A skip in Chipping Campden...

Ah… the Cotswolds, full of achingly pretty villages of honey-coloured stone houses. Though I have plenty of saleable pix, this is the shot that was licenced today…

Oakham Castle...

There’s a brief hiatus in the sporting calendar (The Open has started, but I don’t count golf as a proper sport. I agree with the sentiment - variously attributed to Mark Twain, William Gladstone, and others - that golf is “a good walk spoiled”). England lost on penalties in the final of Euro 2020. England fans can console themselves that coming second in the Olympics - which begin next week - would win a silver medal. As predictable as night follows day, or a penalty shootout follows extra time, the black players have received a torrent of abuse on social media. It’s time for cricket to occupy the back pages of the newspapers for a few precious weeks. I won’t miss football at all. 

Oakham Castle, licenced today...

Show home...

Pic licensed today: a new housing development near Pickering…

Winchester Cathedral…

Licenced today: the shrine of St Swithun in Winchester Cathedral…

55 years of hurt... and still counting...

Fans, players and pundits had written the filmscript - entitled ‘England’s glory’ - but the Italians obviously hadn’t read it. When the scores are still level, even after extra time, it might be better just to toss a coin to see who wins. Or have a few hands of gin rummy. When the fans’ dreams are dashed, someone has to get the blame… and missing a penalty is on a player's CV for ever (that's what Gareth Southgate was best known for, until he landed the England job). Anyway, the players - and Southgate - exceeded expectations by getting to Wembley, and provided some much-needed relief from masks, social distancing and the endless flow of data about infections, hospitalisations and covid-related deaths.

Another of the eco-houses at Findhorn, licenced today...

A flag in Fleetwood...

It's unusual for images to be licenced on a Sunday, but this one sold today. Apparently there's a football match this evening...

Neighbours...

The Old Sunday School has a square footprint, with the exterior walls being the boundary of my property. I now have neighbours on both sides, which is fine by me… except that the neighbour to the left has erected a garden shed up against the back wall of the OSS, which would make it impossible for me to, say, re-paint the windows or re-point the brickwork. Having exchanged ‘a few words’ yesterday, I was planning to contact the local planning department, for clarification.

Then came a knock on my door. “I’ve had a word with my wife”, Nicky said, “and I’d like to apologise”. He said he’d move the shed to another part of their large garden, and I said that would be the end of the matter. The situation could have got ugly… but didn’t. I’ve forgotten the name of his wife, but from now on I’ll think of her as ‘the voice of reason’! 

Garden shed... but not the one next door...