Best viewed large, on black if you have time :)
After getting the date in the diary booked at Christmas time just over 3 months ago, the time finally came last night for beers, BBQ and a good old burn in the forest....!
Close family friends have a little wood just outside Norwich that my family and I have visited many times over the years. My folks have been going there ever since they met their best friends, and my siblings and I have been visiting there since we were babies.
Yesterday evening was just the middle generation - so our parent's weren't there and no children were there after 6pm.
My brother couldn't attend as he was with his best friend who is on a rare visit over from the US, but me, my two sisters, our two family friends and there other halves were there to enjoy some fabulous weather, some great BBQ, a few drinks and a huge bonfire that we were very carefully nurturing from around 7pm until 3.30am when the last 3 of us went to bed.
I love doing bonfires like this, especially in this wood as it has a big place in both our family histories.
The fire was hot....and very large, and the huge stock pile of wood looked a little intimidating at the start of the night but we got through the whole lot.
With music playing through some loud speakers which was gently flowing out through the trees and into the night, some drinks and great BBQ keeping us fed we partied long into the night.
To sit and watch a fire under such a clear night is one of my favourite things to do.
Getting up this morning, slightly thick-headed and a little tired I walked out into the garden into bright sunshine, the peace and quiet of the countryside, and the gentle aroma of burning embers coming across the lawn, seen here:
https://365project.org/stevecameras/365/2017-04-09
A self-portrait I captured of the group by the fire can be seen here:
https://365project.org/stevecameras/365-almost/2017-04-08
It sounds corny but I feel extremely connected to the earth whenever I am here, but also my family and I suppose life in general. I get a lot of good vibes being in this place because of the history between our two families, with a lot of great memories that we've made.
3 good things:
1 - Awesome weather in Norfolk
2 - A relaxing afternoon at the house preparing the BBQ, getting the fire ready and hanging out with the children before they were shipped off to the grandparents for the night :)
3 - Spending hours starting, nurturing and enjoying a great bonfire in the woods with my family and friends
