Dean Village

Jan - April 2009.

Not far from the centre of Edinburgh, tucked up all snug and out of sight underneath the Dean Bridge, is the picturesque little hamlet called Dean Village.

It's not really a village, since it's technically 2 minutes from the middle of a bustling international city. But it feels that way, wandering down Bells Brae to realise you can't hear anything other than the gurgling of the Water of Leith, the rush of water over the dykes and the quacking of ducks.

Atmospheric in winter and bursting with colour in the summer.

A Foggy Day on the Meadows

The Meadows - Edinburgh, 2008.

Edinburgh is a great city for atmospheric photography.

Sitting on the edge of the Firth of Forth means that it's frequently inundated by a murky haar which floats in from the sea, resulting in some top-notch eerie photo opportunities.

You've Got the Music in You

http://www.intellectualpornography.com/2009/07/one-oclock-daily-bobby-mcferrin-and-the-pentatonic-scale.html

Moving out to Londontown

Finally!

A job in London!

And a flat! Also in London!

And new friends! Predictably, also in London!

Yey for living in London!

May Day

Today is officially the first day of summer. It's ironically looking much more grey a dreary than yesterday, with forecasts of wind and frost over the bank holiday weekend. Bleh. Oh well, you've still gotta love the metaphorical significance.

Our ancestors did. They would light fires, dance excitedly, and beat drums to chase away the spirits of chaos and darkness which ruled their lives over the bitter winter months. In modern Scotland, these ancient rituals have been transformed into the Beltane Fire Festival held each year at the top of Calton Hill, in the centre of Edinburgh. It's a big draw for tourists nowadays, as the costumed and painted participants carry out their ancient rites on the same volcanic earth our ancestors did.
(Check out the dude getting burned in this photo, oucheeee. That's what happens when you choose to be a representative of Chaos)

The White Ladies and the Blue Men, the Red Men and the Torchbearers, the Horned God of Winter and the Green Man all make an appearance. But it's the White Lady who always steals the show. She is the Queen of Summer (Mother Earth) and she leads the procession around the hill, through the burning gates, and finally vanquishes the demons.

Then, they set a bunch of stuff on fire, and everyone gets trolleyed.

Goodbye winter, hello summer!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/edinburghandeastscotland/hi/people_and_places/arts_and_culture/newsid_8655000/8655823.stm

Cute Food

http://myfoodlooksfunny.com/2010/04/21/funny-food-photos-cats-love-bento-boxes/

Way too cute to eat?

When I was 5 I got a chocolate duck for Easter but felt too guilty to eat it. Interestingly, I never had that issue with eating actual duck... or that whole roasted guinea pig I ate in Peru. Or that live octopus in Korea.

The irony.

Memory of the Day (25th April 2010)

Nazca, Peru.

I travelled there shortly after the devastating earthquake which shook the region in August 2007 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_Peru_earthquake), and although Nazca was relatively unscathed the infrastructure from the north was heavily disrupted.

As a result, the tourist industry in the area had almost ceased to exist and the touters and tour guides were beside themselves when a handful of tourists arrived.

Also took a flight over the Nazca lines (and paid a good amount more for it than I normally would have, but didn't mind) and visited some cool museums with lovely pieces of pottery and some scary looking mummified heads with their mouths sewn shut.