Spring is Not Only in the Air

Seen growing wild all over Crete, the Sea Squill, or Sea Onion, is a bulb the Greeks hang above their doorways on New Years Eve for good health and luck. Despite being uprooted it will continue to grow and blossom, which made people think it had magical powers. After new year the bulb is take inside and keept it in the house.

Later in the summer it is easily recognised by its distinctive tall stems covered with small white flowers.

Halcyon Days

Chania harbour on a calm January day. 

The Halcyon Days. 

From halcyon, from Latin Alcyone, from Ancient Greek Ἀλκυόνη (Alkuónē), daughter of Aeolus and wife of Ceyx. When her husband died in a shipwreck, Alcyone threw herself into the sea whereupon the gods transformed them both into halcyon birds (kingfishers). When Alcyone made her nest on the beach, waves threatened to destroy it. Aeolus restrained his winds and kept them calm during seven days in each year, so she could lay her eggs. These became known as the "halcyon days," when storms do not occur. 
(WIki)

Favourite T-shirt of the week

A few years back I started photographing people wearing Che Guevara T-shirts. I always asked permission first, and was always pleasantly surprised how readily people agreed to have their photo taken. I put the photos into a blog: https://wearingche.blogspot.com/

I encountered this guy on a recent visit to Cambridge, and he was happy to pose for a photo, though I did have to coax a smile out of him. 

Island of the Dead

Island of the Dead

Went to the cemetery today
The boat dropped me off at the pier

It was very quiet
Except for the birdsong 
And the gentle gusts of wind in the trees

As you might imagine
There was a lot of marble —
Tombs, crosses, angels, portraits in relief
Plastic flowers, inscriptions
Dates from, and until.
Fading photographs of people with dated hair styles
Grief, stillness, absence 

I liked the Cypress trees though
They had a nice fresh pine smell
Looked so fantastically green against a backdrop of the deepest blue,
And another boat would soon arrive—
To take me back to the mainland. 


Isola di San Michele, Venezia, 22/V/19

Another year of Photos

Another year of photos...
The weird, the wonderful and the mundane — plenty of art, travel and inspiration. The occasional patches of darkness but a healthy smattering of blue skies. 
Still casting a shadow . . .

Whatever the question, Love is the answer...

Whatever the question — Love is the answer...

Them bones them bones them, dry bones...

photo by C Z

Inside the Capela dos Ossos (Bone Chapel)

This extraordinary building is situated in the courtyard at the rear of the Igreja do Carmo church in Faro Portugal. 

I'd heard about this chapel, but had previously seen no images, so it was a complete surprise to walk through the doors and enter this unique space.

It was made from the exhumed bones of long dead Carmelite monks who had once served the city. It was inaugurated in 1816.

It's made from the bones of over a thousand monks.

Parallel lines of red bricks and even spacing of the skulls forms a strong geometric design.

The chapel is entirely made from bones, skulls and mortar.

Even the arched ceiling...

Macabre on one level, but also fascinating and humbling. There seemed to be little need for the inscription over the entrance: Pára aqui a considerar que a este estado hás-de chegar, which translates as: 'Stop here and consider, that you will reach this state too.'