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Total Eclipses over the British Lakeland

Tony Richardson who for years has religiously been documenting the beauty of the Cumbrian Lakes supplied us with a few fascinating photos of the total lunar eclipse. The first photo was taken in Coniston, the next where we can see a nearly total eclipse – in Wetherlam.

And, as you may know, Cumbria, particularly Coniston area, was shaken today by an earthquake. Thankfully, there was nothing more but a bit of shock caused to those who noticed it. I experienced the tremour once in Manchester in 2008; and in 2006 I shared the photo that also appeared on Tony’s website of a lightning striking in Cumbria.

Finally, one more photo from Tony’s website – a beautiful winter wonderland around Half Way House.

Christmas in Arts Label Is Coming Back

It is the first Sunday of Advent today, which means that Christmas is just around the corner, and that Los Cuadernos is opening its annual season of daily December posting. I spontaneously decided four years ago that I would be posting every day in December, if only to provide those who run around with Xmas errands with something lovely to read and to look at. For a couple of years it’s been merely daily posting, however, in 2009 I’ve opened a Christmas in Arts label, and I was delighted to see that throughout the year the posts I wrote in December 2009 have been attracting a lot of interest. Which certainly means that I’ve started something unique and worthwhile.

Well, well, my dear friends, the season is back, and we will be celebrating upcoming festivities in paintings, poetry, some prose, opera, and even film. Along the way there will be a presentation of something I’ve been working on recently, so gather round and see.

This year, as well, the topic will embrace both Western and Eastern winter holidays traditions, if only because I want to tell you about a couple of Russian films that I won’t be able to do unless I include Orthodox Christmas in the picture.

Also, over the years Los Cuadernos de Julia has established a very good relationship with Santa Claus, so you can send us your Santa pictures and letters, and they will come up on this blog.

White Winter 2009 in Manchester

Pay no attention to these well pre-dated Easter adverts (left) – since the weekend, winter has settled in Manchester. I don’t know about you, but I am rather pleased.

It has taken 5 years (on my memory) for this (in)conveniently situated city to experience the proper winter, with temperatures falling well below the nil and lots of snow. The beauty of this snow is that you can make snowballs with it and, of course, snowmen (should there be enough snow and desire).

I called Manchester “inconveniently situated” because as we know the Pennines protect it from the extremities that befall higher situated places like Blackburn or Preston. In fact, my January has been very rich in travel that has taken me out and about Lancashire and Yorkshire. It was certainly great to ride past the snowy Pennines on the way to Blackburn in January. But it was even better to come back to Manchester from Preston on 1st of Feb and to watch the huge snowflakes flying outside my window.

The wintry weather didn’t go today, and I simply had to go out into town with my faithful camera and take a few shots of Manchester the way we’d rarely seen it before.

Russian Christmas Eve In Candlelight


I have written previously that I love streetlights, and it is perhaps only natural that I like to sit in candlelight. I have been doing this very often recently when the dark nights descended on our city, and I could curl up on my sofa. This is the sight I see in front of me, when I am in one of those ‘curling-up’ moods.

In my ideal world, of course, I’d be seeing this kind of landscape through my window (below) or watch the Picturesfromafrozenworld, but I can be fairly content with just imagining this winter wonderland. As a matter of fact, I can see the weather information in my browser, and it’s just got warmer by 2 degrees in Manchester: from minus 5 it changed to minus 3. Back in Russia, though, this is Christmas Eve, which is why perhaps I am in need for some extra winter atmosphere.

Photo credits: Huffington Post and Il Filosofo blog.

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