Impulse decision to go down Nottingham and visit Bromley House. ( See Picture 1). If you didn't know where to look you would walk straight past it! We subscribers aim to preserve that facet. The image has been photoshopped, but solely to deal with 'converging verticals' . So that doesn't count as 'interference' in my book.We are down town tomorrow because it is our Venice course at WEA. But Y needed to book her train-ticket and with her senior-citizens rail card good concessions are available if booked a week+ in advance.
Good job she went because the Friday when she wanted to travel was booked up with students or something and it would have cost her over £20. And she usually travels for a tenner, so she is going on the Saturday instead.
I wanted to visit our Library to sort out with the Librarian about Brian's 'Goose Fair in Market Square' pictures. She was extremely grateful for the prints he had done. They really are amazing and he has some framed in his shop. As I have previously mentioned the photographer's viewpoint was from Bromley House or extremely close and they are tack-sharp front to rear and there is no blurring due to movement. So, old-timer shutter speeds was my research project for the morning. And I was lucky. In the card-index (don't even dare mention computer) I found a book entitled 'The Complete Photographer' published 1906. It was found for me in less than a minute and, of course, I discovered that shutter-speeds as such hadn't been invented yet. There were primitive shutters but how long the lens was open was entirely down to the skill and judgement of the photographer. I also discovered that Alfred Barber was the first professional photographer in Nottingham and opened his studio in the attic of Bromley House in 1841. For the privilege he had was required to pay £1,200 for a 'license'. I shudder to think what that would be in today's money. There is evidence though, that he, together with early photographers in other cities were prosecuted for operating without a licence. Lots of other interesting facts, which I shall 'trot out' in due course.
Picture 2 is, I think, my favouritest reading stand of all. I opened the book before taking the picture because without it, it looked a little 'blind'.The Librarian was happy for me to snap away, and also to photograph archive papers, provided they were not going to be used for commercial purposes. If my Blog becomes a 'bestseller' I shall need to renegotiate my position. And I was ultra-careful to wait so that I didn't annoy fellow subscribers.
It was very nice that my 'grizzle' about Acronis True Image was heard in deepest Wales and Madeleine very kindly sent me two relevant tutorials which I confess I haven't yet read. But it is reassuring to know that they are there. We 'elders' as they call them in USA, need a day length of at least 26hours. Or are 'elders' something to do with religion?
Thanks bungus for Colemans Starch, Reckits, and Zebo et al. but I think the contributor was talking about adverts on Radio Luxemburg, and I don't think they were.
....Absolutely sure I've forgotten something this evening..............
3 comments:
Horace Bachelor - now there's a name to conjure with. There was always something about 'Keynsham, Bristol' - something to do with forecasting footballs pool results?
Here's another Acronis tutorial for you - this one's got pretty pictures (screenshots)! It's for Acronis 9.0, but I've heard that ATI 10 isn't much different.
http://www.acronis.com/enterprise/company/inpress/2006/06-15-1ati.html
A lovely calm and mild day here and one I spent profitably at the Community Workshop (after shopping at Netto).
I was there to pyrograph some door stops for sale at the various craft fairs we attend, but three ACE Kids (Alternative Curriculum Education, ie, too disruptive and inattentive for normal classes) had been brought in by their tutor. They were supposed to be helping him make a lectern but had instead been turning square wood into round which soon palled.
One of them saw me burning wood, enquired about the process and then asked if he could have a go at writing 'Jason’s Room' on a piece of board he had previously shaped and sanded into a plaque. I suggested he practise on a piece of scrap wood first. He was a natural, with a very steady hand and an ability to follow a line that suggested he would have made a competent traditional technical draughtsman. So I pencilled in the letters for him and got him started.
Then another woke up and wanted a go. Then the third, who turned out to have considerable drawing skill (and an impressive knowledge of traditional Japanese weaponry).
They all had to be stopped working when time ran out, thanked me politely and asked if I would be there again next week and could they come and do some more. A very worthwhile afternoon for all of us.
I am sure the Mormons have 'elders' but I seem to recall, several years ago, being roped into joining a National U3A group called (I believe) The Thousand Elders, who would be invited to offer their opinions on all sorts of vital and contentious issues (“Is Green better than Red”, “Why is a Mouse when it Spins?”, etc).
I agreed but cannot recall anything further happening. Perhaps nothing important enough yet?
I had obviously not taken on board the essential Radio Luxemburg link to products. I remember the station of course, pre-war, and believe I probably joined the Ovaltinies.
In 1939 my dad bought a new ‘console’ radio (he had no time for table models with their little speakers) to replace the old one (I remember taking its heavy accumulators to a house on Normanton Drive to get them charged). The new one was an Ekco, with fashionably elegant curved lines and 3 wavebands. I recall the fascination of reading the names of the various stations; Luxmbourg of course (how can I have forgotten the number?) but the two that caught my imagination, just the sound of the words, were Hilversum and Droitwich.
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