England & Italy (3), June 2002

P6236899 P6236899.JPG
The next day, Alan and Rhona took me and the family dog (Maya the Pampered) out to a picnic at Durham Park, about 20 minutes outside of Bristol.
Captured June 23 2002 1:02:11p

P6236901 P6236901.JPG
Here, we're enjoying a fabulous picnic lunch packed in a fabulous new picnic backpack my friends had recently purchased.
Captured June 23 2002 1:38:37p

P6236905 P6236905.JPG
Durham Park is named after the principal family that owned it and passed it on from generation to generation.
Captured June 23 2002 2:12:46p

P6237016 P6237016.JPG
Fallow Deer
It's also a deer park, where fallow deer were kept originally for hunting, now purely for the pleasure of their company (I think).
Captured June 23 2002 4:18:32p

DyrhamManor DyrhamManor.tif
Here is an overview of Durham Manor, which has been taken over and turned into a museum by the British Heritage Society. Since Rhona works there, she was able to get us in free and we got to say 'hello' to many of the people she works with.
Captured June 23 2002 4:05:38p

P6236926 P6236926.JPG
The other side of the manor is actually the entrance, and it was too large to get into one shot, really.
Captured June 23 2002 2:31:18p

P6236923 P6236923.JPG
Percy
Percy is the resident peacock, and quite a handsome lad.
Captured June 23 2002 2:25:39p

P6236976 P6236976.JPG
This is one of several pictures I took inside the museum before someone told me that it wasn't permitted. Rhona didn't know, and I didn't ask....
Captured June 23 2002 3:12:36p

P6237026 P6237026.JPG
Trompe l'Oi
This was the picture I really wanted to take, but was stopped mid-shutter. It's a doorway into a small closet with a full-wall painting of a continued hallway, complete with pets and object's d'art. Like I said, I couldn't take the picture, so I bought the postcard and photographed that. Therefore, this is a picture of a picture of a place that has a painting of an unreal continuation of a real space. Where does that leave us?
Captured June 23 2002 11:10:08p

P6236987 P6236987.JPG
Sedan Chair
The artwork on this sedan chair was exquisite, but so sensitive to light that they kept it in a darkened corner, and I had to use a 1-second exposure to see it at all -- our eyes were unable. This is how I excused my use of the camera after I had been told to put it away. (Rhona was actually annoyed at being told that we couldn't take pictures of publicly owned art, so said nothing.)
Captured June 23 2002 3:30:39p

P6236990 P6236990.JPG
You Rang, Sir?
I don't know why this impressed me so much, but every room had a bell tied to a wire that allowed the occupant to ring for service from one of the many housemaids who waited below, listening for just such an annoyance.
Captured June 23 2002 3:43:39p

P6236928 P6236928.JPG
St. Peter's Parish
The attached church, which was attached to the manor but served the local region, was beatifully adorned both inside and out.
Captured June 23 2002 2:33:03p

DyrhamChurch DyrhamChurch.tif
This is one of the most successful high dynamic range pictures I've taken with people in it. I luckily happened to take the sequence of five photos at a moment when everyone was standing perfectly still, or nearly so.
Captured June 23 2002 2:42:53p

P6236944 P6236944.JPG
I think this is the grave of one of the former owners of Durham Manor, with a relief in the background of their surviving children (boys on the left panel and girls on the right).
Captured June 23 2002 2:46:15p

P6247087 P6247087.JPG
Pete's birthday followed closely on the heels of Ki's, and we had a little celebration in the department, where smoke sensors forced us to perform the candle ceremony in the kitchenette.
Captured June 24 2002 3:08:55p

Page 4

Back to Places

Back to Snapshots

Back to Greg's home page