A short visit to Victoria and South Australia provided a wonderful reminder of the richness and diversity of Australia’s wildlife, and especially the birds. Many are very elusive, and walking quietly through the landscape, far away from cars, trains and aeroplanes, it is lovely hearing all of their calls and seeing the flashes of colour as the flit through the vegetation. Travelling light, I did not have my large lens with me, but I hope that the pictures below capture something of this richness and diversity.
Tag Archives: Photographs
Lotus’s 70th Anniversary Celebration
Lotus celebrated its 70th Anniversary in style today at its Hethel site near Norwich. The sun joined in the celebration and shone brightly throughout the day. It was a huge privilege to be one of the company’s guests, and I’m very grateful to the hospitality and generosity of everyone involved. The day’s celebration finished with a procession of the largest number of Lotus cars ever to be on a track at the same time!
I very much hope that the images below capture something of the great history of the company, its cars, its staff and its owners!
Thanks once again to the Board and staff of Lotus for making it such a memorable occasion!
Filed under Photographs
Imagery of Tirana (in the daytime…)
Participating in a conference in Tirana over the last few days has provided an opportunity to explore something of this fascinating city – a mixture of new constructions, communist era buildings, and a few much older medieval remnants. I hope that the images below capture something of its wide diversity: Skanderberg Square hosting a World Cup fan zone just a few days after it won the European Award for Urban Public Space (2018); Catholic, Muslim and Orthodox religious building reflecting the diverse beliefs of its people; the communist era bunkers and surveillance museum reminding us of the past; superficially refurbished shops beneath crumbling old housing blocks; the nearby woodland park and lake; diverse restaurants serving unusual combinations of food, with delicious local beer and wine… To these, though, need to be added the generous hospitality of our hosts! Thanks to Endrit Kromidha, and all those who made this visit possible.
Filed under Europe, Photographs, Uncategorized
Sidi Bou Said: the tourists return
When I last visited Sidi Bou Said, just to the north of Tunis, in November 2015 it was almost deserted, with tourists from across the world having largely chosen to go elsewhere following the shootings near Sousse in June of that year. I remember being saddened about the very visible loss of income for the many small traders who had previously made their livings selling souvenirs from the numerous small shops that lined its main streets. Revisiting the village yesterday on a beautiful warm, sunny day, with a cool breeze freshening the air, it was good to see the lively buzz of visitors filling the streets. It is a beautiful village, with the blue doors and shutters (reputedly to thwart mosquitoes) contrasting starkly with the whitewashed walls of the buildings.
It was also great to find that my favourite restaurant in the village, Au Bon Vieux Temps, was still there, and serving food as good as it has always done. The only sad thing was that the traders seemed very much more aggressive than I recall even in the dark days of 2015. A well-traveled friend and colleague reckoned it was the worst hassle he had ever experienced in a tourist resort! I had to agree, which is sad, because they would achieve very many more sales if they were a little bit less aggressive. Be warned, but go and enjoy Sidi Bou Said nonetheless.
Filed under Africa, Development, Photographs
Images from Old San Juan, Puerto Rico
Friends suggested that if I was able to take any time off from the North American School of Internet Governance meeting, and ICANN 61 in San Juan, Puerto Rico, I should try and visit Old San Juan (Viejo San Juan). So, on a warm, sunny March afternoon I set about exploring the old part of the city, which was a fair walk from the Convention Centre!
San Juan was founded by the Spanish in the early 16th century, around a fine natural harbour, and until the 19th century almost all of the settlement was contained within the impressive walls and fortifications of the city. However, by the late-1940s the physical and social fabric of the old city was in a state of disrepair, with buildings decaying and prostitution widespread. There was strong pressure to demolish much of the old fabric, and construct new buildings with modern architectural designs. Instead, thanks largely to local activism, especially by the anthropologist Ricardo Alegria, it was agreed to remodel the old city using traditional Spanish motifs and design elements. In 1949 the San Juan Historic National Site was established, and this became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983. It is now a lively place with numerous restaurants, shops and historic sites, and I hope that the pictures below capture something of the bright colours, impressive situation, and considerable diversity of Old San Juan. Thanks so much to everyone who suggested I should visit it!
Filed under Caribbean, Conferences, Photographs, Uncategorized
Night life at Hauz Khas
One of the many pleasures of being at IIT Delhi over the last fortnight was its proximity to Hauz Khas “village”, with its many restaurants and sites to explore. Originally, Hauz Khas was part of Siri, the second medieval city and fort of the Delhi Sultanate, dating mainly from the 14th century, and it was built alongside the royal water tank that gave it its name, Hauz meaning “water tank” and Khas meaning “royal”. Many buildings were constructed here by Firuz Shah, including a madrasa, a mosque, his own tomb, and domed pavilions, most of which were built soon after he became ruler in 1351. After years of decay, the area was redeveloped in the 1980s, and efforts have been made to restore the lake and its surrounding deer park as a tourist attraction and commercial area.
Hauz Khas has developed rapidly over the last decade, and is now a popular area for eating and boutique shops. After long days of meetings and teaching at IIT Delhi, it was good to be able to relax and sample the restaurants. One evening in the pouring monsoon rain we ate delicious south Indian food at Naivedyam (dosas, oothappam and idli), and on another it was good to catch up with Commonwealth Scholarship alumni at Rang de Basanti Urban Dhaba (for a wide range of traditional food typical of the roadside dhabas of India). My last night in Delhi on this trip was to the very different night-club atmosphere of Hauz Khas Social, where I felt the oldest person there by far! However, the food and drink were good, and it was nice to relax with a view out towards the lake (although the loudness of the music did make conversation difficult!).
I hope that the pictures below capture some of the atmosphere of this colourful and vibrant part of modern Delhi.
Thanks so much once again to Anushruti Vagrani for taking me to places I don’t think I would have been likely to venture by myself!
Filed under India, Photographs, Restaurants
Alawalpur: farming, mobile ‘phones and cattle
On a very hot Sunday afternoon yesterday, with temperatures reaching the high 90os F (high 30os C), colleagues (Priya Chetri, Srishti Minocha and Anushruti Vagrani) at IIT Delhi kindly took me out into the Haryana countryside where they are conducting a baseline survey on the use of mobile devices by farmers. In the first instance, this is investigating how helpful meteorological forecasts are to the farmers, but in the longer term it is also going to explore how sensors might be able to provide more refined information that would enable farmers to increase yields and thus profitability.
This was a great opportunity to immerse myself once again in the sights, sounds, smells, tastes and touch of the Indian countryside. We spent most of our time talking with farmers in the large village of Alawalpur, but after the interviews were over we were also shown one of the village’s special sites, the Baniewala Mandir. The temple itself was fascinating, but I had never expected to find the 500 cattle that are so well cared for alongside. The freshly made chai massala made from their milk after the interviews were done was absolutely delicious!
I hope that the following pictures reveal something of the adventure. I learnt so much, and am very grateful to Priya, Srishti and Anushruti for taking me there and to Dr. Upasna Sharma for arranging the trip.
Filed under ICT4D, India, Photographs, Rural
Dilli Haat
I’m amazed that on my previous visit to Delhi no-one mentioned that I might like to explore the craft village of Dilli Haat in southern Delhi. Perhaps I was previously simply too busy working! However, one day last week over breakfast in the Faculty Guest House at IIT Delhi, a colleague suggested that it was not far away, and if I had time I should try to visit. So, I made time this Saturday afternoon, with the temperature well over 95o F (35oC), to set off and explore.
The Haat (market), which opened in 1994, is run by the Delhi Tourism and Transportation Development Corporation, and includes craft stalls from many different parts of India, as well as food sellers, and a stage. Having paid a small entrance fee (100 INR for a foreigner), one is free just to wander and explore. In some parts of the market, brightly coloured cloth covers the alleyways, and in others the stalls are set along a sort of arcade. There is a huge range of craft produce from many different regions of the country for sale, including clothes (mainly for women), jewellery, woodwork, pottery, spices, brass goods, leather work, musical instruments, and mother of pearl bowls. One of the nicest things is that it was not very crowded, and few traders were overly-persistent in trying to make a sale. Those near the back of the market clearly received less business, and so some good deals can be struck there, but other traders stated clearly that there were fixed prices. Certainly, there is a premium to be paid over the price of goods that can be found elsewhere in the city, but the quality is good, and having so much to choose from in one place makes shopping for gifts most enjoyable!
The diversity of products, the richness of colour, as well as the taste and smells of the market all made for a wonderful couple of hours exploration, and I hope that the pictures below capture something of the essence of the place.
Thanks so much once again to Anushruti Vagrani for taking me there, and helping me negotiate!
Filed under India, Markets, Photographs
The dogs of IIT Delhi campus
I am greatly enjoying living on the IIT Delhi campus, but have to admit that I am uneasy when walking past the many dogs that are usually roaming around in packs, seemingly on the look out for trouble! There is always a sense of trepidation walking past them when they block the entrance to a building, or lie across the path! Waking up in the night to hear them viciously barking, is also not exactly soothing!
Temperatures rose today, and I was surprised to see most of the dogs apparently asleep in the late afternoon sun. This was definitely an opportunity to take my courage into my hands and photograph them!
Filed under India, Photographs
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