kimbofo

You could never pay me enough money

Place: Clacton-on-Sea, Essex.
Date: May 25, 2012.
Camera: Panasonic TZ3.

The one-and-only time I went on a fairground ride — something involving cups that spun around and went high into the air — it took me several hours to physically recover from the shock to my delicate system. I was aged 14, or possibly 15, and I've been scarred for life: you could never pay me enough money to get on another one.

When we went on a daytrip to Clacton-on-Sea recently I was mesmirised watching this ride, which swings backwards and forwards until it has made enough momentum to swing in a 360-degree arc. Meanwhile, the seats spin — and everyone sitting in them screams!

Why do people do this to themselves?

9 snapshots of Niagra Falls (and one movie)

Place: Niagra Falls, Canada.
Date: May 3, 2012.
Camera: Panasonic TZ3.

I wasn't sure what to expect when we went to Niagra Falls earlier this month. I hadn't realised that the falls are comprised of two separate waterfalls — the American Falls and the Horseshoe Falls — and that they would make so much noise and be so impressively, well, big.

Of course, the best way to appreciate the falls, if not from the window of your hotel, is from the open deck on board the Maid of the Mist. Oh. My. Goodness. What an exciting, funny, wonderful way to get up close to the roar of the water and to feel the spray of it raining down on you. Any wonder a disposable blue-hooded waterproof poncho is included with the ticket price. We would have been completely drenched without them.

Whe we took to the water, standing on the top deck, I got a bit excited taking photographs and filming the action. It was so wet that my camera shutter got stuck and for a moment there I thought I was finally going to have to say goodbye to my five-year-old Panasonic.

Here's a mix of pictures snapped before my camera decided to die temporarily — and after it dried out.

A very Canadian breakfast

Place: Crowne Plaza Hotel, Niagra Falls, Canada.
Date: May 4, 2012.
Camera: Panasonic TZ3.

Midway through our trip to Toronto we went to Niagra Falls for a one-night stay. I'll write more about the falls later, but as a foodie I just had to share this picture of my ultra-delicious breakfast — freshly made waffles topped with fresh cream, blueberries and strawberries and drizzled with maple syrup.

T opted for the slightly more healthier option (although it's debatable whether pastries and a carrot-cake muffin are better for you than waffles), photographed below.

Without wishing to take away from the delicious food (and the stunning view of Niagra Falls from the restaurant window), it was a bit cheeky of the hotel to give us a credit towards breakfast when we had paid a "bed and breakfast" rate. Funny that the credit did not (deliberately) cover the cost of the breakfast. I think this is what you call a scam — or a sneaky way of bleeding more money out of unsuspecting tourists...

Baseball in Canada — just like cricket on acid

Place: Toronto, Canada.
Date: April 29, 2012.
Camera: Panasonic TZ3.

I'm not much of a one for sports, but to experience a new culture there's no better way than attending a sporting fixture. If you're in Melbourne, you go to the MCG to watch an Australian Rules Football game (or Test cricket match); if you go to Canada you check out the baseball at the Rogers Centre in the shadow of the CN Tower.

We saw the Toronto Blue Jays defeat the Seattle Mariners, 7-2. And despite not having played baseball (or softball) since I was at school, I had a basic grasp of the rules and really enjoyed watching the match. The best way I can describe it is that it was a bit like cricket on acid.

I also quite enjoyed watching the crowd — quite smallish and very family-orientated — who behaved a bit like a cricket crowd, doing the Mexican wave and slow-clapping when the action was thought to be too slow.

The venue felt quite small — but then any sports arena is small when you compare it to the MCG. We had great seats, quite close to the action, near the batting pitch. It was a Sunday afternoon — the match began at 1.07pm and lasted several hours — but it was all undercover and despite the chilly air outside the dome, it was snug and warm inside. (This was important: I caught a horrendous cold on the journey over and spent the first four days of our trip feeling quite sorry for myself: thank goodness for cold and flu medication, boxes of Strepsils and Vitamin C tablets is all I can say.)



The branding was pretty awesome, too: you couldn't move for Blue Jay tops, baseball caps and beer cans! Now there's an idea for the Australian Cricket Board!

Toronto skyline

Place: Toronto, Canada.
Date: May 2, 2012.
Camera: Panasonic TZ3.

It only took 12 years, but we finally got to visit T's sister in Toronto. We crammed a lot into our 9-day stay, but one of the highlights was taking a harbour cruise on a sunny Wednesday morning. For an hour, our little boat sailed around Lake Ontario, weaving its way through the small group of islands offshore from the city centre. And when it turned around and headed back to the harbour front we were greeted with this magnificent, picture-postcard view of the Toronto skyline.

Brighton, 17.37

Place: Brighton, Sussex.
Date: April 21, 2012.
Camera: BlackBerry Curve.

Yesterday. Just after 5.30pm. We were in Brighton at the tail end of a pub crawl to which we'd been invited by one of T's former colleagues. We nipped out to photograph the sea just as these lovely fingers of light were coming down out of the sky and shining on the ocean and the old pier.

Bird on a bouy

Place: Kensington Palace Gardens, London.
Date: April 15, 2012.
Camera: Panasonic TZ3.

Snapped this today on the return leg of an 8 mile walk to Mayfair and back. I can't believe the size of his feet!

'The Truth About Stanley': a short film about the friendship between a homeless man and boy

Got a spare 20 minutes? Then press 'play' and watch this lovely film about the unlikely friendship between a young runaway and an old homeless man.  It features beautiful cinematography and long, lingering scenes of stillness in a busy city. And the music, by Mumford & Sons and Radiohead, is a treat, too.

You can find out more about the film, which was produced to help promote the homeless charities Anchor House and The Big Issue Foundation, on the official website.

A gorilla in the garden

Place: Elgin Crescent, Notting Hill, London.
Date: March 25, 2012.
Camera: BlackBerry Curve.

I don't know about you, but a lovely posh house like this calls for a special focal point in the garden. Maybe a fountain or a pond or a beautiful ornamental tree?

Or how about a sculpture of a gorilla, then? Yes, I thought so.

Personally, I love it, but the mind boggles as to the how the owners of this house settled on this particular piece of art in this particular part of chic West London — it's just so surreal. 

My new favourite building: Staple Inn, High Holborn

Place: Staple Inn, High Holborn, London.
Date: March 19, 2012.
Camera: BlackBerry Curve.

One of the great things about London is that you could live here a lifetime and keep discovering new things about the city. I've been here 13 years and I still come across new areas, streets and buildings I've never seen before.

Recently I've been doing some freelance work in Holborn, an area I have never properly explored outside of the usual haunts, such as the Belgian Bar on Kingsway, the coffee shops on Sicilian Avenue and Bea's of Bloomsbury on Theobald's Road. Usually, if I alight at Holborn tube station it's because I'm heading elsewhere on foot — usually Bloomsbury.

So when I wandered down High Holborn — towards the Chancery end — for the first time, past the cafes and sandwich bars, Waterstone's and Little Waitrose, I thought I'd stumbled back in time when I looked up and saw this stunning black and white building. I didn't fully appreciate its width, its uneven frontage or its beauty until I was on the other side of the road and looking back towards it.

I think it is particularly special because wooden buildings are few and far between in London — if the Great Fire didn't get them in 1666, then they were surely bombed by the Germans during the Second World War. Apparently this building, which dates from 1585, did suffer bomb damage in 1944 but was restored.

 

Staple Inn, 1866. Illustration reproduced via Wikipedia under a Creative Commons License

According to Wikipedia, it was originally a wool pack, where wool was stored and weighed. But it was also attached to Gray's Inn, which is one of the four Inns of Court, where all the barristers hang out.

Since 1887 it has been used as the home of the Institute of Actuaries.

It apparently houses an inner courtyard — sadly, not open to the public — which has been referenced in the work of Nathaniel Hawthorne and Charles Dickens.

There is more about the history of the building on the Actuarial Profession's official website.

It has promptly become my new favourite building in London — and when I return next week I want to take a proper look at the street frontage up close.