Parked up in town to go to the Post Office, and this beautiful display of autumn colour was right there. I reckon there’s more to come…

Parked up in town to go to the Post Office, and this beautiful display of autumn colour was right there. I reckon there’s more to come…

When we were younger, Halloween didn’t amount to much at all. Although its origins are in Irish folklore, it’s only the relatively recent influences from the USA that have made it what it is today. It’s big business now, with costumes (seemingly for adults as well as kids) and all manner of mostly plastic ‘stuff’ for decoration. This is my daughter’s house today!

Some 30 years ago we used to go to Blackpool each year to see the ‘Illuminations’. We’d set off around 6pm after I got home from work, make what was then a 3 hour car trip, drive along the promenade to see the fabulous light show, then the same journey home with the kids asleep on the back seat. We went again today, first time for a very long time, and thoroughly enjoyed it. We got there much earlier, so had chance to look around in daylight before trying our luck in the amusement arcade, before the obligatory drive to look at all the lights. What a great afternoon and evening, topped off with Blackpool’s famous fish and chips…!

Although we have a couple of ‘plastic pumpkins’, today was all about carving the genuine article… The two pumpkins we had were fairly small, so a simple face design seemed in order, and they turned out ok.

I can’t say that I was thrilled at my 430am alarm call today so we could catch the 705am flight from Berlin to London, but the reward was a fantastic view of the city and River Thames as we approached Heathrow. Nice one…

Checkpoint Charlie was the name given by the Western Allies to the best-known Berlin Wall crossing point between East Berlin and West Berlin during the Cold War (1947–1991). All that remains is this guard post (probably not even the original one…)

This is part of the East Side Gallery in Berlin, an outdoor art gallery using a 1.3km long section of the original Berlin Wall. The wall ‘fell’ in 1989, and a few short sections have been preserved to reflect their historical significance. Most of the paintings in the gallery depict themes of peace or reconciliation.

With a bedroom looking out towards the Berlin TV Tower, our hotel was a perfect spot for a nighttime photo. A mini tripod on the windowsill and a long exposure were all that was needed to capture the light trails from the passing traffic.

Every year we go to the Halloween/Bonfire Night event at the local High School, and for once, it stayed dry tonight. I am staggered at the quality of photos from the iPhone 11Pro, especially in low light.

We are never going to see autumn colours here to rival those in New England, but they are pretty impressive nevertheless. This tree is just a mile or so from home and the best of the colours are coming through now …
