The Barber of Seville by Opera Lyrica
Fuji X100S, 1/18, f/2.8, ISO 6400
Salcombe to Soar Mill Cove
Fir Wood, near Overbecks Bolt Head Soar Mill Cove Soar Mill Cove panorama
You won’t find me outdoors without MotionX GPS
On my recent hikes, navigation is a job made much easier thanks to a splendid (iOS) app: MotionX GPS. Many national and country parks have well-demarcated walking trails that make it possible to not get lost even without a map and a compass or a GPS device (not that going without is ever recommended!), but other areas - like the peaks, or even the tame Chilterns where I was over the weekend - are slightly trickier. Very often, rather than a designated route from point A to B, ramblers have to
Bidding farewell to Lady Thatcher
Above all the political analyses, the eulogies and the 'ding dongs', a plain but potent statement by the Bishop of London at the funeral ceremony spoke the loudest to me: 'Lying here, she is one of us, subject to the common destiny of all human beings.' It is a timely reminder that even the great cannot escape. RAF airmen line the procession route A Royal Marine band plays funeral marches as they lead the procession An RAF officer salutes as the gun carriage bearing Lady Thatcher's coffin, drawn by the King's Troop Royal
Tribute to Salgado’s ‘Genesis’
aka 'Everything looks better in B&W', born of a running gag between me and a photographer friend when we went to see the Genesis world premiere at the Natural History Museum. I had a free guest pass sitting in my wallet from years ago. Ten years ago maybe. It had gone flimsy and was frayed at the edges, looking like the piece of antique that it was. The staff at the exhibition counter refused it, explaining that he couldn't take it for that would be like 'accepting a fake ticket'. He
Falling in love with the Micrarium
As far as museum exhibits go, the Grant Museum's new(ish) Micrarium has taken the top place of honour on my list. It's a wickedly wonderful place for the 'tiny things' that are my favourite things: the invertebrates that constitute an approximate 95% of all animal species. You won't get that feeling if you walk into most, if not all, natural history museums. Vertebrates, especially large, charismatic, or extinct species, are grossly over-represented. Galleries of imposing dino skeletons, taxidermied mammals, birds with their wings of glory outstretched, life-sized models of Komodo