Photo comp #25. And the winner is……..

Time for me to put the black cap on and pass judgement upon the 25th Photo Competition. Thanks to all of you who submitted pictures. There were not quite as many as I had hoped for, but there were some really good ones there.

  • LW’s organ is a magnificent picture, although it is a shame you could not get the console in the frame.
  • Ara’s harmonica band was very good, especially as the instruments in question are Hohners!
  • PG’s Personalised Piano Demolition Derby is a sight to behold and the little guy with the trumpet is very cute! I like these pictures.
  • As for OZ’s highly decorative didgeridont, that is a very nice picture. I had a go on one of those while in Oz last year, and while I managed to get a decent sound out of it, I had a lot of trouble with the circular breathing and nearly choked myself! 🙂

Continue reading “Photo comp #25. And the winner is……..”

Well done, London

First may I wish a happy St George’s Day to all English charioteers – may all your dragons turn tail and run.

Yesterday we paid our first visit to the London Marathon, having previously only watched it on TV.  Younger son was running this year, his big brother having completed the Boston Marathon last week.  The routine is to meet near the mile 11 post, close to Southwark park which has a playground for granddaughter.

It was absolutely amazing to see the runners, 37,500 of them, stream past.  Spanish dancers, a mole who must have been cursing the sun,  Smurfs, ghosts, fairies, serious club runners, those running for charities. I disregarded the élite runners, a small bunch of Kenyans with three pacemakers, since they get paid to be there.  This marathon is now one of the biggest fund-raising events in the world  and London is to be congratulated on organising it.  The crowds were vociferous and good natured; icecream vans were doing a roaring trade, pubs had opened early; a local evangelical church had set up a coffee stall to boost its funds.  A troop of jogging Morris Dancers arrived, to the great entertainment of our granddaughter.

Leaving aside the wisdom of running twenty-six miles, something the human body is not designed for, I was most impressed, particularly by the courage and determination of those runners who were just passing the 12 mile post when others were over 10 miles ahead of them and some had already finished.

How to lose friends

Chairman and CEO of News Corporation Rupert Murdoch (L) and Sunday Times Editor John Witherow (R) attend the funeral service of journalist Marie Colvin at St. Dominic's Church in Oyster Bay, New York, March 12, 2012. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton

He’s a buddy of Blair – so you always  knew he was up to no good. Rupert Père, that is, whose readership in the UK used to be second to none – Times, Sun, NOTW. What a stable!  And young James, silver spoon firmly lodged alongside foot in mouth, had it all. But this week they will have to come cleaner than hitherto, as the evidence of their complicity in crime mounts up against them and their horsey protègè, Rebekka Brooks. The public enquiry into press standards will come alive on Tuesday. Anybody want to buy some newspapers?

April in Oxfordshire

The weather here has been true old-fashioned ‘sunshine and showers’…. real April weather.
I have been trying to dodge it over the weekend, attempting to plant a box hedge without being battered by the sting of hail.

I took this through the rain, as it fell, lit up by sunshine.

It gave the garden a surreal, scattered with diamonds look. At the back of the house, the sky was a deep purple – grey, like a mulberry stain, lit up by a faint rainbow.

March winds and April showers bring forth May flowers.

Ironman 2012 Port Elizabeth

2012 Volunteer

Just finished my first shift marshaling this years Ironman South Africa. which is being held right here in Algoa Bay for the 8th consecutive year.

A 3.8km swim, 180.2km cycle followed by a 42.2km run.

The weather is awful, cold, a strong westerly wind and occasional showers (it poured down early this morning.)

Although the lead cyclist only came past our intersection at 8.15am my crew and I were on station from 5.30am. We had the road closed by 6.00am and spent the rest of the morning fielding inquiries from motorists, most of whom were quite reasonable about the whole thing, as always we had the odd idiot who thought that he was more important than the wellbeing of the almost 2000 entrants but we’re quite adept at handling them and all in all things have gone rather well so far.

I’ll head back at about 1.30pm and help finish off the last hour or so.

I might just catch 40 winks in the meantime 😉