Out and about with my iPhone – Part II

It was William Blake who wrote of England’s green and pleasant lands, words which have since been transposed into the rousing melody of “Jerusalem” by Hubert Parry.

I will not cease from mental fight, 
Nor shall my sword sleep in my hand, 
Till we have built Jerusalem
In England’s green and pleasant land

Now, as I walk around my surroundings, down in suburban South London, I find the final bars of that great hymn circling relentlessly inside my head, as all around me, after a month of unseasonably consistent rainfall, England has literally burst into the most pleasant, lusciously green landscape I have seen in recent memory. The tree boughs are so heavily weighted by a cornucopia of vivid green leaves and fresh, unfurling buds that they almost touch the ground. The grass is rich and thick, full of daisies and dandelions, betraying not a single batch of earth in between its lustrous verdant carpet. And all around the air is full of blossom, as it is gently warmed by a balmy early-summer sun, bringing with it ripe rememberings of childhood summers past, when with my family I would enjoy effortless evenings amongst the thickly sheltered forests of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, picking bunches of wild flowers, and going to bed with a head full of fresh summer air and the imaginings of a Midsummer Night’s Dream.

All this comes to mind as I revel in this newly revitalised greenery surrounding me, even here, on the outskirts of London. And freshly inspired, with an excellent camera phone in my pocket, I have roistered the benefits of having a camera continuously by my side, so that for every scene of early-summer beauty before me, I can capture it like the work of art it is, a still life framed forever, to share with you on The Daily Norm.

These photos are just a few from a mass I have taken while enjoying the unseasonably warm weather we have had recently in the UK, as finally we were given a break from months of rainy monotony, and gave the summer a brief chance to shine through. I hope you enjoy them.

© Nicholas de Lacy-Brown and The Daily Norm, 2001-2012. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of the material, whether written work or artwork, included within The Daily Norm without express and written permission from The Daily Norm’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Nicholas de Lacy-Brown and The Daily Norm with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

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• Out and about with my iPhone (normsonline.wordpress.com)