September 2013.
To my mind, September is the countdown to Autumn and winter. I like it for the differing lighting conditions but I hate it because it starts to get cold and my birthday makes me a year older.
Day 274. Sluuuurrrrrrrp! Those of you with long memories will recall my "Tomato Thief" http://365project.org/steampowered/365/2013-06-22 Well this is his brother the "Slurping Swan". I turned my back for a moment and he was well into slurping back this ball of wool. Actually, have you ever tried to push wool into a glass swan? Not an easy task, believe me!
Day 273. What have we here? It's sort of a "Guess what it is" picture. I picked up some lovely props in the charity shops yesterday (yes, despite fatigue and the like, I hauled my carcass around the charity shops for props). I have more than one idea for this so you might have to endure a couple of days of these. Any ideas as to what these are?
Day 272. The holiday is over... and after a fortnight of overindulging on the food and booze stakes it is back to the normal dieting routine. Yes, thank you we had a magnificent time and got home just after midnight this morning. I now have over two thousand photographs to look at. Don't worry though, I won't be posting a fortnight's pictures in one go (who needs to see a live feed of all of my shots filling their monitor?). I will probably post one or two shots only as I get around to them and that way it will give me a fortnight to look / select / process them. It is lovely to be back and see lots of smashing pics BTW!
Day 271. The last Madeiran picture. With Brutus safely wrapped up and locked in his Pelicase, I was struggling a bit to get photographs on my phone but at the last moment before entering the departure lounge, I came across this display of sweets in an airport store and thought "That's bright and colourful enough!"
Day 270. Convento da Santa Clara, Funchal, Madeira. A beautiful building with some amazing artefacts inside and a kindergarten full of bellowing and screaming kids (thankfully still photographs are blissfully quiet!).
Day 269. It's a plant! Here's your very own Snapchap with his child bride (and Licorno the pink unicorn who goes everywhere we go and does everything that we do). We were indulging in yet another environmental activity, replanting some of the indigenous laurel forest (with a mix of laurel trees, heathers and blueberry plants) and hacking back gorse (which is a scourge on Madeira). By the way, swinging an adze and trying to dig a hole when there are large rocks underneath is a very awkward and demanding job. It's a good thing I married a strong woman then isn't it? :o)
Thanks to Mauricio Vieira for taking the shot for us.
Thanks to Mauricio Vieira for taking the shot for us.
Day 268. Igreja de São Bento, Ribeira Brava, Madeira. Ribeira Brava is a strange place, you either love it or hate it. Personally I would rather not bother visiting it at all apart from the fact that it has this glorious church and a rather marvellous ethnographic museum.
Day 267. Happy Birthday to me! On my 56th birthday I was kidnapped and graped (there was a bunch of them!). The hotel lays on all sorts of environmental and community projects and today nine of us trekked over to the house of a local old couple and we harvested their three quarters of an acre of grapes for them - that's my child bride, Donna, doing her thing above. Without our help this lovely old couple would have lost their crop because they were too old to perform the necessary hard labour. It was a very heartwarming experience - the lady of the house almost wept with gratitude. She kept saying "this only happens to other people, not to us."
Let me tell you about their "house". For a civilized society, this was bordering on primitive. There was running water - outside. There was electricity and their prize possession was an old deep freezer. Corn on the cob was drying on the roof and over the vines. This was food for the chickens. There was a delightful "guard" dog who was the softest thing I have come across and a battered but loving old tom cat. When we were done we found that the hotel had delivered, and laid on, a traditional lunch of beef "Espetada" (big chunks of beef rubbed with salt and garlic then skewered on a bay tree branch and cooked over an open fire), bread, fruit and loads of rough red wine and afterwards, everyone sang "Happy Birthday" to me. It was a very... special birthday.
Let me tell you about their "house". For a civilized society, this was bordering on primitive. There was running water - outside. There was electricity and their prize possession was an old deep freezer. Corn on the cob was drying on the roof and over the vines. This was food for the chickens. There was a delightful "guard" dog who was the softest thing I have come across and a battered but loving old tom cat. When we were done we found that the hotel had delivered, and laid on, a traditional lunch of beef "Espetada" (big chunks of beef rubbed with salt and garlic then skewered on a bay tree branch and cooked over an open fire), bread, fruit and loads of rough red wine and afterwards, everyone sang "Happy Birthday" to me. It was a very... special birthday.
Day 266. Thar she blows! Seven and a half miles offshore from Madeira we came across a very small pod of pilot whales (three males only) and I put Brutus through his paces. Normally I only get a couple of reasonable pictures, this time I got a lot more. Unfortunately some people think that it is fun to drive their boats right through pods of whales to get a good close look and the largest male in this pod showed signs of a brush with a propeller. We, on the other hand, had gone out with a pukka whale watching company and we stopped short by a good couple of hundred yards and let them approach us. These two came past within six feet of the boat. I couldn't think of a better track to accompany this than one of "Along for the ride" by Dream Theater from their latest album "Dream Theater". Enjoy because we really are only along for the ride. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHqLK229G3A
Day 265. Stare well... at the stairwell in the hotel. The hotel is built with feng-shui lines and it is a very harmonious place. The stairwell is no exception.
Day 264. Lighthouse interior, Ponta do Pargo, Madeira. Another iffy, showery day but we disappeared to various places regardless. The new road and tunnel to Ponta do Pargo had been completed and the lighthouse had been thrown open as a museum. The lighthouse is a stubby single storey affair unlike the monstrous towers that we seem to have. Then again, it does sit atop a donking great cliff so it doesn't need to be that tall. We were shown around by a Portuguese navy chap and the only thing I wasn't allowed to photograph were the lenses / optics. They must be military secrets!
Day 263. The morning after the storm We had a really windy and wet storm the previous night but I was woken early by a stray beam of moonlight across the eyeballs at about five thirty a.m. So I sneaked out of bed quietly and carefully grabbing the tripod and camera I tiptoed out onto the balcony trying not to wake Donna. I was met with this ribbon of moonlight across the water. So I spent about twenty minutes in the nude, shivering but getting some shots of it. Talk about half an inch and a dozen wrinkles...
Day 262. A brief taste of Funchal, Madeira. Just a few of the places and sights in Funchal when we visited on 18th September. Too many photographs to show so here's a Youtube clip with some of them. Best watched large in HD (change the setting on the Youtube menu bar at the bottom of the clip)
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Day 261. Calheta, Madeira. Just a typical view of a Madeiran settlement. Terraces to allow the steep slopes to be farmed and villas squeezed in almost everywhere else.
Calheta is the town where the oldest sugar cane plant is based and they produce a variety of sugar goodies such as Aguardente (60% proof fire water) and bolo do mel (cake made with molasses honey).
Calheta is the town where the oldest sugar cane plant is based and they produce a variety of sugar goodies such as Aguardente (60% proof fire water) and bolo do mel (cake made with molasses honey).
Day 260. Taking it easy. Day one of holiday and I am champing at the bit to get airborne. This chap on the other had the right attitude. It's only a smartphone pic because by this time Brutus was chained up inside a Pelicase and I wasn't going to open it for anyone!
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Day 259. I'm going to be away for a while and I am not going to be posting any photographs (I will catch up when I return). Both Donna and I need to recharge our batteries and I need to get some new ideas. So, the house is going to be locked and alarmed and our burly neighbour from the CID is going to be looking after it whilst we go off and have some fun. Speakers on and enjoy. BTW if you aren't into flashing lights, you might want to take a bit of care.
For the past three years I have done a video before we go away on hols and you can see these here if you are a glutton for punishment: http://dribbly.weebly.com/1/post/2010/09/a-special-message-from-paul.html http://dribbly.weebly.com/1/post/2011/09/a-special-announcement-please-turn-on-your-speakers.html http://dribbly.weebly.com/1/post/2012/07/away-with-you-foul-everest.html |
Day 258. Hungry, hungry hippos. I came across these two little wooden hippopotamuseseses in a charity shop yesterday (just down the road from the lady with the sparkly bits) and couldn't resist them. So here we have a six shot HDR with a bit of jiggery pokery using Photoshop and my monitor as a backdrop. If you enlarge it, you might see that they are holding a glass globe in their mouths with the continent of Africa to the fore.
Day 257. Sparkly bits. I was down with Mum and Dad-in-law today and wondering what I could photograph but behind glass, in a shop window (some sort of beauty parlour) was this delightful young lady and her sister, displaying their assets. So I took a photograph. Because of the dark interior of the shop and the recently cleaned windows, I got a magnificent reflection of the shops on the opposite side of the road and for once, I wasn't cursing. I think the reflection gives the shot depth and makes it look like a double exposure. Once again the phone camera came to my rescue.
Day 256. Steel. Donna had today off as the first day of her holiday and we went shopping (well, there's a surprise!). So while she was browsing shoes I was trying to find a shot for the day hampered by only having my trusty smartphone with me. This is what I came up with. One quarter of it is stainless steel bench seat and then with a touch of Photoshop magic to replicate and rotate it a couple of times plus a splash of colour, I have turned it into something else but I am not sure what.
Day 255. Kitchen sink. Guess who has a face like this? Like the cat who got the cream? Me! I had to change out the old mixer tap on my kitchen sink and do some major plumbing work into the bargain but it took just over an hour, and (so far...) there are no leaks. I am chuffed to little nuts with myself. All I can say is "thank heavens for YouTube!"; not for showing me what to do but for showing me how easy the whole job is. It gave me the courage to put my plumbing skills to the test and saved me a whopping bill. Now if you'll excuse me, I'll put my flippers, mask and snorkel on, swim downstairs and go and see if that drip has stopped yet!
Day 254. Harsh words. Even my alphabet soup is against me...
Day 253. Big brother is watching you. I was going to call it "You and who's army?" but preferred this title. I had been thinking of this little scenario and have been saving it for a rainy day Well, it's another grey and miserable day out there so there you go...
Day 252. Rainy daze. The weather has turned grey and wet and although we went for a walk this morning, I didn't manage to find anything worth photographing. So I decided that it was the turn of this small seahorse mobile to take the plunge and be photographed. This was made by a friend of mine (she is dead clever and talented!). The backdrop is just a view out of the bathroom window to the grey skies and housing beyond.
Day 251. Bliiiiiing! I was a bit stuck for a shot again today so I dug through my nifty box of props that I have picked up from charity shops and came across these napkin ring holders. I think "VULGAR" is the word I am looking for and now I have used them, I shall be sending 'em back to a charity shop! Defo best looked at large.
Day 250. Cluck it! This one is dedicated to Gena Pegg @eyesmile for suggesting I take chicken soup for my cold. Some advice please... do you think that I need to cook it for a teensy bit longer?
The chicken is a doorstop that I bought many years ago to help point out to my bosses about the downsizing of office cubicle space to something the average battery chicken would complain about. Needless to say, the protest fell on deaf ears so we all worked together in a very compressed space while the rest of the huge office floor space was totally unused (but rent was still being paid on it) until the company got outsourced some years later. Management... Tchoh!
The chicken is a doorstop that I bought many years ago to help point out to my bosses about the downsizing of office cubicle space to something the average battery chicken would complain about. Needless to say, the protest fell on deaf ears so we all worked together in a very compressed space while the rest of the huge office floor space was totally unused (but rent was still being paid on it) until the company got outsourced some years later. Management... Tchoh!
Day 249. Attaaaaaack! I was going to call this "Band of Brothers" but that didn't seem to work so well. This was one of the most feared weapons in the classroom and the office. A well aimed rubber band could cause absolute chaos during a lesson, phone call or meeting. Sigh... that's the problem with never growing up... I would get in trouble well into my adult life by pinging crafty shots off at colleagues. It's a quick shot today because the cold, cough, snuffles, sneezes and the scratchy throat have returned with a vengeance and I am feeling sorry for myself in accordance.
Day 248. The name is Fine... Parking Fine... I was dashing around town this morning trying to get everything done before dashing back to the car when I came across this basket full of tawdry and garishly coloured teapots. I had time to snap off a shot on the old smartphone before racing back to the car and stopping the mini-Hitler car park attendants from sticking a parking fine on my windscreen - I just made it! I ask you £1.20 for an hour's parking... that's daylight robbery. Tchoh!
Day 247. Concentrate! So what would a juggler juggle except jugs, eh? As you might have guessed it has been a tiny bit photoshopped because I am the only person in the world who can't juggle one item at a time. I rather liked the lighting though - dead spooky!
Day 246. Home on the range. Oh dear but I wish that you could see this six shot HDR of the range in the cats room at 100% size. You would see the spider above the mirror, the loose cat fluff down at the base and all sorts of other unpleasant things.Unfortunately the range is damaged so we can't use it to heat water or to warm the house through. It is just too nice to knock out and replace seeing as it is the original Victorian piece of hardware that was built with the house. We use it to store copper and brass on (you might recognise the copper seahorse from http://365project.org/steampowered/365/2013-05-22) and at this time of year we hang herbs to dry for use in the kitchen behind. Those of you with eagle eyes and longer memories might recognise the peppers from http://365project.org/steampowered/365/2013-05-26 andhttp://365project.org/steampowered/365/2013-06-20 at the front there!
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Day 245. Prisoner escape! Hands up all of you who haven't read "Wind in the Willows" by Kenneth Grahame? Too many of you... The original book was illustrated by Ernest H Shepard (he also did the pictures in the Winnie the Pooh books) and there is an exhibition of some of the original prints at Nymans Gardens, West Sussex until 1st November. Well worth going to see. On leaving the gallery Donna spotted Mr Toad escaping from one of the windows and pointed him out to me so I whipped out my smartphone and took a shot for posterity. Now go off and pick up a copy of Wind in the Willows and have a jolly good read because it is a very enjoyable child's book.