V is for: Vane Arms pub, Thorpe Thewles, Stockton-on-Tees, England.
Date: June 22, 2007.
Camera: Sony Cybershot DSC-W1.
This 17th century pub -- with a thoroughly modern interior -- overlooks the green in the pretty village of Thorpe Thewles, not far from the rather grim industrial suburb of Billingham, near Middlesbrough. It's run by a distant relative -- my dad's cousin's eldest son, if that makes sense -- whom my dad and I met for the first time in the summer. We had lunch here and enjoyed catching up with a varied assortment of rellies we hadn't seen in quite some time...
W is for: war graves, Brompton Cemetery, London.
Date: April 22, 2007.
Camera: Sony Cybershot DSC-W1.
Brompton Cemetery is largely characterised by elaborate Victorian headstones but there's a small section dedicated to the war dead. These simple white headstones mark the burial spots of soldiers from both the Great War and the Second World War.
X is for: Xmas tree, Paternoster Square, London.
Date: December 27, 2007.
Camera: Panasonic DMC-TZ3.
This was possibly the biggest Christmas tree I had ever seen, but in this photograph it appears dwarfed by the sheer size and scale of Paternoster Square, which lies close to St Paul's Cathedral. The square, which has recently been redeveloped, is the home of investment banks and the London Stock Exchange, but there's some eateries and wine bars nearby, too.
Y is for: Yellow daffodils, Green Park, London.
Date: March 30, 2007.
Camera: Sony Cybershot DSC-W1.
Every February this patch of grass on the very edge of Green Park, just across the road from Buckingham Palace, erupts into a riot of yellow. I took this photograph one morning as I cycled my way to work. Within a week all these blooms had shrivelled up and died, so I was glad I'd made the point of taking the time to snap this shot.
Z is for: zen, Castello Aragonese, Ischia, Italy.
Date: August 28, 2007.
Camera: Panasonic DMC-TZ3.
Just looking at this photograph makes me feel all calm and worry-free. It was taken on a stinking hot summer's day on the Italian island of Ischia. The table and chairs belong to a little cafe atop the Aragon Castle, and sitting here you can look back across the Bay of Naples to the heavily forested island below.
