Friday, 1 February 2013

Ah... to be young and have a Lambretta!

Peter and I were rummaging through some old stuff, looking for old birth certificates - Peter is hellbent on finding his ancestors - and we came across this photo.

Peter was only seventeen, and as you can see, he was always a short little fella. Ha ha! Already 6'3"!


We managed to go back to 1845, when Peter's great-grandfather was born. The birth certificate is in a very sorry state but the names and dates are still legible. We also found loads of photos, among them this one of Peter's grandfather Rupert (born in 1869) which was taken around 1910/1915. I can see similarities between the two of them, especially now that Peter is older.


The woman in the next photo is Elizabeth, Rupert's mother, born around 1847.


Doesn't she look a bit like Alex Kingston?


It's very interesting to go down memory lane and unearth such old photographs, taken more than a hundred years ago!

Thursday, 31 January 2013

The art of the unusual

Amy/Ottoline sent me a large collection of photos that are excellent examples of human creativity. I selected the ones I liked best:






















Thank you, Amy.

Wednesday, 30 January 2013

Meow-ow-ow-ow-ow-ow

Last night Pirouette came in through the cat flap in a tearing hurry and rushed upstairs for protection, always listening and watching the stairs. Later on, Peter found the flap bit of the contraption by the entrance to the kitchen, a good 8ft away from the door... Pirouette must have hit it at great speed!

We think the problem is the cat nextdoor. She was a lovely little kitten back in the summer and now she's in heat. We had Pirouette "done" as soon as she was old enough and we remember the vet's receptionist (lovely Régine) remarking that a female cat in heat who's not allowed to mate is a very pitiful sight. We have been hearing the poor thing yowling for days now.


Pirate doesn't pay any attention to it, as he's been neutered and prefers long walks to the pleasures of the flesh... But we have a gang of very aggressive, whole males around here and I'm sure they're aware of the poor damsel in distress. Pirouette probably went out for a call of nature and encountered a bunch of horny cats hanging around!


There are seven cats in this building and the only ones allowed out are Pirate and Pirouette. If these other cat owners are so mindful of the (very quiet) road and so very protective, wouldn't it make sense to pay a visit to our charming local vet (hey, TW!), spend 85 euros and avoid having their pets in distress?

[The pictures are not of the actual cats, just lookalikes I found on the internet.]

Tuesday, 29 January 2013

Magic hands

I have featured Guido Daniele's hand art before, but I found some new examples and would like to share them with you.

Guido Daniele at work

The first photo shows some of the old paintings:


The following are new to me:







Monday, 28 January 2013

Friends

After the weekend travels in Spain, with a veritable photo fest, today we'll have a very simple but lovely picture...


Sunday, 27 January 2013

Andalucia

I'm still in a very Spanish mood, so let's continue our little trip to Andalucia. I mentioned some bits and pieces on the last thread, but I think it's better to illustrate the historical facts with some pictures.

El Alhambra and Generalife

The Moors ruled southern Spain for 800 years and were finally kicked out by Fernando and Isabel, los Reyes Catolicos. When the last Moorish ruler left Granada, he went to the top of the minaret in the city's outskirts, looked back and wept. His mother said to him: "Now you cry like a baby over what you couldn't defend like a man."

The Arabs left some precious gifts: Fantastic architecture and flamenco music.













Cordoba

The mosque of Cordoba is considered the most magnificent outside Mecca. Isabel la Catolica planted a catholic altar bang in the middle of it after she got rid of the Moors.





This altar would look OK in some other place...


Seville

Seville is very beautiful (incredibly hot in the summer) and I'm particularly fond of the Sevillanas, the local music.