Worry Free

A list of things to remember when those worries and fears encroach too much:

• The life you have now only happens once. Even if there is an after-life or you are re-incarnated, you will never be the person you are now and a worry or fear can only shorten what you have now.
• Fear is only real when you are involved in an event that you cannot control that could have a serious negative outcome (e.g. traffic accident, imprisonment). Even then there should be things that you can do to reduce such fear
• Fear of opinion is a waste of energy as long as the thing on which the opinion is made is not illegal or causes harm (physical or mental) to another. Everyone has opinions good and bad.
• Your own opinion is important. It is based on your principles and moral outlook. You should only change it if the change also matches these principles and morals.
• Events will happen. There is no point in worrying about them beforehand. When they do happen deal with them in the most positive way possible at the time.
• Focus on what you can do not on what you cannot.
• Frustration is only a failure to influence a person or event to your own way of thinking.
• In any interaction with people you will need to change your own way of thinking. Be prepared for this or avoid people except where absolutely necessary. 
• The majority of people with whom you interact are not inherently good or evil. Their upbringing and moral philosophy influence their opinions with which you will either agree or disagree.
• You will never have enough time to do things you like doing. You will be most satisfied if you just enjoy doing the things you like while you are doing them.
• Your hobbies are just for you

Sand Sculptures

Each year in Weston-super-Mare a group of (mostly?) Scandinavian artists sculpt the sand around a particular theme. This year was Hollywood.

I admire the skill of the artists. The following a sample of their work:

Up

The Man with no name

Jaws

The sculptures are well worth a visit if going to Weston

Sulgrave Manor

Having a long weekend last weekend, we took the opportunity to meet up with my brother who lives the other side of the country from us. His choice was to meet at roughly a half-way point being Sulgrave Manor in Northamptonshire.

Sulgrave Manor

George Washington 

This manor was once owned by the Washington family who originated in the North East of England. It is a privately owned house jointly paid for by Britain and the USA due to its connections with the famous family though George Washington was never at the house. It was owned by his great grandfather & had in fact been sold on to another family when George Washington came to prominence in the Virginia Militia and later the War of Independence.

Having been to many historic monuments in Britain, this property was relatively small, but we had a very entertaining tour of the few rooms in the house by an enthusiastic tour guide, and we wandered the gardens in the afternoon. 

The main purpose of the trip however was the family meeting as living so far apart most of our contact is over the phone. Getting together reminds me very much of the passing years & how much we should make the most of the time available before we are no longer here or no longer capable of making full use of the time.

Olympus 12-50mm zoom

The weather on the day of our trip was very much overcast. I had been using mostly the 17mm (f1.8) lense on the E-M5, which I have grown to love. Until buying the OM-D I was very much used to using zoom lenses with the various four-thirds bodies I had. I didn't know if I would get on with fixed primes, but their size, image quality and wide aperture have won my admiration such that I find the 12-50mm a bit long for the body.

I expected rain so I thought the weather-sealed zoom would be the best compromise for the day. It didn't actually rain, so I probably could have swapped back to the 17mm, but I left the 12-50mm on the camera. It was a little restrictive on the indoor shots, but I was still pleased with the results

Sulgrave Manor Kitchen