Sunday, January 21, 2007

the bridge over the canal at stoke bruerne

i've always been intrigued by the way bricks are arranged beneath oblique arches



















and here they have drained the lock, revealing the flat bed of the canal, lined with bricks that are coloured by a yellow clay sediment


hanslope church ... the tallest steeple in buckinghamshire













it was too windy, and the long grass was too wet to set up the tripod ... i'll have to go back !


... "Created by the early manorial family, the Maudits, following the Conquest, a hunting park was established at Hanslope and by Royal agreement several stags were taken from Salcey Forest to fortify the stock. Eventually this was acquired by Basil Brent, by whom in the late seventeenth century the present mansion was built. In time William Watts, an ex governor of Bengal, in June, 1764, bought possession and his tomb may be seen in the local church. Whilst in India, William had been attacked by a rabid dog and he was only saved from a severe mauling, or worse, by the action of a bystander, who fired an arrow through the animal's paw.
As a sign of his gratitude William had the representation of a hound with an arrow through the paw incorporated in the family coat of arms, and on the top of Hanslope church spire the weathervane is shaped in a similar depiction!"

Friday, January 19, 2007

morning has broken ...


herstmonceux observatory













windmill hill near herstmonceux


a windy day at the office

fortunately the nearest man was just out of reach when this two ton steel gate was ripped away from it's restraining chain with such force that the sectional frame ruptured and bent at right angles next to the hinges ... the smallest man in the picture is about six foot four


Thursday, January 18, 2007

Tuesday, January 16, 2007

a modest proposal

an idea that might improve the sublime spectacle that is professional soccer

given david beckham's poor disciplinary record in the spanish league this season, and his imminent move to play in america, the question will inevitably recur ... "should football introduce sin-bins ?"

the answer is clearly "yes & no" ...

instead of a boring bench where a vexed player might sit for a few minutes, we need a coin-operated touch-line X-box confessional booth ... linked to giant screens ... virtual priests for ordinary matches ... virtual bishops for the european cup ... virtual archbishops for the world cup ... players may only return to the fray when they have been thoroughly absolved ... the element of suspense as the sidelined players grapple with their conscience will lift the game to new levels of stress

Saturday, January 13, 2007

another dark saturday in putney



















... and i don't have the heart to take down the last bit of christmas

Monday, January 08, 2007

aaargh !

this evening as i was sitting down to edit today's pictures, my phone rang

instinctively i stood up to answer the call, and yanked the usb cable, damaging the socket at the side of the camera

the camera has gone to sleep & i don't know if it can be repaired

woe !

a proper lunch break with laura and nic



















i was on my way back from an unexpected and urgent dash to banbury when i realized i could easily spend an hour with some friends who live near the motorway ... so i did !

Thursday, January 04, 2007

Tuesday, January 02, 2007

fellini satyricon






















not a "nice" film ... but possibly a great film

after seeing it thirty something years ago i was troubled and haunted by it's violence and amorality

i wondered if it had been made with a subtext, such as ...

"fellow italians, we've been here before ! do you really want to go here again ?"

of course, i was fatuously wrong

i now know that life and art can't offer us an either/or scenario and fellini would certainly have known that !

people don't juxtapose the words sublime and ridiculous for nothing

bought at hartfield in ashdown forest, a gentle "your turn to make the toast" reminder for the loved one