Framedlight

Last weekend we made a flying visit to Paris in the camper van. We took the 10.00am ferry from Dover to Dunkerque and left in a thick sea fog. I have made this crossing many times but never under these conditions and it was quite eerie.

I am not a nature photographer. They are others who excel in this medium and although I am interested in the natural world around me I lack the patience and the super large lenses to really capture pictures of birds and animals. However Paxton Pits is a great place for a walk and the gravel ponds are really pretty. In one part of the reserve there is still gravel extraction going on and, looking through the fence you can see the mounds of sand thrown up by the excavations. The trees were heavy with birds and cormorants occasionally flapped across the pond with nesting material

On Sunday mornings we like to walk across the fields from Arkesden to some lakes in Clavering where there is a cafe to provide food for the fishermen and other hungry people. We treat ourselves to a bacon sandwich and some photography.

I have a friend Jenny who has written a little book on prefabs, so when I saw an article in the Independant on the Excalibur estate in south London we decided to pay a visit. The Excalibur Estate was built immediately post war to replace bombed out homes. The people moving there thought they were wonderful - detached with their own garden, running hot and cold water and even blown air central heating. This estate is one of the last survivors and is now at the mercy of developers. Half of it is already boarded off although not yet demolished, I guess the developers are waiting for more improvement in the property market. The remainder of the housing is very mixed, with some homes kept immaculately and some that have been left empty and run wild with rubbish and vegetation.  We were lucky enough to be invited into the home of one of the residents, George, who now lives in his home alone apart from his little dog. He had moved to London from Hull during the war as his father was ...