Donuts and Day Trips

Off the Bone

2007-07-25T14:22:00.001-07:00

Aisinai’pi Alberta Canada

2007-07-09T04:44:00.000-07:00

Nothing about the gently rolling prairie of south-central Alberta – not even Montana’s smoky Sweetgrass Hills on the southern horizon – prepares you for the sudden spectacle of Aisinai’pi. The experience is akin to stumbling upon a cathedral in the desert, only in this instance your gaze travels not up but down for this remarkable place abruptly descends into the earth, away from the heavens.

Lethbridge Viaduct

2007-07-04T16:56:00.000-07:00

The Lethbridge Viaduct, commonly known as the High Level Bridge, was constructed between 1907–1909 at Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada at a cost of $1,334,525.This bridge is one of the largest railway structures in Canada. It was built as part of a major diversion of the Crowsnest Pass route between Lethbridge and Fort Macleod. Length: 1,623.86 m (5,327.625 feet)
Height: 95.7 m (314 feet) above river bed
Materials: 12,400 tons of steel

Calgary

2007-07-03T08:42:00.001-07:00

Fes el Bali-Morocco

2007-06-27T02:39:00.000-07:00

Marrekech Morocco

2007-06-25T14:36:00.000-07:00

Fes el-Bali -Tanneries - Morocco

2007-05-28T04:53:00.000-07:00

Fes is very well known for its medieval Tanneries. The skins are first placed in vats, to prepare them for the leatherworking process. The skins are placed successively in saline solution, lime, pigeon droppings (the ammonia from the droppings softens the skins) and then in vats containing the colouring agents. Traditionally natural dyes were used, although some tanneries now use artificial dyes. The traditional tanneries get the red colour from poppies, yellow from saffron, brown from henna, and green from wild mint.

Most of the workers work barefoot, and use their toes to pick up the skins from the bottom of the dying vats, then work on them with their hands. Up to 600 skins sit in a vat at any one time, spending up to 2 months being worked on.

Since the animal skins are placed in vats containing pigeon excrement, and often have rotting animal flesh attached to them, the whole area smells extremely bad. When you enter the vicinity of the tanneries, guides and workers offer everyone fresh mint leaves to put under your nose for the duration of the visit.

Patio Povera! A Roof Garden with Found Objects

2007-05-27T18:39:00.000-07:00

The theme for A Roof Garden with Found Objects was inspired by a patio seventy-seven year old Anthony Samuelson created for his wife. An early purchase, a magnificent tree fern, was too big for any pot that Anthony owned. On a whim he asked his gardener to plant it in an old rusting water tank saying, ‘This is Arte Povera. You know: A found object? Objet trouvés? Ready-made? Duchamp. That lot.”The garden is centered on using a variety of objects as plant containers. It is based on what is known in the art world as ‘objets trouvés’ (found objects) or ‘ready-mades’.

Sunflowers grow up a tall chimney stack, which is surmounted by chimney pots with television aerials, satellite dishes, drain pipes and cables in abundance. A barbeque adapted from an ancient cast stove lies against the right hand wall, with a fire extinguisher close at hand. To the right an upside-down tomato plant tumbles out of a giant ketchup bottle.
The influences of art are everywhere in this roof garden; Mr and Mrs Andrews, from the National Gallery’s portrait by Gainsborough, are represented by two life-sized window mannequins. Othello, the 2.4m (8ft) high Great Dane, which once graced the Biba Food Hall and was ‘found’ at Billy Smart’s Circus sale, stands next to Mr Andrews, as in the portrait. Secured high up on the chimney is a yellow ladder-back chair with sunflowers growing through its rush seat - an allusion to two pictures by Van Gogh.

The tubular supports of a double hammock, at the centre of the garden, are covered in Clematis montana and the tree fern, which started it all, features within the rusty water tank. Mrs Andrews’ 18th century gown is made from carpet violas, which is set into sphagnum moss fed into a stainless steel frame. Her hair is a spotted deadnettle and on her lap sits a rubber chicken planted with common sage.

This is the garden designer’s, Anthony Samuelson’s, first time at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show. He says that he does not have a horticultural background and admits he has never been to a flower show in his life! With no horticultural knowledge, he teamed up with plant guru Daniel Lloyd Morgan, who won a Gold Medal at Hampton Court Palace Flower Show in 2002, to bring his design to life.

Anthony sums up what exhibiting at Chelsea means to him in three words: anxiety, fear, hope.

Stop and Smell the Roses

2007-05-27T18:30:00.000-07:00

chelsea flower show

Chelsea Flower Show - Plant sale 4pm Sat

2007-05-27T16:27:00.000-07:00

Chelsea Flower show

2007-05-27T09:59:00.000-07:00

The Chelsea Flower Show is a garden show held each year on five days in May by the Royal Horticultural Society in the grounds of the Royal Hospital Chelsea in Chelsea, London, England.

Gullible's Travels

2007-05-17T05:28:00.000-07:00

Women in Black

2007-05-03T15:49:00.000-07:00

Women in Black (WiB) is a world-wide network of women committed to peace with justice and actively opposed to injustice, war, militarism and other forms of violence.

Brian Haw's Parliament Square Peace Campaign

2007-04-27T05:19:00.000-07:00

Parliament Square Peace Campaign

Stop the War Protest London

2007-04-27T04:31:00.000-07:00

St Patricks Day Parade London

2007-04-27T03:41:00.000-07:00

Sailors of the Highway

2007-04-26T02:28:00.000-07:00

The Looking Glass

2007-04-25T14:58:00.000-07:00

Brighton Pride

2007-04-25T14:47:00.000-07:00

The Good the Bad and The Queen

2007-04-20T19:11:00.000-07:00

Butter the Soul

2007-04-15T16:52:00.000-07:00

Last Minute Deals

2007-04-12T17:36:00.000-07:00

Englands Dreamers

2007-04-12T17:21:00.000-07:00

The Sultans Elephant

2007-04-12T15:52:00.000-07:00

The Sultan's Elephant is a show created by the Royal_de_Luxe theatre company, involving a huge moving mechanical elephant and other associated public art installations. In French it is called La visite du sultan des Indes sur son éléphant à voyager dans le temps (literally, "Visit From The Sultan Of The Indies On His Time-Traveling Elephant").

The elephant is made mostly of wood, and is operated by over ten puppeteers using a mixture of hydraulics and motors. It weighs 42 tons, as much as 7 African elephants