Wandering Dadsmo's photo diary

A Manchester boy let loose in the outside world, 1999-

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Singapore, March 1999

Raffles, a study in amber. Spent rather a lot of time in here. Raffles long bar is characterised by a large number of people out of their brains on gin and tonic crunching their way through a 2 cm. thick stratum of broken peanut shells and accompanied by a Philipino band playing the greatest hits of Eric Clapton, and very well too I might say. Approximately half an inch from the bottom of the jug on the right, a rendition of Crossroads by the lead guitarist had me rehearsing breaking my Strat over my knee when I returned, the swine.

India, Mar, 1999

A hotel in Bangalore somewhere. The gardener on the left has just bet the gardener on the right that he can jump across the pond without getting wet.
After 2 weeks travelling, this is the effect my conversation has on a fellow traveller who has slid off his chair and is asleep on the floor. There is an empty glass of beer in the foreground. Now how did that get there ?

Sydney, Apr, 1999

Sydney harbour bridge from the hotel room window. The tiny dot standing on top is Billy Connolly giving a television interview.
The justifiably famous Sydney fish market. Notice the complete absence of chips. How odd.

Hungary, Aug, 1999

Total eclise, August 11, 1999, the diamond ring. Near the intriguingly named Slofoch, on the shores of Lake Balaton, my life changed with a view of my first total eclipse. There are NO words which can adequately describe this event. Go see one now at your nearest planet. Don't let anybody talk you into going to Mallorca instead.

California, March, 2000

The great California Orange Gun. Gunner Gibson instructing Gunner Hatton in the gentle art of firing the orange gun. This little beastie fires oranges with compressed air. About 800 metres. True. Gunner Gibson's son Scott marvels at two middle-aged men playing silly buggers. Gunner Gibson and Gunner Hatton were once geophysicists together but have now seen the light and have gone on to much more sophisticated pastimes as you can see.

Chicago, March, 2001

The Chicago waterfront. Managed to catch the light just right. The viewer must remember that for every nice photograph you see on the right, a very large amount of photographic materials have been wasted by your intrepid cameraman on the 100 you don't see.

Buddy Guy's Legends. The other face of Chicago. In a weekend of "Lord, take me now "experiences, managed to visit the CheckerBoard Lounge where it all started, Legends, Blues Express, B.L.U.E.S, many Blues Brothers sites and so on. Also squeezed in FermiLab, the top of the Hancock tower, various Frank Lloyd residences and much more accompanied by Chicago-born aficionado Tim Mortimer. A gob-smacking place and now my favourite US city. Every blues fan must come here. Don't delay, act now.