la vache qui pise: May 2007

Babies

Canada Goslings in my local park

A Mallard duckling preens itself

A Coot feeding her chick

Mallard with ducklings

The Secretive Red Fox

The Red Fox is the only wild canid remaining in the British Isles and apart from at dusk and at night it is rarely seen in urban areas due to its nocturnal lifestyle. This means that photographing it can be particularly difficult. Every time I see one it is generally too dark to even contemplate using a camera. In fact, I usually only see them on my way home from the pub. Although I have managed to take a few shots of foxes in recent months, they have all been poor.

However, imagine my surprise when I stumbled across this individual in a semi-wooded area in my local park in mid-afternoon! The canopy was thick and provided plenty of cover so light was low. And by the time I had got this one shot off and realized that my camera settings were not appropriate for the level of light, he was gone. Unfortunately it was yet another poor photo, but so far this is the best I have managed of this tricky subject. The chance to photograph a fox rarely occurs and when it does, you have to grab the opportunity as you may only have one chance. I failed on this occasion but hopefully I'll get another chance sometime soon.

Some photos from the last few days...

A friend and I made some Hakata-style ramen with ingredients bought in Chinatown. It was pretty good, it just lacked the negi, the ginger and that slice of fatty pork.

Photography is not permitted on the Underground although that never stops me cunningly whipping out the camera and taking a crafty shot or two whenever a train approaches the station.

The River Thames at Putney is a popular training "ground" for rowers. In the background you can see Craven Cottage, home of Fulham FC, and in the far distance on the horizon you can just make out the faint arch of New Wembley stadium some 12 km distant.

And after seeing a photo of this charming pub on Flickr I decided to try and track it down for myself. Unfortunately for me and after a bit of a hike to get there I entered only to be told by the barmaid that they were closed. This was somewhat bizarre seeing as it was 8pm on a Saturday night and there were other people in the pub. Oh well, I thanked her and left. Suffice to say I probably won't be going back. For those of you who live in London, the pub is the called the Coach and Horses and can be found at 5 Bruton Street in Mayfair W1 but due to this incident the establishment does not carry the Heneganov Stamp of Approval.

Sometimes, words are unnecessary.

Made in England

Things have been a little busy for me lately. I've been spending a lot of time studying and I'm now pleased to say that I have completed the first year of my MA. I'll start again in October so until then I'll have the chance to take it easy and enjoy the British summer. Now the search for a job really begins - and it has to since my funds won't last me much longer.

I've been spending a lot of time in London where I've been sampling the fruits of some of the capitals many great pubs. London Pride Ale is one of my favourite alcoholic beverages here. I don't drink much except ale in pubs since British lager is generally poor and the selection of rums is usually disappointing. Ale however is not particularly fashionable - most British men, at least in the south, drink lager - but since when have I been anything close to fashionable?

The European Robin, a striking bird with one of the most beautiful songs among British birds, is one of the birds I see most when I'm out with my camera. This bird is not to be confused of course with the American Robin, which is not a robin at all, but a thrush. In recent months I've learnt a lot about birds and it could be said with some truth that I am now what many would call a birder. Rather sad, I know, but there you go!

This field of oilseed rape in rural Essex prompted me to park up and take a few photos. Scenes such as this are typical in rural England during the springtime.

Late-night gridlock on the M25. Approaching the Dartford River Crossing - also known as the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge, an engineering wonder but surely one of the world's ugliest bridges - the traffic ground to a halt and I was left stationary for half an hour. For some reason the bridge was in the process of being temporarily closed and traffic was diverted through the tunnel instead.

Rooftops in South London provide a typical town view, not particularly inspiring but traditionally English all the same. Scenes like this go unnoticed most of the time.

Mountnessing Mill, Essex, is a traditional post mill built in 1807. It's a Grade II* Listed building (which means it's a particularly significant building of more than local interest) and although no longer in use, it has been restored to its original working condition. The mill is owned by the local council and is open to the public on the third Sunday of each month and luckily for me, I happened to be there on one of those days. I spent an hour inside the mill on a small guided tour, talking with the guide about the history of the mill and its importance to local life.

St.Giles Church is one of only a handful of buildings in a small village near Billericay in Essex. It is a Grade I Listed building (a building of outstanding or national architectural or historic interest) which has features that date back to the 12th century and displays re-used Roman bricks and tiles in its structure. The church is apparently well known for its huge timberwork 15th century turret. The nave is 13th century with a 19th century south aisle and chancel. The brick west wall (facing the camera) is dated 1653 and features s-shaped cramps which serve to secure the belfry timbers.

So why am I posting such an odd and unrelated selection of photographs? Well, I suppose it's because when I lived in England before I missed most of this. I used to be dismissive of this country - it is all too easy to see the yobs, the hooligans, the litter, the poor public transport and the crime and forget about all the good things the place has to offer. But when you look beyond all of that England is a lovely country with a rich natural, architectural and historical heritage that can be seen on practically every corner, if you know where to look. There is beauty in the mundane as well as in the extraordinary, and I'm pleased that my eyes are now more open than they were before in order to see it.

"The Long Way Home" in Japanzine

If you live in Japan then look out for the latest issue of Japanzine, Japan's biggest English-language magazine for foreigners. This month it features an article on my overland journey from Singapore to London which I completed last summer.

The feature, which has also been published on the Japanzine website, includes a detailed write-up of my journey plus a small selection of original photographs from the trip, most of which can be seen in my Flickr set The Long Way Home.

A big thanks go out to all the folks over at Japanzine and especially to Jon Wilks, the man responsible for coming up with the idea and for putting it all together. Nice one Jon!

I'm eagerly awaiting a copy of the magazine in the post!

London's first Chewing Gum Board unveiled!

Finally, after weeks of extended negotiations between authorities and local community representatives, London's first Multi-Purpose Chewing Gum Board has been installed at a zebra-crossing near Bromley. As reported on this blog on April 10th, local councillors have recently been considering the use of "Chewing Gum Boards" in a bid to encourage wayward kids to stop littering the floor with their sticky, smelly used gum - a problem which is particularly acute in the sweaty summer months when it invariably ends up on the soles of respectable, law-abiding members of the public.

However, despite its apparent small size the designers of the new "board" have clearly outdone themselves by incorporating two completely unexpected features into the unit. As you can see from the world's first photo of this ground-breaking product, not only is London's first Chewing Gum Board fantastically compact but it also cunningly doubles as a zebra-crossing stop-traffic button. That's not all however because its design also allows the top of the unit to be used for waste disposal, with space for up to four empty drinks cans or alternatively five plastic bottles.

Ingenious!

Within seconds of the unveiling a sinister-looking spotty teenager in a hoodie made history by being the first to stick a piece of used gum to the breakthrough product.

Dubbed the iBoard by its creators (i stands for "interactive"), reports suggest that future designs may be disguised as lamposts, trees, roadsigns, telephone boxes, shop windows and even as London buses.