A Flaming Sunset

A flaming sunset in the Orne. Sky fighting Earth.

Utah Beach in Winter

This spot on Utah Beach in Normandy is about 6 kilometres to the West of the Museum and the cluster of monuments, including a Higgins boat and a Sherman tank. Visitors often don't have time to appreciate the vastness of the area and how difficult the terrain was for fighting – flat, open, criss-crossed with ditches and irrigation canals, streams and large boggy marais.

That is, roughly, the area where Dick Winters and his Band of Brothers began their war in Europe. Richard 'Dick' Winters died on 2 January 2011.

The first photo shows what looks like remains of a concrete caisson from the second Mulberry harbour, which was destined for the American sector on D-Day, but destroyed in the violent storm about a week after the Allied landings in France. Shells in the foreground reminded me of soldiers' helmets.

The second photo shows the 'crocodile' bunker pockmarked with artillery fire.

Photos ©Alexander Anichkin

Frosty Morning

Going for a brisk walk in the cold could be the best way to avoid catching a flu.

Photo by Francesca Bostock

Joan of Arc and the Chocolate Factory

This nice if somewhat rusted statue of Jeanne d'Arc stands in front of l'église Ste Marie in Tinchebray, the Orne, in the grounds of the old abbey converted into a factory Chocolate Suisse Normande. Note war-time bombs at corners of the flower-bed.

Happy New Year 2011: a Dazzling Sunset

A dazzling snowy sunset on one of the last days of 2010.

The Sun was low and I was shooting straight against the light.

Photo ©A.Anichkin