As I recall these golden words were spoken by Shirley Conrad, who many years ago, was a doyenne of home making. It’s a phrase that came to mind on today’s visit to the Arts District of Los Angeles to the Hauser and Wirth Galleries. These first painting were all of a palm tree with Perspex screen in front and these screens as you can see have what looks like a colour blindness test with numbers. The galleries are really brilliant. A wonderful place to exhibit art and photography. I loved these images and there was someone there to explain that … Continue reading “Life’s too short to stuff a mushroom”

Huntingdon Park. Pasadena. Very hot day, in the 90s. This place is big, loads of brilliant gardens and plants to feast the eyes on and in a variety of styles, even a bonsai area if you like that sort of thing. The light yesterday was to me as bright as you can get it. The colours and the deep blue sky in particular made it feel like technicolour with all the buttons turned full on. This is a well organised place to take a day or even a few days to explore. And after the gardens there are art galleries … Continue reading Bright? It’s almost day-glo.

Continue reading Skateboarders:Venice Beach,Los Angeles.

No flooding in this Venice, apart from the light. Continue reading Cool when it’s hot

This place is worth a visit, it’s in Pasadena and is the former home of the head of the Proctor and Gamble soap empire. It was at first their second home. It was a lesson in architectural and other design. Fantastic woodwork and an eye for every detail. Not a thing out of place. What struck me about it most of all was how unbelievably dark it was in the house, which is not really surprising given that it was in the main constructed of dark woods and any painted areas were a dark rose colour. It followed the principles … Continue reading The Gamble House, thanks to all that soap.

So there we are on an afternoon out in the Park for the Harvest Festival event, not a tea tent in sight but plenty of all American food and some poor bloke who’s been strong armed into volunteering to be a bear for the kids. It’s 26 degrees and he’s wearing some monster Levi’s and a bear suit. Visibility and health and safety dictate that he needs a carer I suspect. After all we don’t want any crushed kids if Mr Bear keels over in the heat. Imagine what the job description would be for this thankless task: “Suitable candidate … Continue reading Not a Tea Tent in sight.

Ron Galperin is what’s called a ‘Controller’ here in LA. From what I can gather that means he and his team keep a watch on how the City spends their budgets. He has to get votes to become a ‘Controller’ so in an effort to glean votes here and there he hit on the idea of offering sunglasses. How do I know this? Well, we went with the family, to a small gathering at Griffith Park, which was billed as a Harvest Fesitival. Not in a religious way, but just a celebration for the time of year organised by someone … Continue reading Free Sunglasses with every vote

So here we are back in the land of the free, home of the brave. It’s a family visit to see grandchildren and family here in California. Flying in from Heathrow was the usual torture where I brew up a headache on the steps going up to the plane and keep it brewing for the next 10 hours or so until we land. It does not appear to matter which airline you choose, if you fly economy, you get a cramped little seat and meals on wheels type food. At least New Zealand Air who brought us did not seek … Continue reading Back in the USA

If you choose a walking holiday, then you could do worse than choose one where the guide takes you to the top of the hill and walks you back down again. Unlike the Grand Old Duke of York we were bussed to the top of the hill, and then marched down at our own speed. We walked from this pretty hilltop village back down across open countryside, this area being fields and hedges, rather than olive groves. It could have been almost an English landscape but for the dryness of the land and the slightly less green vegetation. I thought … Continue reading Snail home

So, here I am writing of Italy and being told “ Why take pictures of an old car?” Well, first of all it’s not that often one finds a Trabant, and you’d be hard pressed to find one in Southern Italy let alone one planted in an olive grove. And second? I like to take pictures of wrecked old cars wherever they are. They tell an untold story. I like to imagine what that story would be: “Else had lived in East Germany since birth, she had never been near the Wall, she rarely thought about it. Her job as … Continue reading What’s the story?

Matera: City of Culture 2019. This is the view from outside our cave. Yes, we were indeed staying in a cave that have been converted into an air-conditioned hotel. Matera, now a popular destination with tourists was not always thus. In the50s it was described as the City of Shame by the Italians themselves. Grinding poverty and extremely poor if not non existent sanitation meant it had a high mortality rate for a so called civilised country. It had until Mussolini came along, no sewers, and the drains ran down the centre of the Main Street at the foot of … Continue reading Italy’s shame to Italy’s pride

Recent walking trip to Puglia and washday. No need for a washer dryer here, just hang it out on the balcony and when the bell strikes 5pm it will be as dry as a bone. This is Ostuni which was a very pleasant interlude on our trip. Was Zanussi the Italian who invented washer dryers? Also found this little music shop window which made for a reflective image. Continue reading Italian Washer Dryer: Zanussi?