DAY 1
Sunday 17th August
After a restless night, we left my parent's home before 7am and arrived at Bristol Airport around 9. The plane left just before 11am and with the help of films, games and reading material, we whiled away the 8 hours it took to cover the 3579 miles...
Once there we took a taxi to our hotel - the strangest journey I'd ever been on, but we eventually arrived safely and almost in one piece!
We were all eager to check out our new surroundings, so after a quick 'turn around', we were off to Central Park, about two blocks away.
This was one of the first photos I took. The 'world' stands just above the subway and opposite the entrance to Central Park.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Top Class Entertainment
These are Afrobats, acrobats guaranteed to entertain with their skill and wit. Here is the link to my video on You Tube - there are lots to watch
The Obligatory Trip To The Apple Store...
...and on the way back to the hotel, a quick look inside the Donald Trump Building 'Trump Plaza'.
Saturday, September 27, 2008
London Calling...
Monday 11th August
Robert had been 'umming and arring' for the past week over whether to take his work to London to be displayed in some firm's foyer for the week. The plan was that 'heads' of different firms would be invited to see a 'select showing' of recent graduates' work with the view of offering them if not a job, then at least an interview. In reality, the organiser didn't quite achieve his objective and nothing came of it. Robert did however get to meet up with his fellow graduates and was given some new leads to follow up.
I followed on a later train thinking that by the time I arrived Robert would have finished setting up and we could spend the rest of the day seeing some exciting sights in London. I arrived quite a bit later as I'd managed to forget my train pass and had to go home for it. Ooops!
Robert had been 'umming and arring' for the past week over whether to take his work to London to be displayed in some firm's foyer for the week. The plan was that 'heads' of different firms would be invited to see a 'select showing' of recent graduates' work with the view of offering them if not a job, then at least an interview. In reality, the organiser didn't quite achieve his objective and nothing came of it. Robert did however get to meet up with his fellow graduates and was given some new leads to follow up.
I followed on a later train thinking that by the time I arrived Robert would have finished setting up and we could spend the rest of the day seeing some exciting sights in London. I arrived quite a bit later as I'd managed to forget my train pass and had to go home for it. Ooops!
Richard Rogers, The Architect...
We met up at The Barbican and had a disappointing lunch. Then off to The Design Museum to see an exhibition of the models of Richard Rogers' buildings. Pretty impressive....
Tim Walker In Vogue?...
Not quite as exciting was a photography exhibition by Tim Walker. Some of his work is truly iconic as this image shows, but I'm not a fan of pictures taken of rooms filled with balloons/and or animals (I'm making this up) just for the sake of it...
Millennium Bridge, London
After The Design Museum, we walked along to The Tate Modern with its suggestive paintings on the outside of its walls (enough said...) and picked a leaflet which guided you through 'Urban Art' in nearby streets. Although we had a map, the art proved to be very elusive - "Is that light bulb hanging over there meant to be the art installation?" We were heard to say. We walked through some very 'dodgy' places, and this was in daylight - many of the installations were meant to be viewed at night. The highlight of the tour was a gallery we stumbled across and on viewing its works went to see a short movie - we had a choice of two, one of which carried a warning about containing some sexually graphic material. You can guess - we managed to go to the wrong one and then by the time we'd worked out which one it was, it was too late...
Saturday, September 20, 2008
My Photos In Exhibition At Nottingham 15th - 27th September 2008
Just borrowing this poster from Psychic Crow in case anyone is going over to Nottingham this week.
Putting your photos on Flickr is great for viewing, but having them printed up is wonderful, especially if it's organised by someone else - takes all the stress away!
Or if you can't visit here are the entries
Putting your photos on Flickr is great for viewing, but having them printed up is wonderful, especially if it's organised by someone else - takes all the stress away!
Or if you can't visit here are the entries
Sunday, September 14, 2008
IN BRIEF
Tuesday 5th August
Jewellery Workshop at Marston's Brewery 1-2pm. Great bunch of people, but I didn't make a good impression arriving late/very 'on time' ( a main road in Burton was closed and I got completely lost!) Even managed to get lost on the way home!
Wednesday 6th August
Robert still working hard on his freelance work, but I persuaded him to come with me to visit John in Belper - someone Graham used to work with. John left work to follow his dream in Photography and now lectures in it at Derby University while also working towards a PhD. He lives in an old converted factory which once housed rows of knitting machines. It a wonderful space with kitchen and dining room/work space downstairs and living room, bedroom and bathroom upstairs. Robert fell in love with it straight away, probably because John is a very tidy person! After a quick tour round the house, we went out to lunch (everywhere is within walking distance) and then back to see the photos he's been printing for his exhibition. The exhibition will be at Derby Museum and Art Gallery 6th September - 26th October and he'll be giving a talk on Thursday 16th October.
Thursday 7th August
Another outing, this time to visit our 'old' neighbour in Borrowash. We haven't seen Judith since her cochlear implant in April and were excited to see how she is getting on. As Robert's final year project was for a device to help deaf people, he sought her advice when designing it. The first thing she did was show us how big the implant is. You can easily feel it under her hair, passing up past the ear extending to about 5 inches in length. The outside part clips onto her ear like an ordinary hearing aid but then is attached to the implant by means of a small flat round magnet. It still very early days - each time she goes back to the hospital they adjust the sounds she hears. At the moment background noises seem far louder than speech and she still can't differentiate between male and female voices. It takes the brain a while to understand what it is hearing.
After a cup of tea and a good chat we left to meet Lucy in town and go shopping
Friday 8th August Robert's Birthday
Much has been made of the 8th of August this year, as it is deemed a very luck day 08.08.08. The Chinese have chosen this lucky day to be the start of their Olympics. Robert unfortunately still spent the majority of the day at his computer, hard at work. Graham came home from work at lunch time and we adjourned to The Spotted Cow at Holbrook. The quality of the meat there is just 'out of this world' and worth every penny. Then back home for more work. Around 6.00pm we set off to Milford to start a lovely walk to Belper along North Lane or 'The Chevin Way'. The wind had died down a bit and it stayed mild for the duration. We went up past a field of deer, along the top of a hill adjacent to a golf course and then followed a gentle slop down to near the East Mill and back along the road. After picking up the car we headed back into Belper for fish and chips a lovely end to a very reasonable day
Tuesday 5th August
Jewellery Workshop at Marston's Brewery 1-2pm. Great bunch of people, but I didn't make a good impression arriving late/very 'on time' ( a main road in Burton was closed and I got completely lost!) Even managed to get lost on the way home!
Wednesday 6th August
Robert still working hard on his freelance work, but I persuaded him to come with me to visit John in Belper - someone Graham used to work with. John left work to follow his dream in Photography and now lectures in it at Derby University while also working towards a PhD. He lives in an old converted factory which once housed rows of knitting machines. It a wonderful space with kitchen and dining room/work space downstairs and living room, bedroom and bathroom upstairs. Robert fell in love with it straight away, probably because John is a very tidy person! After a quick tour round the house, we went out to lunch (everywhere is within walking distance) and then back to see the photos he's been printing for his exhibition. The exhibition will be at Derby Museum and Art Gallery 6th September - 26th October and he'll be giving a talk on Thursday 16th October.
Thursday 7th August
Another outing, this time to visit our 'old' neighbour in Borrowash. We haven't seen Judith since her cochlear implant in April and were excited to see how she is getting on. As Robert's final year project was for a device to help deaf people, he sought her advice when designing it. The first thing she did was show us how big the implant is. You can easily feel it under her hair, passing up past the ear extending to about 5 inches in length. The outside part clips onto her ear like an ordinary hearing aid but then is attached to the implant by means of a small flat round magnet. It still very early days - each time she goes back to the hospital they adjust the sounds she hears. At the moment background noises seem far louder than speech and she still can't differentiate between male and female voices. It takes the brain a while to understand what it is hearing.
After a cup of tea and a good chat we left to meet Lucy in town and go shopping
Friday 8th August Robert's Birthday
Much has been made of the 8th of August this year, as it is deemed a very luck day 08.08.08. The Chinese have chosen this lucky day to be the start of their Olympics. Robert unfortunately still spent the majority of the day at his computer, hard at work. Graham came home from work at lunch time and we adjourned to The Spotted Cow at Holbrook. The quality of the meat there is just 'out of this world' and worth every penny. Then back home for more work. Around 6.00pm we set off to Milford to start a lovely walk to Belper along North Lane or 'The Chevin Way'. The wind had died down a bit and it stayed mild for the duration. We went up past a field of deer, along the top of a hill adjacent to a golf course and then followed a gentle slop down to near the East Mill and back along the road. After picking up the car we headed back into Belper for fish and chips a lovely end to a very reasonable day
IN BRIEF
Monday 28th July
Nice surprise today, dialled up my emails to find I'd been asked to choose 'Theme Of The Week' on one of the Flickr groups I belong to. No great accolade, but nice to asked... The Theme I chose was 'Something Magical', hoping that the interpretation is wide enough to encourage more people to post an image.
Trying to think of something to do, we decided to go the the cinema. We'd heard such good reports of the new Disney film that Lucy and I went and got our tickets early while we were on a quick trip to Morrisons. Back we (Robert, Lucy and I) trouped at 10 to 8 and took up our premiere seats only to discover that everyone had gone else where. By the time the film started there was a grand total of 7 adults and one child.... the film was very good and the parting song was written and sung by Peter Gabriel, who if you are as old as me you will recognise the name as the lead singer of Genesis...
Friday 1st August
Is it August already?
Lucy came with me to the dentist, but I was soon out complete with new tooth. It felt very odd which was quite upsetting - I thought it would all feel fine straight away (it did settle down by the end of the afternoon) Then off we went to Berkley Garden Centre, the other side of Burton on Trent, on a quest to get the beads I needed for next week's jewellery workshop. Managed to get the beads I wanted, but no findings which was disappointing.
Sunday 3rd August
Graham arrived home about 9 am, not too much the worse for wear. I'd planned a day trip to see my parents as I'd been promising a visit for ages and it just hadn't happened. I'd thought that as Graham usually spends most of his first day home in bed asleep, he wouldn't miss us. However, he decided he didn't want to be left out, so with Robert driving we packed up and left as soon as we could. My father has recently been diagnosed with Carpel Tunnel Syndrome which for someone who spends all his spare time tinkering and making things has been a devastating blow. He really didn't look well, (it has prevented him from being able to sleep at night) but seemed cheerful enough during our stay. After a lovely home cooked lunch it was time for the Grand Prix (which meant that Graham could doze and no one notice) and then it was tea time and time to leave. Robert drove back as far as the M42 and then I took over for the remainder of the journey.
Monday 28th July
Nice surprise today, dialled up my emails to find I'd been asked to choose 'Theme Of The Week' on one of the Flickr groups I belong to. No great accolade, but nice to asked... The Theme I chose was 'Something Magical', hoping that the interpretation is wide enough to encourage more people to post an image.
Trying to think of something to do, we decided to go the the cinema. We'd heard such good reports of the new Disney film that Lucy and I went and got our tickets early while we were on a quick trip to Morrisons. Back we (Robert, Lucy and I) trouped at 10 to 8 and took up our premiere seats only to discover that everyone had gone else where. By the time the film started there was a grand total of 7 adults and one child.... the film was very good and the parting song was written and sung by Peter Gabriel, who if you are as old as me you will recognise the name as the lead singer of Genesis...
Friday 1st August
Is it August already?
Lucy came with me to the dentist, but I was soon out complete with new tooth. It felt very odd which was quite upsetting - I thought it would all feel fine straight away (it did settle down by the end of the afternoon) Then off we went to Berkley Garden Centre, the other side of Burton on Trent, on a quest to get the beads I needed for next week's jewellery workshop. Managed to get the beads I wanted, but no findings which was disappointing.
Sunday 3rd August
Graham arrived home about 9 am, not too much the worse for wear. I'd planned a day trip to see my parents as I'd been promising a visit for ages and it just hadn't happened. I'd thought that as Graham usually spends most of his first day home in bed asleep, he wouldn't miss us. However, he decided he didn't want to be left out, so with Robert driving we packed up and left as soon as we could. My father has recently been diagnosed with Carpel Tunnel Syndrome which for someone who spends all his spare time tinkering and making things has been a devastating blow. He really didn't look well, (it has prevented him from being able to sleep at night) but seemed cheerful enough during our stay. After a lovely home cooked lunch it was time for the Grand Prix (which meant that Graham could doze and no one notice) and then it was tea time and time to leave. Robert drove back as far as the M42 and then I took over for the remainder of the journey.
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