Messing About - Camera Obscura - The Witch

I took Y to the tram because she was meeting Joan for lunch and I decided to give it a miss, on this occasion, as lawyers say.

So, on the way back I picked up some fresh bread and milk. We are becoming quite continental aren't we? Fresh Pain de Campagne each day.

And when I got home I decided on the big table to work at, so I could spread everything out and was treated to this bit of beauty. My magnifying glass acting as a camera obscura and giving me an upside-down, back-to-front image of the patio doors and garden, on my notepad. I fought back the urge to do a Caneletto and trace round it and took the modern, easy way and took a photograph. Very interesting phenomena though and I guess some of our much younger readers won't have seen it before. Care and adult supervision is called for though because, if you focus the sun's rays to a spot, the paper will catch fire.

I answered most of my e-mails and Sky's book-chair arrived (it is fun being on first-name terms with the proprietor). The weekend will be a good time for me to take it over to Long Eaton and I'll cadge some coffee from David's espresso machine.

After lunch I had a nap and then Y rang to say that the Phoenix Park tram was shortly due and as I was going down Willey Lane, the lighting was just right on The Witch I have been intending to photograph for some time. Just a case of the Casio out of the car-window and minimal subsequent interference.

When we got home I cooked some rump steak, with mashed potato and turnip/swede, and carrots and brussells. Super bit of steak which I shall compliment Peter the Butcher on. I need an order anyway, but he is closed on Mondays. After dinner we caught up on the Andrew Graham Dixon that we had missed. It was in the BBC Series slot on our NTL digibox which we use a lot.

I must reassure Jill that the RPS is not in the slightest 'over-macho' and although only a few ladies appeared in yesterday's photograph, the fault must be mine. Admittedly there were more men, perhaps 6 out of 10, but the adjudicating panel of the 3 FRPS-s was 2 ladies and 1 man. It is probably the case that, as so often, when ladies take to a hobby, they do better than men at it. And you have only to look at the History of photography to realise how many prominent women there have been, and so early - from Julia Margaret Cameron onwards. And the food was done by outside caterers, so I don't know what their empoyment statistics are.

....Not a bit tired tonight.....