Tag Archives: close up

Norfolk Tulip Fields

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I’ve always wanted to visit the tulips fields in the Netherlands (Holland), as these are some of my favourite flowers, but in it’s stead I was able to visit some tulip fields in Norfolk. They are only open to the public for a couple of weeks and my sister was lucky enough to get some tickets for us.

There were several fields full of tulips, with rows and rows of various colours. They really were beautiful to see.

I love how block colours had sprinklings of others. And I also like the ones that looked almost hybrid, colours varying and also shapes.

We spent a couple of hours walking among the rows taking in the sight and then relaxing on one of the nearby hay bales that were dotted about the field

It was a really lovely to take in the vibrant colours of the beautiful flowers and to visit a place that you wouldn’t imagine would exist in the UK.

Cold Snap

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We’ve had an usually cold December in London. I woke up one morning to find everything covered in frost. It did make for some cool finds in the garden though.

I found white threads around the garden and upon closer inspection saw they were in fact spider webs!

And this poor rose looked quite beautiful but sad as it was covered in ice

It turned even colder in the following days and we had a good dousing of snow that was quite unusual. I didn’t venture out much but it does look so pretty and calm.

I hope everyone is staying warm and safe this Winter amidst any snow and blizzards that may arrive.

Istanbul – part 1

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I don’t often get to travel, in fact I have been abroad for a very long time, so when the chance arose I grabbed it. I went to Istanbul for a few days with my mum and sisters and we made the most of the time we had.

We went to Topkapi palace which was home to all the Ottoman sultans. The palace was huge it took a few hours to get around. There were several throne rooms and reading rooms, each with beautiful mosaic embellishment all around.

I loved some of the ceilings, just so beautifully and intricately detailed.

Every room was covered in tiled and mosaics and I couldn’t get enough of it. I loved these tiles where the same colours were used but they each had a different design.

There was one special place within the palace that we were all keen to visit. It was a room that held holy relics of Prophet Mohammed (SAW), of his companions and also other Prophets. We weren’t allowed to take photos, but there was Prophet Moses’ (AS) staff, Prophet David’s (AS) sword, Prophet Mohammed’s(SAW) footprint and hair strands. It was quite astonishing and moving to see belongings of Prophets that we all revered so much.

Having walked around most of the palace we decided to get some lunch. I really enjoyed Tokapi palace and it’s a place I would definitely want to come back and visit.

Cherry harvest

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Our neighbours have a cherry tree in their garden and this year it grew a huge amount of cherries. Our neighbours were generous enough to pick and share some, but encouraged us to pick all the cherries we wanted from the side of the tree that was hanging over our garden. With my mum and niece’s help I climbed up the tree and picked all that I could reach, with cherry juice running down my arm. Here’s some of what we picked, with about three times as much being shared with other family members and neighbours.

Blossoms

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Spring has been in full force in London these last few weeks, with flowers and greenery sprouting everywhere. My sister and I visited a small park where there were some beautiful trees full of blossoms. Most parks are full of snappers but this one was tucked away, so we managed to take some pictures calmly and without lots of people around.

The blossom trees were full of pink and white blossoms. They looked so beautiful in the sunlight.

We took some time taking photos and just soaking in the lovely quiet atmosphere.

These blossoms and others really are a joy to look at and I hope to enjoy them for as long as they last.

Trekking across London

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The weather has been really sunny and mild recently so I decided to make a trip to Central London.

I headed towards Regents Park where there were plenty of blossoms that looked lovely and Spring-like

I then decided to walk to the other end of Regents park, up to Primrose Hill to look at the London skyline. It looked great on this sunny and clear day

I then walked back to the other end (via the London Zoo entrance where I spotted some zebras) and walked through the well kept pretty gardens and near the lake where I saw a statue like Herring.

I left the park and made my way to Trafalgar Square and then Covent Garden. There was huge rainbow made of cans to encourage recycling which I though was a cool idea.

At this point, having walked almost 27k steps I was exhausted and made my way home to put my feet up. It’s always a joy to visit London, even more as things are starting to get back to normal after a couple of difficult years.

Light Field

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I visited a light art installation by Anthony James which is currently being shown at Marble Arch. It’s called Light field. I really enjoy light art, especially if creates optical effects.

Looking into the hexagonal shapes made it look like the space went on forever. There was a similar styled longer shape too. I also liked the square boxes, all placed in a uniform way. The boxes changed colour in time to some music being played, which I found quite relaxing to watch.

The exhibition is at the Mound and is free. Worth a look I think.

Whipsnade Zoo

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I went to Whipsnade Zoo this summer with my sister and her family. It’s partnered with London Zoo I visited a few years ago. Whipsnade Zoo is huge so we started from one side and made our way round.

The animals are sectioned according to the continent they came from, so we started with Africa. The first animals we saw were chimpanzees. They were a bit far away but I liked that they had a lot of space to move around. We then moved onto the penguins which again I was pleased to see had a huge space and also a great view of the English landscape.

As we made our way along the path we suddenly spotted an animal that was outside like us! After a closer look we saw it was a wallaby hiding in the long grass. Did it escape?! Turns out no; there’s wallabies and Maras (like giant Guinea pigs) that are allowed to roams free. My 2 year old niece had fun chasing after the Maras, much to our amusement.

Getting over our surprise we next visited other animals typically found in Africa; rhinos, giraffes (my favourite), lions, ostriches, meerkats and zebras. Lions apparently sleep up to 20 hours a day so I didn’t hold much hope in seeing them running around. There was a cheetah too but they were hard to spot sleeping in the tall grass.

Walking along leaving the Africa section we turned a corner to see sudden bright pops of pink! Flamingoes!

Their pink feathers looked so lovely against the greeny water. There were flamingo chicks, their feathers stull grey, pelicans and herons all surrounding the same pond.

After stopping for lunch and a rest we made our way to the next section, the Asian continent. Here we saw elephants and tigers. The tigers were also pretty sleepy, making little movement. Nearby was an area dedicated to dinosaurs. There were various shaped and sizes, some growling and moving. My niece of 7 enjoyed making scared faces at them and digging for fossils.

Next we ventured into the aquarium and butterfly house. The kids enjoyed seeing the various fish and it was nice to go at a slower pace. By the time we reached the butterfly house my youngest niece was fast asleep and the older one didn’t like butterflies so didn’t stick around. I’m not fond of flying insects in closed spaces myself but I did manage to take some nice close up photos of some of the calmer butterflies.

Last stop was the farm, here they had a striking long haired Poitiven donkey, cows, ponies, alpacas, hens, rabbits and my little niece’s favourite baby goats! Feeling refreshed after her nap she spent her time petting, chasing after and hugging them.

I always feel conflicted when visiting zoos as I feel sad that animals are kept in smaller spaces than they would be in the wild. But the truth is that zoos can play an important part in conservation and survival of some animals. Seeing them in large, open spaces in nice and I’m glad that they seem to be well looked after at Whipsnade.

Eid-ul-Adha 2021/1442

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Eid-ul-Adha has visited us again. All restrictions have been eased here in England but we still need to be careful as the pandemic isn’t over yet, not for us, not for the world. The pilgrimage (hajj) in Saudi Arabia was limited to just residents again this year, but we can all mark the days as special wherever we are. I pray that the pandemic eases for everyone, that we cherish the time we have with our loved ones and Allah has mercy and bestows forgiveness on us all. A reminder to also think of those in hardship across the world and hope that their prayers are answered.
Eid Mubarak everyone, I hope you all enjoy this blessed day wherever you are. Taqabbal Allahu Minna Wa Minkum (May Allah accept it from you and us).