Photo – Page 28 – The Imperceptible Immigrant

The journey south

July 28, 2013July 28, 2013 by admin

Herewith some images captured with the trusty x10 as we made our way south through France. Just off the ferry from Newhaven to Dieppe (a crossing that I had not previously tried but which was really most easeful – not to mention being as smooth as a millpond on this occasion) we spent a night in Rouen:

…where we witnessed a splendid Son et Lumiere projected onto the frontage of Rouen cathedral – inspired by the works of Monet.

On the second night we stayed in the Loire Valley at the Chateau des Arpentis. For a B + B this is one pretty cool place – and one which we loved!

The evening was completed by a wonderful al fresco dinner at Les Closeaux near Amboise.

The next day saw us in the Dordogne. More to follow…!

Similitudes of Summer

July 11, 2013 by admin

Having basked for a week in the heatwave by which the UK is currently somewhat unexpectedly engulfed (not complaining, you understand!) I have been obliged today – somewhat reluctantly – to return to work after my jolly splendid week at home.

Herewith some images of the Arcadian English countryside slumbering in the heat…

Jobsworth!

July 8, 2013July 6, 2013 by admin

With sweet timing the weather gods have chosen to grace my brief sojourn from the rigours of work with blazing sunshine and temperatures soaring into the high 20s C. The Lions expedition to the antipodes reached an explosive climax this very morning with a thoroughly satisfying drubbing of our friends down under – Andy Murray has made it to another Wimbledon final and the first of the back to back Ashes series is about to commence.

Things are looking up!

On Friday I met the Kickass Canada Girl and one of her work colleagues for lunch in Reading. I arrived first at our chosen rendezvous – an outsized retail ‘park’ which occupies much of the centre of the town and the name of which I will refrain from mentioning since I have no desire to furnish them with more advertising than they get already.

The centre of this excressence features a large open space by the canal, and it was here that I whiled away a quarter of an hour in the sunshine looking for interesting images to snap with the Fuji X10.

As I lowered the camera – after being thus engaged for a while – I found myself face to face with a recently pubescent ‘jobsworth’ (closest Canadian equivalent might be a ‘brown-noser’ – apparently) who regarded me humourlessly.

“You’re not allowed to take pictures here”, he informed me drily.

I was so taken aback that I couldn’t think what to say, but I eventually summoned up a stunned “Why not?”

“Company policy”, he rejoindered. “Inside the stores or out”

I was amazed. “That makes no sense at all. What on earth could they object to? It’s not as though I was taking pictures of people.”

Apparently had I been so doing that would have been alright. What I wasn’t allowed to photograph was the ‘architecture’. When I expressed incredulity at this deranged policy the jobsworth muttered something about people posting things on websites, before shrugging his shoulders and shambling off to annoy someone else.

You will be unsurprised to hear that I was not impressed.

Anyway – here are a few images that I am not supposed to post here and you are not supposed to see…

Wild azaleas

May 13, 2014May 30, 2013 by admin

Well – almost…

This is my very favourite time of year and though the weather has been particularly unreliable this spring we seem to have been blessed with the odd good day at just the right time. This last weekend was the second bank holiday weekend of May (you have to love the Brits – a dearth of public holidays and the two in quick succession!) and – somewhat contrary to expectations – we had three pretty decent days.

What do I like to do at this time of year? I like to look at azaleas! We paid a visit to Ramster Hall (love the name!) near Chiddingfold in Surrey so that I could get my annual fix…

On the other hand…

May 13, 2014May 20, 2013 by admin

OK – so there are two possible explanations for the preceding and somewhat grouchy post on the subject of the current state of the British weather… The first is that my natural optimism had temporarily deserted me – prompted in no small part by the dogged insistence of our forecasters that the immediate future – in meteorological terms if no other – looked grim. The second is that I was actually practicing a subtle form of climatic voodoo – the intention being to goad the weather gods into an antithetical response. If this latter were indeed the case… well, it worked like a charm!

Contrary to all of the forecasts – including those on the day itself – the clouds cleared from the sky, the wind dropped to a balmy breeze and the temperature soared by a good five degrees. The ground – previously unknown to me – was pretty as a picture. Our opponents were good-natured and sportsmanlike – and we contrived not to lose. To be entirely fair we managed only what might be considered a losing draw – a concept almost certainly completely alien to anyone not conversant with the arcane nature of the game. I will happily explain should anyone so desire…

Today – naturally – it is once again grey and cold!

Anyway – here are a few snaps…

May daze

May 13, 2014May 7, 2013 by admin

Long stormy spring-time, wet contentious April, winter chilling the lap of very May; but at length the season of summer does come.

Thomas Carlyle

Spring has finally arrived with an unexpected suddenness that took many of us unawares. Over the May bank holiday weekend the UK has found itself basking – however temporarily – in warm sunshine. Without remotely approaching the amazing 29C degrees that Victoria has been enjoying we have nonetheless experienced a 10 degree hike in temperature over the space of a few days and – after the winter that we have recently endured – we are jolly grateful for it.

At the School the Surmaster – giddy at the unaccustomed appearance of the solar orb – has hastily declared that it is time for summer dress, presumably fearful that the expected onset of the next cold front tomorrow could well steal his thunder (or possibly provide some of its own!) and prorogue our summer revels for the foreseeable future.

I took some drowsy pictures in our Berkshire garden over the bucolic holiday weekend:

It’s spriiiiiingtime!…

May 13, 2014April 25, 2013 by admin

…well – almost!!

Photo play

May 13, 2014April 11, 2013 by admin

Subsequent to the long, dark days of winter it was good once again to be able – on our recent visit to Bath – to look for opportunities to capture some playful images with the Fuji X10. I hope that the gentle reader will indulge me if I post a few more of them:

Rites of spring

May 13, 2014April 9, 2013 by admin

With our customary impeccable timing the Kickass Canada Girl and I selected the weekend that spring chose to put in its first tentative appearance to make pilgrimage to the ancient Roman city of Bath – thereat to take the waters, to indulge in the consumption of fine comestibles and to otherwise generally recuperate following the long hard winter.

Bath is a regular haunt of ours for weekends away, though we are more often to be found there in October celebrating the Girl’s birthday. This visit will – we hope – provide a ‘full stop’ to the particularly tumultuous passage that has been the last six months – and mark the start of a bright new chapter.

Naturally I took the Fuji X10 to Bath with me…

We took the opportunity whilst in Bath to visit the Rec to watch Bath take on Stade Français in the Amlin Cup quarter final. For those who are not afficionados I am – you may not be surprised to hear – referring to rugger! The Rec is quite the loveliest place to watch first class rugby and – though Bath were thoroughly outclassed by their French opponents on this occasion – we spent a splendid Saturday afternoon there, enjoying the feel of the sun on our faces.

Let it snow

May 13, 2014January 23, 2013 by admin

Here in the south east of England we don’t get very much snow – and when we do it doesn’t usually stay very long. Canadian readers and those in the north of the UK will probably snort derisively at this point, but the Kickass Canada Girl and I currently live in the land of the ‘soft southern jessies’ and that is just the way it is. Anyway – as a result we get pretty excited when the snow lasts a long time, as it seems to be doing at the moment. I trust that you will forgive me, therefore, if I post a few more snow snaps!

I rather liked this instance of Pepper’s Ghost… candles in the snow!

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