village life
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June 2008 Archives
banana
a brown yellow thing on a yellow thing
sunbathing
the weather was finally nice last weekend as can be seen by this sunbathing beauties at an outside brick-a-brack stall. batman is firmly keeping his clothes on.
the chap prefers to sunbathe alone. with his cowboy boots on.
traditional pottery man
not quite sure what is going on below. and the tent is a bit out of context in the photo above.
fly ball
fly ball at a country fayre
bible marketing
don't get me wrong, the bible is an amazing book almost beyond description. as a christian i believe it contains actual words from God. which is quite amazing when you think about it.
it's also available online
the flagship range
popular bible
mass market bible (paperback)
pocket gift bible (for those who like to give people pockets)
it's also available online
the flagship range
popular bible
mass market bible (paperback)
pocket gift bible (for those who like to give people pockets)
tourists
london is great
lean streets
now you 'c' it now you don't. City f Westminster lean streets
targetted messaging
i like this sign a lot. it's obvious who it's aimed at and what they need (not) to do. and the final sentence in brackets is very ominous: "If necessary we will telephone Mr Smith".
big ben
"big ben and the houses of parliament". in quotes.
plane !
the view from my office window
horse !
Here's Kate. she's the friend i mentioned at the Interesting conference who appeared on the front of Horse magazine which lead to me having the word 'horse' stuck in my brain which when repeated for long enough starts to lose its meaning at turn back in to sounds.
most words do that if you say them long enough and really think about them. it's a bit like walking. if you really think about what you are doing it all gets a bit tricky.
so there you go. i wasn't making it up !
the wrong numbers
i was confused by this for a while. then i realised.
chiltern way extension
extensions are very popular at the moment. although, the chiltern way is the chiltern way isn't it ? that like saying the 'stonehenge extension'. it's just not right. not that i'm an expert on national footpaths. just so you know.
highland coos
random highland cows on oxfordshire hillside shocker.
seeing the light
photography is mostly about light, which is why websites like this are so brilliant. esther and kezia shouted me to come urgently with my camera yesterday morning as their toys were being lit by a thin slither of light which was coming through the living room curtains and illuminating a piece of string holding a toy balloon. fantastic stuff which of course completely confused my camera.
kids holding
i had the day off yesterday so jane and i attempted to find lots of geoaches (but we got lost and couldn't find any so we went back to the car then managed to find two we'd previously not been able to find. humph). anyway, we popped in to an art studio which we passed in the car and found it had been temporarily converted in to a make up studio for some TV program. which involves crows and people holding kids it seems
brush in a tree
i often wonder if i'd run out of things to take pictures of if i lived properly in the country. here's an example of the type of pictures i could take - it's a brush in a tree
drinks on the 9th floor
raise your glasses
slow census point
slow censuses (censii) are more accurate
banksy rat
this rat has been here for a long time but it's nice to see it's not been scrubbed away
no food use enquiries
this sign has a brilliant phrase (in brackets) "no food use enquiries".
perhaps they are plagued with people phoning them to ask if Eggs make good hats, or whether you can stand on a potato to reach a lightbulb, or if you can use custard to artex ceilings, or if it's appropriate to threaten a policeman with a runner bean.
what food use would you enquire about ?
des'ree gold disk
this is in a window in a charity shop near Farringdon Station in london. it was presented to david f weinham in reocgnition of achieved sales in austria of 25,000 units of the single des'ree "life". austria 1998.
it was fifty pounds if you're interested.
and i'd like to take this opportunity to say a public thanks to all austria unit shifters. thanks.
mannequin with and without reflection
i like both of these shots, though the one above with the reflection of house behind me has the edge i think. i like how the lines lead it to her head !
hotel 6
hotel 6 would like a house keeper. who is hotel number 2 ?
man carrying an orange crocodile
you see things when you walk in london.
nails spa
nails spas usually have really horrendous 1980s signs and graphics outside their shops, so it was interesting to see these hard built signs. it does make you wander whether their hands approach applies to their service.
but, i guess if there's one place you do need hands on service, it's a nail spa
foiled again
yesterday was our church picnic which was a nice relaxing afternoon after the intensive brain-melt of interesting2008.
our church friends really are our family and it's great to just spend time sitting around chatting (whilst others swam and swung (from trees and at balls with bats))
hassocks of the week
hassocks from two different churches, but obviously the same design. and not to scale i think.
interesting 2008
some photos from the most excellent Interesting 2008
the crowd as seen from the stage during my nightmare of comedy compering
the man who designed the (back of our) money
the impromptu recorder orchestra
a compere's shadow
a man of faces
a man of zeotropes
this year i went to the bar after and chatted with lots of lovely people. here are damien mulley and annie mole down t'pub after (both legendary bloggers)
the crowd as seen from the stage during my nightmare of comedy compering
the man who designed the (back of our) money
the impromptu recorder orchestra
a compere's shadow
a man of faces
a man of zeotropes
this year i went to the bar after and chatted with lots of lovely people. here are damien mulley and annie mole down t'pub after (both legendary bloggers)
funkypancake sings
i nearly ended up having to sing a song in public yesterday. i did have a song prepared (not this one) but it was slightly too late as when i was being hassled to do it i didn't remember i knew one. anyway, the one above is old, but i've just got round to posting to YouTube. i think i've blogged it before. but you know. it's a good un.
it's from the early 90s when i were a nipper. i was known as spoonchicken (or spoon chicken) back then in the glorious town of Sheffield.
swan eating algae from an abandoned cap
all this happening in clear view of her royal highness. sorry ma'am
what those funny metal bits in the pavement mean
do you ever wonder what those funny little circles of metal are in the pavement you occasionally see when you walk past buildings in towns like london ? for a long time I thought they must be sawn off railings from wartime when they needed such things to make weapons.
but no. they are simply boundary markers, as explained by this helpful legally aware piece of pavement.
biroed banana
as a wise band once (nearly) sang, there is nothing better in life that writing on a banana with a biro. there really isn't and i highly recommend you try it
the fallen dummy
when i went to work this morning this dummy was on a pillar near the train station awaiting rediscovery. 12 hours later when i got back it was on the floor snout down. i suspect it's is less likely to be retrieved in this orientation
the problems of having your price built in to your sign
if you ever get yourself a fancy sign made up, then i advise not putting your price on it as when inflation comes along and you have to raise your prices you'll have to stick a sticker on it and it'll look silly. same goes for URLs, except with the sticker, obviously.
dignatory
this is probably the queen or prime minister or someone. they tend to zoom through london with a police motorcycle party and some big 4x4s. i bet you can't believe i get so close to these people !
i can't resist a good fish eye
now you see me now you don't.
smoking by the no smoking sign
is smoking by the not smoking sign a red card offence do you think ?
psychedlic pancake
esther took this photo of me standing in front of a projection demonstrating how autochromes work at waddesdon manor a few weeks back. i love how the letter 'O' rests on my head like a comedy hat
whatever happened to all the eros
i was going to just post the picture above, but then i realised i could make another pop pun title by including a few more. or perhaps i should have put none up and then the question would have been more relevant. as it is, it answers itself. oh well.
doorbell envy
please chose me !
best of british
i sometimes get asked if i ever get in trouble whilst taking photos. well, mostly i avoid confrontation as much as possible, although i did get chased off by the security guards outside the gherkin recently.
this photo had potential to be a bit more exciting. the guy on the floor is a drunk homeless type (street embassador as i like to call them). to his right, just out of frame were too conscious drunks, and it was them i was worried about.
assuming they hadn't been there, i would have laid on the ground and zoomed in on the union jack of his trousers with big ben in the distance. but i thought his friends might jump on me so i got this shot instead.
sorry about that.
are all the staff friendly ?
avoid the unfriendly yard staff. they'll not provide you with information nor help
bee
not my favourite kind of shots, but i liked this little chap's bottom - his bee-hind perhaps
ladybirds on manoeuvres
these little chaps were hiding around the church yard yesterday morning. i suspect it was for one of the sunday clubs.
strange instructions
which is going on here ? is the chap at the bottom on a ship and hanging out a port hole ?
hassock of the week
hassock featuring poppies which are in full bloom at the moment.
mmm chocolate
we went to TGI Friday's yesterday to celebrate the end of jane's marking, the completion of my first assignment, kezia's tooth falling out, and esther just being esther.
jane and i shared a chocolate brownie pudding, marking the first time in over 6 month's i've eaten chocolate. to be honest it mostly tasted of ice-cream, and my 'problem' is with cold chocolate bars rather than warm cakey chocolate so i'm not overly concerned about slipping back in to old habits.
it was quite interesting though and i actually felt quite nervous before eating it ! you'll notice the third spoon which was esther's contribution
waterloo upset
this poor chap was upset at Waterloo station when i went past early on tuesday morning. we all have days like these.
pardon our progress
a great sign that would work in a variety of situations
assignment 1
still and moving
black and white
large and small
diagonal and straight
sweet and sour
high and low
straight and curved
continous and intermittent
hard and soft
diagonal and rounded in one
these are the images i sent in for my first assignment for my open college of arts course.
black and white
large and small
diagonal and straight
sweet and sour
high and low
straight and curved
continous and intermittent
hard and soft
diagonal and rounded in one
these are the images i sent in for my first assignment for my open college of arts course.
powerless ranger
remember the power ranger who was trying to cross the main road outside my office ? well this is all that's left.
bud vs red stripe
urban camouflage at its best. i was going to do a low down close up shot type thing but i spotted a bus was heading straight for me and i stepped off the road just in time
pow
batman bashes big ben
hyde park
i took this photo in february and have only just got round to posting it. i walked past this pond again yesterday though, so it sort of counts.
filming outside the festival hall
there's always something or other going on in london. last week i walked past this which was some filming of someone dangling off the edge of the Royal Festival Hall. the chap at the bottom was called 'professor' but that's all i can tell you about what it is (due to my ignorance rather than some secret)
hazards
life is full of hazards. sometimes they are written large outside the building site.
fruity rejects
here are some reject shots from my photo course which i didn't use (although the last strawberry one did make the grade with a bit of editing.
stuck in the mud
i took the girls on a bike ride yesterday to the local village post office where we saw a famous person who lives locally. he laughed at me (in the nicest possible way) for having my bike hat on backwards. oops. we went on a more elaborate way back and had to cross this slippery mud pit, which esther managed to get stuck in.
later on i took esther to watch the indiana jones film. indy wouldn't have got stuck in a muddle puddle i expect.
the gherkin
i didn't something weird to the colours on the shot above. i thought it was interesting so there you go.
follow the yellow brick road
the barbican is famous for its yellow lines which even the most lost person can follow to find freedom from its grey walls.
i'm sure there are more comedy reasons why they have yellow lines, but i'm all out of comedy thinking at the moment.
cherry coke
'fizzy drinks on railings' used to be one of my most busy categories in the first year of funkypancake. that's interesting.
london eye
whilst i'm going through photos i never got round to posting (!) here's some from our trip up the london eye in January 2007 !
i like the shadow on this one
please do not feed the sheep
i don't think these are real sheep which is probably why you shouldn't feed them
unsupervised
a good generic sign which probably should be hung up around the internet
zoo thing
i can't remember what these things are called or even where i took the picture. oh well.
modern warfare
modern warfare is dogged by health and safety requirements, such as clear signage so no one gets hurt.
drink more for less
pence per ounce
lots of spoons
there's been one day in your life so far when you've seen more spoons than any other day in your life. i wonder when that was for me. it'd be interesting to be able to revise your life so far with exciting statistics like that.
i wonder what date i came in to contact with the most radiation, or had the heaviest pockets, or spoke the most words, or met the most people called Peter, or ate the most insects by accident.
what facts would you be interested in if you could find anything mundane about your life so far ?
polish kids on signs
what's on the end of the stick (vic) ?
black bollard
stealthy black bollard
christian typo of the week
though stan may buffet !
psycho buildings
the girls, jane's mum and me went up to london yesterday to go to the Psycho Buildings exhibition at the Hayward Gallery
we got there for 10am and had no trouble getting on the boating lake which is set up on the roof
the rest of the exhibition was excellent too and i can highly recommend it. we also got in half price thanks to a 2 for 1 offer . And the kids went free. bargain
afterwards we went to look at the graffiti near Waterloo bridge (i'm saving those photos for another post)
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