The London Eye, or the Millennium Wheel, is a cantilevered observation wheel on the South Bank of the River Thames in London. It is Europe's tallest cantilevered observation wheel, and is the most popular paid tourist attraction in the United Kingdom with over 3 million visitors annually, and has made many appearances in popular culture.

In March 2020 the London Eye celebrated its 20th birthday by turning its pods into experiences in partnership with its sponsor lastminute.com. The special experiences included a pub in a capsule, a west end theatre pod and a garden party with flower arrangements to represent the eight London Royal parks.

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Calke Abbey - the un-stately home.

With peeling paintwork and overgrown courtyards, Calke Abbey tells the story of the dramatic decline of a country house estate. The house and stables are little restored, with many abandoned areas vividly portraying a period in the 20th century when numerous country houses did not survive to tell their story.

Visit the National Trust page

A mistake was made and a free day was left in my diary, so I took the opportunity to head over to Calke Abbey for a few hours. This is probably my favourite National Trust location, and well worth a visit if you've never been there. Expect a minor flood of images from here since I haven't had chance to go out anywhere else with the camera for a while.

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The Blazer series is a line of solid body electric guitar models under the Ibanez brand, similar in appearance to the Fender Stratocaster. It was introduced in 1980 and offered for three years. The line was revived in 1995 before being ultimately discontinued after 1998.

One of the guitar 'portrait' shots that I took during lockdown.

I bought this back in the 80s. It is solid wood and weighs a ton but has a very fast and smooth neck action. Unfortunately, the pickups are on their way out and have started to crackle quite a bit. I was going to get them repaired or replaced but, instead, Liz bought me a new guitar earlier this year as a wedding anniversary gift. I may post the 'portrait' shot of the new one if there is any interest.

I posted the colour version of the shot because the grain in the guitar body and the background show up better than in the B&W conversion.

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The hills surrounding the Swinside Stone Circle between Millom and Broughton in Furness, Cumbria.

The stone circle is to my right as I took this shot.

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"The only real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes." — Marcel Proust

This was taken on a recent holiday in Scotland where we spent a week in a small cottage (formerly the schoolhouse) which is situated down in the valley to the left of this shot. The view along the distant valley welcomed us each morning as we stepped out into the garden.

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