Sunday, January 08, 2006

Look at the cathedral

Here's what makes Lincoln city Lincoln city:



The old cathedral, which dates back as far as the Iron Age, or somewhere around then, still stands in all it's glory. Actually, the building in this picture was erected more recently, but only because the original was knocked down by an earthquake. I don't know much about it's history so I won't even attempt to offer one.



Look at the people on the ground for an idea of it's size. You can see it from surrounding villiages at night, lit up, because it's location is elevated up on a hill overlooking the Trent Valley. Along with the castle, it makes an otherwise indifferent urban landscape look really interesting.



In this picture you can see a lovely bit of Victorian stone-carving.



They have a great little Nativity display inside the place. In the picture above you can see the Three Wise Kings, looking into the manger where Jesus was born. It's a bit of an alternative to your usual Nativity display; the three men aren't portrayed as kings, and they don't look very wise.



What are those guys looking at?



The whole Nativity atmosphere is put out of shape by one figure stretched out across the floor. I've no idea who it's meant to be, but Mary can be seen attending to Jesus without a crib for a bed, below.



And here, below, is the famous statue of Tennyson. This shot is pretty much standard practise for all GCSE photography students in Lincoln schools. The cathedral creating a silhouette of Tennyson's head and shoulders. I might still have the first one I ever took when I was sixteen or seventeen, back home.

Back in the days of hands-on photography I had 24 chances - 36 if I had the money - to get it right. And even then you could still screw everything up in the development process. Taking photos was more of a buzz back then.



I stood beside Tennyson the other night and it was all over in a matter of seconds.

Thursday, January 05, 2006

Back to a wierd Japanese normality

As my brother put it, even though you thoroughly enjoy the time spent during a visit back home, the experience, on the whole, is unsettling. The traveling and the jet lag; the different environment, and the prospect of having to make a regular life in it somewhere down the line; the return home to Japan, and the thought of not seeing family and friends for quite some time. Everything gets you mixed up. However, I'm back here now, and I've about two feet of snow on the ground. This winter is shaping up to be about as heavy as the last one. I felt it today as I dug my car out of all the snow that has fallen over the last ten days. On the mountain this coming Monday for sure!

Back to work tomorrow for what should be a fairly cushty day. Anyway, here are some more pics of the last ten days spent in Lincoln, England. I've plenty more to put up, but I'm saving them for later.



In Tokyo, elevator going down, looking out the window.



This xmas card from my uncle Dave made me chuckle. It pretty much sums up the kind of relationship I have with my uncle. Thanks for the pedometer, Dave. I burned over 300 kcals today just walking!!



Uncle Dave himself, getting some exercise in before Christmas dinner.



This building, once a cinema, but now a pub, is about the only 'old style' neon lit place in Lincoln. It had it's lights taken off during the war to avoid being targeted by German warplanes, but now they're back, and I like them.



Me and my Mum skating in Lincoln. It was good fun, and I found the technique similar to skiing on flat. It's a bit harder on the knuckles when you fall mind you.



This is a picture of the castle grounds in Lincoln. I went up with my mum to look at the old prison and one of the three remaining originals of the Magna Carta. This charter (Magna Carta) was the beginning of English constitutionalism, and is a prized posession for the City of Lincoln.

My next post will be like a photographic tour of Lincoln Cathedral, the city's finest architectural monument, and one of the most beautiful cathedrals in Europe.