Hyde Park Moments

The last iris

I think we've had more than enough words for a while, so I thought I'd share with you some more shots from my recent and disastrous trip to the UK.

It was our last day, I was feeling as sick as the proverbial parrot and all I wanted was space, calm, peace and green. I will confess that I found this particular time in London, flu notwithstanding, rather a stressful business. I think the current doom and gloom over politics and the economy is intensely pervasive in the city and there was a sense of dis-ease, confusion, frustration and resentment that pervaded the place in a way that I've never felt before. My own inclination was to escape and Hyde Park was just around the corner from the hotel. It was a little green lung, a haven in the midst of the other madness.

A green oasis

The Green Man was afoot...

A Narnia lamp post... a portal to other worlds?

Magic moments....

Park greens

Sunbathers (personally I'm not convinced the sun was actually out...)

Park lovers...

The house in the park

Down at the water

And was it all for the birds - perhaps so, perhaps not...

Golden reflections

Beady eyes...
- golden eye duck -

A certain softness of light
- a greylag goose -

Mallard rainbow

A goose's greens
- canada goose -

The Chaser!

"Rsssp!" I say, "Rsssp to you!"

Mallard reflections

Beauty is a red-crested pochard

And what have you got for me?

Bottoms up!

I couldn't help but be reminded, as I snapped away, of the Duck's Ditty from Wind in the Willows...

All along the backwater, Through the rushes tall,
Ducks are a-dabbling, Up tails all!
Ducks' tails, drakes' tails, Yellow feet a-quiver,
Yellow bills all out of sight, Busy in the river!
Slushy green undergrowth, Where the roach swim—
Here we keep our larder, Cool and full and dim.
Everyone for what he likes! We like to be
Heads down, tails up, Dabbling free!
High in the blue above, Swifts whirl and call—
We are down a-dabbling, Up tails all!