Dong Van Karst Plateau Geopark
- Published on
-
-
- Published on
‘Tis a strange island, shaped like a pregnant woman dipping her toes in the sea, where I happened to be born.
It seems especially strange to me, having lived in voluntary exile abroad for nearly 40 years, and only popping back for short visits to see family and friends every few years. I always leave bemused by recent developments and wondering where this country is headed.
Maidenhead High Street on a sunny Saturday evening—not a soul in sight.
This visit is no exception. Though the climate and countryside is familiar enough, the towns and people wandering the streets are oddly alien. The high street of Maidenhead, my home town, is a commercial wasteland, a windy corridor bordered by charity shops and empty premises, which are now brightly decorated with artwork extolling the town’s merits, compared with white-washed windows on my last visit. Meanwhile the people I pass are speaking Polish, Romanian, Urdu, Hungarian, Russian or Chinese—anything, it seems, but English. -
- Published on
I had an interesting job last week—shooting images for a company that was exhibiting and presenting technical workshops at the 2nd Asia-Pacific Water Summit in my hometown, Chiang Mai. My brief was to provide images of interested visitors at their booth as well as members of staff interacting with VIPs (mostly heads of state).
Though my task was only to take photos, I couldn’t help forming an impression of the event as an interested bystander. Like everyone else, I’m a big fan of water, and I dread the day when our taps run dry. Unfortunately, now the summit is over, that day seems closer than ever.
Photographers at the Water Summit
-
- Published on
On blamming
Don’t you just hate the internet? I mean, the worldwide web is amazing, with more information and entertainment out there than any of us could cope with in one lifetime, but when bugs start creeping in with unwanted attachments to emails, or suddenly your cursor freezes with no warning, cyberspace can become a real drag.
One of the worst problems for email users is spam, but I see on Wikipedia that my current problem, people spamming on my blog, is now referred to as ‘blam’. I’m now being blammed on a daily basis, and although it’s rather irritating, it has its amusing moments too. -
- Published on
Last week the TV news channels like BBC and CNN droned on for hours about the death of Margaret Thatcher, but this week they gave a single minute to the passing of Richie Havens—a gifted singer and songwriter who helped to forge the consciousness of the hippie generation. Since there are unlikely to be any eulogies of Richie on TV, I feel duty bound to rattle on for ten minutes about this heroic person. -
- Published on
The life of a guidebook writer can be full of surprises, such as world-famous clients suddenly disappearing overnight.
I was just about to go out for a Friday evening meal with a few friends, to enjoy a few beers and some witty conversation, then thought that before I left home I should check my email to keep my inbox clear for the weekend.
Big mistake.
