Picture 1 is when I finally reached the gate and I realised that Santa's ' Brinsley representative' hadn't left me anything "on this occasion" as lawyers say. But he will be back; I have every confidence.Obviously normal traffic had resumed as Rudolph turned the Sleigh into Moor Road and I appreciated the red tail lights going one way and the headlights approaching from the other. What I am trying to master is 'slow sync - rear curtain' in which the flash fires as the shutter is closing. In theory, you should get a still picture of the vehicle with the lights trailing out behind it. It obviously needs further work! I'm OK with the trailing lights bit; all I'm short of is the car. Watch this space. I'm keen to capture a tram after dark.
Still on photography matters, I've been toying with the idea of acquiring Nikon Capture NX which is a RAW converter, but it is expensive. Bit of research on the Nikon website revealed a 30 day free trial. So I downloaded it. Looks good , and there is plenty in the Help menu to get me started.
Picture 2 has no artistic merit. I wanted to record Joan's 'thongs' for posterity. I use them all the time and it is so good not to keep dropping my stick and then struggling to retrieve it.I can't remember if it was idea 6,322 or not. But simple and effective. Perhaps not quite a design-classic though.
Blood-test this morning and, as I was down there, I went to Lidl and Morrisons for bread. Their Pain de Campagne which they claim to bake fresh every morning. But when we used it to make a sandwich this evening, was stale. Ho Hum! If I could be bothered to get the car out I'd take it back.
For lunch I cooked a roast chicken, made a little stuffing, accompanied by charlotte potatoes, french shallots, celery and brussells. Plus of course, gravy. All turned out well and for pudding we had jelly and ice-cream (again!).
We've achieved a lot today. Sorted out a Hospital appointment which we knew I didn't need to go to because it had been cancelled. An NHS computer glitch I was told. My notes said I didn't need to attend but nobody had told the computer, which generated the letter. Sorted out the TV and digi-box. Y had been unable to receive several channels which we pay for and it looked as if we needed a visit from NTL (and they won't give you a time). I wondered if the 'close-down, wait ten minutes, then switch on and reboot' principle would work as well with a telly as it does with a computer. So that's what I did - plus unplugging all the scart leads and then plugging them back in again. Eventually switched it all on again and left it to settle down for a few minutes and presto ! It now works perfectly.
Stopping there because I want to print several pages from the Help menu of Nikon Capture NX and then an early night.
.....'cos I'm tired already
3 comments:
I don’t know about capturing a tram; I’d say you are more likely to catch a cold. Boom-boom !
The thongs look very long? (Long Thong Marsden they call him).
And have you inadvertently also invented (with Joan’s aid) a budget, do-it-yourself door closer? 6,323 ?
I assume that you can’t have watched ‘Driving Lessons’ on Sunday night because I am sure you would have mentioned it? I thought it was great entertainment. A bit old fashioned in a way, I suppose – it made me think of Kingsley Amis, or even Tom Sharpe.
The writer based it loosely on his own adolescent experience working for Dame Peggy Ashcroft, who I am sure was far removed from Julie Walters’ Dame Evie. She certainly over-Overalled it a bit at the beginning but gave a remarkable performance without in any way outshining Rupert Grint’s Ben, a learner driver (from a stiflingly Christian family) who chauffered her all the way to Edinburgh to give a recital.
Highlights? Best bits?
1) Walters addressing the audience in Edinburgh, losing her place in the book, forgetting two attempted Skakespeare sonnets from memory and settling for :
“Flo, Flo, I love you so,
I love you in your nightie, When moonlight flits
Across your tits
Oh, Jesus Christ Almighty!
2) Walters shouting out loud, as she bursts open the doors of the church hall (where a Girl Guides' version of a Passion Play is being performed, with Grint playing a eucalyptus tree) just at the point where Jesus arises from the tomb,
“I’ve come for my boy!”
to be acclaimed by the audience as a God in female form.
”Oh Happy Hallelujah! Every new day God gives us a gift; that’s why we call it The Present.
F*** off, Sarah.”
It is bound to be repeated. Do not miss it.
I channelled-hopped between 'Driving Lessons' and 'Born Equal' - I thought the latter was superior in acting and production, and all being filmed in Central London always gets bonus points for me - but it was all a bit doom and gloom and none of the stories li linked up. I do like Julie Walters, but think she goes a bit over the top sometimes, though she was absolutely brilliant on stage in 'Acorn Antiques ' the musical'.
PS. Charlotte Potatoes? That's a new one on me. I had grandchildren (some of them) here today and we made Cinder toffee. No, I don't know why it is called that.....
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