I have been here nearly a week, and the boys and Donal are on school holiday for Chinese New Year. This is my third trip to this part of Guangzhou, so I feel I know the local surroundings. It is also not the first time I have been here for Chinese New Year, my very … More A Sunday in Guangzhou
This is me most days out somewhere keeping out of trouble looking after myself hoping to continue being active etc etc And while I am out either I am with a friend (such as one who took this picture) or with others (listening talking sharing) or I am on my own. I go through the … More I think about …
On the ground, life in China is never like the tourist trade implies and nothing like any of the various academic, newspaper or other media portrayals of the developing economy with £$£$£$£$$$$$ £££ GDP etc. Another culture, yes definitely, I feel odd and out of place nearly all the time even though lots is by … More Life in China (forget GDP)
Son and grandsons are at school all day, so now it is time to learn – all over again – what it is like to live in Guangzhou. My last time in China was in Shanghai – a very different city – and I have not been in GZ since the boys were babies, or, … More Learning Life in Guangzhou
Early September passed by in a blur and suddenly I am halfway across the world, in Guangzhou, China. I have to remember to phone at different times, I am now hours ahead of all of them, not behind them. I left Block Island, as always, beautiful. As I traveled, Scotland decided to remain part of … More A World of Difference
I thought this “The Sign Says” was an interesting challenge because it also says so much about what we expect to see, and how we react to seeing something ‘other‘ than expected. The photo below was taken nearly ten years ago, at the beginning of what became many trips to China. Later I discovered there … More Weekly Photo Challenge: The sign says…
Weekly photo Challenge: Culture I couldn’t not do this challenge – though one thing which interests me is that when we picture culture it is usually one which is obviously different from our own, as if it is not possible to see the one we happen to be in. I left Northern Ireland aged about … More Weekly Photo Challenge: Culture
The wordpress photo challenge suggested showing last year in photos, and I tried hard but it became an excuse for browsing through the thousands now deep inside the amazing tiny volume of 0.00125 cu.m. [a pretty good 4GB volume in computer terms but it sounds really really tiny in cubic metres – it must be … More Last Year was a good one
The Daily Post at WordPress has suggested GEOMETRY for the weekly photo challenge. To me, geometry is about the underlying maths of points, straight lines, curves and intersections, surfaces and solid shapes, theorems and proofs. Artists, architects, engineers and all [even nature, look up the golden ratio, not a pop group] use it to create … More what? geometry?
Is it becoming harder to find the completely foreign? Shanghai Yu-yuan district Or – a little further north near People’s Square, When I was in Shanghai Botanic Gardens with my grandsons, it just felt like “being with the boys”. Now, when I look at photos and wonder what they were thinking in each of these, … More Weekly photo challenge: Foreign
My World, Your World, One World 