Vegas & The Aftermath - Diary

[Tonji]

Kirsty Young does a wonderful job, she touched a few nerves with Julie.

[tikay]

Kirsty Young does a wonderful job, she touched a few nerves with Julie.

Her questions were so probing, yet couched so gently.

Twitter went into orbit after the show!

[tikay]

I took Tom to Luton Hoo last year. It has magnificent grounds, amazing that is just a mile or two from Luton Town Centre & Luton Airport.

When we visited, last Summer, the weir was completely still, not a drop of water running over it. Now, I visted again on Friday, same place, different time, it has come alive.

I spent a few hours just taking snaps, then a horrible little spotty man came along & said I had "no right" to take photos as the land was private. Sigh. I've used the Hotel a few times, & I was just minding my own business, taking nature photos. We live in a very strange world.

Click to see full-size image.

Click to see full-size image.

Click to see full-size image.

Click to see full-size image.

Click to see full-size image.

Somewhere in there is a speckled something. Think I needed to get a bit closer......

Click to see full-size image.

Click to see full-size image.

Click to see full-size image.

[tikay]

Visited The Shard last week, what a building!

Worth every penny of the £25 admission fee.

They take visitors at half hour intervals, 50 at a time, & the Staff were incredibly polite & helpful, all smiles & stuff.

I wanted to test the zoomy thing on my new camera, & took this from street level. Note the two specks on the building one third of the way up, left hand side.......

Click to see full-size image.

.....which were (lower) the window-cleaning cradle.....

Click to see full-size image.

...and the jib which supports it. Quite pleased with the zoomness.

Click to see full-size image.

[tikay]

Click to see full-size image.

Click to see full-size image.

Click to see full-size image.

[tikay]

Click to see full-size image.

Click to see full-size image.

That dreadful monstrosity behind Tower Bridge is St Katherine By The Tower, a development by Taylor Woodrow built in the 1970's, on which I did managed the sub-contract plastering. Fascinating. Ish. 

Click to see full-size image.

[tikay]

London Bridge Station, with the grassed roof. I never imagined for a moment it would look like that.

Click to see full-size image.

[TightEnd]

Cannon Street Station, is it not?

No idea it had a park on the roof!

[Karabiner]

The bit on the right looks as though it might be a pitch and putt golf course.

Some great snappage there Tony, did you get the new instamatic or a Brownie 127?

[tikay]

Rather him than me, though I suppose if you enjoy absailing & stuff, it's a good number.

Click to see full-size image.

Click to see full-size image.

[tikay]

Cannon Street Station, is it not?

No idea it had a park on the roof!

Bugger, I thought it was London Bridge, sorry. You must be right, on reflection, as London Bridge Station is effectively right beside The Shard, on this side of the River.

[tikay]

The bit on the right looks as though it might be a pitch and putt golf course.

Some great snappage there Tony, did you get the new instamatic or a Brownie 127?

Nah, I got a Nikon digital single-lens reflex camera (digital SLR or DSLR) that operates on the same optical and mechanical principles as a modern electronic autofocus 35mm film single-lens reflex camera. The key difference is that the film is replaced with a CCD or CMOS image sensor plus accompanying electronics, thus creating images digitally in-camera, without the need to first chemically develop a latent image on film.

Or it may have been a Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ30 from Argos, I can't quite recall which one I used that day.

[Tal]

Superb pictures, Tikay.

A couple of book recommends/suggestions:

Sky Atlantic is raving about a new Kevin Bacon show called The Following, which is about catching serial killers and getting into their minds. Bacon plays a CIA chap who left and wrote a book about how he caught the villain.

It reminded me I've read a book about a true story version of this:

Inside the Mind of a Killer by Jean-François Abrigall is a compelling read. Translated from French, I hasten to add.

A quiet borough, Moulin Blanc beach, just outside Brest. Aline Peres aged 49 has been stabbed in the night. No forensic evidence. This is the story of the detective who got inside the mind of the most notorious serial killer in France:

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Heaulme

It was a huge success in France (the book I mean)


The second book is one I've mentioned before: Captain Scott by Sir Ranulph Fiennes. It is excellently researched and powerfully descriptive as biographies go. Of course, the main feature is the fateful expedition, but it is far from the only one.

[tikay]

"Points failure at London Bridge, trains delayed" must hack commuters off something shocking, but just look how complex that section of track is, with more points & crossings than you can count. I think this IS the track from London Bridge this time.

In the wide angle photo, there are NINE trains in sight, all coming & going to different places. Incredibly complex, really.

Click to see full-size image.

 

Click to see full-size image.

Click to see full-size image.

Click to see full-size image.

Click to see full-size image.

Click to see full-size image.

[tikay]

Superb pictures, Tikay.

A couple of book recommends/suggestions:

Sky Atlantic is raving about a new Kevin Bacon show called The Following, which is about catching serial killers and getting into their minds. Bacon plays a CIA chap who left and wrote a book about how he caught the villain.

It reminded me I've read a book about a true story version of this:

Inside the Mind of a Killer by Jean-François Abrigall is a compelling read. Translated from French, I hasten to add.

A quiet borough, Moulin Blanc beach, just outside Brest. Aline Peres aged 49 has been stabbed in the night. No forensic evidence. This is the story of the detective who got inside the mind of the most notorious serial killer in France:

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Heaulme

It was a huge success in France (the book I mean)


The second book is one I've mentioned before: Captain Scott by Sir Ranulph Fiennes. It is excellently researched and powerfully descriptive as biographies go. Of course, the main feature is the fateful expedition, but it is far from the only one.

Thank you Tal, I'll deffo add the Sir Ranulph one to the list. Bit of an eccentric chap, I am led to understand?