Prague Day 5

A dancing building.
Some of the best art is to be found for free in a cemetary in Prague remembering notable people from the the inter war years - it has no politicians or military. Most public art you must pay for in Prague.

Prague Day 4

The jazz band we saw most mornings.
The statue of Wenceslas in Wenceslas Square, now a place of casinos and clothes shops and cafes, rather than political rallies or large ceremonial displays.

Prague Day 3

McDonalds next to the Museum of Communism.
Crowds watching the clock chime in the Old Town Square. The crowds grow as each hour approaches in a way that is more spectacular than the clock itself. So many cameras centred on the clock at the same time as the twelve apostles move round and the bell chimes.

Prague Day 2

Graffiti everywhere in Prague: some of it good, most of it bad.
The Charles Bridge by Night.

Prague Day 1

A memorial to those who suffered under Communism. This is my first visit here since 1973. Much has changed.
A doll in the toy museum at Prague Castle

From Blewburton Hill

We parked the car in Aston Upthorpe then took a Bridleway that led round Blewburton Hill.
Wild flowers like scabious were in abundance.
From the hill itself are some good views round the surrounding countryside.

Glow Worms

Last night a group of us went for for a nighttime walk at Holtspur Bank near Beaconsfield to visit the BBOWT reserve. We stopped first to watch pipistelle bats and hear their echo location clicks amplified by a bat detector.

Then we walked round looking for glow worms. We were lucky to see 20 Here is the clearest image I managed of the bioflourescent segmented body of one of the female beetles in the low grass. The light attracts the flying males in to mate.

After that some people went to study moths - a bright light bulb lured the moths in...

Limits

We went to the Final Year Fine Art Degree Show.
Some people managed to create something aesthetically pleasing after their three years in the maelstrom of creativity that is a Fine Art degree.
There were works that could have fitted on the wall back home.
Others pieces were more basic.
Many parts of this particular installation were replaced with A4 sheets "Censored by Goldsmith's College." Its a long story. An affair between a tutor and a student graphically shown and then removed at the last minute. There are limits.
For Art Students, it is a matter of finding them.

Williams at Grove

I went to the Williams F1 HQ at Grove for a presentation by the army about what they do.
It was vastly over subscribed and they had to run two full sessions,
possibly because it also included a visit to the Williams Formula 1 Museum.

The army presentation was good too.

Dropped Letters

Three signs in the village of Kennington, near Oxford. All have lost their plastic marker plates. They could be H for Hydrant, or SV for Sluice Valve, or Gas or whatever...