daybydaybyandy

Given the Western/Christian flavour of my blog yesterday, I thought it only fair to balance it with a more local/Hindu flavour today. This is a view of Kapaleeswarar Temple, basking in the late afternoon Chennai sun. Whilst I could not understand any of the imagery or symbolism, it was nevertheless an impressive place. The worshippers appeared no less devout than those encountered yesterday and were just as tolerant of such an obvious non-believer in their midst.

Definitely a place to return to if possible; next time with a patient guide to explain some of the meaning of the place. 

In AD52 St Thomas, one of the original 12 Apostles of Jesus, arrived in India to spread the word of Christianity. In AD72 he was martyred on a small hilltop outside present-day Chennai. His Tomb rests beneath the Basilica bearing his name in the Santhome/Mylapore district of the city; upstairs in the museum is an artefact containing the original spear tip used to kill him and a bone fragment from his body. There are only 2 other Churches in the world that are built over the tomb of an Apostle; one is St Peter’s in the Vatican City, Rome and the other is St James’ in Santiago de Compstela, Spain.

As with most of the history of the Roman Catholic faith, there appears to be no contemporary, physical, corroborating evidence from the time to prove these facts, or any early supporting, non-contradictory, written evidence either. In fact, it would appear that the majority of available evidence would weigh against the story of St Thomas being true.

St Thomas gave his name to the expression ‘doubting thomas’, because he refused to believe in the resurrection of Christ until he had seen and touched the resurrected Christ’s wounds.

So, doubt in the credulity of what you’ve just read if you will, or, as the woman in today’s photo from the tomb seems to be doing - just have complete faith in what you believe. It’s  one of mankind’s greatest freedoms to believe what you will, express what you believe and not to be forced to believe in what you don’t. That freedom shouldn’t, however, give you the right to force others to your beliefs - no matter how sure you are of them. 

Religions through the ages would have done well to have noted the irony here!

This photo shows the cause of the first of 3 delays in my attempt to go from Hong Kong to Chennai today. Aviation fuel had spilled from the underground re-fuelling point by our aircraft and had to be cleared up before we could finish loading. The chap in red is mopping up the last of it using old rags! On arrival in Chennai we were delayed on the aircraft for over 30 minutes when the motorised disembarkation steps broke down on the way out to us. Finally, in the hotel taxi from the airport, a puncture waylaid us for another similar period. Never mind, I’m looking forward to exploring Chennai in the blistering heat tomorrow.

This watch was presented to my grandfather in 1958; I have now owned it longer than he did. For the first many years of my ownership it lived in a box; unsuited to the rigours of a student and fighter pilot lifestyle. However, for the last 12 years it has been worn almost daily - perhaps a testament to my ‘almost’ calming down!

At a hotel in Paris this morning, swifts were hunting insects and feeding their young in nests built into corners. I spent a few minutes trying to photograph them, but in the main found them too ‘swift’ to capture at a decent size in a telephoto lens.

I would normally associate poppies with a period in November when paper and plastic imitations of the small red flowers found in Flanders Fields are worn on lapels in respect of the war dead. However, for a brief period in May and June every year, these wonderfully joyous pink poppies grace a flower bed in our garden. Yesterday there was just one; today about a dozen; by the time I return home in 8 days they could all be gone, so I thought I should share an image of them before it is too late.

Yesterday I was talking about rockets blasting off into space, (well, Lupins in the garden in all reality) but today’s image is one of a much more gentle lift off. This is the ‘Bournemouth Eye’, a tethered balloon that offers summer viewing rides, from the town’s lovely gardens, over Bournemouth and the surrounding sea and landscape. In a way, this balloon really bugs me. Summer walks along the local beaches, cliff tops or fields can provide some spectacular vistas, but those looking towards Bournemouth are invariably punctuated by this red, white and blue ‘blob’ on the horizon - a very small gripe on what are generally otherwise perfect days out. As an aside, some very odd weather here today - when I first saw the balloon from about 2 miles away it was floating above a very low lying cloud layer with the basket actually in the cloud. By the time I got here to take photos, the sun was coming out. On my drive home, the balloon had disappeared up into the cloud again…weird!  

Have you ever seen photos taken from the top of the take-off gantry of the Space Shuttle or Saturn 5 Rocket launches? There’s this spectacular image of a central column lifting vertically up; out from clouds of billowing smoke below. Well, here’s my garden version of that event……OK, you have to use your imagination a bit!!

Regular readers of this blog might just be able to recognise the lone runner in this shot taken from Hengistbury Head in Christchurch at sunset this evening. The beginning of the 8 mile curve of Christchurch Bay can be seen at the top left of the picture.

There are a profusion of Rhododendrons in our area; they are a non-native species and are seen by many as invasive and destructive to native habitat. For many years there has been a concerted effort to clear them from the New Forest and surrounding heathland, but they are very difficult to clear effectively; bursting back into life despite the harshest of treatments.

My goodness though, when the conditions are right and they all bloom at once it is a very impressive sight; banks and terraces of these beautiful shades are all around at the moment. This particular shrub in our garden perfectly illustrates the issues. I cut it back virtually to the ground just a few years ago - it is now above head height and producing blooms like this. Provided we can keep them under control (easier said than done!) they are a positive addition to the garden environment.