So, how was Devon?

So, what did I do on my holiday, then? Given what I get up to in the winter, surely there was a tiger or two?

It was - as Devon is - all very peaceful and uneventful. The weather was scorching one minute and stormy the next (one morning I woke to thunderbolt and lightning, very very frightening ... which was quite exciting, as it rolled in off the sea) - and so I had a couple of days when I wandered about between the showers, and more days when I wandered along cliff tops and stared at the ocean. No tigers; no crocodiles; though I did see a seal.

And, when I wasn't wandering, I was reading.

Not a holiday to live forever in the memory, but an undemanding sort of holiday and exactly what I needed. And so here are some photographs taken as I strolled along the cliff paths - brownie points to anyone who knows exactly where they are.

I promised you Cuba pictures.

It will take time to get my Cuban stories into some sort of order, but here - as promised - are a few of my photos.

I've begun with this picture from Havana, as it typifies much of Cuba. This is taken in one of the main streets, and shows how some of the lovely old buildings have been restored while those next door are left to fall down. The extent of the restoration is impressive - there are some beautiful plazas, especially in the oldest part of the city. But - and this is a huge BUT - the restoration is concentrated in areas where the tourists go. Much of residential Havana is crumbling.

I took this from my bedroom window in Sancti Spiritus, at about six in the morning. This man walked up and down the streets, calling loudly enough to wake the cockerels. He had bread and biscuits in the box on the back of his bike. It is now possible for someone to set up a small business in Cuba. Maybe he was up all night, baking. Yet I never saw anyone come out to buy. I hope he was more successful round the corner.

There are images of Che Guevara all over Cuba. His image is on the walls of bus stations, private homes, on the bank notes. I shall, in time, write about him - but for now here is a statue of him holding a child. Whatever you think of him, I liked this - it's small, and hidden between hedges like an apology. But I've no idea what that stag with the gremlin on its back is doing on his shoulder.

Cuban art is wonderful - and everywhere. This is the painted water tank, on the rooftop of a home I stayed in. Imagine - going to all that trouble just to paint a water tank! I sat on that rooftop to read, and to write, with pigs snuffling in the yard next door and the sun going down over the sea.

This is a square in Trinidad (the town) taken through a window. It is as immaculate as it looks here - beautifully painted with trimmed bushes in the plaza and palm trees giving a little shade. If I'd been able to take a picture a little to the right of this, you would be able to see the steps where I spent hours listening to the music. There are less manicured corners in Trinidad - but a curious tourist has to step outside the normal thoroughfares to find them.

Finally, this is the front porch of my casa particular (like a Homestay) in Viñales. The only thing missing is me - on one of those rocking chairs. I had some serious rain while I was there - what a shame, there was nothing I could do but sit and read. Well, what would you have done?

Open letter to anyone with a camera

Dear photographers,

I understand why you take pictures. You want to record a particular moment. You want to show your friends what a wonderful time you have had. You want to look at them, when the skies are grey, and remember the time when ... Some of you will be skilled enough to use your images in innovative ways, so they will grow a meaning beyond that initial capture of a moment.

But

Just because you can see something does not mean you have to take a picture of it. Nor does the urgency of your photographic need take any priority over the rights of someone who just wants to see. You do not have the right to step on my toes, shove your long lens up my nose, stand in front of me, or push me out of the way.

Just because you can see something does not mean you have to take a picture of it. Notices that say 'no photographs' mean what they say. They apply to everyone. They do not mean that you can have a quick snap and hope no one is looking, or pretend that the notice wasn't there last time you looked. Nor can you pretend that taking a picture on your phone doesn't really count.

Just because you can see something does not mean you have to take a picture of it. Especially in art galleries. These artists have slaved over a tired easel so you can stand and stare. And maybe (dare I suggest) if you took time to stand and stare you may be enriched in a way that cannot compare with gawping at your photos of these pictures.

Just because you can see something does not mean you have to take a picture of it. Maybe, for one day only, leave your camera behind. Hide it in your underwear. Yes, you may feel naked. But stop; close your eyes; listen. Hear the birds sing, water dripping, a child playing. Notice the smell of jasmine. And then open your eyes and look. It's an astonishing world - all the more astonishing experienced first hand and not always through the lens of a camera.

Home from Northern Ireland

I'm home from a wettish week in Northern Ireland. I wish I didn't have to begin by commenting on the weather - but I can't help being a bit British about this, having a quick moan, mentioning a flood or two and gales that buffeted my little car.

There, having got that out of the way, I'll tell you about some of the lovely places I went to. This is the waterfall at Glengariff - raging after all the rain (oops, hadn't meant to slip in another weather reference), in a little glen than smelled of wet ferns and garlic.

I clambered on up through the soggy trees, and finally emerged to this view - across the top of the glen and down to the sea. For company: skylarks and a few sheep.

Did I get lost? Of course I did. But not hopelessly lost - I came down on the right side of the valley, and knew roughly how to get back to the start. Though, unlike many occasions when I've been lost, I didn't meet an unlikely characters to weave into a story.

This picture is taken at Dunluce Castle. I was trying to capture the cliffs, which looked magnificent and threatening under those grey skies. And the seagull (I must be truthful here) flew across as I pressed the shutter. So this picture is a wonderful accident.

I took this from a rope bridge - so I was swinging about in the wind at the time. But the sea was clear and playing with cliffs. The gulls cried, wind ruffled the grasses and all was right with the world.

Sorry, no pictures of guinness (though I drank plenty). Nor the Giant's Causeway - which is as impressive as all the photos suggest but you know what that looks like. I just wanted to give you a taster of Antrim's beauty.