Baby Gull

I looked out on the neighbouring roof today and saw that the gulls had a fluffy grey baby. I'm puzzled as to how they managed to get the chick out of the chimney where they were nesting , as its several feet above the level of the roof tiles.

Unfortunately, it was raining, very windy and getting dark so the photos are not the best but since chicks grow really quickly, i didn't want to miss my first glimpse of this one.

The baby opened its mouth and begged for food.
And mum obliged by regurgitating something delicious for tea.
I took a video with my camera -this is the first attempt at putting a video up here - I don't have much video experience but I thought the baby was cute.

Mum went off to see dad who was standing guard about 10ft away further along the roof ; the baby decided to follow her . You can just about hear the little mournful cheeps as it tells mum to come back
The chick sat down and waited for mum to return - but the female gull didn't leave the chick alone long- some humans could learn thing or two from her.

Tags: seagull baby, photos, gull, yellow-legged gull, larus michahellis, Goéland leucophée

Photo Friday - Professional

Ant society is very well organised . many ants have specialised roles such as nursemaids, farmers [of aphids and fungi], hunters, workers and soldiers.

The least known ant specialism is the probably that of the undertaker ants, who carry the dead bodies of their colleagues out of the ant nest and bury them in a safe place.

This is important to prevent the spread of infection and epidemics within the ant nest.


I watched this undertaker ant carry the body up and down rocks before eventually burying the body and covering the burial place with dead leaves.

Tags: photo friday, macro, ant, undertaker ant, burial

Photo Friday - my little secret

A male herring gull Larus argentatus guards his little secret...


His partner [top of head just visible if you look closely] is nesting inside a chimney.

Up pops the female's head and the male squawks to warn off a rival who has come too close to his nest.

Luckily, the chimneys around here aren't in use


Edited to add-
It turns out that these gulls are actually yellow legged gulls Larus michahellis - a Mediterranean sub-species of the herring gull that is now considered to be a full species of its own -also known as the yellow-legged gull or Goéland leucophée in french

Tags: photo friday, herring gull, Larus argentatus, Goéland leucophée, Larus michahellis, yellow legged gull

Illustration Friday- Primitive- Platypus

Platypuses [Ornithorhynchus anatinus ] are primitive mammals belonging to the group called the Monotremes - egg-laying mammals. The monotremes comprise of the platypus and various kinds of echidnas.

Platypuses are interesting animals and they were originally thought to have been a made-up traveller's tale - people could not believe that a mammal that swam like a beaver , had a beak like a duck, laid eggs and had a poisonous claw could really exist. At the time it was popular for carnival side shows to display things like 'mermaids' made from a taxidermied baby monkey and a large fish tail so this reaction is quite understandable.

The platypus is sometimes called a duck mole but the beak is not like a bird's bill- its a sensitive, rubbery appendage used to search the muddy bottom of streams for food such as crayfish and snails.

Platypuses are good swimmers but are quite clumsy on land, They close their eyes , ears and nostrils when they dive and they even mate whilst in the water.

The females dig long tunnels in the river banks and create a nest of leaves and grass in order to lay the eggs.

Platypus eggs are thought to be held within the females for a while and nourished before being laid. The female playtpus incubates the eggs , usually two at a time, by placing them on her belly hair and covering them with her tail.

The eggs aren't like bird eggs - they are closer to reptile eggs as the shell is soft. Its not fully known how long the babies remain in the eggs but its estimated to be about 10 days.

After the young emerge, they are fed on their mothers milk which oozes from specialised pores on her belly - platypuses are unusual mammals because they do not have defined nipples.

This is an illustration of the female platypus in her nest with her twin eggs snuggled into her belly hair. It took a long time to get the platypus looking the way i wanted- partly because reference material for platypus nurseries is not readily available and partly because platypuses are such strange looking creatures that its easy to make them look even weirder. The grass of the nest took a long time to paint too as i was starting to get really obsessive about the celtic-knotwork effect of the interwoven grass.

Tags: illustration friday, illustration, platypus, monotreme, duck mole, platypus nest

Photo Friday- Cold

When we visited Casterino in the Alps, i took lots of photos - here are a couple I didn't post to the blog earlier.

I liked the contrast between the strangely shaped icicle and the grain of the wood behind it.

This is a photo of my son with a large star shaped snowflake caught in his hair. I just had enough time to quickly take the photo before the snowflake melted.

Tags: photo, macro, icicle, snowflake

Monastery at Cimiez

Cimiez Monastery [Monastère de Cimiez ] is close to the remains of the Roman town of Cemelenum, the archaeological museum and the Matisse museum. I think its worth visiting, though its not as well known as the other places, I mentioned.

The church is called, Our Lady of the Assumption [Notre-Dame de l'Assomption] and dates to the 15th century. However, the original monastery and church complex was founded by the Benedictine monks in the 9th century.

The Franciscans took over the monastery in 1546 and have occupied the site since then. There is a museum about the Franciscan order at the monastery but it wasn't open the day we visited since it was Sunday.

The interior of the church has some interesting carvings and three 15th century paintings by a well known local artist called Louis [or Ludovico] Bréa ,who seemed to specialise in religious art.
One of the old Trompe-l'œil painted door surrounds. A lot of the church exterior decoration was actually painted trompe-l'œil rather than carved stone and glass.
This is the 16th century cloister and part of the Franciscan monastery adjacent to the church - the monastery is still in active use. This is one of the Franciscan monks chatting to a couple of visitors.

The monastery gardens are large and impressive, though we visited at the wrong time of year to see the roses in full bloom. I expect we will go back to see the gardens in summer and also to visit the nearby cemetery where Henri Matisse and Raoul Duffy are buried.
The sunken garden was laid out in geometric flower beds and was a peaceful place to sit and meditate.

Unfortunately , when we were visiting a small dog fell off the surrounding wall into the sunken garden - luckily it landed in a recently dug flower bed but there was quite a panic until the owner checked the dog over for injuries.
I loved the interference patterns made by the water falling from the fountains.

Tags: Monastère de Cimiez, Cimiez Monastery, Nice, photos, interference pattern

Illustration Friday- Save - Caterina Ségurana

I couldn't decide what to paint for the Illustration Friday topic "save' to start with. I was going to do something along the lines of bees storing honey or maybe squirrels hiding nuts but I really wanted to do something more dramatic.

My next idea was to do something with Grace Darling , the English woman who became famous for rescuing people from a shipwreck when the sea was too rough to launch a lifeboat.
Grace helped her lighthouse keeper father row a small boat called a coble out to the wreck and 9 people were rescued.
I was still thinking about the Grace Darling idea when I came across the monument dedicated to one of the local heroines from Nice which made me change my mind.


Her name is Catarina Ségurana in Nissart, the local Nice language, and Catherine Ségurane in French.

Catarina Ségurana was a local washerwoman [bugadiera or lavandière] at a time when washing was done by hand in rivers and streams or publicplaces with very basic facilities called lavoirs .

Lavoirs are generally covered areas with a communal trough with a diverted stream or water running through the centre. Some have facilities to burn wood to provide the cinders which were added to the wash to whiten and de-grease it. This is a public lavoir from the village of Le Broc.



Rich people employed the washerwomen to do the work because it was both exhausting and time consuming. The washing had to be pounded and soaked and rinsed , washed again and then laid out to dry in the sun.

Washerwomen had rough calloused hands due to the constant immersion in waster and exposure to the poor quality washing soaps and lye derived from the cinders.

I already knew the basics of Catarina Ségurana's story and knew that there was controversy about her importance and whether or not she really existed.


Many guidebooks report that Catarina Ségurana was a semi-legendary heroine famous from scaring away the Franco-Turkish enemy during the Siege of Nice in 1543. Often, her method of repelling the enemy is given as 'showing off her ample bare buttocks' [mooning] Mooning and mocking the enemy by exposing oneself does have a long history but this doesn't seem to be Catarina Ségurana's real story.

Instead, Catarina Ségurana inspired the Niçois when she seized one of the Turkish flags after whacking the standard bearer with her battoir [linen beater ] -a kind of wooden paddle she would have use to beat the cloth as she washed it. During the struggle with the standard bearer , local legend adds that Catarina's 'hidden parts' were exposed and this was perceived as an additional indignity for the invaders.
Later on in the seige , two more Turkish standards were seized and this destroyed the morale of the invading troops.

Catarina Ségurana's bravery is honoured by the city of Nice each year in a ceremony on the 25th of November when a wreath is placed on her monument.

My illustration depicts Catarina Ségurana holding her wooden battoir [linen beater] with the captured Turkish flag in the background.

Tags: photo, illustration, illustration friday, heroine, siege of Nice, Caterina Ségurana, Catherine Ségurane

Photo Friday - far from home.

Queen Victoria's Royal Coat of Arms seems an unusual find in the middle of Nice, France. The lion and unicorn support the shield which features the three lions passant guardant of England quartered with the lion rampant of Scotland and the harp of Ireland.




The church where the arms are displayed is a typical English Anglican church and most definitely 'far from home'.

The Holy Trinity Anglican church is in Rue de la Buffa, in the heart of Nice and apparently has regular services in English all year round.

The stained glass altar windows here date to the 1920s

Queen Victoria apparently only worshipped at the church on her first visit to Nice. On subsequent visits , church services were performed in her hotel in the district of Cimiez which is north of Nice centre.

The stained glass windows and some of the paintings are Pre-Raphaelite inspired so its well worth making a detour to see -and very different from the traditional Nicois churches around Nice.


The Anglo-American Library is based in the one of the church hall rooms , which is why I ended up visiting the graveyard and church grounds on a regular basis.

The graveyard has graves from about 1830 onwards till around the first world war -there are probably about 50 graves in evidence now , though at one time the graveyard was considerably larger. Apparently the land was sold off to property developers who built the adjacent shops and high-rise apartments.

I'm not sure what happened to the graves and remains that were displaced -I'll need to check up on that next time I'm at the library.

There are some interesting statues and gravestones, including a couple of memento mori skull and bones.

One particularly moving epitaph tells of a 19year old Scottish boy who tried to rescue his parents as they were swept away crossing a 'river in torrent' near San Remo in Italy [ further down the coast]. The parents survived but the boy's body was never recovered , so the stone marks and empty grave.


I think a lot of people mistake this cherub grave marker for the grave of the hymn composer Henry Francis Lyte [author of Abide with Me] because the signs are misaligned . His real gravestone is quite plain.

Like many of the people buried in the graveyard, Henry Francis Lyte died of consumption [tuberculosis] . People suffering from lung diseases such as TB used to travel from the damp north of Europe to the sunny Mediterranean [especially Nice] in the hope of breathing more easily and living longer.

Tags: Nice, photo friday, Queen Victoria, coat of arms, stained glass, windows, holy trinity church

Illustration friday - Homage

Its been ages since I took part in Illustration Friday but 'homage' was the first topic for ages that appealed to me.
I decided to do something of an homage to Leonardo da Vinci and my first thought was to make a Vitruvian man type thing based on a weevil monster from the BBC sci-fi series Torchwood.
I decided against that idea, although its somehow really appealing, so I might tackle it another time.

I wanted to continue with the da Vinci theme so I thought about the Mona Lisa [la Joconde in French].

The painting is now very dark due to oxidised paints and varnishes but there was probably a lot of ultramarine blue used in the original work, especially in the glazes of the background. Ultramarine was a very fashionable [and expensive] pigment derived from the gemstone lapis lazuli used by artists at the time, including da Vinci. I love the intense blue colour, hence the colour of my crocodile character's dress.

I have never managed to get the the Louvre, its on my to-do list, so i haven't actually seen the painting in real life . Until this weekend, I hadn't really studied the painting much at all so I've discovered quite a lot of new information about the Mona Lisa.

This is based on my idea of what the Mona Lisa would have been like if she had been an enigmatically smiling crocodile rather than Lisa Gherardini, the wife of a cloth merchant, so its definitely not intended to be slavish re-interpretation.



Tags: illustration friday, illustration, crocodile, mona lisa, leonardo da vinci

Almond blossom sky

On the way home from the supermarket on Saturday , I noticed a beautiful young tree laden with white blossom. [I think it was a sweet almond tree.]


Honey bees were loving the pollen -this is one coming in to land on a flower.



A honey bee is just visible burrowing into the blossom here. Its a pity the branches weren't lower, I had to use the zoom and hold the camera above my head to get these shots.



The blue sky was dappled with a thin cloud layer, almost like it had been dusted with icing sugar.


Something was nagging me about the unusual dappled blue sky and white blossom combination , but I didn't work out what it till later. It turned out that the photos were incredibly reminiscent of a Vincent Van Gogh painting called Branches with Almond Blossom [Amandelbloesem in Dutch]

Van Gogh painted the almond blossom in February 1890 while living in the south of France. The painting celebrates the coming of spring and the birth of his nephew also called Vincent. Ironically, Van Gogh's own life was near its end -he died a few months later that year.

Tags: photos, blossom, almond blossom, honey bee, spring

Carnival dragons

The Nice carnival season has finished but i'm only now sorting through the photos .

The carnival isn't just a one day Mardi Gras event but lasts for 2 weeks and has a variety of events - day time and night-time processions , battle of the flowers and a grande finale when the Carnival King float is burned and a huge fireworks display lights up the Baie des Anges.

When our kids were small we used to mainly go to the carnival during the day time but the night time carnival is an impressive show with lit-up floats and luminous paints and make-up on the performers.

We visited the night carnival twice this year. The carnival processions are not exactly the same each time on each visit -the huge floats are the same but there are different groups of dancers, stilt walkers, musicians, folk lore groups and costumed performers etc so there is always plenty of new stuff to see.

This was one of the biggest floats -it was an immense articulated dragon creature- reminiscent of a dinosaur skeleton from the Natural History museum .
The head and tail and wings moved , the mouth opened and closed
Acrobatic people swung around on bungee straps from the wings and a magician figure dressed in black rode on the dragons head.
Photos don't do justice to this spectacular dragon

Dragon head breathing smoke.
The colourful ribs of the skeletal dragon. The ribs seemed to light up with different colours at different times.


This was a strange metal dragon vehicle piloted by 'humanoid creatures' like a cross between Mad Max renegades and Orcs. I didn't get any good photos of the 'humanoid creatures' ,unfortunately.


Dragon vehicle breathing fiery sparks. The huge dragon appearing out of the smoke and fire was a breathtaking sight.

This is a float designed by a British cartoonist called Jeremy Banx [cartoonist for the Financial Times].


The float called Neoconzilla and an interview with the cartoonist talking about his inspiration for the float is here

The Statue of Liberty is being swallowed up by the Neoconzilla monster and only the torch is visible.

Tags: photos, carnaval de Nice, carnival, dragons, floats, Banx, Nice, Neoconzilla

Photo Friday- fuzzy

I couldn't decide what to post for fuzzy -I had hoped to find some processional caterpillars of the moth , Thaumetopoea pityocampa , [if i could have done so safely] but none of the pines I've seen had any caterpillars in evidence. There were some official notices warning people with small children and dogs to beware of the caterpillars since its currently processional caterpillar season.
The caterpillar hairs are a very potent irritant and can cause dermatitis, eye irritation and extreme allergic reactions in humans and animals who touch the insect bodies.

In the end I decided to post a macro photo of our cat, Gandalf's little pink nose and fuzzy cheeks.

This is the owner of the nose, blissfully asleep . I fiddled with the colour -his nose is really as pink as in the macro photo.

Tags: photo friday, macro, nose, cat

Photo Friday -Art -Jelly Babies

The route of the new Nice Tramway has become an open-air museum of modern art, L’Art dans la ville, with a variety of artworks by 15 international artists.

Some of the works include the jingles which announce the stations in a variety of voice tones and languages, calligraphic massages on the sides of the tram stations and special lighting under bridges and between some of the buildings.

This is the artwork by Spanish artist , Jaume Plensa, called Conversation à Nice. It is installed n the centre of Nice at place Masséna.

During the day the sculptures are an opalescent white , but at night they are lit up and cycle through a range of colours.


According to Jaume Plensa's artist statement, the figures are meant to represent the 7 continents and the ease of modern communication. Additionally , they are meant be a modern landmark almost like a lighthouse and to watch over and protect the passers-by.

I have heard a variety of suggestions about the meaning of the statues that differs from the official one - the most common theme is that the statues are cross-legged Buddhas or possibly yogis who represent the different areas of Nice [quartiers] , although people are slightly puzzled as to why Buddhas represent the quartiers.

My favourite suggestion is from my kids and their friend is that the statues are giant jelly babies!
-though I suspect that is a very ex-pat British opinion due their familiarity with the jelly baby sweets.


One of the sculptures when blue.

Tags: Jaume Plensa, Conversation à Nice, place Masséna, Nice, photos, photo friday, L’Art dans la ville

Huskies

I'd been thrilled to see the dog sled running through the snow at Casterino when we visited the recently. I didn't get a good action shot of the dogs in action but I was pleased to at least get the full sled and dog team into one shot.

This is the musher seeing to his dogs. Musher seems like a strange sounding word but its apparently the correct term for the human in charge of the dog sled team.
He was taking them off the sled harness and making a big fuss of them all individually, which was really nice to see.


The dogs had a rest and a snack after their run. Some chose to have a quick snooze.

This dog was my favourite. It was so beautiful curdled up and sleeping in the snow. The reddish gold coloured fur seemed to glow against the white.



This dog was really lovely , especially with the fine dusting of snow on his dark furry head.
I was pleased I managed to capture a photo of his bright pink tongue.

Tags: photos, husky, huskies, dog sled, snow

photo friday - 'What Is That?'

I've taken a few 'What Is That?' photos over the years. Mostly , I've managed to figure out what i've photographed but I haven't had any luck with this alien-looking plant.

The seedpods were about the size of a mango, so reasonably big , and the whole plant looked so strange that we started calling it a triffid without really noticing.

As the seedpods ripen they seem to split and release hundreds of black seeds carried on hairy parachutes.
I've spent some time looking at seed catalogues but still have no idea what this plant is.

This is an example of Teabagus arborealis -the tree dwelling tea bag. Its something that often provokes a 'What Is That?' response when out in the countryside -but further examination reveals it to be an ordinary teabag that some idiot has thrown up into the branches, rather than taking their rubbish home.

Its particularly annoying because they must be carrying a vacuum flask and cup around with them and a used tea bag isn't exactly heavy.

Tags: photo friday, photos, teabag, strange plant

Snowy Mountain Sports

When we visited Casterino the other day, we saw a lot of paragliders [parapente in french] .

I don't think I can ever see me doing any paragliding - I am too freaked out by heights.

I expect there is a tremendous feeling of being at one with the birds and the views must be unbelievable -but the thought of potentially smashing into the ground [or trees] at the end puts me off.

Having said that, I didn't see any bad landings so maybe its not as dangerous as I fear.

This was the landing target -it doesn't look to me like it would be very visible from the air, though most managed to land close.

I saw two little kids triumphantly carrying off some small blue flags, so the target must have become progressively more difficult to see as the afternoon went on.



A few paragliders landed in the middle of the mountain bike racers, and the billowing parachute was an awkward obstacle to cycle round.



The mountainbikers were taking part in a 4hour moutainbike relay race over snow -La 4ème édition des 4 Heures VTT sur neige.

The two-person teams had to cycle a 6km route as many times as possible in 4hours in relay. The snow was pretty thick and visibility poor so it must have been hard going.

A pile of bright red snowshoes just begged to be photographed.

A very sleek black skidoo was a more hightech approach to speeding across the snow-they make a lot of noise and have other drawbacks but they do look like they would be fun. I can't drive and I am pathetic at steering virtual machines in computer games so I'd have to give the skidoo a miss too.

We saw a dog sled pulled by some beautiful huskies -it was possible to reserve rides on the dog sled in advance, I think the price was around 35 euros per person so it would have been a bit much since there were 4 of us.

I would have liked to have taken a ride on the sledge, though, maybe another time.

I have some really lovely photos of the dogs themselves which I will post tomorrow.

Tags: snowshoes, huskies, dog sled, paraglider, mountain bike, snow, skidoo

Casterino in the Snow

We took the Train des Neiges to Val Casterino at the weekend.
The Train des Neiges is a special train and shuttle bus that takes people to the snow for winter sports certain weekends of the year. This one departs from Nice [others leave from Marseilles and Aix and have different snowy destinations].

We had been intending to take the train des neiges to the snow for years and never managed to get organised enough to do it [a booking needs to be made a few days in advance] so it was great to finally get there.

Casterino is a tiny hamlet , high up [altitude roughly 1550 m/5085 ft] in the Alpes Maritimes close to the French-Italian border. Its strange to think that this is higher than Ben Nevis [Scotland and Britain's highest mountain] which is only 1344 metres/4406ft.

The scenery is amazing as Casterino is in the middle of three mountains - Mont Ste Marie [2740m, just under 9000ft] Monts Chajol [2293m /7500ft] and Mont Agnelet [2201m/7220ft].


Unfortunately , snow fell all day so visibility was not prefect, although it added to the impression of walking around inside a Christmas card.
I wasn't able to work out which mountain was which from my photos-maybe next time we visit, I will pay more attention.

There aren't very many buildings in the hamlet but most of them are beautiful wooden Alpine houses , with carved balconies.

I think the man standing with the bundle of red snowshoes is one of the mountain guides. In the summer people trek out from Casterino with guides ; on foot, in 4x4s and on horseback to see the famous ancient rock carvings of the Vallée des Merveilles.


I saw a man clearing thick snow from the roof -its hard to imagine that this is just a couple of hours from Nice.

The rich tones of the wood contrasted beautifully with the grey local stone stairs and snowbanks.




Casterino is surrounded by wooded slopes so there are no formal downhill ski slopes. Most of the skiing is cross country but other sports are also available such as snow shoeing, dog sledding , ice climbing, paragliding and sliding on sledges and building snow men .

Next time we go, hopefully early next month, we have decided to hire snowshoes and see more of the trails around Casterino.

Tags: photos, train des neiges, Casterino, snow, mountains

Eze sunset progression

I have a new computer, so I am back again.

I'm still getting used to Vista [though things have been much smoother than I expected] and I have a lot of stuff to transfer from the other hard discs, especially photos and artwork, but its absolutely brilliant to have machine of my own again.

We went back to Eze at the weekend and took Nietzsche's Path down to the sea. It was quite different from the last time I walked the route since many of the trees were bare and the bushes and plants had died back for winter.

We were lucky enough to witness the sun as it gradually set and the sky changed from blue to palest pink to deep orange and charcoal.

Saint-Jean Cap Ferrat reaches out to sea behind the two trees on the hill.


When I looked back, I could see that the rocks were tinged with pink from the sky. I'm not sure if its as visible in the photograph as it was at the time.


A soft pink sky glowing through the leafless tree branches.



The sky is darkening over Saint-Jean Cap Ferrat, which looks like a snaky island visible in the v-shaped notch [the bay of Eze sur mer is hidden at this angle]


The sky is darker and the soft pink has turned to peach.


I think the following photo is my favourite -the sky and sea were so beautifully lit and whole bay was tranquil and still.
The sun was setting behind the headland and because there was so much cloud cover it gave the effect of a glowing volcano. It reminded me somewhat of Mount Doom.
The sun had dropped further here and these were the last deep orange rays .
I loved the subtle light on the bay as the light died.

It was such a privilege to have witnessed this spectacular sunset.

Tags: photos, Eze, sea, sunset, dusk

Tramway

I hope everyone has had a wonderful start to 2008.
As yet, I still don't have my computer sorted and I am suffering from a rotten flu-y type bug which is dragging on since just after Boxing Day- I hope I start to feel a bit more normal soon.
Surprisingly, I am feeling remarkably optimistic about 2008 despite the strange start to the year.

I had intended to take a lot of photos of the new trams and things en route but it hasn't quite worked yet-this might be an ongoing project for 2008.

The trams in Nice have been a huge success- I think they have been much more popular than was originally expected.

On the opening weekend at the end of November , the trams were free and every tram car was jampacked with people squished together like sardines. We joined the throng and went from one end to the other, which was quite an adventure.

It wasn't quite as bad as the Japanese trains where people are pushed on by white-gloved officials but it probably wasn't too far off.

Things have settled down now that the tramway is running smoothly - though the trams can be busy at rush hour and night.

Here is one of the trams approaching the station nearest the Gare SNCF [train station].
The electronic sign with red letters gives the estimated time till the next tram arrives plus the times for the ones which follow.


The trams are very sleek and shiny and the journey is pretty smooth and quick. The trams and ligne d'azur bus system are integrated so that connections from tram to bus [or vice versa] can be made using the same ticket, which is pretty good value.

There is also an all day ticket that allows unlimited travel on the tram/bus system or a 10 journey ticket that is handy for multiple journeys or travelling with other people.
(The tickets need to be validated on board the tram in the same yellow machines as on the ligne d'azur buses)
Technorati Tags: trams, Nice, tramway

Merry Christmas

I have been having some computer problems [my computer seems to have come to the end of its lifespan] so haven't been able to update the blog.

I'm hoping to get back online properly soon-fingers crossed.

Here is a little card I painted the other evening to wish everyone a very happy festive season and a wonderful, healthy New Year in 2008.

Technorati Tags: illustration, mouse, christmas card

Photo Friday - Travel

We are just back from a family reunion in Tenerife, one of the Canary Islands. We flew there from France and the rest of my immediate family flew in from Scotland.

Not so long ago this sort of thing would have been unheard of and near impossible - due to the distance, travel time, costs and dangers . Now, with local airports and budget airlines , travel is much more accessible and safe -at least for people in the West.

Its hard to imagine that people are still undertaking dangerous journeys across the sea in flimsy boats with a real risk of death-and spending all their life savings to do so.

This is a cayuco, a Senagalese fishing boat. They are normally used for fishing rivers and estuaries and not intended for sea crossings.
Basically they are a form of large canoe and this one was in a terrible state -and probably not exactly sea worthy at the start of the journey, never mind the end.

I've quickly removed the stone jetty from behind the cayuco to show the shape and size of the boat.


Tenerife is fairly close to North Africa and in recent years there has been an upsurge in the number of illegal immigrants trying enter European territory in the hope of making a new life.

Unfortunately, many people die in the attempt or end up exploited in a kind of indentured service to pay the huge amounts of money for the passage.

The cayucos are jampacked with people when they set out on the 8 to 10 day crossing and its not known how many cayucos sink on the journey. I have heard estimates that over a thousand people have died in the attempt to reach the Canary Islands since the 2006

90 men were rescued from this boat when it was intercepted. 6 people were in critical condition and sadly one man died later in hospital, probably from the effects of exposure and dehydration.

The coastguard emergency boat that intercepted the cayuco is in the foreground and the cayuco is visible behind.
When we arrived at the port to take photos we saw the bright orange emergency boats and initially thought there had been a training exercise rather than a real emergency.

It was only when we saw the rickety cayuco and the ambulances and men being lead off for medical treatment that we realized what had happened.
The Spanish red cross and medical teams were giving medical aid, food, water and clothes to the people from the cayuco inside these inflatable tents.

After medical treatment, the men are repatriated if their nationality can be established.
The cayucos are destroyed since unsafe fuel storage generally leads to the hull being impregnated with fuel. Plus so many people crammed onto a tiny boat leads to unsanitary conditions and the boats are considered hazardous to health.

Technorati Tags: cayuco, photos, tenerife, red cross

Toussaint/ Fête des Morts

Here in France, the first of November is All Saints Day [la Toussaint] and second of November is the Festival of the Dead [Fête des Morts].

These two festivals have become somewhat interchangeable over the years, and its more common for people to visit their family tombs on la Toussaint. I've heard it said that this is mainly due to Toussaint being a public holiday here.

However, since there is a famous painting of families visiting a cemetery on Toussaint from 1888 [ Émile Friand] it would seem that this is definitely not a recent development.

Bunches or pots of Chrysanthemums are used to decorate the grave sites. This association of chrysanthemums and the dear departed now means that its bad luck to receive chrysanthemum flowers as a gift.

The cemetery in the centre of Nice is on top of the Colline de Chateau with a view over the sea and Nice old town. Most of the tombs are from the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century and the sculpture is quite opulent-with plenty of angels and cherubs in stone.

This tombstone depicts someone rising from the grave at the last judgment when called on by an angel. I think a lot of modern visitors find it creepy to see a shrouded hand lifting up the stone.


I think this grave sculpture is really attractive-it was quite a different style and i liked the lady's peaceful expression.


Old cemeteries are often filled with children's graves-and its a reminder of how much the world has changed in the West and that most people can now expect their children to live and thrive and reach old age. And yet, such a short time ago, losing children to disease epidemics was commonplace.

This little girl is depicted here in her first communion dress, circa 1930, I think.
These little portraits were on a large family tomb which depicted many members of the same family and a considerable number of children.

The little ten year old and 4 year old somehow remind me of Mary Cassatt's painting the Sisters Some angels on pedestals, towering over the cemetery - very reminiscent of a scary Doctor Who episode called Blink where Angels statues come to life.


These angels were street performers at the Haut de Cagnes mediaeval fair. They moved quite slowly as if they were statues coming to life.

There was something quite freaky about them, even for people who more than likely hadn't watched the "Blink' episode of Doctor Who.



Some of the performers were on stilts and looked very imposing, especially when they moved suddenly. This woman was obviously taken by surprise when the tallest 'statue' started striding through the crowd..

[I've blurred the faces of non-performers in the photos slightly]

This little princess found the living statues very intriguing.