Some things change, and some things stay the same. I’ve been involved in many free parties over the past 25+ years, and whilst now it’s battery powered and doesn’t require the lugging of a generator and fuel cans, the core remains the same – people like to get out into nature and dance in a field.

Here Dariya is DJing in an old and now overgrown industrial area somewhere in Berlin.

In the mid afternoon heat in Mallorca it makes a lot of sense to shutter your windows and not let the sun heat up your house too much. I love all the fine textures and tactility here. I can imagine myself walking past and idly trailing my fingers along the coarse surface of the wall.

At the other end of the cathedral to the previously posted stained glass window, this stunningly colourful piece was mounted.

It seems almost like a computer drawn illustration, the luminance of the colours emphasised by the contrast of the bright exterior light against the dark and contemplative cathedral interior.

Complex and seemingly completely random, the texture and patterns of a huge chunk of ice beached on the banks of the Wisła in Poland had me completely fascinated.

The flowers of the rhododendron (I believe this is R. Luteum) are quite the eye catcher, and these are no exception – stunning yellows and oranges!

Unfortunately some of the variants of rhododenrons are a huge problem in other countries – with R. ponticum being classed as an invasive species in Ireland.

The plant grows extremely dense networks which obliterate local species simply by taking over and being so dense that nothing else can get enough light. They’re also very hard to get rid of as the root networks spread far and new plants shoot up even after you think you’ve chopped one down.

Oak trees always make me happy, such a beautiful set of spreading branches. I’ve always thought they somehow feel even more rooted and married to the landscape they’ve settled in.

Oaks are a keystone species, living in association with many fungus species, as well as having a fascinating symbiotic relationship with mycorrhizal fungi (as well as some truffles). They support nearly a thousand species of caterpillar, and of course squirrels and jays love their acorns.

A pair of beautiful Greylag Geese drift through one of the many lakes in Britzer Gardens in Berlin.

Interestingly the greylag goose was revered across Eurasia. Linked with the goddess of healing, Gula, in the Tigris-Euphrates delta over 5,000 years ago. Later on in Ancient Egypt, geese symbolised the sun god Ra.

In Ancient Greece, they were associated with Aphrodite, the goddess of love! Here’s Aphrodite riding a goose

I was utterly delighted to find out that Hamburger Bahnhof had arranged a free concert as part of their 30th birthday celebrations. I’ve never seen a Steve Reich piece performed live before and this was a real treat.

Exceptionally hypnotic, and the reverberant acoustics of the large hall seemed only to add to the experience, which echoes layering on top of complex interleaving polyrhythms.

A fascinating piece, worth seeing live.

About thirty minutes after I photographed the two ridiculously large cruise ships in Mallorca, I noticed another ship on the horizon with a smaller boat approaching it.

When I zoomed in and saw the tiny lone figure on the yacht’s ‘dock’ at the back (excuse my ignorance when it comes to maritime terminology), it really made very clear just how ridiculously large this yacht was.

It wasn’t until just now that I actually looked up the name of the ship, and it turns out that the Rising Sun was originally built for Larry Ellison (Oracle), and is now owned by David Geffen: the wealthiest person in the global entertainment industry – worth $9 billion. Apparently the yacht has a gym, a basketball court, a wine cellar and a movie theatre among it’s … 82 rooms…

Such displays of wealth seem so grotesque to me, or that anyone can amass such needless wealth.

In 2021 David Geffen had the dubious honour of being ranked the most polluting individual American and second most polluting individual in the world, mainly due to his yachts. An estimated 18,380 tonnes of CO2 per year, verses the global average of… 5.

If you happen to live on one of the top three floors, then sure, you can have some light. Everyone below that – you’re out of luck.

Winter’s short days and low light do not favour the lower floor dwellers in a city like Berlin, so on the rare blue sky days, you need to get out and absorb the sunbeams where they fall. In fact I have done exactly this, and seen many other people too. Standing stock still in a beam of sun, eyes closed, contented smile.