So, welcome to the July collection of photos. This year, Chantelle (aka Fat Mum Slim) has set a theme for this month (and for the remaining months of 2019) and for July it is getting to know you. So welcome this month to a selection of views into my brain.
July 1st – I am…
I am… A human:
- who is a work in progress,
- who loves learning more about myself and the body,
- who loves his job as a bodyworker (Myofascial Release, Sports & Remedial Massage), energy worker (Reiki Master) and Yoga,
- who is a partner to a wonderful man,
- who is a son/brother/uncle to fabulous family…
July 2nd – My Fave belonging
I am fortunate to have many belongings, but one that I really do love is my camera (Canon EOS 750D for those that want to know)
July 3rd – My Fave View
There are many places I love to go and look, but this is the view from my kitchen window. Although if the vine keeps on going then I won’t see anything out of it.
July 4th – I’m good at…
Waiting for a photo without people, although I will say that this lady does add something to this photo of some of Dale Chihuly’s smaller pieces of work on display at Kew Gardens.
July 5th – I’m not so good at…
I am no good at believing in myself, having self confidence (which I wrote about on my blog here)
July 6th – My fave colour
Haven’t we just done this?!?!
I still don’t have a favourite colour, so it will be found somewhere in this photo of more Chihuly pieces.
July 7th – I love eating this food
There are lots of food that I love eating, but the one I can keep eating again and again and again is pasta. I grow bored of potatoes very quickly, but pasta I can eat again and again.
July 8th – A highlight from my day
A highlight from this day was adding my own, homegrown blueberries to my muesli.
July 9th – I love this about me
Well this was a tough one, I’m in a good place with a job that I love, a loving partner, and a lovely home. However, trying to think of something I love about myself (!) was beyond me.
July 10th – My fave hobby
Well it would have to be photography, particularly wildlife photos. This was taken on a recent photography course at the Walthamstow Wetlands, and was one of the other participants getting a close up of a gosling. Oh, I also almost see learning and courses as a hobby.
July 11th – My Handwriting
My handwriting is a little messy, and is normally only for me to read, I was scribe during an exercise at a recent course that asked us to list as many ways we could think of why Theories are like farts… This is the list written out again in my neat handwriting of the 14 ideas our group that I had to read out to the room of 250 of my peers…
July 12th – This song makes me happy
This song makes me happy… Mr Blue Sky by ELO…
Always brings a smile to my face and lifts the spirits (and I was ecstatic with the opening credits of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2).
The other option was Walking on Sunshine by Katrina & the Waves… But couldn’t think of a way to photograph that….
July 13th – I grew up in…
I grew up in Hitchin, a market town (mentioned in the Domesday Book) about 30 miles north of London.
July 14th – I do this most days
Most days, at some point, I will end up standing at a platform waiting for a train to come. I don’t own a car (not really necessary living in London) and so I am reliant on the public transport system. Most of the time they are good and give me plenty of time to do my reading.
July 15th – This flavour makes me happy
Another favourite that I’m not entirely certain I know what to choose. However, picking fruit that I have grown and eating it straight off the cane makes me happy. This is a Japanese Wineberry (Rubus phoenicolasius) an tastes a bit like a raspberry.
July 16th – I love this film
Ok, stretching things a little: I’m taking all three Lord of the Rings films as parts of the same one. I absolutely love them (except that scene with Legolas Snowboarding down some steps at Helmsdeep; oh, and Legolas should be the only elf at that battle).
July 17th – I’m grateful for…
I’m grateful for:
- A roof over my head and a place to rest my head;
- food to eat;
- a loving SO who shares a beautiful home with me;
- a job that I love;
- my health;
- good friends;
July 18th – My fave book
This was a tough choice to make… I have a lot of books that I absolutely adore: examples include Good Omens by Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett, most of Terry Pratchett’s books actually, the works of Tad Williams, the Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan (and Brandon Sanderson), Brandon Sanderson’s books, and you can see my problem. However, the Grand-Daddy of them all is Tolkein’s Lord of the Rings, which I do adore and it’s long over due another read.
July 19th – My fave place in the world
Another difficult choice to make. I am very content with where I am, and I have had the chance to visit some amazing places (Sedona I’m thinking of you, and you too Andalucia) but my mental “go-to” place to just relax and let go is the Yorkshire Dales.
I love Malham Cove (pictured), MalhamTarn, the limestone pavement above Malham Cove, Brimham Rocks, Fountain’s Abbey and it’s park, and the wild ruggedness of the National Park. Just thinking about it makes me relax. I hope to get there again later this year.
July 20th – My fave people
I love my family, and my SO an awful lot. But they don’t particularly like photos of themselves being taken. Instead I will share pictures of the wonderful people that I have met through my training (particularly the Myofascial Release journey) and these are my extended Fascial Family and I love them to bits.
July 21st – Today was great because…
Today was an average day, and so nothing leapt out as amazing. My other half was singing in a choir on the other side of London, I went to the Farmer’s Market, did some housework and didn’t have to be any where, which was lovely.
July 22nd – A scent that makes me happy
The scent of fresh Jasmine is delightful and tells me summer is here as it drifts through the warm night air. This is my Star Jasmine (Trachelospermum Jasminoides for those that want to know) and it smells heavenly, and is evergreen.
July 23rd – I achieved this!
So Ten Years ago I was made redundant (See my blog post on the Ten Year Challenge) and retrained as a Sports Massage Therapist, Integrated Myofascial Therapist, Reiki Master/Teacher and most recently a Yoga Teacher (Scaravelli inspired style). I have also attended many, many, many, many other courses and workshops to continue my learning journey and I have been given many certificates for these.
I still feel like I have a huge amount to learn, and there are one or two avenues that I don’t want to pursue any further.
July 24th – Made me smile today
A thank you note from a happy client brought a smile to my lips; a bittersweet one as they are moving away from London. We’ve been working together for a number of years and I am happy that they are moving on to a better place for them, just I am unlikely to work with them again.
July 25th – Three things I’d take on a Desert Island
Oh, what a dilemma. It partly depends on how long I would be on the deserted island… If it was a short “holiday” then the three I chose would be good:
A knife – to be able to catch and chop things, defend myself if necessary, and to cut palm leaves to make a hat 🙂
A fully charged kindle – down time and time to read. Oh, that would make it bliss…
Sunscreen – I’m fair skinned and have suffered from too much sunburn to want to risk it again. And that’s not even thinking about the damage done to my skin.
July 26th – A memory of mine
The raising of the wreck of the Mary Rose from sea floor off the coast of Plymouth was something that I was obsessed with, along with a lot of the country in the early 1980s. I finally went to the museum in 2018 and seeing this bust of Dr Margaret Rule, who was the face of the project, brought tears to my eyes.
July 27th – My fave outfit
I’m comfortable in most clothing, however I really enjoy summer when I can comfortably walk around in shorts, t-shirt and either barefoot or sandals… Unfortunately I forgot to take a photo when it was actually hot and dry….
July 28th – My fave season
I quite like any season, there is something to be found and enjoyed in each and every one. Summer has roses and jasmine; Autumn has the fruits, berries and the leaves turning yellows and red; Winter has the starkness of the tree branches and moody skies; but I do love the flowers of spring, something stunning about them, and a chance to take photos of fluffy goslings.
Absolutely delighted that this “most spring-ish” photo I’ve ever taken was chosen to be one of the Fab Four for this prompt.
July 29th – My Fave animal
My favourite animal only exists in the imagination: Dragons. I’ve been fascinated with them from a young age. I remember being fascinated and loving the Welsh Dragon on their flag. I also found Smaug from the Hobbit wonderful, and absolultely adored the benevolent dragons in the Pern series of books by Anne McCaffrey.
July 30th – Something I want you to know about me
I love Human Anatomy, and particularly the Art of Human Anatomy. I find representations of skulls and muscles and fascia depicted in art wonderful, but how to show that. Da Vinci is possibly the best example of Anatomy as Art (even though he might not be 100% accurate), and also a book of the history of depicting Human Anatomy in Art.
July 31st – My fave thing to take photos of
I love to take photographs, and since doing these Photo A Day challenges, I love taking more photographs (you’ll never know when I need a picture of some piece of tat). But I really like taking photos of things that don’t contain people, like buildings, wild animals, and flowers… Oh, and I really hate taking food photos (August is going to be interesting).
This is the Metropol Parasol in Seville, with no people early one morning.
Bonus photo
And another photo of something I love to take pictures of: flowers.
So, that was a really tough month working out what to share. I have realised that I’m not actually very good at making decisions on favourite things… or rather maybe I just don’t mind so much and enjoy many different things.
I was delighted to be chosen as one of the Fab Four for my Ultra Spring Gosling.
Tim
