Buying decisions….to buy or not to buy, that is the question
Thought for the day…”A goal without a plan is just a wish”
“Success with a negative attitude is called Luck. Success with a positive attitude is called Achievement”.
To buy, or not to buy. That is the question. Having recently upgraded the camera to the newer Fuji X-T10 (great camera, and highly recommended), the finger is now poised over the ‘BUY’ button. This time it is the new Fuji XF 100-400mm lens. All the reviews have been great, and the people that have posted their comments praise the lens, so it is undoubtedly a wonderful lens. I gave the lens a try in the camera shop, and it felt very good, and the extra zoom would be very welcome BUT here is the problem….the lens costs about 3 times as much as the camera did, and with the teleconverter, will cost around 2000 euros. So the finger is hesitating on the ‘BUY’ button. Quality always costs more, and the Fuji products are great, but the thought of almost 2000 euros on a lens is difficult to accept. To buy, or not to buy, that is the question…..
A couple of photos from the north of Norway, taken with the standard 18-55mm Fuji lens on the X-T10. The first photo is from the small town of Vardo, at the top of Norway.
and another photo from north Norway…Hammerfest
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Thought for the day….”Winning is not everything, but it beats anything in second place”.
“Some people are alive only because it is illegal to kill them”
Part of the thrill of travelling is in the planning. Several years ago, a collection of airlines offered a fantastic ticket called the ‘Navigator Ticket’. You were given a large, fold-out map of the world, with lots of airline routings marked out in different colours (representing the different airlines), and you were free to map out and plan your own route. Rules were simple, you could make unlimited stopovers provided that you kept going in the same direction (ie eastwards or westwards). You were allowed to backtrack if the routes needed it, but basically you could plan a route with as many zig-zags as you could manage. Such fun to plan a trip and work out an exotic route. Then the final excitement. was when the ticket arrived in the post. In those days, airline tickets were messy, carbon paper affairs, but it was great to receive though the post, a stapled bundle of carbon paper tickets. Sadly the navigator ticket is no more.
Fast forward to today, with buying an airline ticket a frustrating challenge. Fares seem to change at will, from day to day and at the whim of the airlines. I will never understand why the same flight on the same aircraft can change price from day to day. Buying a cheap air ticket now involves so much planning that surely a computer programme is needed for it. Bring back the navigator ticket !!!
They say that the best camera is the one that you have with you at the time. Up early for the sunrise near North Cape, at the top of Norway and at 71 degrees north. Good to have the camera ready for this quick photo….just as the sun came over the horizon to start another day.
and a photo from the streets of the Danish Capital, Copenhagen….
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How lucky is lucky ??
Thought for the day…”Talent does what it can; genius does what it must.”
Did you see the story in the news about a survivor of the recent air crash in Dubai? Mohammed Khadar was returning to Dubai from India when the Emirates 777 aircraft crashed on landing. All 300 passengers got off the aircraft, which later burnt out. Mr. Khadar, who works in Dubai, purchased a lottery ticket in the duty free shop in airport, and won a USD 1 million cash prize. Commenting on his win, he said that his escape from the crashed aircraft was a miracle, but that the money would make enemies. Lucky !!
The photo today comes from the famous dye pots in Fez, Morocco.
and another photo from the archives…..the night sleeper train from Trondheim, Norway to Oslo.
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Norway this morning
Thought for the day…” Life is too important to be taken seriously” (Oscar Wilde)
“Life is like a 10 speed cycle. Most of us have gears that we do not use”.
Another fantastic summer day in Norway….and one photo taken early this morning. Taken today near the centre of Bergen. Time to put on the sun cream again….
and another photo from the archives..a 737 about to land in Funchal, Madeira…
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Great colours from the Fuji camera
Thought for the day….”Too many people overvalue what they are NOT, and undervalue what they ARE”
“It is not the load that breaks you down, it is the way that you carry it”.
Norway has been enjoying some fantastic summer weather…with unbelievable temperatures, even in the far north. Not only have there been many long, sunny days, but some days with wonderful clear air too. Today’s photo comes from Svolvaer, the ‘capital’ of the Lofoten Islands, about half way up the long coast of Norway. The photo was taken in the main harbour, and shows the traditional cottage that was previously used by fishermen, called a rorbu. These cabins were traditionally built out over the water, so that boats could moor directly alongside. Many of these have been converted into holiday homes, although the ones in this photo are actually part of a hotel. At this time of year, there is 24 hour sunshine in this part of Norway, so even late evening it is possible to get photos like this. Expect to pay around 200 euros a night for a typical cabin during summer. Taken with the Fuji X-T10 camera and standard 18-55mm kit lens, with almost no editing of the photo. Once again, great colours from Fuji.
and another photo from the archives…some great colours in Mindelo, Cape Verde islands….
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More depressing news from New Zealand
Thought for the day…”If things do not go right, go left”
“Success – keeping your mind awake and your desire asleep”
More depressing news from New Zealand….even more flights and even bigger aircraft. As well as increased numbers of flights from the USA and also from China, Emirates airline has announced that it is putting a 4th Airbus A380 on the route to Auckland. This will mean that there will be 4 A380s at Auckland at the same time in addition to another A380 from Singapore Airlines. Whilst the tourist board in NZ may be congratulating themselves on record numbers of visitors, the country just cannot cope with ever-increasing numbers. The country has a population of just over 4.6 million people, but now receives over 3.3 million tourists, many of whom want to see the same few places. The last 2 summers have seen accommodation fully booked, and tourists having to sleep in cars due to the lack of accommodation. Buses and flights have been fully booked, and it has even become necessary to reserve some mountain huts ahead. Queenstown (known as the adventure capital of the world), with a population of around 22 000 people, is now receiving over 2 MILLION tourists a year. You can imagine what the town centre is like there in high summer. But the tourist board keeps encouraging more and more flights, thinking that more and more tourists are good for the economy. Yet the very nature and beauty that these tourists are attracted to is fast becoming destroyed (there have been attempts to build a monorail in one of the national parks already).
Some of the popular walking tracks (such as the Abel Tasman coastal track and the Tongariro Crossing) are now so crowded that they are considering giving people starting times for the walks, in an attempt to spread the crowds out. Clean and green New Zealand it once was. Now it is crowded and busy NZ. So the news that the airlines are putting on even more flights to cope with this demand is hardly surprising, yet nobody in government has had the courage to stand up and say that there is a limit to how many tourists that NZ can accept. It seems that every month that a new record for tourist arrivals is being reached (China is the big growth area for incoming tourists), with no sign of it easing up. So when those millions of tourists do finally arrive in NZ, then the fun and games trying to find accommodation, rental cars and domestic flights begins. Those politicians who think that unlimited numbers of tourists are good for the NZ economy should take a trip (assuming that they can get a seat on a flight or bus) to Queenstown or Milford Sound in summer and see just what sort of effect the millions of tourists are having. Start queueing now !!!
Early morning in Geilo, Norway for the photo today….great colours from the Fuji camera together with clear air helped make this such a good photo. The early morning mist had almost burnt off when the photo was taken.
and another photo from the archives…two tourists admire Lake Wanaka, Pembroke Wanaka on the South Island of New Zealand. Two tourists managed to creep into this photo even !!
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Queen of the Skies – the Boeing 747 400
Thought for the day….”Success is getting what you want. Happiness is wanting what you get.”
A photo that is history now….a Singapore Airlines 747-400 taking off from Zurich airport in Switzerland. Known as the Queen of the Skies, almost 400 tons lifting off for the 11 hour flight to Singapore. Zurich (code ZRH) is a great place to take aircraft photos, as the authorities there actually encourage people to take photos, and even organize special photo tours. Great that the managers there have seen the value of photographers, and make it easy to take photos, rather than trying to prevent it like so many airports do today. Not only that, but Zurich is actually a good airport to fly into or transit, run with the usual Swiss efficiency. The photo below was taken during one of the organized photo tours, although even from the normal viewing decks, it is easy to get some great photos.
and some faces from the harbour market in Helsinki, Finland……
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Paradise in photos – The Seychelles
Thought for the day…”Success comes in cans, not in can’ts”
“Failure is the tuition that you pay for sucess”
About 85 000 people live in the island nation of the Seychelles, which is situated about 1500km off the eastern African coast and north of Madagascar. Around 115 islands make up the country, which have been controlled at times by both France and Britain. The islands have also been used by pirates, and it is said that the treasure of Le Vasseur, a notorious pirate, is buried there somewhere. Victoria, the capital, on the main island of Mahe, claims to be the smallest capital in the world, although it is the outer islands where the real beauty is. Island hopping is easy there, either on the local fast ferries or the domestic flights in Twin Otter aircraft. Due to the restrictions on the number of tourists, it is not (yet) overrun or overcrowed, just peaceful and beautiful. A couple of photos are worth a thousand words……..Both photos taken with the Fuji X-E1 camera.
And another photo from the Seychelles….
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Up In The Air – Two classics of aviation
Thought for the day….”Don’t look back, you are not going that way”
“If you are not meant to have midnight snacks then why is there a light in the fridge?”
A couple of photos from the recent Warbirds Over Wanaka airshow, held at Easter this year in Pembroke Wanaka, New Zealand. The first photo is the Supermarine Spitfire. Designed by R.J. Mitchell, it came into service in 1938, and was in production throughout the second world war. About 53 Spitfires are still in flying condition. Over 20 300 Spifires were made, and they remained in service until 1961. This particular aircraft carries a registration to commemorate the New Zealand pilot Alan Deere.
The second photo is the Messerschmidt Bf 109, which was used by the Luftwaffe in Germany during the second world war. It entered service in 1937, with around 33 000 being made. At least 10% were lost in take-off or landing accidents.
Both aircraft performed displays during the 2 days of the airshow.
and another photo from the archives….an early test photo from the X-E1 camera………
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Where are the ‘experts’????
Thought for the day…”Don’t live the same year 90 times and call it a life”
“When life gives you a rainy day, play in the puddles”.
Computers have been around for a long time now, since the last century indeed. Some of us grew up with them, starting with the famous Sinclair ZX Spectrum and the says of loading programs with tapes. But despite computers having been around for decades, they still do not work as they should. Why is it that there are still so many problems with things that by now should be simple, like logging into wifi?? Why do computers seem to have endless problems and need endless updates? And where are the ‘experts’?? Surely by now they could have sorted out all the teething problems and have produced computers that do work without needing constant attention. I would love to sit next to Bill Gates on a long flight and pass him my laptop and ask him to make it work properly. It seems that the so-called ‘experts’ are not so expert. How often have you heard the advice to restart the computer (ie. pull the plug out)?? And why have these ‘experts’ not managed to sort out the problems after all these years. I just want a computer that works as it should and does not need constant attention. Is that too much to ask???
Off to Norway for the photo today…and to the harbour port of Kristiansund, seen here on a beautiful summer’s day.
and another photo from the archives…..fishermen returning home in Croatia….
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Some red faces somewhere…..a big error.
Thought for the day….”What the mind can concieve, it can achieve”
“You cannot plough a field by turning it over in your mind”
No doubt that there were some red faces at the Nabors Demolition company in Texas, USA. They recently demolished the WRONG house, and have blamed Google maps for the error. The house that they demolished was one block from the house that they should have knocked down. Needless to say, the owners of the now-demolished house were none too happy, although the Nabors Demolition company described it as ‘no big deal’. The demolition company’s motto is ” We Could Wreck The World” certainly had a good try. Apparently, Google maps has now amended the map to show the correct location of the house that should have been knocked down. Some red faces somwhere??
People photos are always fascinating, so here is another one…fisherman in the park…Fuji X-E1 camera together with the Fuji 55-230mm lens.
and another photo from the archives…Kandersteg in Switzerland….
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218 Million British Pounds gone on a new folly.
Thought for the day…”It always seems impossible until it is done” (Nelson Mandela).
” Life is like photography. You use negatives to develop”
One definition of a ‘folly’ is a building that is built mainly for decoration, but in a style to imitate something else (such as a castle or tower), and at such expense to have shown folly for the builder. So when I read news about the new airport that has been built on St. Helena island in the Southern Atlantic Ocean, then the word ‘folly’ springs to mind. The news often features stories about the much-delayed new Berlin airport, which seems to be continually delayed and plagued by one problem after another, but the new St Helena airport is equally worthy.
This new airport (soon to receive its first commercial flight) has been built at a staggering cost, reportedly 218 MILLION British Pounds. The fancy airport comes complete with control tower, restaurant, departure lounges and full security facilities, and a fire station complete with 3 expensive fire-engines. Not bad at all, except for the fact that St Helena only has a population of about 4255 people. Not only that, but the island only has 2 small hotels, which will be completely unable to cope with the numbers of tourists expected on the weekly flight to the island. So the British government has spent 218 million British Pounds on an airport which will have almost no flights, an airport which will serve a population of about 4255 people and an airport which will overload the 2 hotels on the island. So it is not only Berlin that gets it wrong with its airport. Folly? I think so.
Another great photo from the Fuji X-E1 camera…taken with the 55-230mm lens at the maximum 230mm….
and another photo from the archives….autmn colours at Glendhu Bay, Lake Wanaka, New Zealand
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Why I am glad that I am not 16 years old again
Thought for the day…”Always remember to take your vitamins. Take Vitamin A for ACTION, take vitamin B for BELIEF, take vitamin C for CONFIDENCE, take vitamin D for DISCIPLINE, and take vitamin E for ENTHUSIASM”
Just had another birthday, and once again, I thought how glad that I am NOT 16 years old again. Recently I went to a Countdown supermarket and was forced to use the self-service checkouts (normally I avoid them) as there were no staff working the ‘manned’ check-outs. Whilst self-service check-outs might be profitable for the supermarket shareholders, the problem is that they are doing many people out of jobs. The same thing has happened at airports (= less check-in staff working on the desks) and hotels which increasingly have automatic check in (= less receptionists). Cruise ships are introducing robotic barmen capable of mixing and serving drinks (= less bar staff), petrol stations are increasingly becoming automatic (=less cashiers). The list goes on, meaning less and less jobs. All very good for shareholders, but not so good for the school leavers who are looking for jobs. Often in supermarkets they try and steer me towards the self-service checkouts, but I try and choose a manned check-out. One day, the trend might go the other way, when somebody realizes that the PERSONAL touch means so much. Keep people employed !!
Great, punchy colours from the Fuji camera for the photo today….a colourful market scene……
and another photo from the archives…a cruise ship visits Dubronik, Croatia….
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Early morning trip to Milford Sound
Thought for the day…”He who angers you, conquers you”.
“We all have the ability. The difference is how we use it”.
I have just had another flight (unfortunately) with Air New Zealand. I say unfortunately because what was once a quality airline has turned into a money-grabbing budget airline which pretends to be a quality airline. Do AirNZ really think that I am going to pay NZD 10 to choose my seat, when they have to give me a seat anyway? Do AirNZ really think that I am going to PAY NZD10 to watch a movie onboard?? Whilst they might have put a credit card slot in the seatback for me to pay, it is going to remain unused. And having tasted the food offering (laughing called ‘The Works” on the outward journey, then I am sure that I will not be paying for the small portion of food that was offered. I moved on from eating child portions a long time ago but apparently AirNZ thinks that I still do eat child portions, even when I paid for an ADULT portion. And a wait of over 1 hour and 20 minutes to get even a cup of coffee is not going to make me happy either, especially as it was the usual airline sized 1/2 cup.
But the saddest part is to think back to how AirNZ used to be. Once they WERE good, and once it was a pleasure to fly with them. Times change.
Milford Sound is one of the most popular fjords that tourists visit in New Zealand. Here is an early morning photo from the road which leads into Milford Sound. Unusually, the weather is great in the photo. Milford Sound is infamous for getting over 7 metres of rain a year…..so days like this are rare. This photo is taken just before the entrance to the famous Homer Tunnel, which leads down to Milford Sound.
And another photo from the archives….Haglebu, Norway
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Contrasts – One world but different sides
Thought for the day….”To live an extraordinary life, you must resist an ordinary approach”
“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving” (Einstein).
Two photos to show contrast today….the first photo is from New Caledonia and the second photo from Dhaka, Bangladesh. One big advantage of the Fuji X camera system is that the photos straight out of the camera (jpeg) are so good. I have stopped taking RAW photos now, as the jpeg pictures are great. Much faster to just shoot in jpeg now, and it also means much less time spent on the computer processing photos (which is great !!). Purists will argue that a RAW photo has more detail, but it takes a lot of determination to sit at the computer for many hours converting RAW files. The fun for me is in taking the photos, not in spending hours at the computer trying to get them right. I still end up with far too many photos but that is digital photography. Back in the days of 35mm film, when you only had 36 pictures on a roll (38 if you were lucky), then you really had to think before you pressed the shutter. Not now, with the memory card easily holding 3000 photos and a camera which will take 6 photos a second.
compare the beauty of the photo above with the chaos in the photo below ……same planet but……
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Breakfast morning sunrise – Pembroke New Zealand
Thought for the day…” We are going to have peace even if we have to fight for it” (Dwight Eisenhower).
“Those who are easily shocked should be shocked more often (Mae West).
Nice photo of the sunrise on 20th Februrary for today’s photo. One of those occasions when it was so lucky to have the camera ready AND be in the right place at the right time. I took a series of shots as the clouds and light changed, but the aim was to get the clouds to appear to come out of the electricity pylon and a frame around the best of the clouds. See what you think. As the light was changing so fast (and the clouds were also moving fast due to the strong winds aloft) then there was not time to set things up properly, but the results were fine. Hopefully the time-lapse of the moving clouds will be equally dramatic. So much fun with a camera !!!
and another photo out of the archives….night train from Trondheim, Norway to Oslo……This was one of my first night shots with the Fuji X-E1….
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Coffee time in Finland
Thought for the day…”Value is more expensive than price”
“You may not know what is going to happen when you try, but if you do not try, nothing will happen”.
Two photos from opposite sides of the globe next, one from the Finnish capital of Helsinki and the second from the Central Otago region of the South Island of New Zealand. Interestingly, the building in the first photo is now the City Hall for Helsinki, but was originally a hotel where the first moving pictures were shown in Finland by the Lumiere brothers in 1896. Even in winter (when temperatures are frequently below -20 degrees centigrade) people will sit outside in the area around the harbour to drink excellent, strong Finnish coffee (kahvi in Finnish language). Finland is number one in the world for coffee consumption per capita, something to do with the long, dark Artic nights. But the coffee is excellent !!! It works out to about 12kg of coffee for each person in Finland. A survey in 2014 reported that 14% of men and 6% of women in Finland drank MORE than 10 cups of coffee a day. They like their coffee !!
And another photo from the archives….Lake Hawea, Otago, New Zealand
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A Good News story
Thought for the day….”The telephone book is full of facts but it does not contain a single idea”
“What we see depends mainly on what we look for”
With all the bad news stories around at the moment, it is heartwarming to read a happy story. The New Zealand newspapers recently featured a story about a cat in Auckland (which, incidentally, is not the capital of New Zealand, merely the largest city). The government electoral commission had sent a letter to this cat inviting it to enrol ready for the forthcoming elections. Somehow it had not been noticed by the government department that this person was actually a cat. But even better, the name of cat was ‘Chairman Meow’. Wonderful name for a cat!!.
A photo from capital of Slovenia, Ljublana for the photo today….
and another photo from the archives…a crowded ferry on Lake Malawi, Africa…..
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Addiction
Thought for the day….” Shadows cannot see themselves in the mirror of the sun”
“There are many ways of going forward but only one way of standing still”.
Addiction is the ‘persistent, compulsive dependence on a behavior or substance’. I recently observed a group of foreign tourists come into a popular local cafe. The father sat at a table and immediately whipped out his mobile phone, and asked his wife to find out the password for the internet. Then once they had got the password (and some coffee), they spent the entire time heads down engrossed in their mobile phones. No awareness of where there were or what was going on, apart from their mobile phones, which were the centre of their attention. No conversation between them or their children, just the mobile phones. There is even a medical term now for this, internet addiction disorder, also known as problematic internet use (PIU). One of the factors not helping this is the fact that we are rarely out of contact now, with internet access almost everywhere. Even when we go on holiday and sit on a beach or climb a mountain, we often still have internet coverage. We are never really out of touch. Traditionally, holidays were times when you DID leave the everyday behind. Holidays were times when you were AWAY and where you were uncontactable. But for many people now, just a few minutes out of contact can cause panic symptons. And it is sad to see people sitting in cafes and restaurants concentrating on their mobile phones, not on those who are with them. Technological advance or a backward step ???
And another photo from the archives…the Stockholm marathon….
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Frequent Flyer schemes – waste of time ?
Thought for the day..” Life is like photography. You use the negatives to develop”
“The best thing about the future is that it comes one day at a time”
Are airline frequent flyer schemes a waste of time now? Perhaps. I have just flown from Frankfurt, Germany to Auckland, New Zealand, a distance of some 18 162 km. Most companies see the value in recognizing regular customers and in looking after them, as they are an important source of profit. But now it seems that frequent flyers are losing their attraction. Rather annoying that for the flight from Germany to New Zealand, that I will not get a single air point. I then go on to read that for my domestic flights in New Zealand, I will also not get ANY air points. Two additional trips to the Pacific Islands, again not a single air mile for the return trips. So for 12 or more of my flights, I will not get a single air point. Not one. And to make matters worse, when I do actually get some air points, the airline is now often only giving me 25% of the air miles, because I am flying on cheap tickets. And when I come to try and use my air miles, they are asking for even higher amounts of miles than previously, and then are asking me to pay the taxes and charges on top. So it begs the question, are the airline frequent flyer schemes now a waste of time.??
Fishing nets in New Zealand for the photo today……
and another photo from the archives…..about to arrive in Funchal, Madeira.
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Changing names in New Zealand
Thought for the day….”For every dark night, there is a brighter day”
“Arriving at one goal is the starting point for another”.
Next time you look at a map of New Zealand, you might notice some changes. And not changes for the better either. The politicians in New Zealand are giving in to the Maori people and are changing more and more names from their English names to alternative Maori names. There are even new names for the country itself (I refuse to mention the new name for NZ) and for the two main islands, which up to now have been known as North Island and South Island. But the politicians either do not have the guts to resist or the will to resist the increasing demands of the Maori people. Changing the names of places is just another sign of how this group of people are gradually taking over New Zealand. What the politicians are ignoring is the fact that New Zealand does not belong to maori people, as they were not the original people of the country. Not only that, but under the treaty of Waitangi, they even signed agreements over land ownership. So now, after all these years, they cannot claim that it is ‘their’ land and there can be little legal right for them to insist that names of places in New Zealand are changed to their names.
But the politicians have just given in.
So tourists when the visit New Zealand will start seeing more and more Maori names, and will probably believe that NZ actually belongs to the maori people. Quite how a MINORITY group of people has got this to happen is strange. English, not maori, is the language of the majority of people in New Zealand. Places such as Mount Cook (the highest mountain in New Zealand) should keep its English name. But the politicians have other ideas.
A peaceful summer scene for the photo today…another triumph for the Fuji X-E1 camera. Taken as a jpeg photo and cropped to produce this pleasing image.
and another photo from the archives….a backpacker talks to a local boy in Nepal…..
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If you are feeling hungry…fast food….
Thought for the day….”You cannot live a positive life with a negative mind”
“Success is a ladder that you cannot climb with your hands in your pockets”
If you are feeling overfed after the Christmas indulgence, then spare a thought for Nela Zisser (New Zealand). This woman has undertaken the challenge of eating to excess and is posting on YouTube. Her latest attempt failed. She was attempting to eat 100 MacDonald burgers in a row. Not surprisingly, the attempt fails, and she ‘only’ managed to eat 45 burgers. Apparently, after eating 45 of them, she said that the taste got to her. The record is held by a Japanese, Yuka Kinoshita, who managed to eat 62 burgers at one sitting. Also in the news this week is that the world’s heaviest man, Andres Sepulveda (Mexico) had died at the age of 38. His weight had been as high as 450kg. What will your New Year’s Resolution be????
and another photo from the archives…fireworks over the Norwegian city of Bergen…..
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Political correctness – something is wrong here.
Thought for the day…”Why does a round pizza come in a square box?”
“If electricity comes from electrons, then does morality come from morons”
If you have visited Sweden recently then you will have seen the large numbers of refugees and asylum seekers in the cities and in the train and bus stations. Whilst normal tourists need to apply for a Schengen visa to enter, it appears now that the borders to Europe are open to all, and without limit. Swedish Television has now issued instructions to it’s staff that they are not to use the words ‘immigrant’, ‘black skinned’, ‘dark’ or ‘African origin’ for fear of insulting people. The use of words such as ‘white skinned’ is still allowed though. Is that fair? Is it not discrimination?? Even worse is that anyone accused of racism by an immigrant is not going to be allowed time on TV or radio to defend themselves. And whilst people in Sweden have had to put their names on waiting lists for sometimes several years in order to get public housing, asylum seekers are being put into housing quickly. Across the border in Norway, asylum seekers are housed in hotels (at public expense) and are given a daily living allowance, whilst Norwegian people have to pay to stay in hotels and are taxed on the priviledge. Is that fair?
The photo today comes from the lakeside town of Pembroke Wanaka, on the South Island of New Zealand. A typical morning view of the lake from near the town centre.
and another photo from the archives….window cleaning in Ljublana, Slovenia
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Festive Times are here again
Thought for the day….”Success is when preparation meets opportunity”
“Value is more expensive than price”
It is that time of year again. It used to be called Christmas but now to keep everybody happy, they are referring to it as the ‘festive season’. One ultra extreme local council in the UK decided a few years ago to refrain from using the word ‘Christmas’, resulting in Christmas trees being renamed as ‘horticultural elements of a festive nature”. Political correctness !!! I was about to buy some Christmas cards when I saw that even those are now being made in China, more jobs going overseas with no doubt, untold damage done to the Chinese environment where they make them. Did you know that in the song ‘The Twelve Days of Christmas’ that if you add up all the gifts in the song then they total 364 gifts !!
Today’s photo is from rural Malaysian island….children playing.
and another photo from the archives….having a hard day in Tallinn, Estonia…..
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jeritilley 