Hola from Cuba

“Cuba has become a symbol of courageous resistance to attack. Since 1959, Cuba has been under attack from the hemispheric superpower”

— Noam Chomsky

It seems a long time since I posted here. The principle reason for this is that blogging and builders don't go well together. We had builders, of one sort or another, in for most of 2105 and it felt like a year when art or artistic endeavours were constantly interrupted by life. Hopefully things should be calmer this year and I shall probably spend some time refreshing my blog and website - but for now I will just say 'Hola from Cuba' in what will almost certainly be the first of several posts as Cuba was a bit of a photographer's dream!

Cuba is a country of colour music and dance. It is also a country of poverty, hope and pride. I know a lot more about Cuba than before I went and from a different perspective. There is much that is good and much that is not so good. The country faces huge challenges in the immediate future as the old revolutionary leaders pass on and the US embraces the nation. I don't feel qualified to comment on any of this, though I am so hoping for a positive outcome for the Cuban people, so I am just going to share with you some of the colours and sights of what is a very special place.

In order to make some sense of what I saw I am going to theme the posts starting with transport. To start off with there are those wonderful classic cars, many of them used as taxis

Few have many of their original parts and most have been mended and remended over the years - but they still look stunning

Next come the vans and lorries - just as attractive in their own way

Next up is two wheeled transport, with cycle rickshaws much in evidence

as well as bikes for individual use

The further east you go in Cuba the more horses and mules you see. Horses pulling commercial vehicles, taxis and ridden by cowboys - we actually saw someone lasso a steer on the motorway between Havana and Santa Clara! there were also oxen and buffalo carts but unfortunately I didn't manage capture any of those.

Different sorts of horse drawn taxi abound

This picture also features our state owned tour bus of which there are hundreds whizzing round the Island

Here are plenty of more commercial horse drawn vehicles too

I'm not sure if these speakers work or if they are just painted on!

Then there are the cowboys

and after a run down of most, if not all, of the Cuba's methods of transport I will say adios for now!

Stop Press - Amazing Discovery!

Stop Press - amazing discovery! In order to take pictures you have to get your camera out of your bag!

I was in London yesterday. I had an appointment in the morning then planned to have lunch and go for a photo walk. But you know what, it was pouring with rain, not a hundred percent of the time, but kind of 15 minutes wet, 10 minutes dry - you know the kind of thing.

After lunch it was dry so I wandered aimlessly around the shopping center near the Olympic Park looking for inspiration. (This is not where I had planned to go but had the merit of being mostly under cover). I have taken pictures here on several occasions and the shine had rather gone off. I really couldn’t see anything worth getting my camera out of the bag for.

Then I spotted some Rosemary bushes in pots outside Jamie’s Italian, not terribly exciting but the most interested thing I’d noticed. I got out the camera and took a few shots and leaving the camera round my neck wandered on. It was as if the sun had come out (it hadn’t) suddenly I was aware of all sorts of interesting things to capture.

I was drawn to the window displays

The lovers

The bike racks

And, in particular, to this little boy chasing a red balloon

I honestly don’t think I would have noticed any of this if my camera had still been in my bag. The act of taking it out seems to have been the catalyst for really opening my eyes to what was around me.

Saturday on the SouthBank - Episode One

New course on blogging started today 'reflection of you behind the scenes' I wonder how I will be blogging differnetly by the end of it? Inspired by my look at Xanthe Berkley's blog I am making this entry more of a photo journal so stand by for lots of pictures!

We arrived at Borough High Street around 11.30 for an early lunch and look round the market before going on to a matinee at the National Theatre.

Walking from the car park to the market we passed the Chooclate Factory - now an arts venue