Early morning by Lake Atitlàn. A lone fisherman drifts past, checking his lines. Volcanoes dot the horizon. In the distance a small motorboat speeds past; empty now but likely to be full of passengers when the lake’s ferry services start up soon. The jetties too are quiet, waiting for the lakeside villages to wake up.
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Plovdiv’s Kapana district is an object lesson in how to transform run-down into lively, neglected into loved. In this part of the city , a maze of small streets follows much the same pattern as the Ottoman souk which once stood here, although the mainly wooden buildings of that era are long since gone. The very name, Kapana, recalls that maze, as it means ‘Trap’; once among these streets it was hard to find your way out!
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Red and green should never be seen without a colour in between. Whoever coined that old phrase clearly didn’t have Christmas in mind. Surely there are no two more seasonal colours than red and green?
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Martin Luther said, 'For in the true nature of things, if we rightly consider, every green tree is far more glorious than if it were made of gold and silver. But while he makes a good point about the glories of nature, there are still times when we need a bit of bling in our lives. And now is probably one of those times!
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Imagine an Olympic Games Opening Ceremony; full of spectacle and colour, involving tens of thousands of performers. Add a good dollop of political propaganda and unashamed messaging. Throw in hundreds of well-drilled cute children, all eager to please. Imagine too that this ceremony takes place every single night for several months. Now you have just a small idea of the scale of the North Korean phenomenon known colloquially as the Mass Games.
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In a previous post I took you on a walk along the River Tyne in Newcastle and introduced you to its famous bridges. But I neglected to mention all the public art to be found along the Quayside. So now I want to rectify that omission.
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I went looking for good quotes about kaleidoscopes but instead found myself drawn to ones about multiple colours. Maybe that’s the same thing? And how many colours can you pack into one photo? That’s the challenge I set myself ...
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Although we love to travel, we have always spent Christmas at home in England. Not for us the snowy ski slopes of the Alps, or the tropical shores of the Caribbean or Far East. Tempting as the latter sound, we save trips to warmer climes for February, when the long chilly season is really dragging. Christmas is a time for the comforts of home, and for family.
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In the Plaza de la Encarnación of Seville a strange structure reaches skywards. This is the Metropol Parasol, often referred to by locals as the Mushrooms, Las Setas de la Encarnación. The dramatic forms arch overhead, framing views of the surrounding streets and buildings.
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One possible twist to the usual alternatives of colour or black and white is the use of selective colour. This can look quite gimmicky, so I prefer to keep the colours muted to tone in better with the grey shades.
