Day 30; magnolia in Bowbridge Lane

Today is the last day of my street photo blip challenge, and I had it in mind to post a gritty urban blip from the Top of Town/Mason road estate, as I had to go up there later. Maybe some boarded up houses, condemned because of concrete cancer?

Then I saw this wonderful magnolia, that I admire every year of passing, and 'pretty' won out over 'gritty'. I would love to have one, but they are quite large, and CleanSteve and I have different ideas on flowering trees; he is keener on 'productive' plants and I don't mind if something only puts on a ballet-skirt of a display for one month of the year, because hey, it''s worth waiting for! So, I give you magnolia, with a little bit of path and house to make it more 'street'. Yeah, right.

I walked down to town and snapped another man in a crane, up an alleyway, with a woman in a red coat walking below. But in the shot you could see the workman's behind, and none of the rest of him! So I went about my business, including regular work; the visit to the housing estate at the top of town; and a massage I gave at home. It was a glorious afternoon, but I was filling in a form about volunteering, so I did not stop to enjoy it.

The month of street blips has given me more confidence about getting out my camera in public, and a freedom to experiment. I did not realise that I would end up travelling literally hundreds of miles around the county by bus, but that was my choice, and mostly a good one. I also walked a bit more than usual, and decided that next year I want to walk the Cotswold way, a long distance walk/trail of 103 miles. Not in a day, mind you! I've also applied online for a passport renewal, though I have no firm travel plans as yet.

Mostly, though,and unconnected with street blips. I want to exclaim with delights about the production from the Royal Opera House of Verdi's Nabucco, which was streamed to my cinema last night. Placido Domingo was in the tital role, with Liudmyla Monastyrska as the wonderfully evil-looking Abigaille. What an extraordinary vocal range she had! I had thought I would not know any of the music, but once I heard the chorus of the Hebrew slaves, I was almost singing along. This seems to happen: I thought I didn't know any of West Side Story, The Messiah, or La Boheme, but there's always a song, an aria, or a chorus I recognise. I've now bought tickets for a National Theatre production of The Audience with Helen Mirren as the Queen. For those who can't get to the cities to see major productions or exhibitions, I do recommend this way of accessing 'culture'.

In a moment, I will post the final poem of my 30-day poetry challenge on my blog. The end of National Poetry Writing Month hasn't come a moment too soon!