In which I finally take a new photograph

Posted by Tania Kindersley.

Oh I have been rotten at blogging this week. I know there was the journey south, which in my case uses up inordinate amounts of mental energy and inner reserves on account of having to do the packing three weeks in advance and checking the long range weather forecast every half hour and planning for two punctures and one stalled traffic jam. I know that I am surrounded by children, which means there are conversations to be had about gruffalos and how to say I demand in Latin, and the colour pink. I know that I am away from my desk, and working cross-legged on the bed in the manner of Carrie in Sex and the City, only without the interesting fashion sense. But still.

It's not as if I can offer you anything glorious today.  I would rather love to tell you about my trip to the delightful market town of Cirencester, and the charming young fellow in the camera shop who knew all about pancake lenses, and the nice man in the farmers' market who gave me a free carrot to eat. I would love to describe my delicious lunch with my very old friends Paul and Ondine, and their extraordinarily articulate and funny daughters, Sasha and Amber. My friend Amber is the one who adores pigs. It turns out she also knows about string theory. Most grown ups don't know about string theory. Luckily I once had a bit of a crush on a physicist, so I was able to keep up with Amber once the conversation turned to science.

Anyway, I would like to tell you about all that, plus what I think of the Phil Woolas case, the rise of China, the outcome of the G20, David Cameron's new haircut, and whether the Archbishop of Canterbury was right to say what he said. But I can't. I've been making minestrone for my poor bruised godson (there was an incident with a wall, in which the wall won) and I can't really concentrate on much else after that.

However, because I did finally manage to get to the camera shop, I have a new swanky lens, and so, after a whole week, there is finally a photograph of the south.

Cirencester:

 

The excellent market:

And back at the house, some of the things I can see from my bedroom window:

Have a happy weekend.

Oh, and actually, there is one more thing. A special bonus shot of Virginia the Pig in moody sepia, especially for the person I know who most loves all things porcine: