Rubbish, rubbish everywhere

Mattress in a Brighton back street in October 2003 (image 2449-34)

Dumped in the street is this week's picture subject. Dealing with the huge volume of rubbish that we all now produce is a big problem that looks like getting even worse. Landfill sites are running out of space and many people are running out of patience with local councils who seem to be imposing higher charges for collecting waste less frequently. It's hardly surprising that more and more stuff is just being dumped in public places. The pictures in this set were all taken in Brighton, but they could easily have come from anywhere in Britain, town or countryside. We're literally in a mess, and it's entirely of our own making. If you are interested in the general subject of environmental blight, you may like to see the earlier weekly sets on street rubbish and wrecked cars.

Last week's feature was "Beware of the Dog"

Beware of the dog was last week's picture set. When seen on warning signs, despite an apparent concern for the safety of the passer-by, these words are rarely intended to be friendly. Rather strange, you might think, when dogs are said to be "man's best friend". But maybe not. The poor mutts are vilified in almost every common phrase or saying about them. Think of "dirty dog", "dog days" and "dog's breakfast". Not to mention "the dog's bollocks" or, an even grimmer prospect, the contemporary outdoor leisure activity known as "dogging". Beware of the dog indeed.

Wakehurst Place, Chichester and bakers in recent sets

The picture feature a fortnight ago looked at the autumn delights of Wakehurst Place. This former country house and park in Sussex is part of the Royal Botanical Gardens, along with Kew in London. It contains a glorious collection of trees, plus the Millennium Seed Bank, set up in 2000 to preserve as much as possible of the world's plant species. October is a particularly good time to visit Wakehurst as there is such a variety of autumn colour in the leaves, both on the trees and fallen on the ground. Twenty years ago the gardens were badly hit by the big storm of October 1987, but careful replanting has now more than made good the damage. This site's picture library has over 250 images of this remarkable and lovely place and you might also like to see the earlier picture set on Wakehurst Place 1982-2002.

Three weeks ago, the week's pictures came from a recent walk around Chichester in West Sussex. It's a very comfortable, rich, safe place that hasn't seen much by way of disruption or excitement for the best part of a thousand years. Small in size (under 25,000 residents) but a city on account of its cathedral, Chichester has a largely unspoilt centre that is full of fine Georgian and Victorian buildings. Like so much else of "heritage England", this is somewhere that is great to look at, but almost certainly really dull to live in.

After the preceding feature on shoe shops, the pictures four weeks ago continued the retail theme with a look at bakers. The Bible called bread "the staff of life", but there's a whole lot more in bakery windows than simple sustenance. Apart from bread, which now comes in infinite variety, there are all those buns and cakes, pies and rolls, biscuits and muffins. The price of bread has recently shot up, even in the big supermarkets. Marie-Antoinette is famous for saying, during a much earlier episode of food price inflation, "Let them eat cake". Nowadays it's more likely to be "They should try the brioches". The pictures in this set were taken in England, Wales and France.

Over 50000 pictures now available

The picture library offers more than 50000 images and they can all be keyword searched from the picture search page. New or updated subjects include rubbish, dogs, Wakehurst Place, Chichester, bakers and shoe shops. The site has several ways to help make relevant and fruitful searches, including index pages for both subjects and events & places.  There is also a useful search guide and information page.

A good showcase of the type and range of photography available can be explored in the pictures of the week series. Published on the site since December 2001, this now totals over 2800 images. Each week brings a set of ten pictures about a particular place, event or theme. Almost all the library's pictures are available for personal or commercial reproduction. Digital files can be delivered by email or CD, prices start from as little as £8 and there is further information on the prices and terms & conditions pages. You can also contact David Gray for quotations and availability for new photography commissions.

Local newspaper billboard in Brighton in November 2007 (image 2746-5)