u3a Eye - Festive

Festive to me means colour, warmth, jollity under-pinned by cultural beliefs and, maybe, a glass of wine. Shooting this light show in the Cathedral was a challenge, but great fun.

Nature turned a festive walk at Penshurst Place Kent into a winter wonderland with some overnight snow. Beautiful and such a lovely mid-December excursion with our u3a.

I noticed so much interest inside rather than purely outside a Christmas tree bauble

The scene is from a light trail in the grounds of Lotherton Hall. The different colours and depth capture something of the creativity and magic of light in the winter darkness. The tall pyramid structures ape Christmas trees, but for modern age. The background trees showing a path forward into a future perhaps for a new year.

The north wind doth blow, And we shall have snow, And what will poor robin do then? Poor thing. He’ll sit in a barn, And keep himself warm, And hide his head under his wing, Poor thing!

On a very cold evening, this amazing display made us feel Christmassy.

Santa's hat left on the chair after a hard night's work

The image is of the lovely vaulting lit-up by a light show at Fountains Abbey. I liked the way the central illuminated pillars lead the eye to the pointed window at the far end. The window on the left acts as a balance also. The photograph was taken on 29th December 2019.

The picture at the heart of this festive collage is of a beautifully decorated High Street shop window, photographed during an evening stroll around our town's Christmas Market.

Some folk love it, some folk hate it, but Edinburgh's Christmas Market and the associated attractions offer slightly different photographic challenges and opportunities every year. This shot of the big ferris wheel on Princes St was taken from a street offering a high vantage point, although I had to find a suitable gap in the trees.

It was in fact at the end of February 2018 when snow fell in West Cornwall. The scenery with the Celtic cross and St Michael's Mount in the distance, however, reflects what most people feel to be an ideal White Christmas.

Barney getting into the Christmas spirit!

I thought it would be a bit different to take a festive photo using the frosty weather and some Christmas decorations.

Using a Christmas Bauble as main focus then zoomed in while pressing the shutter to give a more dramatic effect to the lights on the Christmas Tree, to characterise the festive season.

Christmas crackers are a festive tradition in my family and have certainly delighted my children over the years. First made in about 1850 by London sweet maker Tom Smith he called them ‘Bangs of expectation’ and rightly so.