Learning in the u3a movement

This photograph was a mistake. It shows two boats taking part in the Round the Island Race, the annual race around the Isle of Wight. I had the wrong ISO settings on my camera and it came out very overexposed. But I rather like the washed-out effect.

Taken at Keddleston Hall. Well, we chose the longer route on our day out in August last year. It was a breath of fresh air during a difficult year for everyone. I hope this illustrates “different sizes” sufficiently too.

Taken in Canary Wharf in London on a rare trip to the capital. The buildings in the photo are perfectly horizontal and vertical, but I liked the way they were warped in the windows.

I love photographing bees on flowers and I was very impressed by the amount of pollen this one had gathered in it's pollen baskets. The beautiful little beetle next to it was an added extra!

In a local park earlier this year the Egyptian goose and gosling caught my eye because, in spite of the difference in size, the gosling was leading the adult as they marched along. At the point, I took the picture they were completely in step.

Big snails have little snails upon their backs to ride ‘em. Little snails have smaller snails and so ad infinitum!

I love the contrasting colours, different shapes and sizes created by nature.

'Pysanky' Ukrainian Easter eggs. They are real eggs that are decorated by hand with beeswax, then dyed and later blown. At Easter time they are taken to church alongside the traditional Easter food to be blessed.

This was taken at Gerald Durrell's Jersey Zoo where conservation of species is it's vision. The mother is carefully and lovingly watching her offspring whilst it feeds.

Clear cut crystals, yes, semi-precious stones and seed beads all feature in the necklaces and bracelets used in this image and which I have had few occasions to wear during Covid times. Over a number of years, I collected a wide range of different sizes of beads which I learned to make into these varied designs at an enjoyable jewellery class that I attended.

… but which size fits? I had two main aims in lockdown – developing my photography and focussing on being healthy. Now is the delightful time to go buy some new clothes, but what size – I’ve lost weight? Yippee! I was in this dilemma and playing with the clothes hanger and size markers when I realised it perfectly described my dilemma. It forms a question mark so I had my smiley-face beads finish the job. I’m happy!

Two different sizes in the same family. The small seed head (fruit) is from a Common Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) whilst the large one (10cm across) is from a Goat's-beard (Tragopogon pratensis), also known as 'John go to Bed at Noon' because its flowers close by midday. Both from the Daisy (Asteraceae) family and from Stubbington in Hampshire!

Was taken at RHS Wisley Glow in January 2021. I liked the grouping of simple spheres of different sizes connected yet separate, glowing in the darkness.

This Russian Matryoshka doll (with ten nesting dolls) was bought in Moscow over 50 years ago when the Iron Curtain still existed. In Russia, the doll is thought to symbolize traditional values of Russian society: respect for the elderly, unity of the extended family, fertility and abundance, and the search for truth and meaning.

Insects on a rose at Marks Hall Gardens. You wouldn’t wear these colours together but Nature seems to get away with it!