Your Today in Pictures...

[Ali Hipperson]

Brilliant Graham!

Takes me back to my old school days in East London -when you still got proper winters! I wasn't a rugby guy but a footballer and a cross-country runner and I used to love going for the 3mile runs (ironically in full rugby type jerseys and boots) in the cold, wet, icy, muddyamuddy sometimes foggy forest 😊

Hating the school showered (we were all like Casper in Les!) I used to get home and have to soak in a hot bath to get all the dried, caked mud off of me - happy days! 😊

Ali.

[Ali Hipperson]

* Kes

[Ali Hipperson]

[Graham Ritchie]

The Waverley and can of Irn Bru is brilliant

"Kes" was a film that was a fairly accurate account of what school life was like during the 1960s.

Rugby out here in New Zealand is taken "very serious". I remember once when I worked for an airline, I was about to depart a ATR72 when I saw the captain waiving for my attention. Thinking what might be wrong, I boarded the flight, walked through the cabin, the freight locker to the cockpit. As soon as I opened the door, the pilot took off his headset turned round to look at me and said....now what did you think of the All Black Scotland game?, as Scotland was out here on tour. This caught me of balance, as the aircraft was ready to leave the gate. After a quick chat, I remember saying that we better get going. Anyway as I walked back through the cabin, all the passengers by this time were seated ready to go. As I left through the rear door, one cabin attendant said to me, is everything OK, I replied fine just fine. I did not let on we were talking rugby.

Just once and I do mean just once, would Scotland beat the All Blacks on tour, so I would have something to throw back

Steven found some old photos just the other day of when he was young and showed them to Connor...

[Steve Klare]

The Work Plant

This amaryllis is kind of an old friend of mine. It was originally given to my wife, but the cats went after it, and out of pity I adopted it and brought it out to my office. There it could enjoy a sunny, cat free environment with year round temperatures right in the comfort zone. We were still worried about it: based on my history with plants it may have been better off with the cats! (I have literally killed at least two cacti!)

-somehow I've managed to keep it going maybe 5 years now, and the last three it's even bloomed for me.

There came a day last March when it was announced most of the technical staff would be working from home. Naturally I grabbed the plant and brought it home with me. It's still The Work Plant, because I work here now! The cats are still inside the house and they had a go at it, but it recovered and is spending the summer out on the porch.

...and then last week, something like 6 weeks late, this happened:
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-a little normalcy is a GOOD thing!

[Douglas Meltzer]

The Central Park goslings (from post #140, one month ago) are coming along nicely.....

[Chip Gelmini]

[Graham Ritchie]

Part of today was splicing together the seven reels of the film "The Hurt Locker" and loading the film onto a platter deck for a screening, hopefully this weekend

[Chip Gelmini]

https://youtu.be/X9yX4wpAAbQ

👹👹👹👹👹👹👹🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪

[Chip Gelmini]

I saw this in target while shopping it made me laugh

[Lee Mannering]

Filming the opening sequence to THE LANCASHIRE COAST 2021
Some of my film friends have been pushing me to do this film for a few years so I've given way 😎 Today we filmed the open scenic Lancashire shots and the steam train, I should just about have this finished by November. Take note Mr Simon of the Xenon Elmo.
Finished my experiments transferring 4K digital to S8 and also the answer test print should be in hand of my experimental movie 'FILM'.

Lancashire, Leicina Special, Manfrotto tripod and a vintage S8 film maker. Oh plus 5 Duracell batteries and some film stock. Ha
For those who know the BTF Morecambe tomorrow

[Graham Ritchie]

The years have sure past quickly since I took this photo of arriving in NZ after a 12000 mile journey on the old "Australis" about this time way back in 1973. Until the immigration folk came on the ship, I had no idea where I was going to end up. When they did, they said we are sending you to Christchurch, I replied where is that, its on the South Island, and have been here ever since

[Steve Klare]

Interesting! 97 years ago my Grandfather got off the boat on Ellis Island.

-here I am, two generations on...maybe fifty miles away.

Graham, did the New Zealand government assign your new home?

[Graham Ritchie]

Hi Steve

It was there call where I was to land up. They put me up in a hostel in Auckland, then a overnight train journey to Wellington. Spent the day at a hostel there, then they put me on the overnight ferry to Lyttleton, that's the port near Christchurch. I was again met by the immigration, they told me who I was going to work for, and as my money was running out spent two nights at the "Peoples Palace" run by the salvation army before going to the YMCA. I was down to $10 before my first wage packet, so I was really glad to be earning a wage.

I came to NZ under what they called "the assisted 10 pound passage scheme". To qualify you had to have a trade, get a full medical including X rays, plus a interview before being accepted for it in the UK.

First I new I had been accepted, was a Chandris Lines shipping ticket in the post to leave Southampton at a certain date. The requirement was, I had to work the ticket of as a mechanic for two years, then I could do as I like.

Going to any country takes a bit of change, I was lucky to respond to a add in the paper for a boarder wanted. The family I stayed with were wonderful people, and we got on great. The down side to immigration is leaving family behind, as back then, a writing pad was the only way to keep in contact, and even then it took a few weeks for a letter to get to the UK and a reply back. My parents never had a phone until later years so writing was the only way.

[Graham Ritchie]

Out shopping today.... came home with this