THE MAGIC THAT IS DOWNTON ABBEY ..........

Series 4 of Downton Abbey started last night and it certainly didn't disappoint. All of our favourite characters were still there .....

..... apart from poor old Matthew of course, who perished in that tragic car accident .....

and O'Brien has gone off to Africa to be ladies maid to the Marchioness of Flintshire.

The fourth series centres heavily on the loss of Matthew Crawley and in particular Lady Mary's mourning.

In this new series, we will be seeing quite a few new characters ..... here are just some of them .....

Lord Gillingham, played by Tom Cullen, is dashing and charming and, having had similar experiences with his own inheritance, he gives Lady Mary advice on the Downton Estate. He is a family friend and becomes Lady Mary's latest suitor ..... Matthew WHO ?!!

Charles Blake, played by Julian Ovenden, is a handsome aristocrat and another of Lady Mary's new suitors ..... can he mend her broken heart ..... if it were me, I'd be after Lord Gillingham !!!!

Lady Shackleton, played by Dame Harriet Walker, is the friend, confidante and sparring partner of the Dowager Countess of Grantham { Maggie Smith }

Uncle Harold is played by Paul Giamatti. Harold Levinson is the loose cannon playboy brother of Lady Cora. He will arrive in the Christmas episode ..... lock up your daughters ..... and your sisters ..... and the servants !!!!

Jack Ross, played by Gary Carr, is a suave jazz singer at the heart of The Roaring Twenties scene ..... comparable to Stephen Poliakoff's 'Dancing on the Edge'.

Nigel Harman plays Green the Valet ..... a charismatic visiting valet ..... will he side with Bates { Hurrah !! } or with Thomas { Boo !! }

..... and, Virginia Woolf { played by Christina Carty } will make a guest appearance ..... no doubt inspiration for Edith.

I'm already looking forward to episode 2 next Sunday.

images 1 & 7; via the telegraph, images 2 & 4: via the daily mail, image 3: via pbs.org, image 5, 6 & 9: via itv, image 8: via metro.co.uk, image 10: via shows.stv.tv, image 11: via the radio times, image 12: via me

MONDAY MAGIC ..... THE MAGIC OF CROATIA or WHAT I DID ON MY HOLIDAYS !! ..... PART ONE ..........

As the mists and chilly weather of Autumn start to roll in, here in the UK, I thought that I should post some of my photographs of our Summer holiday in Croatia before Winter arrives !!. As regulars to my blog well know, I'm always a little behind with things !!!!

Rovinji 

Croatia is a beautiful country and we only touched the surface but, what we saw, we loved. 

It has a beauty all of it's own and, seems to maintain it's original charm. Even though it becomes more and more popular as a holiday destination every year, the area we visited { Istria } didn't have a touristy feel at all. The people were lovely, the food great and, I didn't hear an English voice once ! Dubrovnik is probably the most popular town to go to but, we were 700 miles away from there ..... we shall have to go back to visit that area. 

and ..... as much as I don't want to compare, because it has it's own special personality, it does have a certain Italian influence, due to it's geographical position and history.

Shutters and washing ..... my favourite photographic subjects !!

Pula

Pula is the largest city in Istria County, best known for it's many surviving buildings, the most famous of which is it's 1st- Century amphitheatre which is amongst the six largest surviving Roman arenas in the world. Pula is surrounded by naturally beautiful countryside and the turquoise water of the Adriatic. More photos of Pula in Part 2.

 Rovinji

Rovinji is a beautiful, unspoilt and active fishing port and is said to be one of the most photogenic towns in the Mediterranean.

The town is enchanting with it's medieval streets, pretty marina and busy port. I'll show more of Rovinji in Part 2 { hopefully, I'll get around to Part 2 !! } but, I didn't take that many photos as I was too busy eating and drinking !!!!

Grandson Henry on holiday in Croatia.

Wishing everyone a magical week.

All images taken by me

THE HOME LATE NIGHT SESSIONS ..........

Tonight it's the turn of Freddie Mercury and Montserrat Caballé to sing 'Barcelona'..... a song written as a theme when Barcelona were selected in 1988 to host the 1992 Summer Olympics ..... Love it !!

video from Fred M the best - Youtube

MONDAY MAGIC ..... SHOPS and BAGS ..........

Don't you wish that all shops were like this and that shopping centres didn't exist ?

image 1 & 17: my own, image 2: via lost in the moment with my text, image 3: via erikone, image 4: via envers du decor, image 5: via fleaing france, image 6: via cabbages and roses, image 7: via kero.i.am, image 8 & 11: via zsa zsa bellagio, image 9: via heartbeatoz, image 10: via plumo, image 12: via crush cul de sac, image 13: via ana-rosa, image 14: via love french bulldogs, image 15: via tamara fogle, image 16: via la bonne vie