http://www.jacquetta.net/ Jacquetta Megarry - publisher, author, photographer, adventurous grandmother en Copyright 2010 Tue, 10 Aug 2010 17:14:25 +0000 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss here so it can easily be found. Meanwhile, thanks to a specialist photographic forum, I have just discovered how the mysterious loss almost certainly occurred: on planes in general, especially at high altitude and latitude, memory cards of all kinds (solid-state memory) are vulnerable to high-energy particles, cosmic rays and the like. The solution, it seems, is not to take photos on a plane or, if you must, use a separate and spare card for that purpose. That way the images you have just captured while away are not at risk, because the card is much less vulnerable when not powered up. An even better solution is to store the precious memory cards in a shielded case: a couple of mm of lead is apparently ideal. But there must be an opportunity for somebody to market a neater solution?]]> http://www.jacquetta.net/2010/08/scotland_on_sunday_publishes_m.html http://www.jacquetta.net/2010/08/scotland_on_sunday_publishes_m.html freelance writing Bergen Grieg PhotoRescue Scotland on Sunday Widerøe Tue, 10 Aug 2010 17:14:25 +0000 In my wildest dreams I never thought that I'd ever get my name in big letters on a billboard, and if I had, I'd have expected it to be for some really daring adventure. Yet outside our local newsagent, here was the billboard for my flying visit to Arctic Norway. It had been featured on page 2 of the Observer's June 11 issue, complete with five photographs. If you read my previous entry, you'll know how nearly these photos came to oblivion. Yet thanks to PhotoRescue, they were recovered and printed in the Stirling Observer feature. The weird thing is that I now look back on that temporary loss of images as having been a good thing. Many of the people who have read that entry have told me that they never used to carry a spare card (but will now); or that they didn't know how to change their card (!) but will find out now; or that they had nearly lost photos like that in the past and had no idea what do do (but know now). I've come to the conclusion that my narrow escape may, through blogging, have had the good effect of alerting a few folk to an accident waiting to happen. And if so, that is a blessing. Anyway, if you fancy a trip to the midnight sun, Widerøe's twice-weekly flights to Bergen direct from Edinburgh start on Saturday 26 June. But take a spare card for your camera, just in case.]]> http://www.jacquetta.net/2010/06/fame_at_last.html http://www.jacquetta.net/2010/06/fame_at_last.html personal photography Arctic Norway PhotoRescue Stirling Observer Widerøe Mon, 21 Jun 2010 21:08:30 +0000 knew I was sleep-starved and should not have relied on a single alarm (its battery failed so it lost time). Lesson learned: if it matters, have a backup. The homeward flight was lovely: Widerøe fly Dash 8s with twin props, and their flights always seemed prompt with fast turnarounds. They are efficient, modern and fly relatively low, so you get great views: After a smooth, rapid drive home from Aberdeen, I was keenly looking forward to the morning's missed bath and picking up the threads of life at Landrick. Delighted to find my iPad waiting, but rather than let it distract me, I thought I'd download my 200+ digital photos (Lumix G1) from the trip. Total dismay/disbelief when I found that all but a dozen were missing from the SD card, although I had seen them clearly in camera where I had already done some weeding (strictly one image at a time). (Have always known that SD images are vulnerable, indeed one reason for wanting the iPad is a lightweight backup for images while travelling. So its arrival just after my first-ever photo loss felt deeply ironic.) I'm still utterly baffled by this: I can't think of any accidental sequence of key-presses on the camera that could have deleted hundreds of pix without deleting them all. Bafflement gave way to panic: this had been a press trip and at least a dozen images would be needed for various publications. Panic gave way to the idea of searching for photo recovery software online and I found the simply wonderful PhotoRescue. I had always thought such software would be for hardcore techies, and couldn't imagine I could succeed, let alone as easily as I did. After all, a state of urgency, panic and sleep debt isn't the best combo for learning a new skill. However, this software works like a dream: you download the demo for free, preview exactly which images it will recover, then it asks you for money only if you want to proceed (and offers a full refund if recovery then fails). At this point, I'd have been ready to pay serious money to recover not only my images but also some shreds of self-respect. In fact it cost a mere £25: terrific value. PhotoRescue has a superb user interface: no need to read instructions. "Quick recover" saved all I needed, really fast. (It even offered me all the images that had been on the card before I had deliberately formatted it at the start of the trip.) The photos are the ones I had intended, i.e. minus the ones that I had weeded selectively. (I guess those might be rescued too via Advanced, but once I had all I needed, it was time for huge relief and at last a bath.) I am still mystified as to how this selective disaster can have occurred, but am now feeling that I've got off incredibly lightly. (And have a rescue option up my sleeve for the future.) We were due to celebrate our anniversary with dinner at the Kailyard, the only restaurant we can easily walk to. But before setting off, I burned a CD just to make sure: another lesson learned. ]]> http://www.jacquetta.net/2010/06/lessons_from_an_arctic_interlu.html http://www.jacquetta.net/2010/06/lessons_from_an_arctic_interlu.html personal image recovery Lumix G1 Norway photography PhotoRescue Widerøe Mon, 07 Jun 2010 17:54:43 +0000 Lyngsfjord Adventure. Never havng fished before, I was 100% confident of failure, but within minutes had landed a small cod which we promptly threw back overboard. Here is the boat that took us: Mark McLaughlin (of the Edinburgh Evening News) put my codling to shame with his prime catch of a 5-kg wolf-fish (aka Atlantic catfish), famously good for eating. However, it has strong teeth and jaws that can crunch sea urchins, and a post-mortem bite reflex that can take off your hand, so we kept our distance: After the fishing trip, we visited the Tromsø Museum, with some fascinating cultural exhibits including a sensitive treatment of the Sami people who have established a nation without borders, have their own flag and parliament. That evening, we were heading south by Widerøe back to Bergen. Time to spare at Tromsø airport is an unexpected pleasure. Normally I hate airports, but you can walk around outside this one, taking in the snow-covered mountain views. Here is the stainless steel fish sculpture that stands outside the terminal: ]]> http://www.jacquetta.net/2010/06/arctic_fishing_in_the_lyngsfjo_1.html http://www.jacquetta.net/2010/06/arctic_fishing_in_the_lyngsfjo_1.html personal deep-sea fishing Lyngsfjord Tromsø Widerøe Sun, 06 Jun 2010 23:44:45 +0000 After lunch we visited the Polar Museum, the Norwegian Polar Institute and Polaria. The latter is a fine interactive museum full of portholes at knee height for toddlers. Although I enjoyed most of the exhibits, my heart was stolen by the delightful bearded seals: And after a fairly long day, it was fabulous to walk across a Tromsø bridge to the "Arctic Cathedral" for a Midnight Concert. This superb building hosts well-judged short concerts at 11.30 pm through the season. Ours was performed by four young musicians on trumpet, cello, organ/piano and soprano. The programme embraced not only Grieg but also Bach (cello solo), Nielsen and a traditional Sami joik. It concluded with Fields of Gold sung in English. IMO the late Eva Cassidy sang it better than Sting, but this young soprano's performance was something else. The surroundings were sublime, the musicians talented and committed, and I was choking back the tears before we left. ]]> http://www.jacquetta.net/2010/06/the_arctic_circle_is_closer_th.html http://www.jacquetta.net/2010/06/the_arctic_circle_is_closer_th.html personal Bergen Norway Tromsø Widerøe Sat, 05 Jun 2010 20:56:22 +0000 The house is fascinating, full of personal belongings, photographs and presents. Nina was Edvard's first cousin, and a hard-working lyric soprano. Edvard considered her the finest performer of his songs, and they often shared a platform at concerts. Among its contents is his piano, still played regularly in concerts: After a short drive, we reached Bergen, a city that grew from the Hanseatic port of Bryggen. Its carefully conserved waterfront has barely changed since the last great fire of 1702 (except for the prudent addition of sprinklers). We wandered around the wharf, now a Unesco World Heritage Site, among timber buildings and overhanging galleries of great character. This wonderful image from Bergen Tourist Board/Willy Haraldsen gives you an idea of its timeless beauty: ]]> http://www.jacquetta.net/2010/06/beautiful_bergen_1.html http://www.jacquetta.net/2010/06/beautiful_bergen_1.html personal Bergen Edvard Grieg Fri, 04 Jun 2010 18:02:56 +0000 Day Dress with Hat or Uniform (No medals). Trouser Suit may be worn. I am struggling to disentangle what this means. I don't wear hats except at extreme altitude, while ski-ing or sailing. I doubt if my scarlet Paramo ski hat would complement an otherwise respectable summery outfit. Does the separate "Trouser Suit" sentence mean that I can dodge the hat by wearing Trouser Suit instead? Or does it merely mean that you may wear a Trouser Suit instead of Day Dress, or even as well, if it's cold? (And could I wear my medals if wearing Trouser Suit instead of Day Dress, or indeed both?) I searched for fashion advice from Google: my search for "trouser suit hat" returned this wonderful eBay item as top hit. Would Her Majesty find this acceptable? Let's try some analysis of the text. "No medals" appears to qualify "Uniform" but the "or" after Hat provides limited grounds for hope. "Day Dress with Uniform" is therefore OK, isn't it, or is that only if the uniform in question includes a hat? Or did they mean either "Day Dress with Hat" or "Uniform (No medals)"? Could somebody please introduce conjunctions, and perhaps commas, into these abstruse instructions? Do they, like the Building the Curriculum series, need to be rewritten in clearer language? A later sentence states that "National Dress may be worn" (apparently by either gender), but doesn't say which nation. This makes it tempting to find some deeply unsuitable national dress (with or without headgear) thus dodging the hat problem? Or a fascinator?? Gentlemen are clearly not expected to wear hats. Considering that ladies don't go bald, I don't understand why such discrimination is thought necessary. But in a 21st century invitation package that explains clearly about the two forms of ID required, no cameras or mobiles to be used, DVD order form (£16 to BCA Ltd: that must be a nice little earner) why can't they say what they mean about dress code?]]> http://www.jacquetta.net/2010/05/garden_party_dress_code_dilemm_1.html http://www.jacquetta.net/2010/05/garden_party_dress_code_dilemm_1.html personal dress code garden party hats Keir Bloomer Wed, 26 May 2010 08:30:32 +0000 The man who cycled the Americas combined with his strong online presence, blogging, tweets and facebook, meant that it was completely sold out, with long queues for the book signings. He is, of course, the guy who knocked 81 days off the official Guinness World Record for circumnavigation by bike in 2008. And in telling the story of his trip through the Americas, he not only covered the length of the Rockies and Andes, but also climbed McKinley/Denali and Aconcagua, the summits of North and South America. In addition, he carried all his own kit, including video cameras and sound kit, and self-filmed. He spoke about both trips, illustrated with stills and video clips, for 3 hours, with enthusiasm, energy and honesty. Most impressive of all, he spoke afresh, not from notes or a script. Here he is signing books and engaging with his public: the queue after his talk ended at 10.30 would have taken another hour to clear, but he still made time to talk to some youngsters about his bike before he even started the signings: We may live in an era of the cult of celebrity, but at 27 this young man has a wise head on young shoulders, and seemed unfazed by all the attention. I'm guessing that the reason he seems so grounded has to do with his mother Una, to whom he pays charming tribute (in his book as well as in his talks). She was clearly not only key to his support team, but she also home-educated Mark with his two sisters Heather and Hannah, until he went to Dundee High School. On his first trip, she also wrote his blog and parts of his book, which I've just started to read. I've alway thought that early years play an enormous role in building self-belief. I met Una before the talk, when I went to buy Mark's book and also to donate two of our guidebooks. I knew that Mark had met our author Harry Kikstra. Harry has not only climbed Aconcagua, Denali and Everest (!), he has also written guidebooks for us, and he too is cycling the Americas from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska to Ushuaia, Argentina. Unlike Mark, who cycled alone and under pressure, Harry is taking his time along with his lovely partner Ivana, in a sort of protracted pre-wedding "honeymoon". In this photo from Harry's website, taken in Guatemala, Harry's the guy in the middle: Now it was at Nido de Condores (about 18,000ft on Aconcagua) back in 2003 that I had mentally redesigned the format of our guidebooks to suit high altitude, and later commissioned Harry to write three of our Rucksack Pocket Summits. So I took both Aconcagua and Denali along as a small tribute to give to Mark. I was delighted to find that the resourceful Una had long since researched what would be the best guidebook to help Mark on his Aconcagua climb, and sent him Harry's book to take along! ]]> http://www.jacquetta.net/2010/05/mark_beaumont_the_man_who_cycl.html http://www.jacquetta.net/2010/05/mark_beaumont_the_man_who_cycl.html Rucksack Readers personal Aconcagua Denali Harry Kikstra Mark Beaumont McKinley Rucksack Pocket Summits Rucksack Readers Sun, 02 May 2010 21:34:10 +0000 Itzhak Perlman (but not the naff visuals) and (amazingly, from 1928) Fritz Kreisler. How useful to be able to track down unannounced encores while still fresh in the mind's ear ... and how generous of Helen to send us to this concert which we would otherwise never have known about.]]> http://www.jacquetta.net/2010/04/chamber_philharmonic_europe.html http://www.jacquetta.net/2010/04/chamber_philharmonic_europe.html personal Chamber Philharmonic Europe Dunblane cathedral War Requiem YouTube Wed, 14 Apr 2010 14:59:07 +0000 East of Scotland Microlights where Sandy is training as a pilot. He also had provided the voucher through his company Gift Experience Scotland. The arrangement had been postponed three times because of weather (high winds, blizzards and deep snow) but fourth time was lucky yesterday. Gordon Douglas flew me north-west high, high above the Forth, west over Castle Campbell and along the spine of the Ochils, past Dumyat to circle over Landrick. House and garden look very different from the air, in fact its dark colours and treelined setting meant that at first I was afraid I'd struggle to locate it from above. But here it is: Gordon had told me that we weren't allowed within 500 feet of inhabited buildings, but I pointed out that our house stands on its own and the only occupants (Keir and his visitor) wouldn't mind. Clearly we swooped low enough to attract their attention, because they came outside and are standing by the curved path, with Bramble barking vigorously at this aerial intruder: Gordon then suggested we buzz them, which seemed a terrific idea to me, so we climbed and swooped, skimming the tree tops at about 120 mph. The G forces were so extreme that there was no question of using the camera, but it was very exciting. Almost incredibly, within 90 minutes of leaving East Fortune airfield we were back there on the ground. At this point, Sandy was waiting for the microlight (a Quik-R) to do some more solo work, so I took a few pictures of him taking off and landing: ]]> http://www.jacquetta.net/2010/04/an_aerial_view_of_landrick_1.html http://www.jacquetta.net/2010/04/an_aerial_view_of_landrick_1.html personal EOSM Gift Experience Scotland Landrick microlight Sandy Thu, 08 Apr 2010 16:06:05 +0000 Little Tiger Cubs, a fun and fitness club for 3-5 year olds. It meets in the Braeport Centre, Dunblane, and for 45 minutes the children do exercises and play games that will lead, if they stay with it, to Taekwon-Do (Korean martial arts). There's a national network of these: Amy's class is run by the Taekwon-Do School which Stephen Rooney (6th Dan) founded in Alloa in 1990. The Little Tiger Clubs are taught by the wonderful Liane Rooney (herself a 5th Dan, and Stephen's sister) who has terrific rapport with the children. She sets high standards for herself, too: I was asking how she got on in the recent European Championships in Barletta, Italy, and she was a bit crestfallen: "only" a gold and a silver! Her expertise comes across in her manner, and the children knows she is no push-over. What is brilliant is how she organises and motivates them, letting them compete while also gently teaching that winning isn't everything. They played a chasing game wearing animal tails: the object is to grab as many tails as you can while trying to retain your own. Below is Amy in the act of a tail-snatch: Anyway, today she earned her stripes and 1st Cub certificate (having completed ten classes), so she is looking pleased and proud, with the formidable Miss Rooney: Today was also the day of her Easter treasure hunt at Landrick, in which I had rewarded intermediate clues with tiny sugar eggs and the main treasure was virtuously chocolate-free: Emily Gravett's wonderful hardback "The Rabbit Problem". Amy is starting school in August, and certainly seems to be growing up fast and becoming a really interesting little person.]]> http://www.jacquetta.net/2010/04/little_tiger_cub_amy_wins_her_1.html http://www.jacquetta.net/2010/04/little_tiger_cub_amy_wins_her_1.html family Amy little tiger cubs Sat, 03 Apr 2010 08:02:59 +0000 And here is the view west across Threat Moor, both shots take at lunchtime on 1 April 2010, no fooling, honest: ]]> http://www.jacquetta.net/2010/04/snow_at_landrick_in_april_1.html http://www.jacquetta.net/2010/04/snow_at_landrick_in_april_1.html Landrick Thu, 01 Apr 2010 18:31:17 +0000 Shark Allies. I had been slightly concerned about the ethics of shark feeding, in case the tourist attraction created a dependency culture. Much to my relief it turns out that the bait supplied by these daily feeds amounts to a light snack that doesn't affect their need to hunt and feed. Sharks are the vultures of the ocean, seeking dead and diseased flesh (carrion) and thus keeping the oceans clean. Jaws movies and general superstition have given them an unfairly bad name. Live divers are not their preferred food, but they may test if something is edible by biting (which could lead to an accidentally sticky end of your dive if you get in their way). Anyway, these are wild animals and powerful swimmers, and when excited by food their thrashing about creates strong turbulence, so you need to stay alert. If what they bite is unyielding, their teeth are sacrificial: apparently each shark may grow and discard over 20,000 teeth in its lifetime. I was pleased to see that Ingrid and Janine both put on chain mail protection (there was no cage, just a small bait box). We, the other divers, had only subtle protection: the sharks are supposed to be attracted to the fish bait and the person dishing it out, rather than to us. We were briefed to keep still and follow instructions, at all costs avoiding any thrashing about of arms or legs. Experienced divers try to make minimal movement to conserve air anyway, but we had added incentive on the shark feed. This image shows the lovely Ingrid in her chain mail with excitable sharks milling about her bait; you can just make out some divers kneeling or lying prone in the sand behind her: Technically, our dive was very simple: we added extra weight to guarantee negative buoyancy and kneeled or lay in a circle watching Ingrid and sharks at the centre. We remained almost motionless for 50 minutes, which sounds a long time but believe me there was not a dull moment. This was, by a long way, the most exciting, engaging and interesting dive I have ever done. Being so close to these acrobatic fish was totally absorbing, rather than frightening, akin to an extreme form of aquatic modern dance. You can see the dive boat at upper right of this picture, and I am the diver small at lower left. The second image below gives a better sense of how close they came, though the shark image isn't as good: We were warned that the sharks might knock out our regulator or mask and firmly told not to touch the sharks – but nobody told the sharks not to bump into us. The constant circling, the sharks' extreme closeness and the small group size meant that photography could hardly fail. I even took some decent shots myself, though I freely admit that the images here were all taken by Janine of Stuart Cove. In the one below, I'd just taken out my air regulator to make the photo recognisable, BTW: I don't think I'd have felt as calm if a shark had knocked it out! ]]> http://www.jacquetta.net/2010/03/an_adventurous_dive_with_shark.html http://www.jacquetta.net/2010/03/an_adventurous_dive_with_shark.html diving holiday photography Caribbean reef sharks diving photography sharks Mon, 01 Mar 2010 22:11:41 +0000 Today was my birthday and it's hard to imagine a better start. OK, there was no wardrobe, but there was a wreck and I did find a lionfish. On today's dives I felt really relaxed, truly in my element. (If there is reincarnation I'd like to come back as an otter or dolphin, please.) Thanks to Ricardo Mesa, the talented resort dive photographer, I have my first-ever recognisable photos of myself diving. I spotted a lionfish lurking on the wreck, and am here pointing it out to my buddy Sean, who hadn't seen one before. They are elegant, extravagant and delicate-looking and deliver a near-lethal sting if you provoke them, so this was close enough: We just hung around watching it in fascination. If you are into headgear such as fascinators, could this species be a source of inspiration? Finally, also thanks to Ricardo, here's my parting shot from the wreck, which was called the Steel Forest, and lies in about 21m/65ft of water: After a peaceful afternoon, we went for a Japanese meal (delicious, cooked and served with theatrical flair by a young Bahamian). Afterwards I got a wonderfully thoughtful present from Keir, who had cunningly concealed it (heaven knows how, my luggage is bursting with dive gear but his seems to contain minimal clothing plus several hardback books of up to 1000 pages each). What a lovely day I've had!]]> http://www.jacquetta.net/2010/02/the_lionfish_the_wreck_and_the_1.html http://www.jacquetta.net/2010/02/the_lionfish_the_wreck_and_the_1.html diving holiday birthdays diving lionfish photography Wed, 24 Feb 2010 21:12:32 +0000 The Bahamas have seemed very exotic to me ever since my elder sister Lindsay returned from there as a bronzed, beautiful 18 year old (nearly half a century ago). Knowing that the diving is supposed to be good, I was delighted when Keir suggested a holiday here, and we had a delightful direct flight with BA on Saturday. Thanks to timely online checkin, we had two exit row seats with more legroom than Business Class, and after only 3 movies (Amelia Earhart, An education and Golden 39) we were in Nassau with only a short transfer to the resort. Sandals is at Cable Beach, near Nassau on New Providence Island. It's an amazing mixture: the down side is the naff pseudo-classical statues and some cringe-worthy (but optional) entertainment, but there is also the stunning natural beauty of its beaches and private island. We also like the simplicity of all-inclusive: if you've finished eating, you need not hang around for the bill, there's no need to carry valuables and no reason not to have another drink. Anyway, the diving is included! Fortunately I visited the dive shop on arrival and got a place on yesterday's shark dive, an event that runs only if enough experienced divers sign up for it. We were encircled by dozens of Caribbean reef sharks (harmless if treated with respect, but wild animals all the same) and had magical moments watching them at very close quarters. I'll try to update this with a photo: it being my first dive I wasn't carrying my own camera, but Ricardo, the dive photographer, was in action. The water is cold enough that I went into Nassau on the bus today and bought my first wet suit, which should make a big difference for the rest of the week. It was only $10 more expensive than the rental, and can be re-used on my next dive trip in cooler waters. Some women would rather have a mink coat, but I am delighted with this extremely comfortable garment. http://www.jacquetta.net/2010/02/from_new_providence_island.html http://www.jacquetta.net/2010/02/from_new_providence_island.html diving holiday personal bahamas diving holidays Mon, 22 Feb 2010 21:41:05 +0000