First things first. Neither of my pictures was successful in the EPS competition. But they should have been!The general opinion was that the judge was pretty hopeless. He had never judged before and his views about photography were strange. And it wasn't just my pictures that he was wrong about. In my 'December Sunrise' for instance, he suggested that the photograph would be improved by cropping everything beneath the skyline; thereby losing the diagonal flare which was the whole point of the picture. He didn't like anything 'dark' and a subway picture of Mike's got nowhere because he suggested cropping a important 'passage' on the left. But without it, the picture would have lacked balance and the composition would have been haywire. In one he said he would have liked the tree in a different position in relation to the Church. Ho Hum ! But I won the raffle again - a respectable bottle of Mouton Cadet 2004. Pity neither of us drinks alcohol !
I enjoyed the evening as a whole though - seeing all the pictures, and lots of chats. Spoke to Jason about the courses he is going to run. He rates Nikon Capture NX as a RAW converter and pronounces 'excellent results but slow and difficult'. Sounds as if it will be yet another programme to drive me mad.
The picture is of a Bic pen with multi-colours. I was surprised to spot it in W. H. Smiths because I had no idea they were still available. We used to use them in the Police in the days when we had official 'Pocket Books' in which, at the start of each day, one had to enter day and date and 'tour of duty' in red and the rest of one's notes in black -
Friday:............Tour of duty
15.12.06:........2pm - 10pm
4pm.................Began writing 'Blog'
And the possession of a Bic pen obviated the need for carrying two pens around.
I said I would explain about 'Police Conference Points' so here goes. Basically they were a system by means of which the Police Station kept in touch with patrolling officers 'on the beat'. At the beginning of each shift you would be given a list of 'conference points' i.e. well established places where you had to be on your beat at a certain time. Usually one each hour and generally 'conference points' were at telephone kiosks, so they could ring you and give you jobs and things. One officer's 'points' would be on the hour, the next officer's at quarter-past the hour, and so on. And, as you had to wait at each 'point' for ten minutes, the result was that there was always someone who could be contacted. And a supervisory officer could walk round and visit everyone. Missing a 'point' was a serious misdemeanour. The 'conference points' each had distinctive names, like Tudor Square, Bolham Shuttle, The Skin Factory, Wigwam, Table-Top-Tree to name a few that spring to mind.
It was the Night Sergeant's job to prepare the 'points' for each beat for the following day. And it was a brilliant way of ensuring that idle officers got round their beats properly, as 'points' which were wide apart could be specified. And the system pre-dated the telephone. A retired rural officer told me that his Superintendent would send him a letter saying he would "meet him at Oldcotes Crossroads at 3pm on Thursday the..........." and would then arrive in a horse & carriage.
All that of course, was in the days before Community Support Workers who walk around in twos, deep in conversation to the exclusion of the world around them, or, as I recently observed, listening to an MP3 player through headphones !!!
Quite enough for today. I'm off....
1 comment:
What a splendid picture of a pen! It would show anyone who had never seen one exactly what it looks like. Why not try that in the next EPS competition? Re which, I am pleased the unfavourable result has not knocked your confidence. I wouldn’t want you going to pieces over it!
I can sort of see that ‘the tree in a different position’ might not be quite as daft as it sounds if what he meant was that a slightly different viewpoint would have been better (I recall one of your photos of some fountains). But why should I be sticking up for an obvious incompetent who blatantly doesn’t know his art from his … (there must be an appropriate word but I can’t think of it. How about a competition?)
I didn’t know that Y had signed the pledge too! That’s equivalent to supportive Sandra giving up smoking because I had done (she managed about a fortnight before blowing it out of the bathroom window). But I dare say someone else will help you out with the wine over Xmas.
I am reminded of an office in which I worked as 2IC, where several of us who came in contact with contractors, subcontractors and suppliers were, as was common practice, given bottles as presents at Xmas. The lads in the office agreed with me that it would be a good and fair idea to share the spoils (with the secretaries too) and left the boss (Bill Garnett, if you ever came across him) nowhere to run (obviously he had done better than anyone else). Cleft stick comes to mind. So we wrote the name of each bottle on a piece of paper, likewise every member of staff’s name, and drew them out of two hats, alternately. Boss Bill drew a bottle of undistinguished sherry. “I don’t like sherry,” he said, “are you going to swap me John?” “No,” said John, who had clicked for a bottle of decent Scotch. Bill tried everyone who had done better than him. All refused. “But I don’t drink sherry,” he said again. “Never mind Bill,” I said, “You’ll perhaps have somebody come round to visit you at Christmas. Some friends. You’ll probably be able to sell it to one of them.”
I enjoyed the ‘Conference Point’ revelations.
’Table-Top-Tree’ is the only name that rings a bell, as I believe it would to anyone who has ever lived in Mansfield. It was always very well maintained and, as far as I know, still is.
The system sounds as though it gave plenty of scope for vindictiveness and vengeance.
But how long would the constable have waited for the Super if a wheel had fallen off his carriage?
I appreciate that you have a particular axe to grind (which is only as it should be; it is a badge of maturity) about CSOs. But I do think the general public quite likes them as they so seldom see a proper policeman these days. When I was a cycling lad you didn’t dare not put tour foot to the ground at a halt sign, in case a bobby caught you!
And what’s this little smily alrm clock dodger supposed to be, then?
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