2024-11-18 12:35:11
The Sagrada Familia is one of the most famous churches in the world. Designed by Gaudi in the 1880's, it is famously unfinished and is largely expected to never be completed.
It was under construction the first time I visited in 1992 and again in 2015.
I remember my dad commenting on the seemingly non-existent Health and Safety Regulations that allowed an unharnessed man to sit on the end of a piece of wood half way up one of the spires furiously chiselling away as the plank bounced with each hammer stroke. The nineties were a different time.
A couple of decades later, I ventured inside. An usher quietly reprimanded me for how loud the shutter on my Canon EOS 550D was in the near total silence so I only got a few photographs from the main church part before stowing my camera and simply basking in the awesome.
I'm not a religious man but I felt a sense of immense calm inside the church. The chill of the marble was welcome as, in all honesty, we went inside to find respite from the unexpected 40°C heatwave stifling the city.
2024-11-17 08:00:00
This has been a whole week of foggy mornings. I spent the whole morning of my day off walking around the village taking (what I hope will turn it to be) moody black and white photographs of ethereal foggy scenes.
I meant to use my Canon DSLR for most of the shots and only took my new Minolta in case anything special jumped out but the Canon's battery was dead and I didn't have a spare on me.
It didn't really matter though as there was enough "special" to capture. I'll share some of the best in the coming weeks.
Coming off the back of a Sunday photo walk using my La Sardina, I've now got a couple of rolls to get developed. One has gone to the local Max Spielmann and I'll send the other to Harman Labs as I like to support local businesses.
YouTube recommended The Rubberbandits — Horse Outside to us. Reminded me of seeing a young lad riding a one-horse trap through Dublin city centre chatting on his iPhone — the juxtaposition of the modern and the traditional that is an integral construct of Irish culture.
I seem to have picked up a few new followers recently. Welcome to my growing empire!!!
2024-11-16 14:19:03
A profoundly silly book (affectionate).
A rare example of a dual bildungsroman — two main characters on a journey of self-discovery.
Trip; bumbling and clumsy young man with secret magic powers he doesn't understand and must learn to harness — he's just like you (probably) 🙃
Rysha; bookish but sporty, pretty but not vain, a noble woman (who doesn't behave like a princess) with an ungainly snort of a laugh. She's amazing but normal, fantastic yet relatable — she's just like you!
The two of them team up with a rag-tag bunch of military oddballs to go on a magical quest to defeat dragons by closing a portal — so clichéd it's basically a parody of the genre.
Some lovely lore in amongst the clichés though; wizards trapping their souls inside swords that can telepathically talk to their bearers, ranking dragons by golf, silver, and bronze, and the insurmountable hatred between the types of magic swords.
I also enjoyed the "fliers", a kind of lightweight metal-and-cloth fighter plane that is kind of steampunk in what is largely a traditional "medieval" universe of kings and castles and dragons.
The banter between the team reminded me of Top Gun and Aliens; I have no idea how accurate it is but it felt like how military buddies banter.
The story really got going in the second half of the book and some of the silliness was dialed back or was less noticeable.
This is Book 1 in a series and, in all honesty, I was going to leave it at that but I enjoyed the ending so much I coughed up for the whole series.
2024-11-14 21:23:29
Jumping on the bandwagon from Gabz via Alexandra by providing my What’s In My NOW.
Each week one interesting person shares the tangible and invisible things that are influencing the NOW — 3 physical, 2 digital, and 1 invisible.
While I wouldn't call myself "interesting", here's what is currently shaping my personal universe.
2024-11-14 18:17:16
I have been driving now for two whole years; a little longer if you count the time with my driving instructor, which I don't. I was 43 years old.
I grew up a half hours walk from town which was easily doable. A little longer or quicker on my skateboard.
When I moved to Manchester, I lived right next to the busiest bus route in Europe and frequently within walking distance of anywhere I needed to be.
Even moving to Macclesfield, we chose somewhere a short walk to the train station.
So, basically, I have never needed to learn. England, for all its faults, is often walkable and has an acceptable public transport system.
My driving instructor, the excellent Lucy Norris at SafeDrive, often commented on the differences between teaching an older learner versus a seventeen year old.
Lucy is an excellent instructor; she was very patient with me, highly knowledgable, and willing to adapt lessons to fit around what I wanted to practice. She teaches you to first become a safe driver rather than “how to pass your test” which was ideal for me. Couldn’t recommend her more highly.
My Google Review
Four decades of being primarily a pedestrian makes me a more considerate driver — which is a rarity around here.
Now we've moved to the sticks and walking isn't feasible, being able to share the driving makes me feel like I'm pulling my weight in that regard; I can take things to the recycling centre, give people lifts, pick the kids up, and do the shopping without burdening anyone else.
All goes to show you can teach an old dog new tricks; sometimes it's better that way.