Guarded by Lions

This is the outer wall of St John's College in Oxford.

There are several similar lions in a row along the wall. Here is the next-door neighbour of our lion: perhaps even more fearsome and menacing.

The lions are facing out onto one of the main thoroughfares (St Giles), where we lived for 33 years until my retirement. We must have been facing the lions every day!

I have often written about St John's and its wonderful gardens.

But there are many interesting things to see on the way through to the gardens. For example, keen detectives may be able to find out at what time we were passing through. Even the brackets supporting the drainpipes are resplendent. And we rather admire the cupola on the chapel roof. What nice weather!

One of the special features about the gardens is that they feature an outstanding display of spring flowers, which we look forward to admiring every year. Today, the display was truly spectacular. There were sheets and sheets of colour: all manner of colours, from aconites and snowdrops, many-hued crocuses, anenomes, asnd so on. The daffodils and narcissi are just about to come out, which will add another dimension.

To give an idea of the splendour, I cannot do better than to assemble some of yesterday's photographs into a small gallery. I hope that you will enjoy some of the images, and that you will get an idea of what a blessed spot this is. From our point of view, the pictures allow us to compare year with year, as here for 2010 , more of 2010, or for 2012 and here links for some more of 2012.