Hair and Herons

I can't believe it's been 6 weeks since my last trip to the hairdresser - 2014 is zooming by so fast.

After a chatty catch-up with Tania while she did my cut and colour, and as the heavy downpours had moved on, I took a leisurely stroll in the warm sunshine from St. Margaret's to Richmond-upon-Thames. This route takes you across the bridge, which is always a treat when it's sunny, and you can saunter along and window-shop in the main high street, then on to the station for a train back to Waterloo.

Richmond Bridge was glorious this afternoon, and there was plenty to see and photograph both on and around the Thames. People enjoying a meal and a glass of wine in the shade of the riverside trees, a boatman bailing out rainwater from his hire boats, children pestering for ice-creams. On a slipway, an old man was throwing large chunks of bread to the gathered congregation of Canada geese. A gangly heron waded into the middle of the feeding frenzy and terrorised one goose after another, flapping his huge wings and chasing them off before grabbing the spoils for himself. Lunch over, he settled on a tarpaulin-covered boat, the Lady Mayoress, for a postprandial rest. I took mine on the train home.