I've been spending a few days in Banbury with a friend, an ex work colleague, Gary and his wife Caroline. Travelling across country is never straightforward especially when using the Mazda SatNav (note to self - write to Mazda and tell them how awful their SatNav is). Thankfully I had a mental map of where I was going so generally ignored the directions I was given and shouted rude epithets at the machine. If this is the best Mazda can achieve then heaven help us if they ever produce an autonomous car.

<a href="http://pigyard.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/banbury-walknov18.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-5366" src="http://pigyard.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/banbury-walknov18-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a>I had a wonderful few days walking through the Oxfordshire countryside. At this time of year the days may be short however the skies can be so bright, lots of contrast and the long shadows add a dimension that you don't get at any other time of the year. In many ways the British countryside is unappreciated.

We also paid a visit to <a href="https://www.comptonverney.org.uk/thing-to-do/whistler-and-nature/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Compton Verney</a> where there was a Whistler exhibition. I didn't know anything about Whistler other than his name and was delighted by some of his images. Interested to learn he was a contemporary of Turner and was greatly influenced by him.

[gallery type="rectangular" size="medium" ids="5368,5367"]

I also went with Gary to a talk about bee farming which was fascinating.

&nbsp;