Gave talk to commemorate the bicentenary of the death of John Templeton, Naturalist, Pioneering Botanist and Enlightenment Thinker.
An Ulster History Circle blue plaque was unveiled in his honour at the Tropical Ravine Botanic Gardens 17 April 2024.
Was interviewed by Fiona Bruce of Antiques Road Show re John Templeton and his legacy.
June 2024 This was the year I made the pilgrimage to Aarhus in Jutland to see Tollund Man and Grauballe Man, lying in their eternal slumber. Dug out of the peat bogs near Aarhus these perfectly preserved Iron Age bodies transported me back to a world of ritual and mystery.
In early spring 1950 Tollund Man had been brought out from the bog by two men who were cutting peat for their winter fuel. He lay as though asleep, on his side, arms and legs bent, eyes closed, lips pursed, a gentle expression on his face. A rope made of leather thongs, encircled his neck and coiled down his back. He had been hanged. Tollund Man now rests in the atmospheric ambience of Silkeborg Museum near Aarhus.
In spring 1952 Grauballe Man was discovered in a nearby bog, again by peat-cutters. He lay at an angle in the peat, more or less on his chest, head and upper body slightly raised, left leg extended and right arm and leg bent, a look of pain and terror on his face. His throat had been cut. The Iron Age Grauballe Man now rests in the magnificent museum on the outskirts of Aarhus.
As the moths are disappearing for the year, now is a good to view my portfolio of these little insects.
You will be amazed at the complex patterning, the stripes, circles and geometric designs as they emerge from the darkness into the light. The moths in the collection have all been photographed live, then gently returned to the wild, hidden deep in vegetation. When you look at these tiny wisps of life with the intensity of a photographer you can see that their symmetry is exquisite, perfect in every detail – a treasury of abstract art. 30 September 2023
Images may be viewed in Gallery under Mothing.
Today I saw a mystery bird, standing quite still in shallow water, staring at the surface. Its long neck, now stretched out, now S-shape like a snake, created a distinctive silhouette against the low winter sun. At a distance it could have been mistaken for a Little Egret but when one of these landed beside it, I could see that the mystery bird was huge by comparison and its beak was yellow not black. I was looking at a Great White Egret, a new visitor to our shores, and apart from the 3 species of swans, the largest of all the white birds in Britain and Ireland. Perhaps like the Little Egret it will become a breeding resident.
A recent encounter with a beautiful but elusive creature in the wonderful World of Owls in Randalstown Forest reminded me of a striking solitary figure I once saw engraved in the dark recesses of a cave in the Ardèche region of southern France. This is the 30,000 year old Chauvet owl, the oldest known depiction of an owl. It is about the size of a long-eared owl, with clearly defined ear-tufts, folded wings and streaks demarcating its densely lined plumage. The intriguing aspect of the owl is that its head is seen from the front but its body from the back as if swivelling its head 180 degrees to peer into the dark and meet the gaze of the people walking towards it. The real bird must have been watched many times and its Janus nature noted by the Palaeolithic artist.
As I watched and photographed the long-eared owl displaying the same characteristics as the Chauvet owl, I wondered if I too was fulfilling a basic human need to creatively record and reproduce aspects of the surrounding world.
To view images, please go to Gallery and click on Owls thumbnail.
The Royal Bank of Scotland have used Patricia’s images of the Irish hare and brent geese for Ulster Bank’s new £5 and £10 notes that came into circulation 27 February 2019. Also featuring is her image of Clydesdale horses and ploughing.
The theme of the new notes is Living in Nature and both notes have vertical designs.
The light-bellied brent geese that make the trip to Northern Ireland from Arctic Canada every year with huge populations arriving in Strangford Lough appear on both the obverse (front) and reverse (back) of the £5 note. On the front the brent are depicted arriving, flying above a transparent image of Strangford Lough; on the back a group departs in springtime for their breeding grounds in the Arctic, flying in the opposite direction. Their coming and going reflects the movement of people and animals. The £5 note also features a fuchsia plant and the Cryptic Wood White butterfly (a species endemic to Northern Ireland) on its front. A geometric pattern inspired by the markings in ancient sandstone as well as a family at the beach and a shellfish (a nod to the country’s fishing industry) feature on the reverse.
The Irish hare, found only on the island of Ireland and thought to have continuously inhabited the island since before the Ice Age is on both sides of the £10 note. On the front of the note the hare makes its way across the landscape, whilst on the back it sits above a transparent image of Lower Lough Erne. Characteristic small fields, Clydesdale horses (used on farms across Ireland to power the tilling of land), ploughing and patterns of fossilised coral also feature on the back of this note that celebrates agriculture and heritage. A Guelder-Rose (a Northern Irish shrub) is shown on the front.
The new £5 and £10 notes were revealed at a press conference last year.
Ulster Bank says the £5 note “focuses on Northern Ireland as a place that people pass through and visit, highlighting the importance of the sea and migration” while the £10 note is focused on agriculture and heritage.
Rademon Estate Distillery is Northern Ireland’s First Award Winning Craft Distillery. Shortcross Gin is a classical gin with a unique twist, reminiscent of the surrounding forests and gardens at Rademon.