Under the sun

I have been teaching English to a lovely group of Italian teenagers this week and we’ve had lots of fun (but oh, am I tired!). On Wednesday we were playing with weather idioms: under the weather, right as rain, haven’t the foggiest, nothing new under the sun…

After Wednesday’s classes I went looking under the sun for pictures and found so many that I had loads of near-blips, including a version of this algaed-pond which was pipped at the post by the wet yellow lines. So yesterday I went out for another go at the ones I especially liked and found that everything was new under the sun: the light was different, the shadows were different, the rain-reflections were different, the cloud patterns differed second by second and there were differently curved windows reflecting the fiery Virginia creeper in a differently coloured car…

I wasn’t expecting more sun this afternoon but as soon as it emerged from the grey I did too for another attempt at the algae as well as some repeat telephone box shadows. Unlike yesterday, the telephone box was inhabited by two fairly alcoholic guys. They were friendly and fine with me taking photos but one didn’t want his picture made public. Round the corner I waited ages for the right-coloured car to park next to the Virginia creeper but the most likely one stopped just across the road so its windows were reflecting something else (though the gingery fence panels tied to its red roof with orange rope were good). I came across a scaffolding lorry with poles and planks painted in eye-snagging lime, magenta and lemon and got talking with the owner. When he set up his business he thought no-one would have poles and planks the same colour as his but he’s since found two others. Guess what he said: ‘Nothing new under the sun.’ Then he drove off and the street was different again.