Joys of the morning

It was a rare occasion when arriving at work in early morning to see this glorious, illuminous after glow of sunrise peeking through the trees at the car park.

There is a little Imelda in all of us

Our ancestors used to run around in their bare feet.  Today, the shoe has been turned into an object of desire and improbable prices.  A pair of Christian Louboutin trainers go for £595.  Imelda Marcos had accumulated 1,200 pairs of designer shoes, when a lot of her fellow country men lived in poverty.  What is the motivation of a beauty editor who proclaimed that if a pair of shoes can be worn without painkillers and sticky plaster afterwards, then it is not worth buying?  But of course, a pair of shoes can change one's life, at least in the fairytale of Cinderella.  And then there is Carrie Bradshaw in Sex and City: "I've spent $40,000 on shoes and I have no place to live?  I will literally be the old woman who lived in her shoes!".  Just what is the attraction of shoes?

Visiting the Shoe Gallery in Selfridges, where the displays and the shoes are as seductive as the illusive idea of happiness, I marvelled at this marketing gem and wondered when it will become a must-see on the shopping map of the devotees to shoe addiction.

"Hello! Come and see me!" screamed The Shoe,
placed strategically at the exit of the car park,
next to the Shoe Gallery

Sauce pans and lids rivetted together
in this construction of one of women's best friends

Almost as exquisite as a work of art

"Have you bought me yet?" The Other Shoe
placed at the top of the escalator

Quite a sense of humour

A ha-ha

An a-ha moment for a ha-ha. Not the instant when the solution to a problem becomes clear, but rather, a fence concealed in a trench, allowing for the creation of a barrier without the interruption of the view.  At Claydon, the ha-ha separates the house from the long sweeping, sweeping views of the Buckinghamshire countryside.  A-ha.  

The silhouette of a cropped tree marking

the line of the ha-ha

Golden October and dazzling blue sky

Claydon, Buckinghamshire

This 18th century country house, modest from the outside, is brimming with extravagant room decorations.  The ceilings and walls in most rooms are covered with lavish and exquisite features.

Ornate fireplace and alcoves

Breathtaking details on the ceiling

Banister and inlaid staircase

Almost celestial ceiling details

Claydon, on a bright October day