Monthly Archives: January 2019

RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch

I did the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch at 116 on Monday 28th.  The count was: blue tit 2, great tit 2, blackbird 2, dunnock 2, robin 2, starling 1, jackdaw 2, jay 2 and magpie 2 – 17 birds of … Continue reading

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Cheltenham Bubble Clock

The Bubble, or Wishing Fish, Clock was designed by Kit Williams in 1985 as the centrepiece for the Regent Arcade in Cheltenham. The clock’s mechanism was built by Michael Harding.  Fourty-five feet tall, it is said to be the tallest … Continue reading

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U3AC Photography Forum 2018-19 12: Photobooks

Margaret Kerry led a session of the Forum on ‘Why Photobooks?  Well why not?’ on Friday 25th.  She explained how she used CEWE software to produce several books in different styles and formats.  For the uninitiated she explained the choices … Continue reading

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Joan Leigh Fermor 5

My post of 3rd January 2019 referred to the inclusion of photographs by Joan Leigh Fermor in Paddy’s translation of George Psychoundakis’ The Cretan Runner (1955).  The book has been reprinted in hard back and several paperback editions; the Folio … Continue reading

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Annie Albers

Yesterday, to see the Annie Albers Exhibition at Tate Modern.  The Tate web site sets the scene.  ‘As a female student at the radical Bauhaus art school, Albers [1899-1994] was discouraged from taking up certain classes. She enrolled in the … Continue reading

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U3AC Photography Forum 2018-19 11: Generation Z

Today’s session was a joint meet with the U3AC Africa Forum, at which Kerstin Hacker presented the project she is working on in Zambia, ‘Generation Z’.  Kerstin’s starting point is the belief that many aspects of African life are still … Continue reading

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Shingle Street 16

I failed to admit in my previous posting that photography at Shingle Street on Sunday ended prematurely when my camera battery ran out.  I took a single final shot on my phone.  Lessons: make sure the battery is charged, or … Continue reading

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Shingle Street 15

Sunday 13th January 2019.  A buffeting wind gusted in from the west setting the reeds in the Oxley Marshes in a nonstop dance.  It whined in machinery and wires; the Union Jacks flapped and snapped, their ropes tapping against the … Continue reading

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Shingle Street – Changes

The beach at Shingle Street has a strange new feature (new since I was there in July 2018): a steep sided crater-like depression 40-50 metres in diameter and maybe five to six metres deep.  It is separated from the sea … Continue reading

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Botanic Garden, Cambridge

Tuesday 8th January 2019.  The Botanic Garden was quiet; the holidays were over and sudden winter sun under ice blue skies caught people unprepared following a run of dismal days.  Lunch time lovers strolled arm in arm; serious pairs walked … Continue reading

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Joan Leigh Fermor 4

The sifting of evidence to reveal more of Joan Leigh Fermor’s photographic life and legacy continues, this time through the letters of Patrick Leigh Fermor.  Three volumes of letters have been published: In Tearing Haste – Letters between Deborah Devonshire … Continue reading

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