My Sunday Photo – International Cheese Awards

This week I spent some time at the International Cheese Awards which is part of the Nantwich Show in Cheshire. The International Cheese Awards are the biggest dairy event in the UK, if not the world. This year 5000 cheeses were judged and I was one of the lucky judges.

It was my second year judging and I’ve learned so much from going to the awards over the years. You can read my write up of the day here.

At lunch La Guilde Internationale des Fromagers inducted several new members into their ranks, including Chef James Martin. I managed to take a few snaps and also filmed that bit, you can watch the clips here.

cheese awards My Sunday Photo 1.8.2016

The International Cheese Awards are always a privilege to get involved with. Sadly it’s all over for another year, but I have a fridge full of cheese to enjoy in the meantime.

My Sunday Photo 24.7.16

I don’t know what this plant is. We rescued it from the disaster that was our garden when we moved into our house five years ago. I suspect it’s something like a hydrangea (answers on a postcard please).

When we moved in the garden was a jungle of ivy. You literally had to hack your way through it to get anywhere. It was a “designer” garden which had been left to run wild. Occasionally I’d find an especially lovely plant drowning in the ivy. I’d carefully dig it up, plant it in a pot and put it to one side until the garden had been cleared and we could plant it up properly.

hydrangea This is by far my favourite find and I always look forward to it flowering. Even when the flowers fade we’re left with fragile looking papery flower heads. Yjeu mostly last through winter providing some interest until we cut them off in spring.

I’m still struggling to get my head around everything that’s been going on for me at the moment. I’ve been making a point of going outside each day and looking at some of the nice things in the garden. A bit of fresh air and nature will always do me some good and I’m just trying to be kind to myself.

So what is it? Does anyone have a better idea than me?

My Sunday Photo 10.7.16 – Fizz!

What a week. It’s definitely been 7 days I’ll remember forever. A week of frantic funeral arrangements and sadness, which ended with me spending a day baking solidly for an afternoon tea party which was held on Saturday.

A celebration I wasn’t really in the mood to celebrate. I went, I smiled, I circulated and then I came home and crawled back into myself.

After the funeral on Thursday I met some friends in the pub, shared a bottle of very acceptable prosecco with them and raised a glass to my dad. Prosecco is the celebratory drink of choice round these parts and I really wanted to raise a glass to him.

At the afternoon tea party there was also prosecco aplenty, I caught this snap of a tray of drinks being poured for the guests. A bottle of birthday fizz.

fizz

Everything seems a bit of a jumble right now. I’m so tired but I’m forging on as best I can. Life goes on apparently.

My Sunday Photo 26.6.16 – Ironbridge

This week I needed to get away and give myself some head space. I managed to escape to visit a friend in Telford. We had a glorious evening of putting the world to rights with a few glasses of vino collapso.

We had a pootle down to Ironbridge for a wander round the shops and a spot of tea and cake. I love Ironbridge. It is one of the most beautiful places I’ve been to and I always, always get cross with myself for not taking my camera.

I can’t go to Ironbridge without crossing the actual bridge. It’s like some unwritten rule. The River Severn looked glorious, the sun was shining on it just so, a few fishermen dotted the banks and at one point a small group of canoeists paddled downstream. It was idyllic.

Built in 1779, the bridge is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a pretty major tourist attraction in the area. Ironbridge is dripping with history and I have been visiting with my family since I was a little girl. It’s a lovely place for tea and cake as well as spending time visiting and exploring the various museums in the area. It’s well worth a visit, trust me.

This is a picture of the River Severn taken through the iron bridge. It’s not a great photo, but the memory makes me smile and to me that’s what My Sunday Photo is all about.

Ironbridge

My 24 hours away did me the power of good. I hurried home in time to vote and it’s kind of been downhill ever since. Oh well.

Have a great Sunday xx

My Sunday Photo 19.6.16

By any stretch of the imagination it has been a turbulent week. I’m riddled with anxiety and the news and the current political climate isn’t helping. The awful, awful murder of Jo Cox MP this week has shaken me to the core. By all accounts she was a lovely woman who fought for the underdog and loved her babies above and beyond anything. It doesn’t make any sense to me.

This week I’ve wanted to pull my baby closer to me, to protect him from everything evil in the world and to hug him until he really understands how much I love him. Because anything could happen to any of us at any moment.

I was fiddling about with my camera whilst the boy was getting ready for bed. I snapped a couple of pictures just to test the settings. The boy started posing, he was pulling the most incredible smiles he rarely flashes for the camera these days.

Quite by accident I took this rather lovely father and son picture, which seems fitting because today is Father’s Day. It’s not technically brilliant, but it’s very them and I love it.

My Sunday Photo 19.6.16

Happy Father’s Day xx

My Sunday Photo 12.6.16

This week I had a bit of time to play with my camera. A couple of years ago I inexplicably bought myself a “Photo Studio Kit” for £25. The studio is a box made of white material and has a couple of lights and a little tripod to put your camera on if you want.

I’ve no real idea why I bought it when I did but I’m glad I did. I’ve been practicing some of the things I learned on my photography course last month and I’m pretty pleased with some of my snaps. I know I’ll look back in a year and see that they’re actually rubbish, but I wasn’t in auto and that’s a great big start for me.

Here’s a picture of a picture of my new favourite mug from the Manchester Bee Company.

12.6.16

Still lots and lot more practicing to do, but getting it all out of the box and having a play is not a bad first step.

Happy Sunday!

My Sunday Photo 5.6.16

Last Sunday we spent the day at the Geronimo Festival at Tatton Park. It was a glorious day, the sun shone, we watched and did so much. But for us the real highlight was the Horsemen of the Knight show – a live action equestrian show.

The Horsemen of the Knight are a group of professional stunt riders who regularly work in TV and film. The horsemen have appeared in Game of Thrones War Horse, Snow White and the Huntsman, Robin Hood, Harry Potter and the popular TV Series Merlin to name just a few.

At the Geronimo Festival they performed their jousting show, four horsemen going against each other in the Arena Zone, culminating in a sword battle with fire and the victor winning this beautiful unicorn.

My Sunday Photo 5.6.16

Keep your eyes peeled this week for my full review of the Geronimo Festival.

Have a great week! x

My Sunday Photo 29.5.16

About three years ago my OH took a lovely photo of the small boy climbing a tree in our local park, we loved it so much we got it printed on a canvas and it has pride of place at home.

I’ve been meaning to take an updated version of the picture just to compare then and now. With my OH off at an Indie All Dayer in Manchester I took the opportunity to have a date night with my boy. We started off with a trip to the local park, then onto a local restaurant for a plate of sausages and a chocolate milkshake.

In the park he spotted the tree and I grabbed a very quick snap before he scampered off in search of sticks (fairly sure he’s part labrador).

We had a lovely date night, it’s something we need to do more often, maybe he’ll even buy me dinner some day!

My Sunday Photo 29.5.16

My Sunday Photo 22.5.16

Last weekend the boys went off to their first football match together. They were off to watch Manchester United play Bournmouth at Old Trafford. They hopped on the tram full of excitement and I went home and pottered about in the kitchen, listening to the build up to the match on the radio.

Unfortunately their afternoon didn’t go to plan and the stadium had to be evacuated.

I listened to the updates on the evacuation and sent a text to my husband which he didn’t answer for an age. I was worried sick, but thankfully the evacuation was handled incredibly well and everyone was safe. They came home on the tram and we made the best of the afternoon.

This is the pair of them just as they were leaving for the match. They’ll try again next season. Fingers crossed. We’re all just glad the evacuation was handled so well, no one was hurt and that thankfully no one was really in any danger after all.

My Sunday Photo 24.4.16

This week Manchester has treated us to so much sunshine and warmth it’s been hard to believe that it’s still only April. Annoyingly I’ve been hunched over a hot laptop for most of the week and I’ve only really spied the warm sun from inside. On Wednesday it was beautifully bright and sunny and I really needed to get out, so I took myself off for a walk down by the river, clocking up a couple of Fitbit miles at the same time.

The trees are in full blossom, and looking up at the deep blue sky I snapped this with my Nokia Lumia phone. The soft pink blossom against the blue sky, the blur of the sun and a vapour trail from a passing plane. I love this photo and it hints hopefully of a fine summer to come. Fingers crossed!