England

Foxy encounters in London town

I get such a buzz seeing foxes running around the streets of London and this little sweet fella (girl?) which I photographed standing on the porch of a house in Holland Park this morning is no exception. There are a staggering 10,000 urban foxes in London and while they’ve been immortalised in books, movies and even as TV personalities (think Basil Brush), most Londoners are ambivalent to these orange coloured urban dwellers and barely give them a second glance. But not me.  The first time I ever saw a fox in the flesh in London was my very first night[…]

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The magical world of England’s New Forest

By Jane Wynyard, August 27, 2013 The English countryside is more than just lovely walks in the countryside, nature and fresh air. It’s a place that takes me back to my childhood daydreams of  fairies, goblins, heroic knights, outlaws, legends, princes and princesses. Which is why I love the tiny village of Brockenhurst in the New Forest, Hampshire. It’s a place where you can let your imagination run wild. New Forest, which is more than a thousand years old, is a world of creatures, ancient woodlands, fascinating history, royalty, miles and miles of forest, and breath-taking country walks. And, most importantly,[…]

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Little piggies go to the park in London

Monday  May 27 2013     This has to be one of the best things I’ve seen in London in my whole ten years here. I was walking with a friend through Ravenscourt Park today and ranting about how I needed more nature and time with animals when there in the middle of the park were two enormous pigs! They were the gorgeous sweetest kunekune pigs, twin brothers called Snout and Crackling. They both wore dog harnesses and grunted, snuffled and ate copius amounts of fresh green grass. Other dogs didn’t quite know what to make of them including one[…]

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The murdered millionaire and his Hampstead home

By Jane Wynyard, May 15, 2012 One of the best things about Hampstead are the houses and the stories they tell – some fascinating and quirky, some with sad and terrible tales to tell.  One such sad story is an apt testament to our pre-recession world of greed and corruption. The above photo, taken a couple of days ago (May 2012), is all that’s left of the dilapidated home of an elderly recluse millionaire author, Alan Chappelow, who lived alone on Devonshire Hill. Mr Chappelow was battered to death in June 2006 in his house, known as Manor House, by[…]

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