How to shear a sheep
Posted on November 7, 2018
Cee wants to see some images of tools this week. I spotted this in the Museum in Perigueux.
As the card states, it’s a pair of scissors for shearing sheep. They’ve been in the museum since 1914, but date from some time in the late 19th century at a guess. They are made of iron, no doubt by a village blacksmith.
Nowadays, sheep are sheared using electric clippers, which is obviously a lot quicker than this traditional method – although only a few years ago we watched our neighbour and his wife shearing one of their sheep with a pair quire similar to these.
Next year, the World Sheep-Shearing Championship (yes, there is such a thing) will be held in the nearby town of Le Dorat. I sense a major photo opportunity.
Tuesday Photo Challenge: Comfort
Posted on November 6, 2018
Frank’s theme for his Tuesday Photo Challenge is ‘comfort’. The idea of comfort can be either physical or mental of course or – in this image from the Vallée des Singes of a baby gorilla taking a ride on its mother’s back – very probably both.
Prelude to Prizegiving
Posted on November 2, 2018
These rows of plastic chairs were set out for the prize-giving ceremony at the Doué La Fontaine roses festival. We didn’t stay for that, but as the proceedings were scheduled to start during France’s World Cup semi-final match, I suspect that quite a few of them stayed empty.
Thursday Doors: Chabanais Revisited
Posted on November 1, 2018
Taking a break from the treasures of Perigueux, I recently revisited the nearby (40 minute drive) town of Chabanais, which was featured here about a year ago. I managed to discover a few more interesting doors.
After last week’s diet of exclusively brown doors, here, by way of a change, are a couple of green ones:
And a white one, with some interesting metalwork:
This one’s back to brown, but also has the redeeming feature of metalwork:
While this one also has a weathered shutter to enjoy:
But here’s my favourite from this week’s selection, spotted through a broken window in a derelict house:
Thursday Doors 1 November 2018
Living Colour
Posted on October 31, 2018
The island of Burano, in the Venetian Lagoon, is noted for the bright colours that the residents paint their houses.
Tuesday Photo Challenge: Slippery
Posted on October 30, 2018
A particularly interesting theme from Frank for this week’s Tuesday Photo Challenge: ‘slippery’.
This scallop was on a display in the fishmarket near the Rialto Bridge in Venice. The contrast between the slippery flesh and the characteristically patterned scallop shells adds interest.
The Inquisitive Giraffe
Posted on October 26, 2018
This week, Cee’s Black & White Photo Challenge has the subject of ‘Tongues and Tails’. This is something I would definitely think twice about googling while in mixed company.
Anyway….in the game reserve on Sir Bani Yas island in Abu Dhabi it certainly used to be possible to be driven through the giraffe compound and feed the locals through the open window of your SUV, as illustrated here. You can just about see the giraffe’s tongue, which in real life is actually blue.
Thursday Doors: Perigueux (3)
Posted on October 25, 2018
Another instalment of the doors of Perigueux for this week. Just in case the colourful ones from the last couple of weeks have raised the blood pressure too much, the common theme of this instalment is that they’re all – brown.
Usually I focus in quite closely on the door itself, but I thought that this gives an idea of the narrow streets in which most of these examples are to be found:
And here’s another example of a doorway having been inserted into a previously existing archway – with room to spare:
More old brown doors:
Not quite so old, but at least as tatty:
Although this is my favourite for this week, with the glass and ironwork, and a faded curtain adding further interest:
Still plenty more to come from Perigueux, but for the next couple of weeks we’ll be revisiting some other haunts for previously unseen doors.
Thursday Doors 25 October 2018
The red (and I do mean red) tractor
Posted on October 24, 2018
This old tractor, seen at a nearby display of old agricultural machinery, has certainly been well driven and it’s undoubtedly colourful, so fits the brief for Cee’s Fun ‘Foto’ Challenge this week.
Tuesday Photo Challenge: Surprise
Posted on October 23, 2018
We’d never been to Perigueux before. We were expecting to see some old buildings but it was quite a surprise to find one hanging in mid-air just outside our hotel down by the river.
It’s known as the ‘eschif’, which translates – rather gloomily – as ‘scaffold’. It was constructed in the first half of the 14th century to straddle the protective wall on which it appears to balance precariously and act as a look-out post. That door isn’t terribly practical now.
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