There are people, I have heard, who can’t walk and chew gum at the same time. I am proud to announce I am not one of them. I can both walk (improving steadily in this department, as my new hip settles in) and chew gum, even though I hate gum and see no point in chewing while walking. Sit down at a nicely laid al fresco table, for goodness sake, with a crisp sauvignon blanc, and make civilised conversation. And no talking, if you please, with your mouth full. And certainly no chewing gum.

Then there are other people, a different class of citizen, who can’t travel and keep up their blog at the same time - a harder task, admittedly. I am one of those people, for sure. Not enough time, too many distractions. So many mezze to consume, so many sunsets. So here then is the Reader’s Digest précis for August; with Athens and the Cyclades heaving up on the horizon in early September, there is time only to drop a few choice phrases into this blog post, line up a few photographs for y’all to enjoy, and hit send.

So, as y’all might have heard, Rob and I are just back from a trip to the States - Michigan and Pennsylvania, to be precise. Purpose of the visit? Same as last year, to drop off Rob’s sister’s grandson Logan at summer camp and spend some time with my (favourite) sister-in-law, Cynthia. Highlights? Frank Lloyd Wright’s masterpiece, Fallingwater, for sure; an early birthday lunch for Rob at the lovely old Kaufman Tavern in Zeleniople, where the American flag on the dining room mantel formed a kind of a patriotic altar; the quirky charms of Mars, a small and not quite stellar town near Butler, where we stayed, and the light planes practicing their landing approaches along Airport Road at dusk. See gallery below for photographs - if you click, you will make the images bigger.

Back to Toronto for a few days, then a dash down to Niagara for more birthday celebrations, then back again on Rob’s actual birthday - 23 August, her 70th - for dinner at our local fine dining restaurant of choice, Maison T, and, tomorrow, celebratory bubbles and cake at home with a group of our friends (the bubbles and wine, our South African family and friends will be pleased to know, are all South African - L’Ormarins and Krone for the fizz, Boschendal for the whites).

Next week, my daughter Eve’s parents-in-law, Jitske and Herman, arrive to spend a few days with us, en route to Eve & Shaun & Josh’s new home in Airdrie, just outside Calgary in Alberta, and on the 9th Rob and I climb on board the bus - metaphorically speaking - bound for Athens, Greece, where will meet up with our old friends Lisa and Klaus, have dinner together at a rooftop restaurant with views of the Acropolis, and the next morning, bright and early, board the ferry in Piraeus for the island of Sifnos, followed five or so days later by a short hop across the water to neighbouring Serifos.

Lisa and Klaus visited us twice while we were in South Africa, and last year we visited them, in turn, in Germany (click here for the photographs from that visit) so we are all well-adjusted co-travellers, and looking forward to a frankly quite brilliant time.

As the man says, have camera will travel.

Toronto - Fresh Impressions

One thing I did manage to do while recuperating from my hip replacement was put together a portfolio of more recent photographs of Toronto, taken since our return from South Africa - click here to see the full portfolio on my website.

Lens Culture

The photo above received Editor’s Applause from Frames Magazine on 13 August; it is one of ten images that I have submitted for the 2024 Lens Culture Black & White Photography Awards.

I’m not exactly holding my breath re the Awards, but I have paid over a small sum in return for written feedback from the competition organisers, so that should be interesting and, hopefully, useful and informative.

The rest of the photos entered are in the gallery below. Click on the images to view full size.

Back at the end of next month, or early October, with more photographs - maybe pics of a Greek island or two, who knows, some ancient temples and monuments….