Award For Photographic Excellence

Each Sunday I give an award to one of my favourite blogging photographers. When I first started blogging and looking at Blogs it was the excellence of people’s photos that attracted me. Nowadays I am equally interested in the writing but every now and then a particular photo reminds me how many brilliantly talented amateurs there are out there. I have decided to give the award to one person every Sunday until I run out of folk to give it to. The award is in no particular order so please don't feel left out if others precede you!

The recipient is welcome to display the award on their blog but is equally welcome not to do so. There is no passing on or writing deep secrets necessary. It is simply an acknowledgement from me of how much I have appreciated the person’s photographs.

And today's Photographic Excellence Award goes to my esteeemed brother GB. I have had the advantage over most people of seeing his photos since the 1960s! Now you can see them on his British blog and his New Zealand one. But some of his best appear on the multi-photographer blog "Soaring through the World in Pictures".


 

Post of the week - on Libraries.

I don't normally do a posting about the Blog post that has most impressed me during the week but I had to direct folk to Lisa's 'rant' about libraries this week.

As long-term readers of this blog will know there were threats earlier this year to close down my local library. Fortunately the populace went berserk and the local authority backed off but they are stll closing half a dozen other libraries in the area.

In the meantime, over in the US, a prep school is getting rid of all its books and having a totally digital library. (This is, of course, an impossibility since the word library comes from the Latin Liber meaning book and is defined as a 'A place set apart to contain books for reading, study or reference'. They are therefore not creating a digital library they are totally doing away with a their library.)

Lisa, a graduate student in Library and Information Studies through the University of Wisconsin-Madison, gave her views on the subject. It is well worth a read.

I commented - "As an ex-librarian I loved this post and do so agree. The difference between getting information from a real, live person rather than from Google is immeasurably better. This summer, while staying with my brother, I used his local library to find out about a 19th century local man. There was nothing on the web but the librarian found lots about him for me. Even apart from the need for the libraries (and there was a big fuss locally when they tried to close ours down this year) I just cannot imagine a world without books. How much of what I have learned over the years has been by serendipity - coming across something on the page next to the one with the direct information on; or the adjacent book; or a reference in the back of a book. And what about my night-time read in bed - holding a laptop surely could never be as cosy as turning the pages of my book... Please keep up the good work - there will always be folk to support you and who appreciate your efforts."


 

A Candlelight Meal

When GB was staying with us we had a candleight meal. It's great to have an excuse to get the candles out...








 

Friday My Town Shoot-out - A photo study of a building

This week’s subject for the My Town Shoot-out is ”A photo study of a building” and was chosen by The Town blogger team. a great choice. I have chosen to show you Valle Crucis Abbey in North Wales.


















If you would like to see more Friday My Town shoot-out please visit the home page.

I don't normally add much text to my My Town Shoot-outs but for those who are interested the following is a very brief history of Valle Crucis Abbey (Welsh: Abaty Glyn y Groes or Abaty Glyn Egwestl). It is in the Dee (Dyfrdwy) valley about 1½ miles upstream and north of Llangollen, Denbighshire, in north-east Wales.

The crucis ("of the cross") in its name refers to the Pillar of Eliseg which stands nearby, which would already have stood for nearly four centuries when the abbey was established in 1201. The new foundation was a Cistercian house. The abbey suffered a serious fire soon after its founder's death in 1236; traces of burning are visible on the lower stonework of the church and the south range. Substantial rebuilding (distinguished by putlog holes for the ends of the wooden scaffolding) had already taken place when the abbey found itself on the losing side during Edward I's Welsh campaigns in 1276–1277 and 1282–1283, although subsequent compensation enabled it to flourish for much of the following century. Valle Crucis was dissolved in 1537 by Henry VIII as one of the lesser houses. After the Dissolution the buildings rapidly fell into disrepair; in the late 16th century the eastern range was converted into a house with a new roof-line, although this roof had gone by the early 18th century. Many of the ruins were roofed again later in the century and used as a farm. Excavations and clearance of the ruins were carried out in the mid to late 19th century.


 

Tailors' Dummies

I don’t think it’s anything for Freud (or Jo) to worry about but I do like tailors' dummies! I’ve seen a couple this last couple of days.


Needless to say they got photographed.