Tag Archives: photos

Jan 13 2025
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Daily Post, Flora/Fauna

Mynah

Monday 13th January 2025, 10.45am (day 4,890)

Mynah bird, 13/1/25

Mynah birds are everywhere on St Helena, and considered something of a pest by the locals, though I have to say I quite like them, they are handsome creatures I think. Two of them were the subject of the photo taken on my first full day here, in quarantine, back in November 2021 and it’s time one made a reappearance. This is the 60th shot taken on the island, and considered as a country, it thus draws level with Russia on the stats, ready to overtake it tomorrow and become the 5th most depicted one on here (after England, Australia, Scotland and Norway). And I doubt I’ll be going back to Russia any time soon — but there is more to be seen of St Helena yet.

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Jan 12 2025
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Daily Post, Landscape

Resting in peace, on St Helena

Sunday 12th January 2025, 10.55am (day 4,889)

Grave and the Peaks, 12/1/25

I wasn’t flying from Cape Town back home, in case you were wondering, but instead to St Helena, for my fourth visit. Who can ever say these things for sure, but it’s possibly my last — put it this way, it’s the last, for now, for which I have the money, or rather, for which someone else has given me the money, in this case the British Academy (to whom thanks are due).

Whomever resides in this particular spot these days has definitely made their last visit to this remote little island, though. There are worse places to spend eternity.

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Jan 11 2025
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Daily Post, Landscape

The Cape of Good Hope

Saturday 11th January 2025, 9.40am (day 4,888)

I’m sure this is one of those places of which we’ve all heard, but have never given a great deal of thought to what it might actually look like. Well — here you go. As seen shortly after take-off from Cape Town airport this morning.

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Jan 11 2025
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Art and architecture, Daily Post

Robben Island, Maximum Security

Friday 10th January 2025, 3.15pm (day 4,887)

Robben Island, 10/1/25

On the wall of the Cape Town terminal for the ferry to Robben Island is painted a quote from Nelson Mandela: “It is said that one only knows a nation until one has been inside its jails.” And he would know, as he spent 27 years in this place. The tour was worth doing, although it’s not as evocative a place as Alcatraz, nor as terrifying as the remains of the cells displayed at the War Remnants museum in Saigon. But none of these are places I would like to spend time — or Do Time. South Africa is a place which still has its problems but, with hindsight, the fact that it now seems to have had a reasonably stable democracy for 30 years post-apartheid, and all the systems and structures (like this place) which kept it going: these reflect well enough on the country.

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Jan 09 2025
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Daily Post, Landscape

The Tablecloth

Thursday 9th January 2025, 12:00 noon (day 4,886)

Tablecloth cloud, 9/1/25

I had hoped to ascend Table Mountain whilst here, but today was my only real chance and, all day, it was draped in what is locally known as ‘The Tablecloth’ — and it’s a very accurate description of this particular cloud. Surely there are very few cities in the world with such a monumental lump of rock sat right by the downtown area.

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Jan 09 2025
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Daily Post, Portrait, Sport, Stranger

Cape Town stadium

Wednesday 8th January 2025, 8.45pm (day 4,885)

Cape Town FC, 8/1/25

I try not to put too many football pictures up here but I do like this one, simply because of her face, and the general contrast with the rest of the scene. And it does epitomise the day, with me not having arrived in the city until noon, local time. Either way, the match (Cape Town City v Orlando Pirates) and the general experience were very fine: a great introduction to the country.

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Jan 07 2025
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Daily Post, Flora/Fauna

Creature from the inside of Tim Burton’s head

Tuesday 7th January 2025, 12.35pm (day 4,884)

Tim Burton spider, 7/1/25

Another movie reference, courtesy of the exhibition currently running at the Design Museum in London, featuring a range of drawings, models, photos and other artefacts that have poured out of the head of director Tim Burton over the last 50 years or so. Two things are apparent; 1) the guy can have done very little in his life other than pour out this endless stream of creative work, more or less constantly; 2) there is some seriously weird shit going on inside that head. Worth seeing though.

An early post today as I now sit at Heathrow Airport waiting for an overnight flight. Unless something goes seriously wrong, the next three weeks of posts will all be coming from places a damn sight warmer than this one.

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Jan 07 2025
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Daily Post, Portrait

OMG it’s Sigourney Weaver

Monday 6th January 2025, 9.45pm (day 4,883)

Sigourney Weaver, 6/1/25

I don’t entirely do the Cult of Celebrity but tonight I’m making an exception. I think most of the audience of The Tempest — with Sigourney Weaver as Prospero — stuck to the rules and did not spend the whole performance taking pictures (and she was on stage throughout every minute): but no one said anything about the curtain call. It’s not often one gets to see a movie legend in the flesh.

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Jan 05 2025
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Daily Post, Hebden Bridge, Transport

Futility

Sunday 5th January 2025, 9.45am (day 4,882)

Snowbound station, 5/1/25

You thought you were leaving Hebden Bridge today? Naaah. Ain’t gonna happen, not at 9.45am, not at any other point either (though there were unsubstantiated rumours that the 13:48 may have run, probably to get some people home — that was it, though). Just as well I gave myself three days to get to Heathrow, huh. Let’s try again tomorrow.

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Jan 05 2025
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Art and architecture, Daily Post

St Luke’s, the bombed out church

Saturday 4th January 2025, 10.10am (day 4,881)

Bombed out church, 4/1/25

St Luke’s, Liverpool, was your basic, big urban church until the night of May 6th 1941, when the Luftwaffe decided to do some remodelling. It has been left like this ever since, as a memorial to all those who died in WW2.

How’s my symmetry on this shot? Hmmmm…. it’ll do. Apart from the barrier on the right-hand side, anyway. These kinds of thing always seem to be there to vex us. The other visitor, I’ll let him off.

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