January 2010 Archives
Marilyn and I have passed this site many times whilst it was under construction because it stands beside our favourite eating house – The Duke of Marlborough off Oxford Street, London.
Now they are here!
DINOSAURS UNLEASHED is London’s Newest and Largest interactive Dinosaur encounter. Slap bang and facing busy Oxford Street, there are 24 Dinosaurs from the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous periods.
The star turn is a huge Diplodocus… Three times the length and twice the height of a double-decker bus! DINOSAURS UNLEASHED is an absolute must for everyone… Young and Old alike, and you might even meet us in “The Marlborough…” Parklife Oxford Street is open until March the 30th 2010.
Marilyn and I just managed to squeeze into the exhibition on Moctezuma at the British Museum on Friday afternoon, after a sumptuous lunchtime meal at The Duke of Marlborough near Selfridges in Oxford Street. It was the last few days of Moctezuma’s exhibition and it was not a let down.
Moctezuma ll was the last elected ruler of the Aztecs from 1502 until 1520 and ruled over a giant empire that embraced much of central Mexico. He became a formidable warrior and ruler. Aztec was the term used to describe Mexica, and the name Mexica was adopted by the Spanish when they invaded in 1519 looking for gold and other riches. It gave rise to the modern name of Mexico.
The exhibition offered much of the treasures of Moctezuma’s notable life, including his Coronation Stone, a wonderful Turquoise double-headed serpent, and a Turquoise wood and shell decorated mask that also features on the front cover of the British Museum’s publication.
There were many, many items on show portraying the man and his life, and the two hours we spent inside the museum’s exhibition dome was completely absorbing and a real pleasure!
Marilyn and myself visit a number of exhibition galleries and museums throughout the year, so I thought it about time we noted their locations on the weblog for those of you that would also visit.
Where Three Dreams Cross: 150 years of photography from India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, is from the 21st of January until the 11th of April at The Whitechapel Gallery.org
In the galleries – 1,8 & 9 the admission is 8.50, free to under 18s, and open Tuesday through Sunday.
The Whitechapel Gallery is situated at 77-82 Whitechapel High Street, London E1, and the nearest subway is Aldgate East.
Featuring the work of over 50 contributors it is a myriad of colour and social statement.
Welcome to the final part of my visit to Barbados… First published by Home Counties Newspapers in February 1974… Now it is time to bid fond farewell to this tropical island paradise…
Our one day in Barbados was all too short, but I think, looking back, we did manage to include in our visit much in the time allowed. Such visits as to The Animal Flower Garden, a large underground cavern at North Point, supporting many varieties of replendent anemones, and a must for the shutter bug, and the historic “Sam Lord’s Castle” a now much renovated but attractive 18th century house set within lavish grounds and built by English Nobleman, Samuel Hall Lord.
Today the house is the haunt of camera clicking tourists from all over the world and with its fine imported furniture, crystal chandeliers, notable plaster work and a magnificent staircase, plus extensive tropical gardens, there are endless opportunities for the family picture album.
The people of Barbados will always remain close to my heart, and although the island has seen a number of changes since those early pioneers set foot there, fortunate are we indeed that can visit this wonderful little island and learn something of its history.
Welcome to the fourth part of my adventure on the island of Barbados… First published by Home Counties Newspapers in February 1974… This time we are in The Bay of Fresh Water…
The early afternoon found us down at the beach again – this time for the purpose of shooting some film of our party member Lynne Howes, who confessed that she loved to water ski. Not far from Bridgetown is The Bay of Fresh Water, and for the sum of 5 dollars (cost for the boat) water skiers can practise to their hearts content.
Once Lynne became equipped and was making her first ‘run-in’ I positioned myself on shore near the jumping ramp with my Nikon. The ramp was not too far out and so the 135mm lens was ideal. My objective was to photograph her in mid-air as she took off from the ramp.
Unfortunatly our first attempt at the ramp ended in disaster. Lynne took the jump slightly off balance and made a perfect entry into the sea head first!
Restored and resolute we began again, this time she had her balance in check and the result was satisfactory. After I had taken two rolls of film on shore, I got into the boat and pointed the camera at the skier, shooting as Lynne was pulled along.
Back on shore one of our group had netted a spine covered Porcupine Fish from one of the deep rock pools. At the first sign of danger these fish blow themselves up to almost twice their normal size and remain thus until the danger has passed. Their sharp spines act as a good defence to any would-be predator.
Don’t miss the final part of my adventure on the wonderful sun-drenched tropical Island of Barbados…
Welcome to the third part of my adventure in Barbados… First published by Home Counties Newspapers in February 1974… This time we visit the fields of graceful sugar cane…
Regretfully we had only the duration of one day in Barbados, and in order to cover as much as possible picture taking had to be rushed, positions, exposure values and reloading were undertaken with the utmost speed, a situation I dislike.
Wherever you are on the island there is the awareness of its main industry – sugar. Great fields of tall canes raise their heads where the vegetation ceases, and dotted here and there one can see the field workers busy harvesting with their long, sharp maschettes. We stopped at one of these fields to try to obtain pictures of cutting in progress. The cane grows to a height of around 5 feet and is usually cut in the January and February months. It is then taken to a processing plant and the extract is made from the inner stalk. I snapped merrily away at these hard-working folk, posing them this way and that.
My directions and the fact that they were being photographed at their occupation seemed to go down well, and the promise of a few prints being sent to them from England added further to their generous co-operation.
Follow my further adventures on the sun-drenched island of Barbados…
Welcome to the second part of my adventure in Barbados… first published by Home Counties Newspapers in February 1974, this article hopefully gives you a warmer feeling in the depths of a cold British winter…
“I hope the natives are friendly.” The times we hear this catch phrase, but the hope part of it does not apply to the natives of Barbados. Life for them is uncluttered and the pressures of an every-day existance lacking in their make-up. They welcome tourists with open arms and have a particular fondness for the British. To return though-now, it was mid morning and we abandoned the beach in favour of some shade and a cool drink. This accomplished by courtesy of the ‘Beach Oasis’ we again set off in a taxi, this time for the east side of the island in search of a fishing village with the opulent sounding name of Bathsheba.
BATHSHEBA certainly lived up to our expectations, tiny fishing boats adorned its harbour and beach, and large nets of fine mesh hung glistening in the sunshine. Lobster pots were littered here and there, and in the hot midday sun old men sat in groups under the shade of tall palm trees. I roamed around for a while, simply snapping anything that took my fancy; some children playing, some men with shaded heads mending their nets, and women busy sorting and gutting a wide selection of recently caught fish. Then, I set my Mamiya 220 on a flat surface overlooking the entire beach and harbour setting and recorded it with aid of its wide-angle lens.
Much of Bardados is taken up with a profusion of colourful tropical plants, shrubs and trees, the golden breasted bird, grass finches of many varieties, yellow warblers and parakeets, not to mention a number of types of monkey and a large amount of noisy little whistling frogs. The surrounding seas too offer a wealth in marine life. There are green dolphin, barracuda, shark, flying fish, tuna, and vast numbers of small pretty fish of all shapes and colours. The warm clear depths make it a place of unique beauty for the underwater cameraman.
Don’t miss my further adventures on the tropical Island of Barbados…
Island of Paradise in the sun!… written by myself, was first published by Home Counties Newspapers in the February of 1974. Here, I have serialised the article for the internet. With the cold weather upon us… I hope its read warms the cockles of your heart!
We had flown to Grenada in the West Indies two weeks earlier to undertake a photographic travelogue assignment for the American Marketing Association. I say we, because there were four in our party – myself, complete with a wide selection of camera equipment, my assistant at that time: John Shult, Lynne Howes, a model, and Mick Letts, a representative from AMA. After about a fortnight of non-stop picture-shooting and ironing out problem after problem, we felt a complete day off would be in order.
We decided on a one-day visit to the neighbouring island of Barbados, which is really just a stone’s throw from Grenada, or that’s what it seemed like. Barbados forms part of the Eastern Caribbean islands known as the “Lesser Antilles” approximately 21 miles in length and 14 miles broad. It was not a long trip across and soon our boat was edging herself into the tiny dock of Carlisle Bay, Bridgetown, the capital, the largest town, and busiest port. Once ashore we found the climate was altogether quite pleasant. A temperature of around 75-80 degrees Fahrenheit greeted us and a gentle breeze blew in from the Atlantic. The history of Bardados dates back to the days of the Arawak Indians. They first occupied the island in the late 11th century. In 1627 came the first English settlers, bringing with them such habits as black slave labour. The Island became an independent state within the Commonwealth in 1966.
The Island abounds on all sides with wonderful golden sandy beaches, and it was for this reason our taxi made one of these our first stop. It was an opportunity too, as it turned out, to get some interesting pictures, whilst the others took a short stretch on the sand. I took a walk to where a range of rocks were jutting out into the sea. Nearing this, I noticed the sand had built up to form a small plateau and was quite firm. There were several small holes pregnating the surface, about the size of a ten-pence piece, at different intervals and in no particular pattern. I stepped on one of these and a tiny object suddenly scurried from the aperture, raced across the short distance of sand and disappeared into the surf. It was of course, a sand crab! I stood for ten minutes or so, and watched as other crabs would appear and dash to the sea, whilst others would make the return journey.
Watching this interesting, if not amusing spectacle, I gently placed the Nikon level on the sand a little right of one burrow. It was fitted with a 135mm lens and this made my objective a little easier. Stretching myself fully on the sand… I waited. It was a long wait, 20 minutes passed, then half an hour and I was beginning to feel disheartened and not the least uncomfortable. But reward has its own realisation, as if by magic the little fellow emerged from the dark within, paused for a moment as if blinking in the strong sunlight, and then took off at a speed measurable only to that of a racing driver in the French Grand Prix! But that moment of pause had enabled my camera to record him forever – a spiny-legged image on a small piece of light-sensitive emulsion!
Don’t miss my further adventures on ‘Island of Paradise in the sun’…
I remember being taken over The Electric Brae in Ayrshire, Scotland in 1970. It’s a gravity hill where automobiles appear to be drawn uphill whilst travelling down in some strange phenomenon!
Known locally as Croy Brae, the road appears to run uphill, and yet, with your auto engine off, the brake off, and out of gear, your auto will move of its own free will… Up the hill!
This experience I felt back in 1970 was truly uncanny and left me with a ever-lasting memory of The Electric Brae.
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