Every evening of the first Africa-Asia regulatory conference hosted by the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka and organised jointly with the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation we were entertained by different groups of dancers and musicians who shared something of the country’s rich and diverse cultural heritage. I hope that the images below capture something of the beauty of Sri Lankan dancing.
Category Archives: Photographs
Skiing in Kitzbühel
We took a risk and decided to take an early week’s holiday skiing in Kitzbühel. Despite it being one of the warmest winters so far on record, and with forecasts suggesting that there would not be much snow around we have nevertheless managed to have a great time. The 15th-17th December were cloudy and/or windy, with not much visibility – but runs from the top of the Hahnenkamm, and yesterday from the Hornbahn have been open. Today, the sun came out, and more runs were open – so anyone here over Christmas can look forward to really excellent skiing!
Filed under Photographs
Peking University through the seasons
I have had the privilege of spending a total of around three months this year visiting China on different occasions, and in particular staying on the Peking University (Beida) campus. It has been amazing seeing the changing colours of the landscape through the seasons, and early on during my visits I decided to try to take regular photographs from the same spot near the centre of the campus to capture the different colours and senses of living there. I hope that the photographs below capture something of the differences I experienced. I definitely think I need to return in the midst of winter to see it in the snow. My favourite time has to be when Beijing was covered in blossom for an all too short period in early April!
Filed under China, Photographs, Universities
Re-experiencing Bloodwood
Back in 1994, I had the real privilege to undertake a review of the extension services provided by the Australian Wine Research Institute (AWRI) – which, apart from anything else, introduced me to many people who have subsequently become great friends. If only the UK and Australia were a little closer together! Two of these people were (and still are!) Stephen and Rhonda Doyle. I distinctly remember being told by colleagues at the AWRI that I really should go and visit Stephen – not least because of his somewhat unorthodox approaches to the wine industry. Mind you, I still think that many great Australian wine makers are unorthodox!
Stephen and Rhonda were the people who identified Orange as being a great place to make wine, planting their first vineyard there back in 1983 (the adjacent picture). They had begun making wine from grapes grown at the Glenfinlass vineyard near Wellington in New South Wales in the mid-1970s, and had subsequently spent the next decade trying to identify the best possible environment for making fine wine in Australia. Eventually, they hit upon Orange, or more specifically as Stephen recalls “those elevated areas to the West and North West of Orange anchored by Middle Ordovician geology of the Orange Shadforth association of soils. These soils are low to moderate in vigour, warm and free draining gravel based soils which hug the northern edge of the Mount Canobolas volcanic red mountain earth plateau. They provide good air drainage for frost control and provide plenty of opportunity with their red clay base to construct hill side dams for irrigation…” To find out more, check out Bloodwood’s history in more detail.
So, finding myself with a spare weekend in Canberra, I took the opportunity to get in touch with them, and see if they just might be around. Wow – what hospitality! A friend drove me the three-and-a-half hours there – thanks so much Rob! And then Stephen and Rhonda drove me back to Canberra last Sunday. What generosity. It was wonderful to see how they have transformed the place in the last 17 years – I took the photo alongside from almost exactly the same position that the 1983 one above was taken from! Note the tree at the right side, and likewise the one in leaf in the middle left of both photos!
Bloodwood is not only a beautiful vineyard and winery, but it is also one where wildlife – well, most wildlife – is encouraged. Rarely have I been to a vineyard where the annual sacrifice of grapes to the birds is treated with such equanimity – but as the photos of the landscape and Rosellas below indicate, Stephen and Rhonda have managed to achieve a wonderfully colourful balance.
And the wines are brilliant too! Given my love of Burgundy, I have to confess that I like their Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs best. As their latest online list comments:
- 2009 Chardonnay: “Intense stone and grapefruit blossom introduce the delicate, racy palate of this fine Bloodwood Chardonnay. With flinty minerality at its core and purity of fruit across the palate, this is a crisp, refreshing wine to enjoy with pleasure in the medium term.”
- 2009 Pinot Noir: “This perfumed, hand crafted Pinot Noir with its subdued sanguine hues and charming cherry blossom aromas entices you into a beguiling and gently delicious blood plum rich world couched in subtle barrel ferment char. Those ladies old handbags are slinking about the palate again, complementing the delicate tannins and distinguished bouquet of this fine wine”
Bloodwood can be visited by appointment – and, staying with them for a couple of days, it was fascinating to witness first hand how Stephen and Rhonda share their love and passion for wine with all their visitors – no matter how knowledgeable or inexperienced they are!
Bloodwood is a truly special place, crafted with amazing love, care and passion by very special people. It’s scarcely surprising that they make such wonderful wines!
Filed under Photographs, Wine
Trinidad rain and sunshine on the north coast
A Saturday free (apart from those pesky e-mails) in Trinidad provided a great opportunity to get to know the island a little better (e-mails should be for offices, and people with nothing better to do!). Thanks to Clint Ross for taking Marcel and me on pot-holed roads, through torrential rain, and avoiding the snake on the way… It has to be one of the first times I have ever taken a spare day after a conference to go exploring. I must learn to do this more often. Sorry to all of those still wanting a reply to an e-mail – I’m thinking of revising my policy specifically to exclude sending e-mails at the weekend! I will have to find time to come back to the Asa Wright Nature Centre and go for long walks in the hills…
Filed under Commonwealth, Photographs
The CTO’s Panyard Experience
The Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation’s 2011 Forum finished this evening with a wonderful Panyard Experience in Port of Spain hosted by the Ministry of Public Utilities of Trinidad and Tobago. This told through music and dance the history of the steel band, and finished up with an extravagant celebration of Carnival, thanks to Ronnie and Caro’s beautiful 2012 ‘collection’. There was also an amazingly impressive display of limbo dancing – if only my body was 40 years younger!
Filed under Photographs
Dongsi Jiutiao – hostel and red dining
One of the pleasures of Beijing is the opportunity to explore its numerous hutongs – narrow streets surrounded by low rise courtyard buildings, known as siheyuan. As most guidebooks say, many of the hutongs have been destroyed to make way for new high-rise development, but some still retain their traditional character, and others have been redeveloped specifically with the tourist in mind. Traditionally, hutongs were 9 metre wide streets, with some dating from as early as the Yuan Dynasty (1206-1341), and until the middle of the 20th century they provided the basic residential areas of most of Beijing.
Following a day exploring Ditan Park, the Lama Temple, the Confucius Temple and the Imperial College, we wandered south to have dinner at the Red Capital Club on Dongsi Jiutiao, which had been recommended by friends. Everyone says it is difficult to find, but that was not our experience. Head south from the Zhangzizhonglu subway station and take the first hutong (Dongsi Jiutiao) immediately to the east (left as you head south!). The Red Capital Club is then about 400 metres along on the south side of the road.
Anyway, we arrived too early, and decided simply to wander on to see if there might be anywhere we could sit down for a cold Tsingtao beer. A short distance on, to the north of the road, we came across an amazing find – the Happy Dragon Courtyard Hostel at 51 Dongsi Jiutiao (note this is at a different location from the hostel mentioned on their website! Phone: +86 (10) 84021970). Although we only sat in the bar, we looked into the rooms which seemed very clean and well maintained. As well as dorms sleeping 6 people (RMB 90), they also had double rooms at only RMB 300 a night – amazing value for August (although the advertised rate was RMB 498). The bar itself was in the centre of the courtyard, full of comfortable chairs, and served a good range of beverages – the beer was definitely cold and refreshing! Its WiFi service was particularly popular – and people from many different nationalities were logging on to their emails and Internet! All in all, we reckoned that it would be a great place to stay for those on a limited budget.
The Red Capital Club itself was also definitely an ‘interesting’ experience. It is intended to reflect the life of the ruling elite in China in the 1950s. As its website comments, “The immaculately restored compound captures the mood of the 1950s when China was driven by idealism. The lounge cigar divan is like stepping into Mao’s private meeting room. The furnishings were originally used by the central government in the 1950s. Two sofas next to lounge door were actually used by Marshal Lin Biao (Mao’s fated successor who lost out in an attempted coup). A poem of Mao’s adorns one wall and a photograph of Deng taken by his daughter and presented to the club another”. The decor is now a little faded, and the food quite expensive, but it was definitely worth the visit. They even had a bottle of Marsanne from the Caves de Tain in the Rhône Valley – which tasted remarkably good (although that could have been related to the fact that it was the first white wine I had tasted for almost a month!).
Filed under Beer, China, Photographs
Exploring Wuwei
Thanks to the wonderful hospitality of my assistant Chen Fei’s family, we were introduced over the last couple of days to the fascinating diversity of the area in the vicinity of Wuwei, in north-west central Gansu. The city is situated along the Hexi corridor, leading westwards into central Asia, and has been subject to numerous cultural influences. We had a kaleidoscope of experiences, including visiting the tomb where the famous bronze galloping horse treading on a flying swallow was found, wandering around the Confucius temple in Wuwei, walking in the desert at the edge of the city, learning all about how to serve and drink different types of Chinese tea, and then finishing up walking in the mountains near Tianzhu and being entertained by Tibetan dancers over lunch. It was a brilliant time, and owed everything to the generosity of our hosts.
Filed under China, Photographs
Arrival in Lanzhou
We arrived in Lanzhou from Beijing last night. What a difference from my last visit almost exactly six years ago! The Yellow River remains the same, but the number of high rise buildings and the amount of traffic are vastly increased. Two dinners and a lunch later, the food has been wonderful – thanks so much to the generous hospitality of our hosts. Today was relatively relaxed before we go out into the field on Monday – an opportunity to see some of the efforts of the local government to beautify the banks of the river: reconstructions of the old waterwheels, Longyuan park dedicated to dragon culture, statues of traditional folk stories, and a new wetland park full of beautiful flowers and walkways through the rushes.
Filed under China, Photographs
From cherry blossom to lotus flowers
When I was in Beijing in the Spring, the city was full of cherry blossom and magnolia flowers. Now in hot, humid August there are not many flowers of any kind out, but the lotuses and water lilies on the lakes in Beihai Park and the Summer Palace add a splash of colour – especially above the weeds and debris in the not all-too-clean water…
Filed under China, Photographs
Tim Unwin's Blog 