City slicker

They won’t let me embed this clip here, I like the picture so I’m leaving it. Members who wish to refresh their memory of this funny scene will unfortunately have to watch it on youtube, please do, it sort of sets the scene for my post.

We have a PVR satellite receiver, it’s one of those clever machines which allows a family to watch 2 different channels and record a third. Continue reading “City slicker”

The Tiger: March Short Story Competition

It was only his first term at School. The Child was homesick and miserable at first, but he was only seven. He hated the noise and bustle, and the strangeness of it all. He missed his mother and his sisters, and home seemed so very far away. Be a brave chap, his father had said, and he tried his best to fit in, and did not mention his unhappiness in his letters to his mother. Continue reading “The Tiger: March Short Story Competition”

Frost and sunshine

Today was beautifully lit by Spring sunlight which quickly melted through the sharp frost which had whitened the grass.

This afternoon I went into Oxford, stopping on the way to pick some pussy-willow on an impulse as they caught my eye, back-lit in the lane.

I parked in St Giles and walked into town which looked wonderful.

Here the forsythia simply glows with the light. I wonder if the cyclist realised the colour match when parking? Continue reading “Frost and sunshine”

Photo comp #25

I am honoured to be the current photographic champion amongst Charioteers, and I am thus obliged to think of the next subject for the competition. I was thinking I might have a bit of trouble thinking of something, when my new toy arrived. This is a Digital Keyboard. Actually it is a digital piano, but Yamaha are not allowed to call it that because the weighting of the keys is not quite the same as on a real piano. Only a concert pianist would know the difference, and I certainly don’t claim to be one of those.

Anyway, on to the theme of the competition. How about “Musical Instruments”? This can be anything from a triangle to a church organ, kazoo to a Stratocaster. As long as it makes a musical sound, it is in. 🙂

Marks for originality and technical expertise, although a great subject will defeat a great technical photo, as in my last judgement 🙂

I think St George’s Day might be an appropriate deadline, so 23rd of April it is.
Continue reading “Photo comp #25”

All Things Must Come to an End.

All things must come to an end. This cliché is a point that keeps raising itself in the back of my head. All things must come to an end. I’m in San Francisco, again, and none too pleased about it.

The Kyoto portion of my holiday did not go especially well. I arrived, but a bit late. What was to be seen was a decent sunset. The hotel itself was acceptable, but not spectacular. The quality of the customer service was excellent, though a bit cool. Instead of simply giving me a key they gave the key to an employee who carried my luggage to my room, prepared a cup of tea for me, and personally showed me how to operate all technological equipment in the room. The particular assistant I was given had a German surname, leading me to speak to her alternating in German and Japanese with some English thrown in.  It was only when I had finished that she admitted that she could only speak English and Japanese — her father being an American-born great-grandson of a Swiss German immigrant.

The second, complete, day was supposed to hold the promise. Alas, the weather conspired against me. Continue reading “All Things Must Come to an End.”

The magnolia’s nearly out

Yesterday was so warm after lunch.
There is so much to do in the garden.
I should really have been out there weeding and seeding. Instead I sat in the recliner and listened to a rather good play on the radio then read for a while, before a long walk with a friend and her excitable lab. All wonderful in the beautiful Spring sunshine!

I thought I’d better make the most of it all, just in case these few days will be our ‘early Summer.’

Euphorbia

Continue reading “The magnolia’s nearly out”