Warsaw: My Favourite New Year's Eve Shot

My favourite shot from walking round Warsaw Old Town on New Year's Eve (2016-2017).

Zamosc: The Eastern Orthodox Cemetery Gate

The beautiful gate leading into the Eastern Orthodox cemetery in Zamosc with a stunning dark blue sky background.

Zamosc: Polish National Catholic Church

Had an hour to spare in Zamosc before catching a coach to Warsaw, so I went walking around and this church caught my eye:

Upon closer inspection, it seemed to be a Polish National Catholic church.

Warsaw: Warming Up for New Year's Eve

The concert stage in front of the Palace of Culture warming up for New Year's Eve.

It gives out a wonderful flowering of colours when daylight disappears:

Eastern Poland: Snow at Christmas

Just caught a bit of snow on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

Unfortunately, more or less everything had turned to slush by Boxing Day:

But still Eastern Poland looked quite picturesque, with or without the snow.

Guinness at Shannon Airport

The parting shot from my late summer trip to Ireland, a nice, creamy pint of Guinness at Shannon Airport.

Glengarriff: Gazing towards Garnish Island

The best part of our stop-off at Glengarriff, looking out towards Garnish Island.

Occasionally, we saw one of the small ferries heading out towards Garnish Island:

My friend informed me that Garnish Island was famous for its beautiful gardens and the fact that George Bernard Shaw had stayed there:

Wherever your eyes gazed,  the scenery was great:

The shot below is my favourite, it has a kind of countryside idyll feel to it:

Glengarriff Ferry Point

Couple of shots of the swooshing dark water of the Glengarriff ferry point to Garnish Island:

Had passed through Glengarriff before but this was the first time my friends had brought me down here.

Bantry-Snave Pier Walk

Nice, pleasant walk I did over summer, along the main road from Bantry to Snave Pier for some afternoon/early evening exercise and to take in some great views:

Below, there is some information about the 'Priest's Leap':

The walk was full of information along the way:

Might use this campsite if I head this way again next year:

And I reached Snave Pier which looked a quiet and peaceful sort of place:

Fuerteventura: John's Picture

Really like John's picture from Fuerteventura.  It offers a sharp contrast to entering winter in Poland.

Warsaw: Passing the Mosque Near Blue City

Passed the mosque up near Blue City the other day:

Several times I had passed it while it was in the process of being built, but this was the first time I'd seen the completed job, first hand:

There were no fences or anything like that, people were able to go up close to have a look at things, and were invited to visit the kebab place attached to the back of the mosque:

Also looked like the food may've been sometimes cooked outside:

Didn't go inside, but from what I could see outside, the staircase inside the mosque looked like an intricate piece of work:

Had to get a shot of the mosque from a distance, looks like there may be some concern over the future fate of the open land next to the mosque:

'The Hardy Way' by Margaret Marande

Absolutely love this book, have read it twice recently, and will keep on dipping into it for the foreseeable future.  Just love the structure of the book which deals with a walk of over 200 miles (mainly in Dorset) that takes in endless Thomas Hardy sites along the way.

What makes this book especially impressive is how it is divided into 13 short walks, with all the Thomas Hardy significance about especially his novels being connected to hundreds of places (real names and fictional names juxtaposed together) throughout the walks.  In this sense, the book has the following structure:

1.  Higher Bockhampton to Wool ('Under the Greenwood Tree'; 'Far from the Madding Crowd'; 'A Pair of Blue Eyes'; 'The Return of the Native'; 'Tess of the D'Urbervilles')

2.  Wool to Wareham ('Desperate Remedies'; 'Far from the Madding Crowd'; 'The Distracted Preacher'; 'The Hand of Ethelberta')

3.  Wareham to Wimborne ('The Hand of Ethelberta'; 'Two on a Tower'; 'The Woodlanders')

4.  Wimborne to Cranborne ('The Trumpet Major'; 'The Return of the Native'; 'Tess of the 'Durbervilles')

5.  Cranborne to Shaftesbury ('Tess of the D'Urbervilles'; 'Jude the Obscure'; 'Two on a Tower')

6.  Shaftesbury to Sturminster Newton ('Tess of the D'Urbervilles'; 'Jude the Obscure'; 'The Return of the Native')

7. Sturminster to Buckland Newton ('Tess of the D'Urbervilles'; 'The Woodlanders')

8.  Buckland Newton to Evershot ('Tess of the D'Urbervilles'; 'The Woodlanders'; 'Far from the Madding Crowd'; 'Interlopers at the Knap')

9.  Evershot to Bridport ('Far from the Madding Crowd'; 'Tess of the D'Urbervilles'; 'The Woodlanders')

10.  Bridport to Ferry Bridge ('The Trumpet Major'; 'The Well-Beloved')

11.  Isle of Portland ('The Well-Beloved'; 'The Trumpet Major')

12.  Portland to Owermoigne ('The Well-Beloved'; 'The Melancholy Hussar'; 'Desperate Remedies'; 'The Return of the Native'; 'The Trumpet Major'; 'The Distracted Preacher'; 'Tess of the D'Urbervilles'; 'Far from the Madding Crowd')

13.  Owermoigne to Stinsford ('Tess of the D'Urbervilles'; 'The Return of the Native'; 'Under the Greenwood Tree'; 'Desperate Remedies'; 'Far from the Madding Crowd'; 'The Mayor of Casterbridge')

As just one example of how good this book is, the map above/below shows you how to move from Hardy's birthplace at Higher Bockhampton following the Snail's Creep path towards Waterson Manor (Bathsheba Everdene's Weatherbury Farm) and Druce Farm (Farmer Boldwood's Little Weatherbury Farm) from 'Far from the Madding Crowd':
 

While below, there is a map of the Isle of Portland extremely useful for anybody wanting to find places of significance from 'The Well-Beloved' on the island:

In late August, I spent about five days in and around Dorchester finding a few places of Hardy significance e.g. Stinsford church; Higher Bockhampton; Max Gate; Bere Regis; Puddletown; the Michael Henchard house and Hardy statue in Dorchester; Athelhampton Hall; Salisbury; Stonehenge; Winchester etc.  But now having read Margaret Marande's 'The Hardy Way: A 19th Century Pilgrimage' a couple of times (and I'll undoubtedly read it again), I'm confident of finding all kinds of places of Hardy significance when I hopefully return to Hardy's Wessex some time next year.  For me, this is the real magic of this book, and I'm indebted to the author.

Warsaw: Marian Statue

Passed this beautiful Marian statue the other day in Warsaw.

Warsaw: Arkadia Christmas Tree

Like the way that the Christmas Tree and tower block stand proudly together outside the Arkadia shopping centre in Warsaw.

Winchester: Coat of Arms on a Gate

Everywhere you looked, you could find something interesting in Winchester, including this small coat of arms on a gate.

Winchester: St. John's Hospital Charity (Almshouse)

During my two-hour, train stopover in Winchester (on the way to Dorchester), this almshouse building fascinated me.

Have just read that historians now believe that the foundation dates back to St. Brinstan, Bishop of Winchester, between 931 and 934, having previously believed that it dated back to the late 13th century.

Must investigate this almshouse a lot more if I pass through Winchester again, which I may do as I'll hopefully be going down to Dorchester again next year.

Some interesting information I've just read is that St. John's Charity was spared the destruction of the Reformation through being registered as a hospital.