Heron in Tooting
This wonderful heron visits our end of Tooting now and again. It’s a wonderful sight. The only one I’d ever seen before moving here was a concrete one in the back garden of our house in Dorset. Funnily enough, I’m going to Heron Quays just now…
An old one this, but still one of my favourite photographs – from Malta, November 2008.
Man Holding Ram (1988) by Mark Folds
I’ve passed this statue hundreds of times in the 20-ish years I’ve lived in Tooting, without ever knowing what it was, or who made it. I’ve watched it decay, and fall to pieces, and now achieve a kind of dignified weather-wornness that’s almost more interesting than how it was when it was new. And finally, I found out what it is: it’s called Man Holding Ram (well, thanks to woodworm, he’s dropped it now) and was done by Mark Folds in 1988. Apparently, it’s made from timber that had fallen in the hurricanes of 1987. So now we know.
The Kabuki-za theatre in Ginza, Tokyo
Home again at last, after a week in which I spent 36 hours in the air (Singapore-London-Tokyo-London). I was giving a seminar for ballet pianists at the remarkable Showa University in Tokyo, one of the highlights being the young star violinist who’d agreed to play for the bit of the seminar where I wanted someone to illustrate the effect of violin accompaniment for ballet, just like mother made it.
On Sunday night, on the recommendation of a colleague in Tokyo, I went to the Kabuki-za theatre (ably assisted by my translator Fumiko), to catch a performance before the theatre closes for renovation (rebuilding) next May. Extraordinary stuff.
Seen in Dlouhá, outside Praha Bike. Not my idea of fun, as the whole fun of having a bike is independence.
A bicycle built for six. Or more accurately, a tricycle.
Daisies on Tooting Common, where history is made
Over at whitenoisemp3s.com, you get exactly what it says on the URL, a bunch of white noise (and pink/red and brown noise) mp3s to download and play when you need, well…white noise.
As someone with advancing hyperacusis, ADD and a noise-polluted environment wherever I turn (Sainsburys is now an auditory nightmare: the MOR music, 10 barcode scanners beeping asynchronously every few seconds plus four self-service tills shouting ‘UNEXPECTED ITEM IN THE BAGGING AREA’ – pretty soon, I may give up altogether) the prospect of listening to autumn winds for an hour is growing on me. Mild amusement and cynicism has turned to awe. What a great site.
Message from Neptune
I found this Haiku-length aphorism written on A4 copier paper lying on the bench in the changing cubicle after my morning swim at Tooting pool this morning. I don’t know who left it there or why, and how they managed to keep it dry, but it seemed like quite a nice Thought For The Day.
The best reflections
are there
When the wind
Water, and
you are quite
still
