A Winter Walk In West Didsbury

I'm very fond of walking round our neighbourhood - exploring the little cobbled paths that run behind the Victorian terraced houses, checking out what's new in the shops and cafes, stumbling upon the occasional secret community garden bursting with flowers. And of course now I have even more reason to get out and about, being as little Eva Bella is very fond of a snooze in her pram while Mummy bounces her gently over the pavements of West Didsbury.

The park was covered in snow:

I wore my floral wellies:

Some creative locals made a tiny snowman with antler-like twigs and a rosebud for a nose:

The silver birch trees looked lovely and delicate against the blue December sky:

Who needs a Christmas garland on the front door when you have a natural red berry arch?

Back home, someone didn't want to put her bottom on the snow cos it was too cold:

(And someone else is too fluffy to care about a bit of the old frozen stuff):

Do you like to meander around your neighbourhood?

Stunning Manchester Photography By Neil Roland

In the course of undertaking jury duty (I'm now in the second week) I've visited various buildings and rooms within the Manchester courts complex. One of them is a very modern building with a huge foyer, cathedral ceilings, and several gorgeous large-scale photographs hanging on the walls in front of the main entrance.

I felt immediately drawn to these photographs, went to take a closer look, and immediately realised that I had responded to them in this way because they were taken by Neil Roland, a well-known Manchester photographer. 

I have admired Neil's work for years (his photographs can be found all over the city in galleries, restaurants, cafes, even my local GP surgery) - in fact I like his work so much that I commissioned him to create a bespoke set of photographs of the West Didsbury area, which I gave to Andre as a wedding present.

Neil takes photographs of Manchester and the surrounding urban area - usually with a focus on capturing particular colours, street signs, and types of buildings, which he then displays in sets. He often takes the photograph at unusual or close-up angles, so it's not immediately obvious where the photo was taken, and a little detective work is required to identify the location. He also uses film rather than digital, and therefore has no reliance on PhotoShop to alter his images in any way.

Here are some of Neil's photographs of our local area - Didsbury, and West Didsbury:

And here are some of Neil's photographs of Manchester city centre:

It's very dark and gloomy in Manchester at the moment, so taking photographs is a bit tricky. But if it ever lightens up, I'll take a photo of our very own Neil Roland, which hangs in the living room, above the sofa.

Psst! If you like this, you may also like...

Neighbourhood: Winter morning tour of our local area

Shopping: Assembling our Perpetual Paris calendar

Garden: Our magical garden by night

How To Make Sunday Lunch

Here's a simple recipe for making Sunday lunch.

1. Wake up on Sunday morning and decide you are feeling far too lazy to do any cooking at all.

2. Call up The Lime Tree Restaurant and book a table for two:

Sources: Flickr and Neil Roland

3. Roll out of bed and into a waiting taxi.

4. Order smoked haddock fishcakes and goats cheese with sesame seeds:

5. Followed by roast beef with yorkshire pudding and horseradish sauce, and roast lamb with red wine jus:

6. And finally crème brulée, and chocolate truffle cake:

7. Roll into a taxi and spend the rest of the day sleeping it off on the sofa.

Oh yes. This is what Sundays were made for.

Psst! If you like this, you may also like:

Recipe: Eggs Benedict (or, the laziest Sunday breakfast ever)

Interiors: Fabulous London home

Neighbourhood: A Sunday morning tour of West Didsbury