Life Observed

Brrr. The outside temperature gizmo shows it was -3 overnight. That is cold. Thirty miles down the road at Benson it was -7 degrees.  In fact they often record low temperatures at Benson. What are they doing wrong? Do they leave the fridge door open?

Orion marches across the sky over the village at midnight.  Some things don't change, some do. The stars are the same, but these days there are plenty of rooms available at the Inn. But what is that bright blue star below and to the left?  Surely it cannot be Sirius.

Peace on Earth and Goodwill to all men. Now that's a good idea.  I wonder if it has been tried yet? PS. I note that the UK is referred to as one of the worlds major arms exporters

It's Friday as last. After a whole week of wagging and barking, surely a tired old dog is allowed an afternoon off?

Here's a gritty grainy black and white picture from the bad old film era. Aah, you had to take a measured approach to photography in those days. I have only thirty six images I can preserve from today's trek. Is this scene worth preserving on film? Well, this midland terrace with its decoration of seagulls was in fact taken in colour on a modern digital camera. The computer treatment has rendered it with that HP3 look, but the original is in colour and quite clean. In fact the original is less than impressive so I thought I would try the grainy monochrome cliche look. This is something I do when I have run out of other ideas. It is in fact the last refuge of a scoundrel.

I work in an industry that is becoming besotted with regulations, and the latest fear is the dangers presented by static electricity. More or less everything in the average office is capable of destroying more or less everything else if it is allowed to.  As a result, you should make sure that everything is properly earthed. There just remains one question. How do you earth the Earth?

What could be sweeter than some Compline at the end of the day? It isn't to everyone's taste, I will admit. In fact I was listening to Plainsong Compline tonight, and Comfortably Numb last night. Both were lovely...

Is it the Norfolk Broads? Is it perhaps lake Como? No. It is a gravel pit. These end up as nature reserves and fishing lakes for some reason. Occasionally they get converted to holiday resorts. Perhaps there is a tax dodge involved. Strange.

Architectural detail can be a joy to behold, if you like that sort of thing. I note that interior designers are using lighting more and more to enhance the look of old buildings. You will find uplights places at the bottom of columns and spotlights used to highlight fan vaulting in churches, cathedrals and town halls across the nation.. This doesn't make the building much lighter, but it does make the scene more attractive, more photogenic. ...Which is good if you're a photographer...

Here we have four saints keeping an eye on the Nave at Lichfield Cathedral.  Given the many and various problems that befell the cathedral during the Civil War, these guys were fortunate to have kept their heads.

This is where I would usually write some witty and well observed comments about the state of the world. These may take the form of a diatribe against foolishness of man or a grumble about pointless bureaucracy. In this case I merely point out this ornate faux-ancient light fitting with it's faux-candlesticks and faux electric candles. I assume it is there to give you a faux warm glow inside.

Interested in the comets? Viewing the moon? A student of Saturn maybe? In any small group I guarantee you will always find one star gazer.

Lets see what happens when you take a lack lustre picture and turn the processing up to 11. Mmm. Eyecatching and a touch bizarre. That would look good on a poster eh?

I've decided to sort out our domestic fuel bills once and for all. I have decided to build myself a home made Nucular Reactor. I bought the Plutanium from a guy on eBay and I started to put it all together with Lego, Meccano and hazel nuts. Building a Nucular reactor is quite difficult I can tell you. I had to buy a very large bucket so I could be sure I had really Heavy Water

Dark damp dismal depressing dumb decision. Every year I have my loud rant when the clocks go back. Why, oh why do we do this every year? I have yet to meet someone who asserts it is a good idea. Nobody wants it, yet we still do it. It is such a simple thing and yet there are no politicians brave enough to make this small change. If you promise to abolish this foolishness immediately, I will vote for you. Are you listening? No? No. No-one is listening. I have ranted about this for forty years. Politicians: If you can't sort out something small like this, how can we expect you sort out the complicated things in life. Ooh, I'm right cross now. :-)

Young folks make us old folks feel old IMHO (LOL)... They take to new technology painlessly as if it has always been there. In fact if you are under 15, smartphones and social media  have  always been there. The stuff that we oldies have finally managed to master seems ancient if you are young. I mean: A telephone with a wire on it. What's the point of that. Where do you plug it in when you are out and about eh? Duh.

Stuff is old, isn't it: I mean. Just think how old this thing is. That wasn't made in the 1800s I can tell you. It is millions of years old. But wait a minute. The shape dates from millions of years ago, but the atoms - they are billions of years old. Everything comes from supernovae one way or another.  This applies to your body as well. Are you proud of your Carbon? Pleased with your Oxygen? Well they are not yours, they belong to a long dead star somewhere. Think on, as they say up north....

I am genuinely disturbed by this Evil Hen spotted at a local garden centre today. What purpose does it serve? It this intended to scare the neighbours cats away? Death of a thousand pecks, perhaps...

Different micro climates on Cyprus support different forms of agriculture. Down in the valleys there are serried ranks of citrus trees. Oranges and lemons are common here, and can be seen lying at the sides of rural roads. This is where you will find olive groves* Up in the Troodos mountains you will find conifers and goats.  Between these two zones, farmers appear to grow stones or luxury villas. Why is it always a grove when olives are involved? Why is it not an olive forest.

Here's a mad piece of geology. Folded and squashed like some mad Samurai sword, this mixture of Purbeck marble, chalk and whatever makes a spectacular sight at Stair Hole, near Lulworth Cove. If you are a rockophile or a Dorset local and you are having problems with this image, please note I reversed it horizontally at some point in the past when I scanned the original negative.  I apologise to Cliff.

Here's an artificial rock cliff. These huge rocks keep the sea at bay in Latsi and are used to create an artificial harbour where there was none before. The harbour wall doesn't need to be very big. The Mediterranean has a very small tidal range and acts more like an inland sea than an ocean.  In fact tidal range is more to do with the shape of the land and the sea bed. The Severn estuary has a huge tidal range (a natural resource that we seem determined to ignore). The sea is trapped between Wales and Devon, and the sea bed shelves upwards forming a large underwater funnel.  Tenerife does not have such a large tidal range despite being in the Atlantic, because the underwater topography doesn't cause it. Now here is a completely natural cliff, complete with sea caves. Excellent.

I think it is always useful to put a picture into its context. It also helps to include something to add a sense of scale. Here's an uncharacteristically stormy sunset from Cyprus.  The sea and the shore need the mountain to establish the context of the picture. The ensemble also needs the single human figure to give a sense of scale.  Ideally I would have liked a couple walking on the sand, but you have to work with what you have got.

Here we are in historic Winchester.  This is almost twenty five years ago, and I can report that the Pentice looks pretty much the same today as it did then. The covered walkway supports the overhanging buildings and provides a welcome respite when shopping in the rain. I was surprised to see that the main street was already a pedestrian precinct when this picture was taken. It remains so today, and a great improvement it is too. PS. Old fashioned black and white film, processed at home in the bathroom.

On the margin, where sea meets land, where life meets death and where the green line divides Cyprus at Pachiammos on the north west coast. If you stray one hundred meters to the right you are at risk of creating an international incident, and that really could be the end.

Dark skies over the Mediterranean.  I was hoping I would get a spectacular Milky Way photo with my twenty second exposure. However I discovered that the 12mm wide angle lens was nowhere near wide enough. I also found the 20 seconds isn't really long enough, and it you expose for longer the stars start to streak. On the good side, my improvised lentil bag worked well and saved the weight and inconvenience of a tripod* I also found that the sky isn't dark enough. You need to be up a mountain away from the damp air by the sea and miles from any sort of street light. *Who takes a tripod on holiday anyway?

It has been decided in various quarters that I is actually awesome, and therefore deserve some sort of public recognition. The powers that be have commissioned a Golden Crown for me, so I in turn ordered a new PhD from Thatcham University to complete the transformation. I went for a crown fitting session recently.  What do you think? Excellent workmanship. I was a bit miffed to discover it is in fact second hand and a couple of millennia old.

Old Greek, old Orthodox church, old icons and an old microphone to spread the Word. Fantastic...

See this?  We climbed this part of the Akemas range in scorching temperatures. We traversed this trackless wilderness, climbed over the boulder field and successfully reached the summit. We suspected we were the very first people to conquer this rugged mountain and rest on the thoughtfully provided seat at the top. Afterwards we followed the little signs back to the car park, got back in our hire car, and drove to a bar for a beer and a pancake.

Over in Cyprus, pottery grows in the wild. This is a peculiar result of the geology and the weather. Some farmers have managed to grow wild pots in secluded orchards, but large ceramics are unpredictable and dangerous. I risked this picture in the lazy heat of the day because the pots were asleep and hemmed in with loose stones. This domestic example in Trimiklini has clearly caused trouble in the past and is now restrained with wood and iron. I took my picture from a considerable distance.

Here are two opposite ends of Greek Orthodox architecture: A simple monastic chapel at Agios Georgios. One door. One tiny window. No decoration: And here is a preserved Orthodox church. This has more or less everything you could want: Icons, huge chandeliers, wall paintings, ornate furnishings.

Take a break. Have a Cyprus coffee metrio . Sip it and watch the world go by . Don't add sugar, there is some already in it, and don't stir it whatever you do. There's a glass of water provided to make it a longer experience. Quite useful if you are using your metrio as an excuse to sit in the cool shade and do nothing. Alternatively, you could collapse in a gutter outside a bar. Maybe the waiter will bring you a low table and some wine.

The Edro 3 has been moored in Lara Bay for a year or more now. Actually, it would be more accurate to say it has been parked on Lara bay.

Here are a couple of panorama shots from Cyprus. Click on the picture for the full size view. The first is the restored jetty at Limni. Copper and gold ore were mined and shipped from this jetty for years. In fact some of the mines on Cyprus pre-date the Romans. In this case the shift in global markets made the mining uneconomic, and the land is being developed as a new resort with golf courses. For myself, I hope the development fails, like the mines. And here from an earlier era is a Greco-Roman amphitheater. You could still use this today. Awesome, as they say on da street.

Here we are, well into Autumn and as you see from the picture below, the weather is turning chilly. It is late afternoon and the temperature is only 29 degrees. O cruel and unforgiving Equinox: Why do you arrive so soon and ruin our lives?

Available. A small lock up premises in sought after Omodos, Cyprus. Probably needs some slight attention. Not currently used. Available. Village centre property in sleepy Kathikas. In need of considerable attention, and has been empty for at least ten years. May need a new roof. Available. Large and imposing property in northern Cyprus overlooking an enemy town. In need of considerable attention. The property has been unoccupied for about three thousand years. 

When you see a private dwelling in Cyprus it often seems shabby and unfinished by UK standards. They certainly have their share of part completed public projects.  I gather that you don't pay the full building tax until the house is complete, so you submit plans for a three floor house and stop after the first two floors are complete, leaving the place with no roof and a forest of reinforcing rods pointing to the sky. By contrast, the churches all seem like they were just finished yesterday. The stonework is always crisp, and a beautiful clean golden colour.  By comparison UK stonework is blackened by centuries of coal burning and eroded by years of rain and wind. I guess coal, rain and wind are in short supply in the Mediterranean, so stonework stays clean for longer. PS: A fact we learned while on Cyprus. Have you heard of St Mamas? No, nor had I.  Apparently he is the patron saint of tax avoiders...

We like Kathikas.  There is a sense that time has stopped in this corner of Cyprus. The men of the village can be found each day sitting in the shade at the traditional village coffee shop watching the world go by. It is common to see Cypriot men drinking coffee and chatting. It is quite unusual to see Cypriot women at all. I wonder were they all are? Anyway, the high point of our visits to Kathikas have always been the tiny visitor centre. There is always something to see there. This year I note they have added a modest electrical hazard.

My apologies dear reader, but we have been away at the foreign for a while. Never fear for I am back with a box of photo snaps to share and a pocketful of grumbles and observations to air. So: Here we have a meeting of cultures. A Greek Orthodox priest speaking to a young bar owner in Cyprus. She in fact is Russian. It turned out that many of the visitors to Omodos were Russian when we were there.  I wonder why Russians are attracted to the island, apart from the year round sunshine, the friendly locals, the relaxed lifestyle and the hard currency. Is it perhaps because the two languages share proportions of their alphabet? (Nice one Kyril) Anyway, It would certainly help to be able to read the signs in Cyprus* I took a dictionary for my smartphone, but the written word remained all Greek to me. *Politicians have been trying to read the signs in Cyprus for centuries.