13 November 2010. Giraffes

13 November 2010_2, originally uploaded by sleepyduck.

Today we took a look at the Stockbridge Giraffe Parade. A load of local shops have each taken a giraffe, decorated it and put it in their window or elsewhere on their premises. Next month, the giraffes will be auctioned for charity. There is also a competition which is a bit like a treasure hunt: you have to visit each giraffe and collect clues and so on. The winner gets a giraffe. We started out with good intentions, but there are more than 30 of the wretched things, so we gave up after a while.

More giraffes on Flickr.

12 October 2010. Flutterby

12 October 2010, originally uploaded by sleepyduck.

This little critter was just sitting on the ground. Very still. Dead, I suspect. I could have prodded him to check, but I decided to leave him in peace.

Very busy at work recently. Work and sleep. Not much time for much else.

05 October 2010. They demolished something

05 October 2010_2, originally uploaded by sleepyduck.

A building, probably.

I don't go along Princes Street very often but I had to go along there this afternoon and I was surprised to see a gap where I'm sure there hadn't been a gap before. (That's a gap, not a Gap. Perversely, a few doors to the left of this gap, there used to be a Gap, but where there was a Gap, there is now a Vacancy.) I can't remember what used to be on the site of this absence, but whatever it was, it clearly wasn't memorable. Nor do I know what is going to go there now, though there is a rumour that it might be an Apple Store. Which would be a cause for celebration.

Also a few doors to the left, also new, is an easyhotel. I don't know what the decor is like at an easyhotel, but I can guess; and the view through the window at top left of this photograph would seem to confirm my suspicions.

03 October 2010. He's back!

03 October 2010, originally uploaded by sleepyduck.

We watched episode 1 of season 5 of Dexter yesterday. It's still the best thing on TV. The writing, acting, directing, photography... everything is first class. Great to have you back, Dex.

28 September 2010. Fork 'n' fags

28 September 2010, originally uploaded by sleepyduck.

I like what Miliband Jr said about civil liberties today. Actually, I wasn't particularly impressed by what he said (which could be paraphrased as "civil liberties are good"). more by the fact that he mentioned the subject at all. It's all very well for politicians to drone on and on about the economy and crime and immigration and the other tedious things which they think are going to win them votes, but too often they ignore the fundamentals. So, well done for that. Miliband Jr. I am heartened... and cautiously optimistic...

Yesterday, Sandy mentioned that the days are getting colder and shorter. He wasn't lying.

25 September 2010. Cramond

25 September 2010_6, originally uploaded by sleepyduck.

A nice little outing this afternoon.

Sammy and Mummy went on an adventure...

24 September 2010. A rock the size of a loaf of bread

24 September 2010, originally uploaded by sleepyduck.

It rained heavily yesterday. Very heavily. Heavily enough to dislodge a chunk of the Castle Rock, which fell onto Johnston Terrace, causing havoc and consternation. According to the BBC, a witness described the rock as being about the size of "a loaf of bread". For some reason, I found this amusing, though I'm not sure why. I wonder, if the rock had been roughly the same mass but longer and thinner, would the witness have described it as being the size of a baguette? If it had been rounder, would it have been described as being the size of a large haggis? The full BBC report on the incident, complete with a photograph of a loaf-of-bread-sized rock, is here.

The chap on the left is a random tourist. The chap on the right is a random non-tourist.

Imp apologises for not blogging recently. She has been a very busy Imp. Normal service should be resumed soon.

18 September 2010. Cool kid

18 September 2010_1, originally uploaded by sleepyduck.

Coffee with our little friend this afternoon. Well, we had coffee, Mummy had tea, he had juice and we all had cake. As you can see, he has some very cool sunglasses, which made him look much cooler than all the other kids in Costa.

Aside from that, a lazy Saturday :-)

If you look very closely at this one, you can see Mummy reflected in his shades...

17 September 2010. The cyclist wasn't fooled...

17 September 2010, originally uploaded by sleepyduck.

That isn't a fire exit, it's a wall. (You'll have to click through to Flickr and look at the full sized version to read the sign. Sorry.)

No Popery today. But it's the weekend, so hooray for that and happy weekend to all!

I meant to thank Riffs in G for posting a link to "Hocus Pocus" by Focus earlier this week. Progtastic! My favourite has always been "Sylvia", which is more commercial, less prog and therefore easier for me to stomach.

16 September 2010. I shot the Pope...

16 September 2010_25, originally uploaded by sleepyduck.

... but I didn't shoot the Deputy.

I have to say I was surprised at the turnout. I left the office at about the same time as he left Holyrood and I walked round to Lothian Road expecting to have to peer above people's heads. Not at all. The crowd wasn't even one deep, so my colleague Eleanor and I leant on one of the barriers and chatted to each other and to the police for about 15 minutes till the Popemobile came along. Speaking of police officers, I don't think I have ever seen so many in one place, nor do I think I have I seen so many cheery, relaxed Polis. It must have been a nice day out for them, standing around in their newly-laundered fluorescent jackets, controlling a small and very well behaved crowd.

As for the protestors, they were also few in number and very well behaved. They waved their placards and shouted a bit as he passed by, but it was all very genteel as protests go, very Edinburgh.

I was surprised at how small the Pope is. Actually, that was apparent when I saw the pictures of him beside the Queen at Holyrood. He isn't much bigger than her. Something of a mini-Pope. I was also surprised at how quickly the Popemobile was moving. It wasn't exactly burning rubber, but it was moving more briskly than I had expected.

So, did I feel an overwhelming sense of grace? Nope. Did I feel blessed? Nah. But I'd never seen a Pope before and I'll probably never see one again, so it has been an unusual Thursday. There are many more photos on Flickr, if you're interested.

The most important thing about today is that Imp's first day at her new job went well. Hooray for that!

15 September 2010. Look who's here! On a Wednesday!

15 September 2010_1, originally uploaded by sleepyduck.

Imp starts New Job Number 1 tomorrow, so we have the rare treat of being together on a weekday evening. And, assuming all goes well tonight, a weekday morning :-) And another weekday evening. And another weekday morning. She has been preparing for tomorrow, hence the look of concentration.

I'm getting fed up with the Pope stuff, which has been all over the news yesterday and today. I'll be glad when it's over. Evidently, the area beside the Usher Hall has been set aside for protesters, so if I'm lucky I might get some snaps of egg-throwing tomorrow, as well as a glimpse of the Big Fella.

Here's Imp from the other side...

12 September 2010. Hocus pocus

12 September 2010, originally uploaded by sleepyduck.

There seem to be a few theories as to the etymology of the phrase "hocus pocus". My favourite is that it's a corruption of the Latin "hoc est corpus" - "this is the body (of Christ)" - which was originally used to mock the magic of transubstantiation and was subsequently extended to apply to all kinds of magic.

The special event to which the above sign refers is the visit of an old German bloke called Ratzinger, who is something of an expert in hocus pocus. I am a Catholic by birth and an atheist by choice, and I shall keep my opinion of the Catholic church to myself. Nevertheless, the procession is due to pass quite close to the office where I work, so I shall probably take my big lens with me and see if I can shoot one of the most powerful men in the world.

When I was young, a friend remarked on my resemblance to the man who shot the Pope. Some years later, it was said that I resembled Salman Rushdie. Either way, it would seem that I have the countenance of someone who upsets religious leaders. I'm not unhappy about that.

Of course, the really special event on Thursday is that Imp starts the first of her new jobs :-)

08 September 2010. Shenanigans

08 September 2010, originally uploaded by sleepyduck.

That's one of my favourite words. Etymology unknown, according to the various online sources I've looked at.

It has been brought to my attention by a friend (who will remain nameless, as I wouldn't want to get anyone into any trouble) that there have been shenanigans over at another site (which will also remain nameless). Evidently, a disgruntled former participant at the aforementioned nameless site has set up some kind of automated thingummybob which loads certain pages again and again, thereby distorting the popularity ratings of honourable, law-abiding current participants of the aforementioned nameless site.

Shenanigans indeed.

But fear not - apparently the perpetrator has been identified and steps have been taken to ensure that the wrath of innocent, approval-seeking amateur photographers all over the world will be brought to bear upon him or her. Phew!

(If anyone from the aforementioned etc is reading this, I apologise for finding it amusing, but I do enjoy a good melodrama. I know that the manipulation of statistics by automated thingummybobs is frowned upon by internet people, but I don't really understand why - so I just find it funny. Others find fat people funny. Or foreigners. De gustibus non est disputandum.)

Speaking of which, it's almost a year since I ceased to be a participant in the aforementioned. Time flies when you're not worrying about being attacked by members of a community whose overriding principle is "be nice to each other".

While I'm in apologetic mode, I apologise for posting another picture of the Usher Hall extension. I just liked the shadows.

Speaking of the Shadows...

07 September 2010. West End Village

07 September 2010_1, originally uploaded by sleepyduck.

In England, a village is a collection of pretty thatched cottages around a village green with a pub where people look at you funny if they don't know you.

In Scotland, a village is a row of derelict houses which used to be inhabited by people who used to work at the factory which used to be down the road.

In Edinburgh, West End Village is marketing-speak for William Street and Stafford Street.

Here's a woman in a pretty pink coat...

06 September 2010. The mild cigar from Benson & Hedges

06 September 2010, originally uploaded by sleepyduck.

This sticker is, appropriately, on a waste pipe next to the stage door of the Lyceum Theatre.

Such is the power of advertising that whenever I see "Hamlet" I think "The mild cigar from Benson & Hedges" first and "Prince of Denmark" second. The I get nostalgic about the days when they used to advertise tobacco products on TV. Like this...

04 September 2010. Gormley man and not-Gormley boy

04 September 2010_3, originally uploaded by sleepyduck.

Today, a trip to the Gallery of Modern Art with our favourite wee boy. Sammy made friends with Gormley man number 1 and enjoyed the Henry Moore climbing frames...





Gormley man number 2 is out of reach for Sammy but not for dogs



And here are a couple more for good measure

03 September 2010. Lamp-post, ashtray, blonde

03 September 2010, originally uploaded by sleepyduck.

Happy weekend everyone!

02 September 2010

02 September 2010, originally uploaded by sleepyduck.

Yesterday, a derelict old school. Today, another old school, not derelict. In the distance is Fettes College, attended by Tony Blair and loads of other posh folk. To the left is Waitrose, which is where I buy my groceries and stuff.

01 September 2010. No progress

01 September 2010, originally uploaded by sleepyduck.

I walk past this building every day on the way to work and every day on the way back. I have been walking past this building every day on the way to work and every day on the way back for about 13 years now. Twice a day x 5 days a week x 47 working weeks x 13 years means that I've walked past this building about 6,000 times.

Originally it was a school. By the time I started walking past it on the way to work and on the way back it was being used as Council offices. Then it was bought by the property developers. There was a brief flurry of activity. Then nothing. I shall keep taking photographs of it occasionally. Here's how (a bit of) it looked 18 months ago:

30 August 2010. Golddigga

30 August 2010, originally uploaded by sleepyduck.

Presumably it's a fashion brand. I'm too old and far too unfashionable to know about such things.

It's no fun going back to work after a week off.

28 August 2010. Birthday Girl

28 August 2010_6, originally uploaded by sleepyduck.

Well, her birthday was a few days ago, but the birthday drinks were last night. Most of the usual suspects were there (though one or two couldn't make it) and I think a good time was had by all. A good time was certainly had by me. Plenty more pics on Flickr.

In other news, I have finally signed up to Facebook. I had resisted for a long, long time, but the allure of having yet another way to fritter away my time proved impossible to resist any longer. If anyone who is reading this wants to apply to be my friend, I promise that all applications will be given due consideration :-)

25 August 2010. Oops! I'm terribly sorry!

25 August 2010_18, originally uploaded by sleepyduck.

It's so ironic when people apologise for walking in front of the camera when I'm taking a photograph. This woman was particularly apologetic when she heard the big camera noise next to her ear. The chap below tried to take evasive action, but failed.



And this fellow was unaware of the fact that you can't out-stare my Nikon...



The guy to the right does look remarkably like someone familiar. He was promoting a show entitled Obama Mia! Having seen him and heard the name of the show, I expect that the rest would be an anticlimax.

While I was wandering up and down the High Street, snapping merrily away, Imp was being interviewed... and she got the job! HOORAY!!! It isn't the world's greatest job, as it's only part time with variable hours, but it's a job and it's doing something she really enjoys and it's in Edinburgh, so hooray for all that :-) We won't be celebrating tonight, though, cos the poor little Imp is sick. She has been coughing her guts up all week. Excuse me while I go and give her a hug...

18 August 2010. Looking the other way

18 August 2010, originally uploaded by sleepyduck.

A couple of days ago, I posted a photograph of the Usher Hall extension taken from its "good" side. This shot is taken looking in the other direction, towards the spot from which I took the previous shot. It definitely doesn't look so good from this angle. The shapes, the angles, the textures, the colours (or lack thereof) - none of it works for me. I must take a look at it from the inside...

I do get frustrated at the shortage of good modern architecture in Edinburgh.

17 August 2010.

17 August 2010_1, originally uploaded by sleepyduck.

An unremarkable day. Remarkably unremarkable. These three photographs were taken in quick succession: the data tells me that they were all taken within the space of one minute six seconds, the above one first, then the one immediately below, then the one at the bottom.

16 August 2010. Finished

16 August 2010, originally uploaded by sleepyduck.

They seem to have finished the Usher Hall extension, so now we can see it in its full... er... glory... I reckon it looks best from this angle, where the reflective glassy roundness is, depending on how charitable I'm feeling, somewhere between inoffensive and attractive. The big advantage to seeing it from this angle is that you can't tell that it has been tacked on to the side of an old building. I shall save the front view for another time.

Hate Mondays.

15 August 2010. Warning! Nudity!

15 August 2010, originally uploaded by sleepyduck.

When the sun comes out, the men of Glasgow take their shirts off. Then they turn pink. Not a pretty sight. There was probably a better shot to be had here, closer and from the front, but this chap looked rather scary so I chose life and said no to the photograph.

13 August 2010. No shit!

13 August 2010_2, originally uploaded by sleepyduck.

It isn't difficult to take a striking photograph on the High Street during the Festival. I don't mean to belittle anyone by saying that - there are some fine photographs of street performers and such like taken by some fine photographers - but the simple fact is that if you go out with an SLR and a telephoto zoom, there are plenty of photogenic people who are quite happy for you to point your big camera at them. I find it more interesting to put a little 50mm lens on my big camera and see what I can come up with. I quite like this one. Another cluttered street shot. It'll do.

I've been hearing quite a bit about goings-on at another site recently. Like the friend of a friend who had to crop a photograph of his partner's driving school car because the logo constituted unacceptable advertising... Or the self portrait that was deleted because it showed the photographer sitting on the toilet reading a Harry Potter book... I didn't see that one, which is a shame: if the intention was to post an image which represented that guy's day, a self portrait on the toilet would seem to fit the bill nicely. I don't know whether it was unacceptable on the grounds of nudity (though presumably the guy wasn't waving his dick around...) or literary taste or impudence (evidently, he asked the moderators not to delete it, which pretty much made it a certainty that they would) or because people don't go to the toilet over there. A bit like the Queen. I've heard that she doesn't go to the toilet.

12 August 2010. Winehouse

12 August 2010, originally uploaded by sleepyduck.

It's almost a year since the Victoria Wine/Threshers/Wine Rack/Haddows chain went bust. Now it is apparent that some of the branches are being revived as Winehouse. Presumably, this is somebody's idea of a joke. Personally, if I were a purveyor of alcoholic beverages, I wouldn't want any association with young Amy... But, as I was reminded by another event today, a "sense of humour" can have odd consequences...

I am SO glad that it's almost the weekend...

11 August 2010. Russian stuff

11 August 2010, originally uploaded by sleepyduck.

My favourite poster of the Festival (so far).

We've been having some splendid Scottish summer weather recently. Sunshine this morning (as can be seen above), wind and rain later. I hope the tourists were paying attention to the bits of their guidebooks which said that the weather could be changeable.

10 August 2010. Urban clutter

10 August 2010_1, originally uploaded by sleepyduck.

I like urban clutter. It would have been nice if they could have finished the Usher Hall/Lyceum Theatre works before the Festival started, but no...

I wish I had a pair of trousers like this guy's...

9 August 2010. Who is Diego Balinhas?

09 August 2010_1, originally uploaded by sleepyduck.

Over the weekend, Diego Balinhas favourited some of my photos on Flickr. It's always nice when someone marks one of your pictures as a favourite. I had no idea who Diego Balinhas was, so I checked his profile... and amongst other things discovered that he has favourited quite a lot of photographs. As of now, 9 August 2010 at about 1936 British Summer Time, he has marked 419,005 photographs as favourites. Approaching half a million. This strikes me as perhaps a little indiscriminate. So I googled him. Most of the results were, perhaps unsurprisingly, links to Flickr, but I did find his blog. Which is in Spanish. Which is one of the many languages I cannot speak. Google offered to translate it into English, which was very nice of Google, but it didn't make much more sense to me in English than it did in Spanish. So Diego and his apparently insatiable appetite for photographs remain a mystery...

The Tattoo Queue sign amused me. I had visions of hundreds of people waiting in line for their butterflies and cherries and Celtic motifs. I'm easily amused.

I like these two posters together...