Splash Down

Sometimes no words are needed!

See Ya, Wouldn’t Wanna Be Ya!

It is an experience I would like to be brave enough to have, to be up there with the tranquility of that mode of transport that can be like no other.

But it is one unlikely I will ever muster the courage for, the fear in the pit of my stomach would surely be too great. I will watch those happy few as they fly silently overhead, save for the occasional blast of crisp orange flame and I will dream of what it must be like.  Less dangerous to dream but nowhere near as satisfying.

Fairytale Palaces

What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.
No time to stand beneath the boughs
And stare as long as sheep or cows.

– WH Davies

Lights, Camera, Action!

You just gotta love fireworks! Flashes of pleasure and wonderment that have no earthly purpose other than to make people happy for a moment. A more altruistic principle you could hardly wish for.

Be Still

Impromptu tear upon my cheek
What is your role, what do you seek
Elicited from memories deep
A world long gone you could not keep

As track you make sink dew to skin
Forlorn in hope new life begin
The manner that hint you of grief
illustrate that time brings no relief

Though fleeting be your silvery stain
Emotion whence you came remain
But soon retreats, once more be masked
as daily life more stoic tasked

Betwixt the conscious mundane fate
Flows deeper love through Traitors Gate
The heart beats not on axeman’s block
Through tear-filled eyes at twelve o’clock

Pause not too long beneath the blade
In fear observe the mess you made
Hold back the reemergent tear
Dwell not on now but yesteryear

Carnival Atmosphere

West Papua freedom dancers at the Cowley Road Carnival.

At first I thought, those are some funny-dressed Cubans! But they are from West Papua, the part of the island of Papua that isn’t New Guinea and is still controlled by Indonesia.  Their plight smacks of East Timor, which took 2 decades of fighting and campaigning trying to highlight the human rights violations perpetrated by Indonesia, to wrench itself free and then was forgotten seemingly by most of the world as no longer a pressing concern.  Indonesia are of course useful Muslims for the West so that rather explains that.  I suspect West Papua has a battle on its hands.  Good luck to them.

Crows Nest

I confess I am not quite sure of the rationale of selling scarecrows at a passenger ferry terminal! Is this some form of avert that one might be plagued by these birds whilst in France, is it perhaps to remind you that you have forgotten to take one, as you almost certainly have!  It seems baffling and was therefore worthy of record.

Colossal

This is still used for bullfighting, a “sport” I abhor, but one cannot get away from the fact that this colosseum, in Nîmes, built by the Romans, has hosted much of even greater barbarism over the many centuries and it remains a monument that is awe-inspiring and dreadful in so many ways.

Arch Enemy

Actually this is a little disingenuous because the Pont d’Arc is lovely and the scenery around it also and there is nothing that I can blame the Ardèche river for, however the neighbouring river is one I had a fall on the day after this picture and dislocated my shoulder but there isn’t a play on words you can make with Chassezac!

Unity Is Strength

It’s the symmetry really, I’m a bloke and so the structure pleases me.  A couple of these girls knew each other but the other two did not and yet the nature of the teamwork to get this swing thing moving was pleasing to watch as they all moved in harmony. Of course my daughter was doing all the work but the little ones didn’t need to know that!