A Changing Life

PhotoHunt: remembrance

a.alapage@gmail.com (A.) — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:19:14 PST

I was conscious of this post coming immediately after one advocating peace, but there is no conflict. I am certain the people involved in the episode remembered here wished for peace as ardently as any others. This photo of the Dunkirk memorial on Dover sea front was taken during the summer. On 11 November, Remembrance Day or Poppy Day, the area will be covered with poppies. The plaque

Dona nobis pacem: Peace comes dropping slow

a.alapage@gmail.com (A.) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 06:50:59 PST

I have taken a quote from WB Yeats "Peace come dropping slow" completely out of context, but I was reminded of those words when I read the story of Samuel Mwangi who was caught up in the violence in Kenya two years ago. He fled his home and is still in a refugee camp with his family. Before the violence he had a five-acre farm and could have been considered prosperous in that area of the

A walk around an English village

a.alapage@gmail.com (A.) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 15:36:19 PST

A quiet walk in the country at the end of the summer took me to this very typical village in the south of England. Going up the lane heading into the village. The village primary school hidden behind trees. The old tree stumps seem to be used to keep cars off the grass. Thatched cottages. The traditional thatch would be long straw, but this is the shortest lived of the thatching

PhotoHunt: bags

a.alapage@gmail.com (A.) — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 08:33:29 PDT

I have endless trouble getting into this blog this morning - and it isn't even morning any more! I would have liked to have been able to say "Bags I first!" but there was no chance of that. Some bags are a very important part of my life. Just waiting for for a refill for the next bout of travelling. The bags that travel with me come in every shape, size, and colour, but I'm not terribly

Fish, fowl or good red herring?

a.alapage@gmail.com (A.) — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 14:05:39 PDT

What is it? Read more..... The answer is, the feathers on the back of a peacock. A beautiful, and very tame, peacock posing with intent. Found at Valençay. I couldn't decide whether he was illustrating the menu (which course I wonder?) or just hopeful.

Ten things under $27 I can live without to change the world

a.alapage@gmail.com (A.) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 15:44:37 PDT

I've just received an invitation from Grameen to help get people thinking about how to make a difference, to help end poverty. The Grameen Foundation's mission is to enable the poor, especially the poorest, to create a world without poverty. The first seeds of the Foundation were sown by founder Muhammad Yunus when he made a loan of $27 to some Bangladeshi women out of his own pocket. That

PhotoHunt: tied

a.alapage@gmail.com (A.) — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 04:35:17 PDT

All these beds, two from Fontainebleau and two from Valençay, have hangings which are tied in place. A bedchamber at Fontainebleau. This is Napoleon's bed, also at Fontainebleau, my favourite I think. Another with green hangings, but this time in the less elaborate surroundings of the Château at Valençay. King Ferdinand's bedroom at Valençay. While I was preparing this post, I

Le Damier Fleuri (a patchwork in flower)

a.alapage@gmail.com (A.) — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 05:39:56 PDT

In the 18th century, a French garden decorated an area of 2 hectares opposite the west wing of the château of Valençay. Over the course of time and with changing fashion, in the 19th century it became simple fields providing fodder for farm animals and a pleasant view towards the English garden that Talleyrand wanted. The project wanted to recreate this disappeared French garden respecting

PhotoHunt: a free choice

a.alapage@gmail.com (A.) — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 01:46:56 PDT

I was completely at a loss for what to choose for today. I need guidelines, I need rules. But I happened to look out of the window and noticed the effect of the early morning sun on the river, and here you are! We've had some very cold nights close to freezing and some very sunny mornings. Today was the first time I ventured out into the cold to take some pictures of the mist rising

The Camargue

a.alapage@gmail.com (A.) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 08:41:19 PDT

Blog Action Day 2009 The Camargue, probably best know for its flamingos..... .... its black bulls.... .... and its white horses. But it is under threat. It's a beautiful, wild, different, part of the world. I was dismayed, though, with some of the efforts being made to cater for tourists. The white horses may roam freely in some parts but I saw many more of them tethered for hours

A hug

a.alapage@gmail.com (A.) — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 08:11:53 PDT

And so are Ettarose's. Thank you. :)

European Destinations of Excellence - tourism and protected areas

a.alapage@gmail.com (A.) — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 15:10:25 PDT

This year's European awards have been given for promotion of sustainable tourism in protected areas. Not an easy task to keep areas protected and yet encourage tourism, but after my visit to the Camargue in the south of France, it's something that interests me. There were 22 awards made, including the following: Biosphere Park Grosses Walsertal (Austria) - in the Austrian Alps, this used to

PhotoHunt: sports

a.alapage@gmail.com (A.) — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 00:45:34 PDT

Sport: to play or frolic. Two children having good sport jumping over waves. This was the south of France two days ago - lovely and warm but occasional heavy clouds. Sport: an active pastime or recreation. I first spotted a number of classic cars going through a service area on a motorway in the south of France. I eventually caught up with them two days later. They were taking part in

Mass production at Fontainebleau

a.alapage@gmail.com (A.) — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 23:54:00 PDT

While we were at the Palace of Fontainebleau we happened upon an exhibition called Design à la Cour which I didn't quite appreciate until I looked up the details later. I thought it was just about retro furniture. There was more to it - cupboard after cupboard full of identical pieces of beautiful porcelain. The whole was intended to show that mass produced objects can also be works of

It's not easy being green

a.alapage@gmail.com (A.) — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 05:21:00 PDT

To sit in the shade on a fine day and look upon verdure is the most perfect refreshment. ~ Jane Austen We have been friends together in sunshine and in shade. ~ Caroline Norton But soon: No shade, no shine, no butterflies, no bees, No fruits, no flowers, no leaves, no birds, - November! ~ Thomas Hood

PhotoHunt: words

a.alapage@gmail.com (A.) — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 16:47:00 PDT

I love words and plays on words, so I was delighted with this bottle of wine. Plays on words don't often stand much explanation, but because this is a mixture of French and English, I'll put it after the jump. There are two plays going on: first, the words "Chat-en-oeuf" sound very much like Chateauneuf, a very much superior wine; and second the translation would be "cat in egg". There is

Hanging on

a.alapage@gmail.com (A.) — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 03:36:45 PDT

The summer flower displays are still stunning here in France, in spite of many signs of autumn around.

Pain free farming

a.alapage@gmail.com (A.) — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 03:37:44 PDT

A few days ago we had twisted wire, but now I've come across what seems to me to be an example of twisted minds. Pain free farming sounded like such a promising title. In the UK at least, some supermarkets are starting to label meats and other foods which have been raised in better conditions than factory farms. Often, though, if you enquire further and read the details you find that

PhotoHunt: twisted

a.alapage@gmail.com (A.) — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 07:52:55 PDT

Some things are twisted for decorative effect. Some things are twisted to give them added strength. This very timid cat places complete faith in the strength of the twisted wire of the fence to keep the mad photographer away. If you'd like to join in and find other other players, go and visit TNchick's site.

La Brenne - land of 1000 lakes

a.alapage@gmail.com (A.) — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 13:48:36 PDT

There are so many places in the world calling themselves the Land of 1000 Lakes. The one I visited today is an important wetland in central France. It is a mixture of woodland, meadows and lakes sheltering a huge amount of wildlife, but along with that it has an interesting history. The lakes, almost all man-made, were first dug in the Middle Ages, but emptied during the Revolution. These

Fantastical Fontainebleau

a.alapage@gmail.com (A.) — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 14:49:26 PDT

I think you are probably going to have to enlarge these pictures to see them properly. I took them today when I visited Fontainebleau and couldn't resist showing a couple of oddities. The more normal, if you can call such opulence normal, will have to wait until a later post. I can't find out anything about this painting, but it looks as though it must be Diana the Huntress. It's a fairly safe

PhotoHunt: upside down

a.alapage@gmail.com (A.) — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 07:18:30 PDT

On holiday in a hilltop village last May, we were treated to an unexpected air display. Apparently the plain below is a convenient place to practise, to the locals' dismay. We, though, felt sure the show was put on just for us.I'm quite fortunate to have found these shots from a backup. I'm having some computer difficulties at the moment.If you'd like to join in and find other other players, go

Fig leaves

a.alapage@gmail.com (A.) — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 08:17:42 PDT

Would you want to wear a fig-leaf? The other day I was talking to a friend about figs and figleaves, as you do, and the conversation brought to mind a newspaper article I had read years ago. The article was about the relative sensitivity of different parts of the body and it was illustrated by a diagram with the various parts scaled according to their degree of sensitivity, something like this

PhotoHunt: electric

a.alapage@gmail.com (A.) — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 01:29:08 PDT

Many rivers in France have the power of the water harnessed to provide electric power, and the river Creuse is no exception. This is the dam built at Eguzon in 1926. At the time of building it was the largest in Europe. It produces 101 million kWh of electric power annually. But there are others, much smaller along the same river. This is a local electric power mill, but its origins as a

Dr Madzou in Angers

a.alapage@gmail.com (A.) — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 03:20:47 PDT

As outlined in an earlier post, Dr Foldès is now far from being the only surgeon to practice reconstructive surgery to repair female genital mutilation. One of the surgeons he has trained is Dr Madzou in Angers who says the technique used is straightforward for a surgeon to learn and uses no specialist equipment. He has trained 20 surgeons in Burkina Fasoas well as operating there himself. To