This and that - Liverpool Catholic Cathedral

A modern structure, a bit too futuristic perhaps. Up, up and away!
http://www.liverpoolmetrocathedral.org.uk/

Drawings courtesy of Ben Stone.

Glasses

Was in Melbourne visiting friends this weekend.

A few dramas recently. I dropped my glasses and broke it yesterday. Was running to meet a friend, Phoebe. The best I could do, after searching half of Melbourne town with Phoebe leading me, was a lens replacement that was ready to be express posted to me in Hobart, hopefully by tomorrow, before the conference I'm attending. The quickest most optometrists could do was a week! Apparently almost no one in Australia does it in-house anymore and they all get sent to a factory in Sydney.

I have a pair of prescription sunglasses but I think I would look like a dill wearing it indoors at a serious meeting. But I'm almost blind without them. Ah well at least I can still see well enough to type.

In addition to that, I left my camera at Cuong and Ian's house this morning when I left for Sydney. Better than losing the camera completely as I am prone to do with various things (In the last 12 months, PDA/mobile phone, a pair of binoculars, a suit jacket, JR rail pass, a favourite hat). So no pictures on the blog of trips to Sydney and Hobart :(

My own self inflicted mini-dramas. Sigh.

Henley Beach

Went to work the whole long weekend. It was a public holiday here in Adelaide today. Been a tiring month and a half since I started work. Today came back home and slept for two hours before going out for dinner with some friends, Luan & Wendy and Graham & Nicole on Henley Beach. Nice food and nice views but I was still a bit sleepy.

Signs and Symptoms - London

Rather too small to fit a dog don't you think?

This and that - Picking mangoes

My grandmother's device for picking mangoes that are rather high up in the tree.

First she looks for a basket, one among her collection of wicker shopping baskets. Then she gets 2 long bamboo poles from the backyard. One pole is tied to the basket (the yellow pole).

Shen inserts a suitable knife through the other bamboo pole at one end, perpendicular to the bamboo. The bamboo, which has its grain running lengthwise, 'pinches' the blade of the knife very nicely and keeps it in place.

She then ties the whole contraption together with a bit of string. The knife to the bamboo and the other bamboo to the basket.

With one hand she extends the basket-pole to catch the mangoes and with the other hand she cuts the mango stem with a swift movement of the wrist. And in drop the mangoes in the basket.

Seems like a lot of trouble but it took her all of five minutes. The cutting itself took a few seconds.