YesBut that was the first week of August.

August the 8th month, 2007 seems to be flying by.

Unfortunately, the summer will soon be over without starting. June and July being complete washouts - record rainfalls in both months. While parts of the UK were submerged under floods, people were dying in Southern Europe from heat stroke. What a topsy turvy world we live in. I gather the high rain falls was due to the Jet Stream flowing further north than normal, scooping up moisture over the Atlantic and dumping it on England.

Stuart Kennedy, aged 24, a genetics student at Aberdeen University was arrested while performing his part time job as a stripper. He was arrested for wearing a police uniform and equipment in a public place. If the police had been more patient, he would have divested himself of all clothing!

Mr Kennedy is getting well acquainted with the Police; in May while performing his striptease act dressed as a police officer, he was arrested and charge with having an offensive weapon - you would expect a police officer to have a truncheon, but there again he shouldn’t swing it in public.

Tony Blair always thought he was the son of God. He could be right, look at the facts.

As soon as he left:

• Attempted suicide bombers in London and Glasgow
• Flooding throughout the Country
• Now petulance in the form of Foot & Mouth disease.

Come back Tony and save us. (I think not)


This week I’ll leave you with two puzzles, both are connected:

What is the subject of the photo on the left?

1. How do you demolish a building without pulling it down or blowing it up?

I’ve got some interesting photos to show you, so bookmark this page and visit on Tuesday.

Memorial day - 6

This is the sixth in a series of blogs posted each Wednesday dedicated at looking at memorials and public sculptures.

Within the shadow of the Houses of Parliament, in the Victoria Tower Gardens, can be seen the monument / sculpture “The Burghers of Calais” by Auguste Rodin.

Click the “view show” tab if the slideshow doesn’t open automatically

The sculpture has only just been replaced on its plinth having been on exhibition at the Royal Academy in 2006, and then on loan to the Kunsthaus, Zurich where it was part of the “Rodin - A Retrospective” exhibition.

At the exhibition it would have been guarded, with visitors not allowed to touch it. How different to its treatment in the gardens. While I was there to photograph the statue for this blog, a group of tourists were climbing over it, one placing a bottle top on one of the figures up held fingers.

The statue commemorates an event during the Hundred Years’ War, when in 1347 six citizens of Calais, then as now an important French port on the English Channel, offered themselves as hostages to Edward III after he had unsuccessfully besieged their town for nearly one year. The story goes Edward laid siege to Calais, Philip VI of France ordered the city to hold out at all costs. Philip failed to relive the town and eventually the town had to surrender. Edward said he would spare the citizens if any six top leaders surrendered to him almost naked with nooses around their necks and carrying the keys to the city. Eustache de Saint Pierre, was the first to volunteer followed by five other town leaders. They knew they were walking to their death. Their lives were spared at the pleading of Edward’s queen Philippa of Hainault.

In 1880 the mayor of Calais proposed commissioning Rodin to make a statue to be placed in the city square. Rodin’s figures are slightly larger than life size, and contrary to common practice he placed them standing at ground level - not on a plinth. So they were placed until 1924, when against Rodin’s wishes the statue was placed on a plinth.

As was common with Rodin’s work more than one statue was cast from his mould. In 1911 the British Government purchased one of the eleven casts permitted to be made by French law after Rodin’s death.

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