We’ll return to that title. I think it’s meaningful, but then again it could be absolutely meaningless. My blogpost titles often are, let’s face it.
For now we’ll talk about the opening shot. I went for a walk with the Sam and the children over Christmas. You already know, but here’s a reminder anyway; I’m like a Greek God physically and if that wasn’t enough I also possess a razor sharp mind. I hear you and can only say that I laugh whenever I write that. Unlike some of our other walks (let’s just say unsuccessful because disastrous is a little strong) I managed not to get us lost. Seems incredible to believe, but even I can walk up and back down along the side of a canal. Proof of a razor sharp mind if any was needed. There was no dissent in the ranks nor mutiny or unnecessary anger directed at their leader. We’ve had some uncalled for unpleasantness in the past, not my fault and totally blameless, just saying. Okay, I wasn’t leading on this occassion, I’m still marking it down as a good result though. The plan was to walk from Bradford on Avon to Bath railway station, about 11 miles, followed by a train ride back to BoA and collect the car. In the end we went almost halfway and turned back, a little over nine miles. At seven miles my ankle started to ache and then became painful. What about the whole body of a Greek God thing? Maybe it’s a myth, no wait, what about Achilles? No, that was his heel and he was a warrior. Damn it.
Some interesting light during the sunshine and showers. That image might be a little dark for some tastes, it actually was dark as the rain fell and besides, there’s the creative part of photography that I enjoy so much. Manually setting exposure to produce your version of what your mind sees, or emotion you feel, as you release the shutter. I quite like the shot, that opener even more so. A simple colour match I realise that. Green, White, Red and Black replicated with the runner and canal barge. You still have to see it and until recently both my mind and its eye were closed. Let’s leave that walk now, I can still feel the pain, in my heel...er…ankle.
Just like Achilles we all have a weakness, something or someone. I say weakness, I’ve learnt recently that it’s called vulnerability and it’s okay to be vulnerable. Who knew? It’s exhausting trying to “Stay Strong”, what a relief. The blogpost title; Officially it’s ‘Windmills of Your Mind”, written by a french composer and of course there’s a French version for my friend Jeff Chane-Mouye, “Les Moulins de mon coeur”. I’ve always liked this song, the lyrics were somehow poignant, but really it’s just a bit of psychedelia from the drugged up sixties and therefore meaningless:
Round, like a circle in a spiral, like a wheel within a wheel
Never ending or beginning on an ever spinning reel
Like a snowball down the mountain or a carnival balloon
Like a carousel that’s turning, running rings around the moon
Like a clock whose hands are sweeping past the minutes of its face
And the world is like an apple whirling silently in space
Like the circles that you find in the windmills of your mind
They seem to make sense to me. Oh well, the drugs don’t work apparently and so I must stick with the Rioja. Hold on, of course there’s another a reason.
Remember when I said in my last blogpost All Things Must Pass that the Children, Sam and I would be staying in a ‘Windmill’ on Bond Island? It was once owned by the actor Roger Moore who famously played Mr Bond. There it is above, sat on the Norfolk Broads. The Norfolk what how? Broads. A networks of lakes, slow moving rivers and dykes in eastern England. I was hoping that either some ‘broads’ or ‘dykes’ would want to come and join the New Years party, they didn’t and I took my bow tie especially. So it ended up just our little family.
I’m certain we all had a great time and it made a refreshing change for New Year’s Eve. I’ve never been a fan of forced fun, you know; it’s New Year Eve or some planned event and you must enjoy yourself because you’re meant to. I’m a little more spontaneous than that. In the end we played games with the children, Sam and I got drunk. Not so spontaneous and completely predictable perhaps.
We arrived in the dark and I hadn’t read the instructions from the owners. “Park your car. Turn right, walk along the river for roughly 700 yards/meters”. By the way when I typed ‘yards’ just now it autocorrected to ‘years’, believe me it felt like it! In the car park they leave a little buggy to help with your baggage that you can relentlessly pull behind you. Just like life right? Here’s the buggy in the photo below, Aston Martin DB5 it ain’t. I would have ejected myself from it if I could find the bloody button, not even a missile or self destruct switch. So I trudged on. I forgot to mention that the footpath ran out pretty quickly, thereafter it was essentially just mud, good grief, yet another metaphor for life.
You know what? We didn’t do a lot. The first night we got a takeaway, of course when you’re in the middle of nowhere you takeaway whatever you can find. In this case there was a garage which incorporated an Indian Takeaway, as they do! Food poisoning was my first thought, I let Louis taste it first, after five minutes he wasn’t convulsing or rolling around on the floor and so we all ate. It was pretty good actually. The next morning we drove down to the beach and looked at the seal colony. It was cold, raining and I had a wide angle lens. Also there were volunteers stopping people from getting remotely close. When I say volunteers they were human, not seals. Understandable, they can get extremely protective over their young, we’re back to seals again by the way, though it has to be said humans are too. Talk about psychedelia nonsense. Put the wine down John, do everyone a favour. Anyway, no photos I’m afraid. Here’s Louis making a fishing rod instead…”Look behind you!” Yes, a fish. I also see a Swiss Army Knife that his mother has categorically forbidden him having.
We tried to park in Cromer which is one of the more well known seaside resorts. Not a chance, it was packed. Warnings from the media that the entire population of Earth was going to be wiped out by COVID and immediately followed by nuclear holocaust left people wondering and so they’ve completely ignored the doom and gloom of the Recession. Just get out and spend, they’re just scaring us. Don’t think about it and it’ll just go away. That’s therapists out of business then, a sort of recession all of it’s own, or should that be regression. So up the coast a little to Sheringham where we did two things. Firstly bought an ice cream and secondly go into an amusement arcade. The children love them, you know the places that are full of grabber machines that the crane never grabs anything, those penny cascades that you keep slotting pennies in and the pushers never quite manage to get the piles of pennies over the edge. I suggest that ‘Cascade’ might be a misnomer. Las Vegas it isn’t. Although they do have slot machines. I found a machine that I liked the look of and promptly lost £5 in less time than it takes to say “Is this machine broken or something?”. Hold on, it’s exactly like Vegas.
I think everyone enjoyed themselves. The Windmill was in an idyllic spot. I’d say that they’d overplayed the Bond connection though. Lots of signs nailed around the place with “We’ve been expecting you Mr Bond” written on them, wallpaper featuring all the films and so forth. I’m not sure what I was expecting, after all I am Bond. In the end I was simply happy to be in the company of my family.
I expect you’re wondering where the Street Photography is. I did say that my intention was to get right back at it. Well the weather has stopped that dream for the most part. If the thermometer isn’t hovering below freezing then it’s chucking it down with rain. Here’s Louis and his friend outside their school a week ago:
Tricky for Street Photography when the streets are under water. Equally, who wants to stand around on ice in a temperature of minus 2C…okay, apart from Sam and the dogs taken a couple of days ago.:
The closest I’ve got to any Street was spending ten minutes in my local town the other day and a trip into Bath this afternoon with the children. I may as well show you the results, but they’re not great. I’m so out of practice and Street is something you need to be disciplined with, practicing constantly. The main thing though is that I’m at least taking the camera with me now, which is something I’d completely stopped doing.
If nothing else it’s with me and once again the children get to have me grab quick shots of them, I’m sure they’re delighted. Like this one this afternoon. We were in Amélie’s favourite place, a bookshop, mine too, unfortunately not Louis’s. Don’t judge a book by it’s cover, he’s really not a happy bunny.
For me photography slows down those windmills, the circles decrease and subside. I’ve always said that essentially carrying a camera is mindfulness and for a change I believe I’m right. Little nuances in mood, ephemeral moments, small details and the bigger picture; Photographers notice everything.
All images can be opened by clicking on the thumbnails and are made using a Leica M with Summicron 28mm Lens fitted.
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