July was over before it seemed to have begun (as has been most of the year to date) - possibly lost in slow motion along the Kennet and Avon canal…the summer travels have begun and it feels wonderful to be on the move again. The plan is to have 3 months properly travelling; a Gold Licence this year means unlimited time on the Thames and any other river that’s not under the Canal and River Trust’s jurisdiction. Messing about on the river, all the way up to Lechlade via Oxford, is a lovely thing to do.

There were a few things happening before I started clocking up those slow miles along the canal…not least, the emergence of this year’s damsel- and dragonflies. They seemed to emerge from one day to the next, starting with the fabulous Scarce Chaser dragonflies and followed soon after by the pretty tiny emerald damselflies…oh, I really must mention the Ranatra Linearis that was pulling itself along the side of the boat, just underwater. I’d never heard of it so kind of thought we we’d discovered something completely new living in the canal! It’s known as a ‘water stick insect’, has the attributes of a praying mantis, breathes through its tail and is an underwater predator - how about that?!

Then, I went on holiday though there were plenty of times when the memorable line from Withnail and I came to mind: “we’ve gone on holiday by mistake”.

Highlights- catching up with great friends in the gorgeous harbour town of Portsoy in their fabulous Port House cafe; seeing puffins, razorbills, seals and thousands of other birds at the rspb Dunnet Head nature reserve; eating fish and chips in Whitby; coast walking from Whitby to Robin Hood’s Bay.

Lowlights - there are no highland cows in the Highlands (trust me on this); driving 1400 miles in 4 days; the rain, the relentless rain that made camping impossible in Scotland; eating fish and chips in Whitby (enough is enough!); seagulls at 4am (there’s no double glazing in a tent).

A big, even massive, boost this month photography-wise came in the form of a front cover and 2 page spread in Amateur Photographer magazine, where I was asked to talk about my favourite lens, the Sigma 105mm, and to submit some photos taken with it. The delight I got from this was made even greater when my SheClicks friends amassed a load of copies and sent me a photo - where would we be without the support of like-minded people?

And finally…July began with immeasurable sadness as we said goodbye to Dad. The fact he’d been suffering for too long and his passing happened with relative speed and comfort didn’t seem to make things any easier when it happened. He would be so proud of me and just the few things I’ve begun to achieve with my photography, so this is for him. RIP Dad xx