My winter wonderland...

This is a sculpture in Reading by the riverside. I have been told it looks like a clock, others say it looks like a wheel. What it actually  is a half circle sculpture which I took and reflected on itself having made one half black and white and the other half in colour (you can work out which is which). Why? because originally it was meant to be a reflection but also an image that brings about study and discussion so please do let me know what you think. :-) 

So winter 2009/2010...what an amazing event it turned out to be! I was meant to go to Scotland for Christmas to see my dear friend Marlene & the gang as well as take some great images of snow covered landscapes, but one thing or another made it impossible so I stayed home. But there is cause to celebrate! (no the Cava was not consumed by me but what a great shot! :-) God brought the snow to me!!!!!!

The following are a selection of my winter shots which I thought were great because of the subject or have some social significance. For example this bottle of Cava left outside a house tells a tale of Christmas or New Years celebrations teamed with bubbly and merry song...

 The snow was so heavy down south that buildings, traffic signs, roads ...everything pretty much was covered in snow. Cars got stuck and black ice followed quickly making the roads dangers to travel on.
 
I lived on South Street in Reading at the beginning of winter and the images above are of my street, the roads around my my house and the river where I saw such majestic swans swimming in the snow and river boats stationary and covered in snow... Public transport almost came to a stand still with many rail tracks and roads covered in not only snow but ice which is significantly worse for trains...

I then moved house during this period with help from dear friends  (you know who you are...x) and Harcourt Road in Bracknell became my new home and where I spent the rest of the winter months including the severe snow storms in early January 2010 (see pictures below).

Though trapped in the house  (the images above were taken from an upstairs window in my house of our street) I could not resist a quick snow ball fight (not a real one just a photo op to show I was there in the midst of all the snow :-) And in case you are wondering...yes I was ffffffffffffffrrrrrrrrrrrrreeeeeeeeeeeeeezzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzziiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnggggggggggggggg! but it was fun :-)!

 The last image is captioned "wasteful Briton" because all of the things (aside from the bins of course) in the image have been abandoned outside one house or another! Yes washing machines and chairs... Its crazy but true, Briton throws things away on a daily basis. Not just because they are beyond repair; more often than not they are not even broken just a year or two old in some cases or a newer model has arrived. It is indeed a shame but certainly part of the culture here (though most people take their unwanted items to the tip, give them to charity or sell them in a car boot sale).


And thats it, the highlights of winter...oh just one more...I managed to get a picture of holly!!!! :-)