Scott's new School Uniform

Scott's new School Uniform
Originally uploaded by Simont.

My handsome son swimming in his new School Uniform on his first day at "prep".

Summer Holiday

The family is off to Queensland in a few days to soak up some rays. The plan is for me to develop small pre-cancerous skin growths which nag at my subconscious for a decade or two until they finally bloom into full blown malignant carcinomas.

I'm not a warm weather person. I should not be seen in a swim suit. I sweat in the heat. I go from white to red and back to white, only with peeling. I look like Charles Laughton in "The Bribe".

Give me conditions my hairy Welsh body is designed to cope with: overcast skies, snow, strong cold winds, freezing noses and peat bogs, and I'm your man. In the sun I'm a disaster.

Nevertheless, photos of the event will no doubt end up on my Flickr page for the amusement of friends and relatives.

You have been warned

Oryx and Crake

by Margaret Attwood.

I enjoyed this novel very much. It's set in a not too far away future, in which humans have been largely wiped out by an unexplained catastrophy, leaving behind genetically-engineered neo-humans and rampaging genetically-modified animals which are attempting to prey on the rapidly declining protagonist, Snowman.

The book shouldn't be pigeon-holed or even dismissed as science fiction (if you consider this to be a lesser form of fiction). I enjoyed it as much for its analysis of what drives or inspires people to do extreme things as for it's clever extrapolation on what might result if genetic engineering is allowed to run unfettered.

I finished this book over two evenings, as I didn't want to put it down.

Gate in SuZhou garden

Gate in SuZhou garden
Originally uploaded by Simont.

This is my photo of a gate in the Garden of the Humble Administrator in SuZhou, China.

I think the principle is to close off areas with walls so your line of sight is shortened, and then to have these picture-frame like gates opening up onto the next garden.

It certainly worked for me.

By the way, SuZhou is pronounced "sueJOE".

little red books

little red books
Originally uploaded by inthegan.

I've been using Flickr to publish my China holiday crappy photos.

Then I saw what a real photographer could do on a trip to China, and now I wish I had an artistic bone in my body.

Enjoy these photos, they're just wonderful.