Hand knockers in Toulouse
The Roman Amphitheatre at Arles
I'm at Rencontres d'Arles Photo Festival this week - if you're in town and would like to meet up, give me a shout! From bull running in the amphitheatre this afternoon:
The Burryman
A few weeks ago we went to photograph the Burryman as part of an ongoing project that Sylwia and I have been working on, bit by bit, over the last couple of years - eg. the pictures we took of Beltane which I blogged about here. Part of the project is about survival of folk traditions in Scotland today, and the Burryman is a particularly odd looking one!
Aberlady Bay during a rainstorm this afternoon
Aberlady
The sky went dark, leaving just a sliver of sunshine where a boat was anchored out in the bay. I'm missing that feeling of perfect happiness that comes from being on a sailing boat, anchored out in the protection of a peaceful and beautiful estuary, having a cup of tea after a tough sea crossing.
A chance encounter near North Berwick
North Berwick was famous for its witch trials at which over a hundred witches were accused. It all started because James VI, while returning from Denmark in a ship, was hit by a storm. Many of them confessed under torture to meeting the Devil and attempting to sink the ship, and were burned. It was reputed that witches sailed to sea in a sieve. Or as Shakespeare wrote in Macbeth:
“Aroint thee, witch!” the rump-fed runnion cries.
Her husband’s to Aleppo gone, master o' th'Tiger;
But in a sieve I’ll thither sail,
And like a rat without a tail,
I’ll do, I’ll do, and I’ll do.
© Sylwia Kowalczyk and Simon Crofts
Meet Joe, the Green Man
Last night Sylwia and I caught a glimpse of the Green Man resting in the forest. Well okay, we took his portrait. Joe was utterly charming and patient with us while we experimented in the forest on tank traps left over from World War Two.
Alnmouth
Every time I take the train to London. I look out of the window of the train as we pass Alnmouth and always think "I must go there one day'. And of course, never do. Well today, we did.
An impromptu Rembrandt-style portrait of Sylwia in nearby Ellingham Hall
Sylwia
The harbour entrance is idyllic
When we arrived, we joked that there was bound to be a big white van parked in the middle of the harbour view. There always is. So we went for a coffee, sitting outside in the cafe's yard with a view out across the golf course to the coast. And a minute later, look what parked in front of us (and incidentally on top of the 'Keep Clear' sign)
A football pitch, Northumberland style
I must down to the sea again, to the lonely sea and the sky,
And all I ask is a tall ship, and a star to steer her by
The trail is actually from a horse:
... who wasn't welcome on this path:
Many houses in the town suffer from obsessive-compulsive hedge trimming. While we loved the town, and the hedges were truly impressive, we're glad we live in a nice big city.
We had a chat with a local who asked where we lived, and of course we told him Edinburgh. We turned the conversation to Alnmouth, and told him how lovely it was. Every time we did, he nodded in agreement, then added wistfully: "Edinburgh's nice" and "I really like Edinburgh" and "I do love to visit Edinburgh" and "how long does it take on the train to Edinburgh?"
Maybe we won't move just yet.
Beltane Part 2 - the preparations
I have made a small selection of some of the pictures that Sylwia and I took of the preparations for Beltane. An enormous amount of effort, dedication and organisation went into the weeks in the run up. It is fascinating to see these Celtic pagan traditions being kept alive, and reinterpreted, in a modern context - Beltane is not a historical reenactment, but a living, constantly evolving collective experience: All images © Sylwia Kowalczyk and Simon Crofts
