We are almost at the end of bluebell season here: the leaves are starting to flatten (which gives a good view of the flowers), and soon the best will be over.

Today, I went to the Spittles - a strangely named area of undercliff west of Lyme Regis. You can follow part of the old road to Charmouth which collapsed in the 1920s into the sea: there are still fragments of tarmac and the foundations of houses, being overwhelmed by trees.

I took the camera of course: I used the telephoto to try and convey some of the blue confusion here:

and a wider angle to get a sharper image of some individual blooms:

Interesting how the colour balance changes from shot to shot: I really ought to set it manually.

I thought it was about time to change my banner image, so I chose this panorama of my own village, taken early this morning. There are a few oddities in the light where the clouds chased across as I was assembling the images, but it's not too bad, and shows the pretty spring countryside quite nicely.

Happy May Day, everyone.

A few weeks ago, I blogged about plastic rubbish on the beach. But that isn't the only rubbish. A big rash of ugly and largely unnecessary signage is - to my eyes - just as obtrusive and out of place.

These horrible railings and signs were put on the end of the Cobb wall in Lyme Regis some years ago now, transforming a historical monument into a monument to the litigation society. Some idiot fell off the Cobb during a storm and sued the town council for damages. Fortunately he lost on appeal, but this is his legacy.

A few hundred yards west, there is a natural beach, whose wilderness is spoiled by this large and ugly sign, telling us to beware of, amongst other things, tides, rocks, waves and currents. How unexpected on a beach.

On the front proper, there are warning signs every few hundred yards like this. Caution: The shingle beach shelves steeply - as a cursory inspection will confirm.

Stuff like this negates Darwinian selection. The human race will become more stupid and unable to take responsibility with every generation.