Isn’t it funny how we’ve all become so used to being able to communicate with the outside world at the click of a mouse? I don’t think we (DM and I) noticed how much we’d come to expect and rely on our broadband until we were without it for a week when we moved in here because of the stupid bureaucracy of the telephone companies who can’t coordinate when someone has a new number.

Today we’ve had terrible troubles too – our broadband supplier has been experiencing technical problems and that’s impacted us and all their other customers. It’s incredibly frustrating when stuff that we can normally do in a moment takes hours.

Both of us are fed-up and jaded now after spending the whole day trying to make sure we’re quick enough to react when the service comes back up and then suffering the frustrations of it crashing again while we are trying to upload or download emails and other files. GGGgggggggrrrrrrrrrr.

I suppose the good bit is that while I’ve been watching my PC to see when the little egg-timer has stopped, I’ve been able to spot a whole bundle of little fluffy white bums bobbing around on the hillside opposite and no, I don’t mean a Lib Dem picnic, I mean a whole troop (or whatever the collective noun is for a gang of big-eared, cotton-tailed kick-boxing machines) of wabbits, all enjoying the late afternoon sunshine and a munch.

Tonight’s pic was the result of a desire to burn something after today’s frustrations and although my plan involved setting fire to computer kit in the garden, when I went outside I realised the futility of that because it’s too bloomin’ cold to spend ages outside with studio lights trying to get a shot.

So, I grabbed this lantern, which has been waiting to be photographed since we moved in (and incidentally matches exactly some we already had in storage so that’s grand) and brought it into the warmth of the house to photograph. Technically I’m still trying to remedy last year’s rubbish photos with some good ones and I’m pretty pleased with this – a technically difficult shot to get the glow of the candle yet have the outside of the lantern lit too. It’s a long exposure with a very dim studio light flash at the start……I rather like it.

Oh and a day late, welcome to the Year of the Dog!!!

Last year we were at Tokenbury Corner....as we were on Saturday!!!