Our last full day on the Island was devoted to visiting Freshwater Bay and the Julia Margaret Cameron Museum at Dimbola Lodge. We went by service bus and used our free-passes again. Anyway, it was pleasant to travel along the coast road for a journey of just over an hour. Picture 1 is of the bay. Chocolate-box manufacturers please form an orderly queue !
The museum is a 'must' for anyone interested in photography and 'Julia' has been a firm favourite of mine for many years. The main subsidiary exhibition was a collection from Lord Snowdon and featured many strong images. The curator was happy for me to take general snaps, particularly when he learnt that some might be destined for my blog. He was keen on the publicity. Y enjoyed the museum - and the coffee was excellent !
Picture 2 is a bronze of Jimi Hendrix by John Swindells which stands in the garden as a tribute to his appearance at the 1970 Rock Festival.Snaps of other people's Art are only acceptable as 'record shots' but I have dignified this one by a little work to subdue the background and a change to monochrome, which seems to suit the work.
And I haven't flipped the image - he was, if you remember, a left-handed guitarist.
The holiday was first-rate and the things we did competed to be 'favourite'. The Roman Villa at Brading (see last blog-post) was high on the list. The floor mosaics were unusual because of the roman buildings depicted - the only example in the UK apparently.
But the Botanical Gardens, the Classic Boat Museum (I was amazed to learn that the 'cockleshell heroes' boats were narrow enough to be launched through a torpedo-tube!)...... The boat trip round the Solent ........ too difficult !!
But the Botanical Gardens, the Classic Boat Museum (I was amazed to learn that the 'cockleshell heroes' boats were narrow enough to be launched through a torpedo-tube!)...... The boat trip round the Solent ........ too difficult !!
Our return journey was pleasantly glitch-free and it is good to be back. Thank you all for your 'comments' during my absence - they sort of kept the pot boiling !
Comments
AnonymousRob ..... What an interesting by-product of texting, - the autistic boy being willing and able to 'communicate' by that means.
'Adequate' would still be the appropriate term for the hotel. It needed 'decorating throughout'. The rooms were very small, but the food remained good and the proprietor and staff were helpful and efficient.
I 'google-imaged' the Harley Davidson Fat Boy and, although very similar, the bike I 'snapped' was slightly different. And Mike Harding is still around and hosts a folk show on BBC Radio 2 on Wednesday evenings.
Re the effect of modern technology on the sum of human happiness. I am sure you are right. And so long as people are fed, clothed, and have dry and warm accommodation there is indeed very little added by 'progress' - indeed, much seems to be lost.
You are not a dinosaur. You enjoy your darkroom work as an art-form, not because you sneer at digital imagery. Pictures are pictures are pictures, whether produced by mezzo tint, lenses and chemicals, or bullshit !
Bungus ..... You were right to point out that I had omitted the 'not' from 'I would not wish for things to be different'. I do so love modern technology. But that is different from feeling it is essential to well-being.
Speaking of West Bridgford. I was stationed there in the 50s when it was called 'bread and lard island' - because people had spent most of their income on expensive housing and couldn't afford butter.
Jill ...... Re Liberty bodices. I remember my mother felt unable to function without her 'corsets'. She was slim and I don't imagine she needed them. I think it was just what people wore. My Uncle Vince always wore spats !
........................................
Colin Fletcher called in for lunch and it was great to see him. Unfortunately Lyn had an upset tummy (having been to a wedding-reception and eaten shellfish) and stayed in the caravan. He was as 'with-it' as ever, but is having trouble with one eye (following blood-clots, DVT, and all sorts of probs). It doesn't stop him being cheerful though and it was good to catch up on their family news.
Good news ! Having reported 'no robin' - this morning one has arrived.
Tomorrow I'll sort out some snaps to go on Picasa Web Albums - then when I do the blog I'll publish a link to them. Blood test in the morning - lets hope for the best !!
Quotation time .................................
"The only thing to do with good advice is pass it on. It is never any use to oneself."
People are returning from holidays. Hannah rang to say they were back. I guess David will be back, if they aren't so already. Don't know about John. I think Reg is back.
'Sleep tight' ..... All being well I'll catch you tomorrow. Unless the anti-coagulant clinic send the lads round following my blood-test.
The end-line is for the sports desk and because I haven't published it for some time.
5 comments:
Hiya Graham, just popped in for the first time ages to see you are on holiday albeit just finishing. Hope you and Y had a good time. Like the photo of the great mans statue and you are correct to say that he was indeed a left handed player. For some reason a lot of people find this odd but what was odd about Hendrix was that he actually played a right handed Fender Stratocaster and just turned it around (obviously reversing the strings byt the dial controls and arm would be in the wrong position at the top and the string keys at the bottom.......
Chocolate-box perhaps but a very good pic of a most pleasant ‘scape. You have a good eye for the needles.
If I knew Jimi H was left handed I had forgotten. I know Paul Macartney is.
I am more pleased than ever not to have been a 'cockleshell hero'
You obviously enjoyed your break and my ‘worst imaginings’ happily did not come to pass. Good.
The mosaics in The Roman Villa sound interesting.
The sad thing is that modern technology has not done enough to ensure that all people are ‘fed, clothed, and have dry and warm accommodation’.
A big ask but the wealthy could have tried harder instead of leaving it to Cuba to do its best to live the dream alone.
Yes, now you mention it, I remember the 'bread and lard island' epithet for W Bridgford.
Your remarks about Colin Fletcher confirm Sandra’s view that we are all falling to bits.
So your robin is back. Does that herald the onset of winter?
To add to the Oscar quote. “People who ask for advice usually want confirmation of their own opinion.” (me)
Good to see the Busby Babes again. Big Dunc second from left, I believe, but Bobby Charlton cannot have been in the team that day.
Jill ...... Re RG’s response.
I remember my mothers ‘whalebones’ and, up until 1964 or later, young girls wore girdles (and stockings).
My dad had a pair of spats but had stopped wearing them before I became aware of them.
Manaman's contribution causes me to wonder; did I mention thet the somne of an old friend who droveme home from the City recently used to ride sidecar in his late teens/20s and in fact he and his driver won a big race in his birthplace, the Isle of Man (I think in '79).
So pleased all went well on your holiday, that is indeed a lovely photo of the bay. Why is the term 'chocolate box' used in a derogatory way? Those are usually the ones I like - OK, so I've got no taste.
The photographic place sounds interesting - though I wonder why Lord Snowdon's collection is there rather than in London? Perhaps he is a Julia Cameron fan too. (yes, I had heard of her). Have you been to Lacock Abbey, of Fox Talbot fame? You would enjoy that, even I found it fascinating, and I do not have much interest in the process, merely the result.
I bow to Bungus's superior knowledge about girdles and corsets. My mother wore a girdle to the day she died, and never ever wore any short of trousers or shorts.
Fingers crossed for the blood test tomorrow.
Like Jill's mother, mine never wore 'slacks' as they were called in the 30s/40s. Her younger, more 'stylish' sister did (while mum had a fox fur, Trudy had a 'silver' fox. She also once paid £5 for a hat, a little round fur 'pillbox' and had 'modern' furniture, rounded and of pale wood.
I think mum may have worn shorts when she belonged to a 'Keep Fit' class just before the war; but it may have been a short skirt and matching pants. To quote Brian Glover, in 'Porridge', "Green it was".
As Bungus says, no Bobby Charlton in the line up; I think he came to prominence as a result of the team's decimation at Munich. Big Dunc is second left, to his left is, I think, Tommy Taylor? Bill Foulkes is in the middle. I believe he scored in Madrid and helped United reach the final in '68. I think second right is Mark Jones. It'd be nice to get the whole line-up.
My mum used to refer to 'slacks' in the 50s. I think her unforgettable saying was Fingers were made before knives and forks.
Good to have you back RG and pleased the holiday was a success. The IoW is not a place I have considered going but you make it sound interesting. There are, or used to be, a number of photography courses run at Dimbola Lodge.
Your mention of bullshit in relation to the production of pictures reminds me of a piece in the RPS Journal (magazine of the Royal Photographic Society) which showed a reproduction of a print that achieved second or third place in their international exhibition. It quoted the photographer's comments about the picture which included the phrase It [the picture] is not without authorial intervention. Five minutes later I realised he meant he had done some lightening and darkening of different parts of the scene. Sniff, sniff - what's that, is it dog or cat? Oh no, it's bull.
Rob
Post a Comment