John Ager's Home on the Web!

On a rather dull and damp May Day Bank Holiday Monday I decided to venture out into the Derbyshire Dales (partly because my new fleet car is arriving earlier than anticipated and I had some fuel to use up). It was an excellent day, I just set the SatNav for a village in the Dales and then just went where I felt like – it was all a bit random and serendipitous! In true English fashion I took a flask of coffee with me, although I did end up in Ashbourne having a cappuccino after some chips! Lunch was an excellent salmon roll and salad for only £1.40 in Hartington Village Hall, and while there I dropped into a flower festival in the village church. Hartington also has an excellent cheese shop, and temptation got the better of me! The highlight of the day was a visit to Dovedale, somewhere I hadn’t been back to since a school outing many years ago. Health and safety legislation has increased since those days, and so the famous stepping stones are now higher and flatter! Check out my complete photoset here or just the best ones here.

I’ve had a great day visiting my parents in Northampton today, making the most of my relative closeness to them before I move to Middlesbrough later this year. Having not slept the other night, I overslept this morning, but I still arrived in good time. Lunchtime was a visit to a local Toby Carvery (which is rapidly becoming a regular haunt when in Northampton) where we had a good natter about all sorts of things, not least my new Salvation Army appointment. Late afternoon was a wonderful opportunity to sit with my 88 year old father and watch 6 Nations Rugby (England v Wales) on the television, my mother even prepared sandwiches and tea for us so we wouldn’t miss any of the match! My father has always been (and still is) a keen gardener, and the photo is of crocuses in the garden.

Many of you will know that I recently had to take the awful decision to end my dog’s life. Zoe would have been 15 years old today and for most of her life she’d been in good health, and back in January her annual check-up was very positive. Unfortunately, she deteriorated rapidly a few months ago, although I don’t think she suffered in any real sense. As I walked her to the nearby veterinary surgery, I had a horrible feeling it would be her last walk. It was probably kidney failure, and I could have gone down the road of blood tests and treatment (which would have been covered by insurance), but opted for the hard decision of love. The vet and her assistant handled the situation with great sensitivity and care, and I stayed with Zoe (stroking her head) as she peacefully slipped away.

Zoe was a Welsh rescue dog (Border Collie X) that I adopted from the Dogs Trust when she was about 7 or 8 months old. She’s been a wonderful friend and companion for over 14 years, and I have special memories of her running free on the Welsh mountains in the Rhondda Valley – but more of that later!

To bring her home involved driving over a mountain, so Marta drove and I sat with Zoe on my lap in the back of the car. The first few days at home with the family were interesting, to say the least! Although Zoe was a rescue dog, I don’t think she’d been mistreated, merely not given the attention and exercise she needed. She was so inquisitive as we walked her through the Rhondda Valley streets, wanting see what was round every corner and in every garden! It was also a time when she had to learn the house-rules of not climbing on furniture and beds. She quickly got the hang of them, and after two or three days, she never broke the rules once – even when we were out!

After a few weeks the time came to let Zoe run loose for the first time, so on a Saturday morning I climbed up the mountain on our doorstep with her. We walked up the mountain path through open ground and forest trees, past fast flowing streams and rock formations, finally reaching fairly level ground at the top. Now was the time to let her off the lead, and the minute I did she was off like something possessed! I don’t think she’d ever had her freedom, and so she was going to make the most of it. I’d purposely left plenty of time because I knew it might be difficult to get her back. She’d keep coming to within a few feet of me, just to check I was still there and that everything was alright, but never close enough to put her back on the lead. In the end I had to start making my way back down the mountain, and Zoe followed me but always at a distance. Eventually as I neared the bottom of the mountain, and Zoe was completely wet and covered in mud, I managed to get her back on her lead somehow.

This mountain became well known and loved by Zoe and myself during the next three years until we moved away from the area, and some of my best memories are up there.

To be continued…..

The BBC have published a high-definition, 1.15-gigapixel picture, which is a composite of 189 images. The full picture measures 81,471 pixels by 14,154 pixels. The field of view covers 200 degrees. Click on the picture to go to the BBC page, then you can move in any direction and zoom in and out to see individual faces in the crowd! You can see the official Royal Wedding photos by clicking here!

This wedding portrait of William and Catherine is from pages 18-19 of the official programme (hence the line down the middle). You can view it by clicking here or download it here! Whatever you think of the Monarchy, I’m sure you will join me in wishing them well for the future.

Here is one of my favourite pictures taken from inside The Deep in Hull. I love buildings, both old and modern, and I feel this shot captures an aspect of this iconic building designed by Sir Terry Farrell.

The long-running British sci-fi television series has been a part of my life for nearly as long as I can remember, and so I’m very excited that a new series starts today! I remember watching the first ever episode on an old black and white television in 1963, and (apart from a time when it went off a bit and was dropped) it’s as good as ever. Yes, the format has changed, but the current episodes encapsulate the spirit of the original – scary episodes (hiding behind the sofa is legendary) and great humour, with the latter being far better than it ever used to be. So (I for one) can’t wait until 6.00 pm on BBC1 today!

Update after today’s episode: It had everything in 45 minutes that’s good about Dr Who! As near a perfect episode as you could get, if not perfect! Intelligent, thoughtful, surreal, scary and witty!

Yesterday I started a Blipfoto Journal for photos and thoughts. I already keep a private written journal in which I express my deepest thoughts, emotions and ideas, and this is certainly not for publication – for my eyes only! Keeping a journal can be very helpful and cathartic, and can be especially helpful for people (like myself) who have to deal with mental health issues in their day to day life. I’ll probably post more about this in due course. I also find the creative process of writing extremely satisfying and therapeutic, and feel I have a measure of talent in this area – us Brits should be more upfront with our talents in my humble opinion, good for overall well-being!

But back to Blipfoto (you’ll possibly have noticed I go off at tangents at times, but hopefully enlightening ones). Blipfoto is one of a number of websites that allow you to post a photo a day (a 365 project), and I chose it because it looks stylish and allows you to upload photos from the day you join. There are some restrictions (not really a problem), you can only upload one photo per day which must be assigned with the exact date it was taken, although you don’t have to physically upload them on that exact day. A review of four sites for uploading one photo a day says:

One of Blipfoto’s strengths is the fact that all uploaded photos are displayed as thumbnails on the front page, giving all members a chance to get noticed. And because of the strong community built around the site, members are constantly giving feedback.

And, as I suggested at the beginning of this post, I like the fact that you can add a long journal entry to the photo as well. Why not check it out?

I’d been looking forward to watching this movie for a while. I finally watched it last night and I wasn’t disappointed. It’s a moving cinematic masterpiece directed by Wim Wenders, and I’m currently working through a boxed-set of some of his best movies that’s been lent to me by a friend. This award winning film is an unusual road movie that tells the story of Travis, presumed dead, who reappears after four years wandering in the desert on the Mexico border as an amnesiac. It’s a slow-burner that holds your attention through an excellent screenplay by the acclaimed playwright Sam Shepard, great acting, lovingly crafted photography and tracking shots, and an atmospheric score by Ry Cooder that’s integral to the whole movie. The story unfolds gently, mirroring the experience of Travis (and those around him) as he seeks to reconstruct his memories, and many of the scenes are so good you’re just transfixed on the screen. This is a movie I can wholeheartedly recommend.

I love the delicate quality of light in this photograph taken in York 2008. It was part of a site-specific art installation by Keiko Mukaide in St. Mary’s Church. If you enjoy my photos, please check out my Facebook photography page and click the [Like] button, John Ager’s Art & Photography.