A Photo Every Hour - Saturday 24th January 2026

The first photo an hour of 2026 took place on Saturday 24th January. We had a carnival presentation in the evening so our morning was fairly lazy. The presentation went well though with Lily winning two trophies!

Here's what the day looked like...

9 lovely others joined in:

Jane joined in on Instagram Stories

Nicky joined in on Instagram Stories

Denise joined in on Instagram Stories

Alex joined in on Instagram Stories

Hannah joined in on Instagram Stories

Lucy joined in on Instagram Stories

Jennifer joined in on Instagram Stories

Jennifer from Pastry and Purls joined in on Instagram Stories

Susie from Second Hand Susie joined in on Instagram

And myself on Instagram and on this blog post :-)

February's photo an hour date is Saturday 21st - see you there!

 

 

A Photo Every Hour - Saturday 20th September, Saturday 18th October & Saturday 15th November 2025

A three month round-up to do this time! Carnival season here in Somerset has taken up most of our time and there just hasn't been the time to do the usual photo an hour round-ups. 

So here's a long post with lots of photos :-) 

Saturday 20th September was a carnival day on the Wessex circuit of processions. That day it was the turn of Frome Carnival and there was a children's afternoon procession and an evening procession. 

Here's what the day looked like...

7 lovely others joined in:

Bev from Confuzzledom joined in on Instagram

Jane joined in on Instagram Stories

Rebecca joined in on Instagram Stories

Denise joined in on Instagram Stories

Jennifer joined in on Instagram Stories

Lucy joined in on Instagram Stories

Danielle from Underland to Wonderland joined in on Instagram Stories

And myself on Instagram and on this blog post :-) 

Saturday 18th October was the turn of Trowbridge to host a Wessex Carnival. 

Here's what the day looked like...

8 lovely others joined in:

Susie from Second Hand Susie joined in on Instagram

Denise joined in on Instagram Stories

Jane joined in on Instagram Stories

Hannah joined in on Instagram Stories

Lucy joined in on Instagram Stories

Jennifer joined in on Instagram Stories

Sarah joined in on Instagram Stories

Danielle from Underland to Wonderland joined in on Instagram Stories

And myself on Instagram and on this blog post :-) 

Saturday 15th November was the last procession of the large County Circuit of carnivals, this time in Glastonbury. 

Here's what the day looked like...

12 lovely others joined in:

Bev from Confuzzledom joined in on Instagram

Susie from Second Hand Susie joined in on Instagram

Lucy joined in on Instagram Stories

Jane joined in on Instagram Stories

Denise joined in on Instagram Stories

Alex joined in on Instagram Stories

Nicky joined in on Instagram Stories

Hannah joined in on Instagram Stories

Rebecca joined in on Instagram Stories

Jennifer joined in on Instagram Stories

Jennifer from Pastry and Purls joined in on Instagram Stories

Danielle from Underland to Wonderland joined in on Instagram Stories

And myself on Instagram and on this blog post :-) 

December's photo an hour date is Saturday 20th - see you there!

 

 

A Photo Every Hour - Saturday 23rd August 2025

Saturday 23rd was the date chosen for August's photo an hour, the bank holiday weekend! With only a few weeks left until Lily's first carnival of the autumn, it was a day filled with costume-making and sewing. 

Here's what the day looked like...

11 lovely others joined in:

Bev from Confuzzledom joined in on Instagram

Susie from Second Hand Susie joined in on Instagram

Denise joined in on Instagram Stories

Jane joined in on Instagram Stories

Alex joined in on Instagram Stories

Nicky joined in on Instagram Stories

Janet joined in on Instagram Stories

Lucy joined in on Instagram Stories

Hannah joined in on Instagram Stories

Jennifer joined in on Instagram Stories

Danielle from Underland to Wonderland joined in on Instagram Stories

And myself on Instagram and on this blog post :-) 

September's photo an hour date is Saturday 20th - see you there!

 

 

A Photo Every Hour - Saturday 16th November 2024

Saturday 16th was November's photo an hour date - the last big carnival of the season here in Somerset! We had breakfast and then Andrew collected my brother from his care home whilst I sorted out all the carnival costume bits from the previous night's procession in Wells. Then we all headed down to Glastonbury for the final parade! 

Here's what the day looked like...

14 lovely others joined in:

Jennifer joined in on Instagram

Josie joined in on Instagram

Susie from Second Hand Susie joined in on Instagram

Bev from Confuzzledom joined in on Instagram

Jane joined in on Instagram Stories

Denise joined in on Instagram Stories

Nicky joined in on Instagram Stories

Rebecca joined in on Instagram Stories

Alex joined in on Instagram Stories

Lucy joined in on Instagram Stories

Hannah joined in on Instagram Stories

Janet joined in on Instagram Stories

Lizzie joined in on Instagram Stories

Danielle from Underland to Wonderland joined in on Instagram Stories

And myself on Instagram and on this blog post :-) 

December's photo an hour date (and the final one for 2024!) is Saturday 21st - see you there!

 

 

A Photo Every Hour - Saturday 19th October 2024

October's photo an hour day was Saturday 19th - another carnival day down here in Somerset! This time it was Trowbridge Carnival (just over the border into Wiltshire) and Lily was taking part in their evening procession. 

Here's what the day looked like...

11 lovely others joined in:

Bev from Confuzzledom joined in on Instagram

Christine from Christine Lucas joined in on Instagram

Susie from Second Hand Susie joined in on Instagram
Jane joined in on Instagram Stories
Lucy joined in on Instagram Stories

Denise joined in on Instagram Stories
Hannah joined in on Instagram Stories
Nicky joined in on Instagram Stories
Danielle from Underland to Wonderland joined in on Instagram Stories

Alex joined in on Instagram Stories

Lisa-Marie joined in on Instagram Stories

And myself on Instagram and on this blog post :-) 

November's photo an hour date is Saturday 16th - see you there!

 

 

A Photo Every Hour - Saturday 21st September 2024

Saturday 21st was the date chosen for September's photo an hour. It's carnival season down here in Somerset and Lily was taking part in Frome Carnival that day. They had an afternoon procession and an evening procession and she competed in both of them, picking up 5 trophies along the way! 

Here's what the day looked like...

10 lovely others joined in:

Bev from Confuzzledom joined in on Instagram

Susie from Second Hand Susie joined in on Instagram

Jane joined in on Instagram Stories

Lucy joined in on Instagram Stories

Emma joined in on Instagram Stories

Alex joined in on Instagram Stories

Hannah joined in on Instagram Stories

Nicky joined in on Instagram Stories

Denise joined in on Instagram Stories

Danielle from Underland to Wonderland joined in on Instagram Stories

And myself on Instagram and on this blog post :-) 

October's photo an hour date is Saturday 19th - see you there!

 

 

A Photo Every Hour - Saturday 17th August 2024

August's photo an hour day took place on Saturday 17th. We did some jobs at home, visited my Dad in his nursing home and then took a drive to deliver last year's carnival trophies back to their hometowns. 

Here's what the day looked like...

10 lovely others joined in:

Bev from Confuzzledom joined in on Instagram

Susie from Second Hand Susie joined in on Instagram

Lucy joined in on Instagram Stories

Amy joined in on Instagram Stories

Jennifer joined in on Instagram Stories

Hannah joined in on Instagram Stories

Denise joined in on Instagram Stories

Jane joined in on Instagram Stories

Jennifer from Pastry and Purls joined in on Instagram

Danielle from Underland to Wonderland joined in on Instagram Stories

And myself on Instagram and on this blog post :-) 

September's photo an hour date is Saturday 21st - see you there!

 

 

A Photo Every Hour - Saturday 16th December 2023

Saturday 16th December was the final photo an hour date of 2023!

We were away for the weekend at a local holiday park, at a cottage with a hot tub (my birthday present!). It was also Honiton Christmas Carnival in the evening so we headed down to Devon to watch that, picking up some chips and watching some Christmas lights on the way back. 

Here's what the day looked like...

11 lovely others joined in:

Josie joined in on Instagram

Sarah joined in on Instagram

Jennifer joined in on Instagram

Susie from Second Hand Susie joined in on Instagram

Bev from Confuzzledom joined in on Instagram

Jennifer from Pastry and Purls joined in on Instagram

Denise joined in on Instagram Stories

Jane joined in on Instagram Stories

Hannah joined in on Instagram Stories

Alex joined in on Instagram Stories

Nicky joined in on Instagram Stories

And myself on Instagram and on this blog post :-) 

2024's photo an hour dates will be decided soon :-)

 

 

A Photo Every Hour - Saturday 18th November 2023

Every month I find myself wondering, "how on earth has photo an hour come round again so quickly!?" I have no idea where the year has gone. So last Saturday, the 18th November ended up being the penultimate photo an hour day of 2023 (again, how?) 

As is standard for November in Somerset, it was a carnival day - Glastonbury this time, the final big carnival of the year!

Here's what the day looked like...

9 lovely others joined in:

Sarah joined in on Instagram

Jennifer joined in on Instagram

Hannah joined in on Instagram

Bev from Confuzzledom joined in on Instagram

Jennifer from Pastry and Purls joined in on Instagram

Denise joined in on Instagram Stories

Jane joined in on Instagram Stories

Sarah joined in on Instagram Stories

Lucy joined in on Instagram Stories

And myself on Instagram and on this blog post :-) 

December's photo an hour date (and the last one for 2023!) is Saturday 16th - see you there!

 

 

A Photo Every Hour - Saturday 21st October 2023

Saturday 21st was the date chosen for October's photo an hour. Another carnival day down here in the south west; we headed to Trowbridge in the evening for the Small Person to show off her Mary Anning performance. 

Here's what the day looked like...

11 lovely others joined in:

Sarah joined in on Instagram

Jennifer joined in on Instagram

Bev from Confuzzledom joined in on Instagram

Susie from Second Hand Susie joined in on Instagram

Denise joined in on Instagram Stories

Jane joined in on Instagram Stories

Lucy joined in on Instagram Stories

Nicky joined in on Instagram Stories

Sarah joined in on Instagram Stories

Alex joined in on Instagram Stories

Hannah joined in on Instagram Stories

And myself on Instagram and on this blog post :-) 

November's photo an hour date is Saturday 18th November - see you there!

 

 

  

A Photo Every Hour - Saturday 23rd September 2023

Saturday 23rd was the date chosen for September's photo an hour. It was a carnival day here in Somerset (as it is here every Saturday in autumn!) and that date was Frome Carnival. This year the Small Person is taking part on her own at some of the carnivals, entering as a "juvenile masquerader". Her chosen theme (of course) had to be dinosaur-related and so she's depicting Mary Anning, the fossil lady from Lyme Regis. In the daytime, before the carnival we did some jobs and visited my Dad in his nursing home. 

Here's what the day looked like...

12 lovely others joined in:

Sarah joined in on Instagram

Bev from Confuzzledom joined in on Instagram

Christine from Christine Lucas joined in on Instagram

Hazel from World of Joy joined in on Instagram

Sharon from Sunshine and Celandines joined in on Instagram

Emma joined in on Instagram Stories

Denise joined in on Instagram Stories

Jane joined in on Instagram Stories

Alex joined in on Instagram Stories

Sarah joined in on Instagram Stories

Hannah joined in on Instagram Stories

Jennifer from Pastry and Purls joined in on Instagram Stories

And myself on Instagram and on this blog post :-) 

October's photo an hour date is Saturday 21st - see you there!

 

 

Winter at the Duckpond

Not entirely sure how we're in February already but here we are. I've seen some daffodils and snowdrops and I'm writing this in the sunshine so fingers crossed spring is on its way :-)

A lot seems to have happened in the last few months!

• Carnival season took place properly for the first time since 2019. We went to watch some of the smaller ones in September and October and then during the big carnival season in November, both me and Lily took part in the processions with our carnival club. Our club had decided to take part with a walking entry rather than a cart and we wore our 'Alice in Wonderland' costumes from 2018. It was good fun and great opportunity for the children of the club to take part. Lily was going to be one of the Alices and I made her costume for her. We really enjoyed it but oh my gosh, it was busy! In all the years I've been taking part in carnivals, I've never seen the crowds so big. Which is good, of course - more people in theory means more people know about the processions and therefore more money for charity. A team from Bridgwater Carnival created a cart to take part in the Queen's Platinum Jubilee last year and I think the publicity worked!

• Good TV we've watched - 'Mayflies' on BBC iPlayer was excellent, heart-breaking but very well acted and put together. We also watched 'The Light in the Hall' on C4 which was also really good. And we've been enjoying 'Call the Midwife' as well (as we do every year).

• Good books I've read - 'Space Hopper' by Helen Fisher was a really intriguing tale and I liked 'Good Pop, Bad Pop' by Jarvis Cocker. 

• I didn't complete my GoodReads challenge for 2022 :-( After going well over my target in 2021 (target of 52, total read 70), last year's target was 52 and I didn't quite reach it, reading 47. Still a good amount though I think. 

• I had my 40th birthday back in December. We had a day out in Weymouth for my birthday, playing on the beach, getting a hot chocolate and ending the day with a festive chip supper from our favourite chip shop. 

• We also went to Edinburgh for Hogmanay - something I'd mentioned could be my 40th birthday present many years ago. We stayed in a lovely caravan at Mortonhall Park and managed to visit lots of our favourite places over the week. One bonus was the fact that I had to work on the Tuesday of the week but of course, the 'home' in "working from home" doesn't have to be your normal residence! So I had a nice day working from our caravan with a lovely view and a roaring fire. For New Year's Eve, we didn't want to be in the centre of Edinburgh (too busy with Covid still rampant, plus we couldn't take Lily) so we ended up on the seafront at Portobello watching the fireworks and saying 'Happy New Year' to the locals who were also out watching the displays. It was lovely. 

• Lily also turned 7 - which is part , "7, wow amazing" but also part, "7, how?". She picked a birthday day trip to the seaside to do one specific activity - play Jurassic Adventure Golf in Teignmouth, Devon. I think she enjoyed it!

• Photo an hour round up for the last few months can be found here - October, November, December and January. Feburary's photo an hour date is Saturday 18th, feel free to join in if you want to. 

• Oh and yeah, I was diagnosed with suspected kidney cancer. A week before my 40th birthday - which was not exactly the best birthday present ever. 'Twas only found because the GP ordered an MRI scan to do extra investigations into the high blood pressure I've had for years (it seems to run in my Dad's side of the family). Thankfully it doesn't seem to have spread anywhere which is good. The plan is to do a radical nephrectomy operation to remove the offending kidney and tumour so that's how the first half of 2023 is going to pan out for me. It's also going to involve lots of hot chocolates as that's the treat I give myself after every hospital appointment :-) 

Anyway, how was your winter/Christmas/New Year?

 

A Photo Every Hour - Saturday 19th November

Saturday 19th was the date chosen for November's photo an hour challenge. Here in Somerset, it was the last of the large carnivals for this year, taking place at Glastonbury. The carnival club I'm a member of were doing a walking entry this year, using costumes and a theme from a previous year, back when we did Alice in Wonderland in 2018. So my day was spent having a hearty breakfast, a bit of a rest and then getting ready to take part in the procession!

Here's what the day looked like...

12 lovely others joined in:

Sarah joined in on Instagram

Jennifer joined in on Instagram

Kezzie joined in on Instagram

Bev from Confuzzledom joined in on Instagram

Susie from Second Hand Susie joined in on Instagram

Christine from Christine Lucas joined in on Instagram

Jennifer from Pastry and Purls joined in on Instagram

Rebecca joined in on Instagram Stories

Jane joined in on Instagram Stories

Lucy joined in on Instagram Stories

Denise joined in on Instagram Stories

Nicky joined in on Instagram Stories

And myself on Instagram and on this blog post :-) 

December's photo an hour date is Saturday 17th December - see you there!

A Photo Every Hour - Saturday 22nd October 2022

Saturday 22nd was the date chosen for October's photo an hour. We spent the first half of it at home, doing some bits of housework and a bit of sewing. The second half was spent heading to my Mum's house, visiting the local recycling centre, taking her to see my Dad at his nursing home and in the evening, watching a local carnival (partly in the rain!). 

Here's what the day looked like...

15 lovely others joined in:

Sarah joined in on Instagram

Josie joined in on Instagram

Rebecca joined in on Instagram

Emma joined in on Instagram Stories

Jane joined in on Instagram Stories

Lucy joined in on Instagram Stories

Rebecca joined in on Instagram Stories

Alex joined in on Instagram Stories

Emma joined in on Instagram Stories

Denise joined in on Instagram Stories

Hazel from World of Joy joined in on Instagram

Bev from Confuzzledom joined in on Instagram

Christine from Christine Lucas joined in on Instagram

Sharon from Sunshine and Celandines joined in on Instagram

Susie from Second Hand Susie joined in on Instagram

And myself on Instagram and on this blog post :-) 

November's photo an hour date is Saturday 19th - see you there!

 

 

Summer at the Duckpond

So, how is it October already!? Where has this year gone? 

We had quite a nice summer, pretty good weather and we managed to get out and about a fair few times plus do our annual road trip to Scotland and back. 

Here's a selection of what's been happening over the last three months:

• We spent lots of time at one of our local outdoor swimming pools, Greenbank Pool in Street. We cancelled the Small Person's swimming lessons (doing them indoors was too high risk) so instead I attempted to teach her myself. Each time we went to the pool, we were able to spend several hours there, mixing swimming and playing in the kids pool with some snacks and a cuppa for me at the poolside. I wouldn't say she was able to swim perfectly but by the end of the summer, she could do breast stroke under the water, glide and do doggy paddle (and a bit of breast stroke) on top of the water so I reckon that's a win. We'll pick it up again next year when the pool opens for the season in May. 

• We had a great road trip to Scotland, visiting the Helensburgh area in the first week and staying in Cramond, Edinburgh in the second week. We took my Mum and brother with us this year and hired a van so we could all fit in. We didn't see any shows at the Fringe (again, we didn't want to take the risk) but we did visit Edinburgh city centre to experience the atmosphere and watch some of the street performers. 

• We went to visit Carters Steam Fair on their Farewell Tour a few times in Bath and also once in Basingstoke. It's sad they're no longer going to tour but also completely understandable as to why they've made that decision. We had great fun working for them and visiting them on lots of occassions so we'll keep lots of happy memories. 

• Andrew took his 1952 Scammell lorry to the Great Dorset Steam Fair (for the first time since 2019). We camped in our usual place (behind the Freak Show) and when everyone had left at the end of the fair, Lily was able to go onto the stage and pretend to put on a performance. 

• We went up to the north of Scotland at the beginning of September, staying near Lossiemouth. It was a holiday originally booked by my Dad for 2021 but I had to postpone it when he had his stroke. We were finally able to go this year and spent lots of time on the beach when we had sunny weather!

• Carnivals are back this year, after being cancelled in 2020 and 2021. Lots of carnival clubs are smaller; it's been a hard few years for obvious reasons but people still seem to be enjoying it and it's fun to be back. The carnival club I'm in are taking part as a walking group, re-doing our Alice in Wonderland theme from a few years ago. My costume is the White Queen and Lily is able to take part with us on some of the nights, wearing an Alice costume. The big carnivals start on 5th November at Bridgwater and run through to 19th November finishing at Glastonbury (which is also a 'photo an hour' day!). I'm going to try and post on Instagram Stories over the season. 

• Photo an Hour over the summer took place on 23rd July (round-up here), 20th August (round-up here) and 17th September (round-up here). October's photo an hour is this Saturday, the 22nd!

• We've all had our jabs for the winter - COVID boosters and flu jabs (being eligible as 'carers' and 'household contact of immunosuppressed'). We also made the decision to get Lily her chicken pox vaccine - she still hadn't had chicken pox yet and we just thought what's the point?, the older she gets, the more horrible it'll be. And she wanted it as well so we got her booked in. 

• We watched 'The Sparks Brothers' on Netflix which was utterly wonderful. I tweeted about it the next day and had a like and retweet from its director, Edgar Wright! It's been taken off Netflix now unfortunately but I think you can still find it on other platforms. 

• Good books I've read over the last few months - 'Nothing But The Truth: A Memoir' by The Secret Barrister; 'Never Greener' by Ruth Jones; '21 Miles: Swimming in Search of the Meaning of Motherhood' by Jessica Hepburn; 'We Shall Remember' by Emma Fraser; and 'Where Are The Women? A Guide to an Imagined Scotland' by Sara Sheridan. 

What have you been up to?

 

May and June at the Duckpond

A two month round-up this time, as I didn't get round to actually writing a post at the end of May!

• We went on holiday to Butlins in Bognor Regis; on a break which was booked back in 2019 and had been postponed twice. It wasn't quite the break we envisaged when we booked it as we steered clear of all the indoor activities (not wanting to risk catching Covid) but we certainly made the most of the outdoor fairground and childrens activities. 

• Whilst we were in Bognor Regis we also explored the south coast area, doing an afternoon drive to Brighton on one day and a drive to Portsmouth and Southsea on another. And we also surprised Lily with a mystery tour to Paultons Park - which she loved!

• TV - obviously we're 10 years behind everyone here but wow, 'Line of Duty' is rather good isn't it! We binge-watched it over about 2-3 weeks and probably ended up with far too many late nights as we wanted to keep watching the next episode. We watched 'Vigil' as well, which was also excellent - although watching it immediately after 'Line of Duty' meant than we suspected everyone in the show :-D

• Music - I've been listening to Arcade Fire's new album, 'WE' which is brilliant. I've only seen them live once (Glastonbury 2014), I'd love to see them on their tour later in the year but it's not worth the Covid-risk. I'll stick to listening to the tunes on repeat!

• After we'd finished in Bognor Regis we headed down to Cornwall for the weekend to see another show at the Minack Theatre, 'Calvino Nights' - which was fabulous. Lily asked to go to that theatre again so we've booked one of their October shows, 'Horrible Histories - Terrible Tudors'. 

• We've been visiting one of our local outdoor swimming pools a lot recently so that Lily can practise her swimming. We decided to cancel her indoor swimming lessons; she hadn't been since last September (when the Covid rates started rising) and she didn't want to risk it herself. So we've been doing lots of afternoons out in the sunshine, taking a picnic and enjoying the water. 

• I did my usual shifts at Glastonbury festival. helping to look after a farm and a lane in Pilton village. I took Lily into the festival on Thursday when the Kidzfield opened and she had a fantastic time, I think her highlight was playing on the adventure castle and watching 'Andy and the Odd Socks' from CBBC. We didn't go on site the rest of the weekend though, there was just too many people and it wasn't worth the risk. 

• The other half turned 44; we had an outdoor fish & chip supper at a local farm shop which was tasty. Not sure he's looking forward to next year though, being halfway through his forties!

• The other half picked a birthday day trip out to the West Somerset Railway to see the steam trains and eat chips by the seaside. 

• May's photo an hour was Saturday 21st (the day of our visit to the railway) and June's date was Saturday 18th. The next date is Saturday 23rd July. 

• Andrew took his vintage lorry out to its first show since August 2019 - the Bath and West show. It rained quite a bit but he still enjoyed it. 

• We watched some of the Jubilee celebrations on the television. It was brilliant to see the carnival cart from Bridgwater take part in the pageant parade (anyone involved in carnival has been following its build progress over the last year on social media!). If you want to see it all lit up, come and see it (and lots of others) during the Somerset carnival season in November. 

• I've been eagerly making my spreadsheet of all the wonderful shows on at this year's Edinburgh Fringe. There seems to be lots worth seeing although I haven't actually booked anything yet - not sure if any of them are worth the risk. We'd be wearing our FFP3 masks anyway but still, I haven't decided yet what to do. 

What have you all been up to?