rusty and trusty at the back of crockham hill church

putney savannah

 

putney fisher women bring in their catch

 

the great blue yonder ... who can resist the water's calling

 

come now, watson ! it seems clear to me that the missing swimmer is a cheese driver ...

 

calvin thomas ...

... is an artist who lives in canyon de chelly, arizona ... actually in the canyon itself

we met him on a frosty spring morning, just after he'd climbed up a narrow path among the sheer cliffs

this piece of sandstone from the valley floor is painted with an unusual restrained palette, compared to most of the touristy stuff sold at the canyon's edge

calvin thomas himself was a very quiet person

we liked him very much

two's company

arthur likes to keep an eye on me whilst i'm up the ladder

lavender, beaten down by the rain

 

principles and cigarette packets

it would be interesting know if there are any british politicians who might essay a list of their guiding principles on the back of a cigarette packet

over to you, "yo blair"

sylvia's rose

i stopped to smell this rose in eccles road, battersea, this afternoon

my mother planted the same sort around nineteen-sixty

then the scent reminded me of apples

now it reminds me of her

 

anarchy in the uk, on the marina wall at brighton

 

the aeronautickle bovine ...

is actually the eye-catching part of a sales display besides the old A23 outside Hickstead near Burgess Hill

it is not a publicity still shot for the re-make of reach for the sky

a hitchcock moment as i emerge from the english channel at kemptown, brighton

 

be certain of nothing ...

... for nothing is certain, said bertrand russell, philosopher and mathematician

i sympathise with his idealistic view, but those of us who are less privileged must be more pragmatic

i'm pragmatically interested in the way that sod's law seems to be subservient to the law of averages

for instance, I reckon ...

The Law Of Averages Is A Controlling Factor In Any Calculation That Conjectures Upon The Frequency Of Occurrences In Sod’s Law. I’ve Said Before That Sod’s Law Is Both Universal And Particular, Universal Because It Can Happen Anywhere, Particular Because It Always Happens To Me. Example: Any Worker Who Must Get Up In The Night Will Want To Dress In Darkness To Avoid Disturbing The Composure And Repose Of The Loved One. The Law Of Averages Predicts That Once In A While, Whilst Putting On One’s Trousers In The Dark, The Seam Of The Crotch Will Neatly Fit Into The Gap Between The Big Toe And The Second Toe, And Inevitably, The Dresser Will Topple Sideways Onto The Bed, Thus Banishing All Sleep From The House.

Perhaps Russell had a tight-rope walker's balance & poise ... i don't.

i just had to do a u-turn to picture this ...

the extra-ingenious bit is the edge between the blue and white which seems ( very approximately ) to follow the map of the south coast

pan di doge ... you wouldn't want to fall into the grand canal if you'd just eaten even one half

 

... and here's one i missed earlier ...

 

the venetian problem ... a modest proposal

on the one hand, you have lot of sinking islands

on the other, you have the italian concrete producers and the murano glass makers

my solution is to concrete in the lagoon and the waterways,

and then cover it all in beautiful glass from murano to imitate the water

this should keep everyone busy for the next fifty years

no doubt they're designing a stained glass window glorifying my image at this very moment

q.e.d.

bastille day

and another thing ...

as we were flying back from venice across france towards the ruddiest afterglow of a long slow sunset, nebulous puffs of colour and glitter seven miles below us told us that the french had begun their celebrations of bastille day

venice, by the slow boat from the airport

 

the fabulous arsenale gate

 

looks comfy

 

new bells

 

nice sign

 

a sweet fancy

 

reclining lady by botero

 

nice shop front

 

although i'd copied this zodiac from photographs before, i'd failed to notice the face on the scorpion's back