Wednesday, February 10, 2021

5 times bigger.


The Moorhens are out and about on the village pond. They head back, at high speed, into the safety of the shrubs that line the water. Perhaps it's time to upgrade to an i-Phone with a better camera? This one , bought at the Apple store in Georgetown, is two years old and beginning to develop signs of operational  'absent mindedness'. 


Sophie arrives in the kitchen to greet 'The Font' . This morning she looks merely ungroomed rather than 'abandoned' after her start of day tour of the village.


By the time Sophie's been down to the river, got caught in a downpour and been hunting in the drainage ditches she's looking rather water logged.


Rumours that France is about to go into lockdown again but so far nothing official.  The radio this morning informs us that the European Union has nearly caught up with the United Kingdom on the number of vaccines administered. The fact that the EU has a population 5x bigger than the UK's isn't mentioned. We're getting used to the idea that we won't get a jab this side of autumn.

As we're returning from our post breakfast walk the builder stops his van for a chat. He's had a hernia operation. The procedure is described in great detail. He offers to show me his scar but I politely decline. ' Bit too cold ' I say somewhat lamely. Sophie chooses this moment to bark which is a useful distraction.  " They say I should take it easy for twelve weeks but fat chance of that "  and with that he's gone.

The pool men are notable for their absence.

10 comments:

Lisa in France said...

Your photos are already terrific, especially for phone photos - I think I can even spot the moorhen today! On the other hand, our daughter talked us into buying her the new iPhone with the three lenses last year, and the camera is very high quality. It seems like a reasonable indulgence at a time when one can't spend money on much else? I hope the dog car is holding up and properly lighted - I had to laugh when I realized the car in this video is also a Volvo: https://twitter.com/aussiesdointhgs/status/1359158838553948160

Virginia said...

I upgraded our fairly ancient iPhones just before lockdown over here. They were eye wateringly expensive, but I got the 11, with 3 cameras and it takes magnificent photos. The top model was 50% more than the one I got, and I thought it was crazy enough. When my husband saw the docket he thought it was for both, and was speechless when I said that was each!

Taste of France said...

The vaccination thing is disappointing. I thought that with superior health-care systems, we would be far ahead of the U.S. and even the U.K. (the NHS is beloved but one only hears about how cash-strapped they are). But the problem seems to be the purchasing authorities were being penny-wise but pound-foolish.
I just got a new computer, which took four days to set up. Apple is good about providing phone service, but still--you wait 18 hours for your files to migrate and when it fails, that is extremely frustrating. In fact, the migration never worked. I had to get an external drive and do it that way.
Anyway, it was traumatic enough that I will push off getting a new phone. Mine needs to be charged before and after my hour-long walk, even though the only app open is for podcasts.

Yamini MacLean said...

Hari OM
The first shot of Sophie in the kitchen is a very fine photograph in every way, pleasingly aligned; Angus need not be anxious for the most part. Is the current phone of a type that could have a telephoto extension added??? YAM xx

Angus said...

Sophie would not enjoying sharing her space with that many companions !

Angus said...

We usually get new ones every other year when we're in DC. We'd imagined that these would have been replaced last October. It doesn't look like this October is going to be any more likely.

Angus said...

Every doctor we know in the UK is happy to put in a couple of extra hours every day helping with vaccinations. Even the jaunty surgeon with the Pringle sweater books in an hour post operations, to help roll out the vaccine. The sense of getting the numbers down, nor, just doesn't seem to exist here.

Coppa's girl said...

Nothing wrong with the camera on your phone Angus. You've shown us some splendid photos - particularly the recent ones ones of the frosty winter sunrises and moody skies. I can spot the moorhen quite clearly on the village pond this morning, and we all know that every photo of Sophie is a gem!
Had to smile at the thought of your builder being too busy to take it easy!

Anonymous said...

I live in Florida, and with the state government being a complete and total mess (because of a governor who thinks the only right thing to do is EXACTLY what Trump says he should do), I seriously doubted I would ever get the vaccine. But finally, after multiple unsuccessful setups in my county, the state set up a central scheduling service, which I signed up for weeks ago but never, EVER thought I would hear from them.

But yesterday morning bright and early, the phone rang and it was the young woman to schedule my first shot of the Pfizer vaccine! So I will be going in Sunday afternoon. I am THRILLED, needless to say! My husband got both shots of the Pfizer vaccine in December and January through the Veterans Admin. hospital, where he is a regular volunteer, taking our Cocker spaniel, a therapy dog, down to visit patients. So he got his vaccine before the state of Florida even HAD any vaccine to pass out!

Laura in Tampa

WFT Nobby said...

Are the iPhones really meant to only last 2 years? I'm afraid this could be true. One despairs at our throwaway society. My Samsung S6 will be six years old this April and I am starting to think I need to replace it...
All photos of Sophie are adorable, whatever the age of the camera.
Cheers! Gail.