It was a cold and frosty Boxing Day.....

Just got back from Christmas at my Mum's - I took my (very basic) digital camera but didn't think about a spare memory card so.....

The journey down was fine - cold - but the trains were on time - but still very snowy.....
  
 This is the vineyard at Dorking at the foot of Boxhill - come autumn they will be bursting with grapes again...

 Boxing Day - heavy frost in Mum's garden.... and this was 10.30.... it stayed all day.

The deserted beach (Pagham) - more or less had it to myself - even the beach was frosty (see pics on "stampingbyh"

The frost doesn't really show up, but the wood here (it's the launchway for the yachts at Pagham yacht club) was very frosty - and so were the pebbles!!  I can't ever remember seeing frost on the beach here before....  I am sure it has been, just I haven't been there....

 Pagham Pram Race - an annual Boxing Day pub crawl round Pagham..... never had a camera with me before...

 Sadly the memory card was full by now, missed the best "pram" too - a stage coach with cowboys and indians.....

Finally - a Saturday at Kew, not the optician's!

After what seems like ages, and is in fact about 6 weeks, yesterday I finally got to go to Kew again - for once I didn't have to go to the optician/hospital or was stuck inside from the snow with a cold!

There was half a film still in the camera from the end of October with some gorgeous trees in full colour - so am putting some of them up here, but by yesterday, all the leaves had gone and there were lots of bare trees - beautiful shapes, some of the branches make - and the light wasn't good (although that may be because I forgot my glasses and couldn't see properly!!!)  anyhow, here they are:

I think this has to be one of my favourites for ages! Love the twisted trunks!

 And my favourite fountain, under the beautiful colours of this tree - I am quite pleased with this one too!

There was still some colour yesterday!

 And part of the lake is still frozen. Still got some good reflections, despite the gloomy sky!

 Don't you love the shapes of the branches against the cloudy sky?

I think this tree was labelled "spreading plane" and apparently it's one of the oldest at Kew from the 1740's (or so)

Christmas comes to Kew. No, I didn't have a go!!

Probably won't get back again now until the new year, sadly!