perfect, no defects, no missing petals, pure, clean and a flower good enough to make Alan Titchmarsh mess his shorts in at least three different ways...

Which means I'm in biiiig trouble

I'm never a good one with rules so decided to have a play with some old dead flowers that were about to be consigned to the composting, I'm sure proper flower photographers would scoff!

In part two of my advertising rants, is anyone else annoyed by those Knock Off Nigel TV adverts?

At least this new one has a song that scans better than the last one when they tried to squeeze 5 syllables into one...

"Knock off Nigel... Buys knockoffdvds..."

But seriously, what are they aiming for here?

I can see a dastardly person sat at his computer, taking a quick break from kicking kittens, taking the charity boxes from pubs and stirring ex-lax into the soup bowls at the nearest homeless shelter to watch a movie online.

He logs onto his nearest file sharer or movie site, clicks play and... Suddenly is overcome by guilt... He's seen the adverts, he now knows that he is... a crummy little man.

The shame is almost too much to bear, he deletes his filesharing programs, cancels his ISP account and sits, head in his hands, weeping profusely at just where his life went wrong...

He will, once able to show his face in public again, begin tirelessly working for charity while living solely on the organic vegetables he's growing in his back garden and powering his TV (set at all times to Animal Planet) with a generator attached to an exercise bike.

He will unfortunately perish, a pillar of the community, aged 52 in a random potato salad incident.

Or...

He'll watch the movie, not giving a toss that he's supposed to feel like a bad person.

Which is more likely... hmm...

Come on, we all know what's illegal and what's not, and if someone decides to watch a movie piratically they're hardly going to be put off by the suggestion they might not be a very nice person.

I suppose we can at least skip across channels, unlike those frigging unskippable FACT adverts that are only ever on official DVDs (as they're removed from pirate DVDs...) preaching sanctimoniously...

You wouldn't steal a car, you wouldn't break a child's arm, you wouldn't sodomise a donkey while whistling the hits of Boyzone...

I've bought the DVD, GO AWAY!

...and breathe.

...it's today's photo parade... (sorry)

Scrumping...

The erection...

Feeding contortions...

In the shade...

What's in here...?

Flower...

Broken grass...

First fruiting...

Hydra...

Abstract...

...but I do have two older sisters, female workmates and, of course, acquaintances of the gentler sex, so I understand THAT time...

So I can only wonder who the hell came up with Always' tagline:

"Have a Happy Period."

I sense the potential for bloodshed.

EDIT: OK, that wasn't the best phrasing, I sense the potential for violence...

I was actually found in the garden yesterday afternoon and I was feeling it all last night and today...

Didn't do much, bit of chopping, bit of watering... and lumping around massive rocks...

The rockery in the middle is getting ripped out and replaced with plants etc instead, but what I didn't register was how much effort it was going to take, it had become so overgrown that it wasn't really a rockery anymore but a lot of buried stones, not so much work for an unfit Devonian, more a job for an archaeology team...

But it's now (mostly) done, and I have minimal scarring from yoinking rocks bigger than my head around...

Course now I have to dig it all over and flatten it out.

Bugger.

...how else can you explain this perfect cloud situated so close to the chimney?

A bit of walking around and composition got just what I wanted...

(trust me, I needed this today)

...for a bad Monday morning.

...The storm clouds that is...

(old photo by the way, in reality it's actually sunny)

Today is my 12th and final day of time off and I'm already getting that deep seated feeling of doom...

Last time I was off we lost half the material I'd been storing and had a change in the order of things that pushed me from being mildly dissatisfied to highly depressed so I can only dread to think what's happened this time...

Now, if you'll excuse me I'm pricing up cardboard tubes for sending out posters...

There's a knock on the door...

I go open it...

There are four boys, humerously different in size that I reckon means they're the same age but differing growth spurt times...

All standing on the end of the garden with their backs toward the door sniggering and occasionally looking around...

And that's all.

Now, I dunno bout you but I thought the general gist was to knock and run, not knock and play at statues...

I took the piss a bit then just came back in and left them there, they're probably gone by now

Built up the enthusiasm to go out today, not far, just for a quick wander...

I needed it, I really did.

Round the bend...

The long and curving road...

Village...

Over the bridge...

Village green...

Summer doings...

Countryside views...

I got up this morning to a bizarre experience and Idon't know if anyone of a scientific bent can help solve it.

The sky...

...was a weird shade of blue...

Of course it didn't last and it's back to grey now so even if I'd got the enthusiasm to go take photos I'd have only got to the bottom of the driveway...

I think this is what's worrying me most right now, I'm out of inspiration, and... I'm sorta out of the enthusiasm to go snapping.

Things just aren't right in my head.

Forgot these were on my phone from a chippy in Suffolk, the phrase "we have to snap those for Nick" came to the fore, apologies for quality, they were snapped on my Nokia...

...this Friday.

It's what I consider my last PROPER day of holiday, cause I'd have the weekends off anyway.

I'm feeling so crap about Monday all it's done is reinforced my belief I need something new, something more enjoyable, something more ME...

*Cracking knuckles* better up the intensity of the search!

Onto something I DO enjoy... lets have some pics from the last few days back in Devon...

I'm feeling...

...fnegh.

I've been mildly unwell for a couple days and that's not a good base.

Add to that the fact today is a very bad day.

And on top of that bombshell I seem to be beset by niggles...

There are a ludicrous amount of little moths around this year...

I couldn't understand the outstandingly lovely lady in the Chinese restaurant who's English isn't too good but I still felt rubbish...

My camera is a filthy little beggar and now has specks of irritating dust in the viewfinder and a spot on the sensor the hardiest of blowing is refusing to remove so that's some photoshopping each time...

The fact my life has become a countdown to hell again (Oh God, three more days)...

I don't seem to be able to build up blogging interest...

I HATE this... I hate feeling directionless, niggled and...

and...

and...

...FNEUGH.

...and I'm spent.

Blue sky!

Watchman...

Drink up...

Spoilt... when the lappie gets its own recliner...

Gateway...

Leaf shapes... (taken by the lady of the manor...)

Avenue...

Pathway...

Shedding...

Angles...

Next... views from the train...

It wasn't exactly beach weather...

Although the huts weren't complaining...

Looking out to sea...

Watching the waves...

The waves were crashing in...

Stepping up to Austin Lance's challenge... can you snap that lighthouse lit...? Out came the big lens!

Next... Cambridge...

Got quite a few piccies on my hols so I'll split it into four parts...

Chapter one...

The beach was lovely...

But the clouds were dramatic...

Footwear was only needed sporadically...

Lets go fly a kite...

...high into the clouds...

Blue sky, orange sand...

Molty towers was impressive...

The Independance Day cloud that signalled leaving may be an idea...

Next... the coast.