Just the dog walkers and me

Not a lot to say about today's ride. I was alone with my thoughts, except for a couple of dog walkers.

I don't normally mention my job in these blogs but this week was good. A little background to explain. The main office is in London, I work in a Croydon office, it's convenient for me and it's in a nice building so no complaints. But I am on my own, with an occasional visit if someone has to be at a local customer site. I'm used to it and it doesn't really bother me.

I do look forward to visitors though, and this week there were three.

On Tuesday Natalie and Paula arrived for lunch. It was really great to catch up, chat and have a laugh. My wife now says I'm a lady that lunches, which is nice I think. Hopefully it will be a regular event.

Then on Friday Henry worked at the second desk for the day. I caught up with company news and chatted over coffee. Again, I hope it will be a regular occurance.

They really helped the week flow quickly and meant my mood was good for the whole five days. And better than last weekend.

Back to the ride.

I covered nearly twenty five miles including the hill out of Oxted, a proper challenge with most of it twenty percent.

It was hard work as always but so satisfying, the hills are twisty so the top isn't in sight until you are very close.

If the weather doesn't intervene it will back to normal tomorrow with Matt in attendance.


For those interested in such things; here is a graph of the route showing the hills. No flat bits to speak of. The steepest section started at around sixteen miles.

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melancholy

After the mood enhancing ride yesterday, today was a come down. I awoke in a low mood not helped by the sound of rain against the window, checking the phone and seeing a text from Matt saying he couldn't make it today. I think the clocks going forward and robbing me of an hours sleep didn't help.

So what to do? Go back to bed, or go out? In the end I did both; an hour later I was out on the bike.

Cycling normally improves my mood, but not this time. Lots of family stuff going on and it was colder and windier than Saturday, finally I was cycling alone. I went through the motions and returned home.

I saw the daffodil alone and growing away for the path, where you wouldn't expect it.

I thought it summed up my mood.

Looking at it again, I guess you could put a positive spin on it. The daffodil grew and made the best of it's situation. I don't know if it was made stronger by the experience, or if it can be used as inspiration, being a flower. But I feel a little better for the thought.

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Signs of spring

Just back from a cycle and it was great. Warm, sunny and very pleasant. I could say the normal signs of spring were everywhere, daffodils etc. But for me there are other harbingers.

The legs come out, after a long search for the shorts.

Don't worry this post won't get geeky; my camera doesn't need such a high ISO.

ISO for film was used to show how much light a particular film needed. The higher the number the less light it needed. The trade-off was the picture became grainy at higher ISO's. Digital camera sensors don't work in the same way though. The ISO rating was retained to give an indication and allow some comparison of how a camera deals with light. The higher the ISO the more amplification the camera applies to the picture. This can result in noise and a lose in quality.

And finally it's time to cut the grass. If I do it regularly it doesn't take too long. The rest of the gardening is less of a priority; the garden tends to have to look after itself. Survival of the fittest.

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Blue sky and fly tipping

We got out on the bikes both days this weekend. Yesterday was nearly aborted. Light rain that stopped quickly enough so as to not dissuade us. I even contemplated shorts, it was that warm. I'm glad we stayed with it. A pleasant ride to the bus stop, tea and biscuits.

On the way back after parting company with Matt I took a detour to Oxted. It meant a descent and climb of a twenty percent hill. It's time to start challenging myself in preparation for the Waller Lane hill climb. I'm hoping to beat my time from last year.

This morning was bright and clear, but no chance of wearing shorts. Way too cold.

We followed the same route and headed for the same destination as yesterday. This time however the road was almost completely blocked by a big pile of garden rubbish. It's becoming more common, especially on this road. Are we really getting to the point that CCTV needs to be everywhere? The penalties have to be increased, and the people whose rubbish it is should be punished. It's their responsibility to ensure their waste is disposed of properly.

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Know your rights

I read blog about a new development in New York that is encourging visitors, you could say it is a huge art installation.
The comments quickly filled with "experts" saying what they are doing is illegal. I'm no expert, so this is my opinion.

It is private property, so access is granted with conditions.

It all seems reasonable to me, if you don't like to rules, don't visit. What isn't clear is how prominently they are dispalyed as you walk through the door. Which I think is more of concern. But everyone seems focused on how pictures might be used, not if people could reasonably be expect to know what they were agreeing to.

Other venues have similar restrictions, concert and theatre venues ban photography.

The "experts" also say you have to sign a contract for it to be binding, I don't think that is true. You don't sign contrats for software you install, or for tickets you buy. Just because no-one reads T&C's doesn't mean they can be ignored.

I am sure there are plenty of instances where proceeding with an action infers acceptance of T&C's.

The T&C's that visitors agree to by entering the building don't say you lose ownership of your pictures. Or that if you are seen taking pictures the company can ask you to delete them or take the memory card. They have been changed, here is a link to the original agreement.

I suspect that the commentors haven't followed the link. Even the writer doesn't appear to understood what was written. Neither version seized ownership.

It says you agree to allow the building owners to retweet, or reshare your social media posts. I guess the actual wording doesn't make such an attention grabbing headline.

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A violin and Brighton

 


A model contacted me about organising a shoot. She mentioned playing the violin which I thought would add some extra interest. Yesterday I travelled to Brighton, I wasn't sure the shoot would go ahead, I checked with Helen and she was still keen. The walk from the station to the beach was concerning, the wind was getting stronger the nearer to the sea we got. I thought the waves, wind and backdrop would make for drama. It made it almost impossible to shoot. Helen was only about fifteen feet but she couldn't hear me. She kept her coat on while I checked camera settings and adjusted the pose. Then coat off, take a few shots and coat on. It was so windy keeping the camera steady was difficult, standing in big heels can't have been easy. But all she was concerned about was getting a great picture.

We moved to a short jetty structure, it was about fifty feet long. And only accessible by walking across the stoney beach, but as soon as the camera came out people felt compelled to walk it. It seemed weird to us.

We didn't stay long, time for plan b.

Hot drinks were needed, we found this beautifully lit dinner. Big windows facing the beach and down one side gave very soft light.

The violin came out again, the black of Helen's outfit and red of the phonebox were a good contrast.

Then to compete the shoot some lifestyle shots taken as we walked back to the station.

It goes to show what can be achieved out what at first seems like a lost cause.

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