Serendipitous Doggerel . . .

Doggerel, as you surely recall, is light, as in "not serious", verse or poetry. Sometimes doggerel can take on, even more lightly, or loosely, a photographic form ; which is exactly what happened this past Monday when I was strolling around Paris, well, sprinting, after my daughters who were in a shopping frenzy, but at one point they went into a department store, and left me, like a dog tied to a sign post, outside to await them. So I started looking more closely at the signpost I was "tied" to, and what I saw were the results of a commendable effort by the City of Paris to encourage dog owners to scoop up their pet's poo poo and dispose of it properly, rather than leaving it on the sidewalk like mines in a mine field as had been the common practice in the past several centuries of Parisian history. . . (imagine Louis XIV exclaiming, "Merde, I've just stepped in doggy doo doo !" outside the Louvre) The sign says, loosely translated, "Because I Love my neighborhood, I will diligently persevere in scooping up my doggy's poop, no matter how loose his bowels, every day, or else I may be fined 457 euros ! :
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I took this next photo a few minutes later (as I am a dogged photographer) outside the Samaritaine department store, which is no longer a department store; the building is closed for a major makeover. While being renovated, the old store display windows have charming murals displayed in them. It wasn't until this morning, looking through the photos from Monday's adventure in Paris, that I noticed how closely these two images resemble each other, the angle of the leash, the postures of man and dog. . . now if that is not serendipity-do at work, well I don't know what is !
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And a few minutes later a lovely young lady walked by the same spot, finding the whole story just hilarious :
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Of Swine and Men (and their marvellous motorcars)

First, I did not take this photo, it appeared on the Jalopnik.com website where it appeared with an interesting and pertinent story about Swine Flu and automobiles, that an alert reader sent me the link to (thanks Walter !) Worth reading. These are strange times we live in, as you may have noticed already, and Swine Flu is just the latest plague to beset the planet. . . just when we'd almost forgotten about Bird Flu. There is also a blog article on A Tidings of Magpies you may want to look at along these same lines. (And while you are there take a walk through Distracted by Shiny Objects past posts, it is a smorgasbord of fine reading to rival "Babette's Feast".) But also this photo was timely in regards to a bit of a discussion that got going concerning old VW campers, between a below post here and a couple of posts on Jumble Sale Rabbits, which btw is another fun and friendly blog. . . as well as on a blog in Australia done by Nathalie who is now in Avignon, France. Happy reading, and if any swine approach you in a dark alley asking you to get into a car that looks like this one, just tell them. . . I gave at the office, and then run for your life !

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Royal Tombs . . .

On the way back from the Paris Dog Cemetery in Asnières the other day, I took a detour on the way home via Saint Denis, where inside the Basilica an astonishing array of French royalty are interred. This was my third trip there ; the first occurred in 1970 when I was just a wee lad, but a trip which no doubt influenced my later life, the second time in January 1992 with my not as yet but soon to be wife, la Grenouille. It is a sobering place, an incredible sense of peace and quiet reigns inside those walls. . .
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Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI have a side alcove pretty much to themselves. I was very naughty taking this picture with my flash, but there just wasn't enough light otherwise. . .
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This sculpted pair of royal feet seemed more than real to me . . .
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Radiant Yellow Day !

This morning it was three yellow boats from Carantec, tonight it is dazzling yellow fields of colza flowers. . . I love this time of year when great swaths of French countryside transform themselves into shimmering fields of brilliant yellow as far as the eye can see, brighter than sunlight, even under a grey sky they shine with the energy of ten million yellow crayons being scribbled with by invisible hands, I would hazard to guess such fields may be visible from space. Going to need sunglasses to keep looking at these . . .
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Kreativ Writing . . .

Many thanks again to Laurie who is working magic at "Creating Pictures In My Mind" for nominating me for a Kreativ Blogger award. (And may your angels be many and mossy !) As it didn't come with instructions I looked around on the net a bit, and although there seem to be different versions out there, as best as I can conclude, the instructions are something like this :
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Here are the rules of the award:
1. The winner may put the logo on his/her blog.
2. Put a link to the person you got the award from.
3. Nominate 6 blogs.
4. Put links to the blogs.
5. Leave a message for your nominees.
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So, hereafter follow five blogs which I have been appreciating greatly in recent days, weeks, or even for months now, which all demonstrate commendable creativity, and are certainly worthy of awards :
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1) Nathalie's Avignon in Photos, a pure pleasure !
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2) Amy's Of Heliotropes and Silver Strings, a most promising beginning !
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3) Jeff's Life Is Beautiful, an incredible mind at work there !
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4) English Rider's Where's My Effing Pony, for her wicked sense of humour !
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5) Henk's Outsider Environments Europe, which is specializing in Outside Art !
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6) SP's Art of the City, that I only just discovered, but love the photo's there !
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Hammering Virtual Iron . . .

In French there is an expression which says "Il faut battre le fer pendant que c'est chaud", which translates as "iron must be hammered while it is still hot". . . so before getting on with further posting today, am going to thank Steve at Bloggertropolis again for passing on the Noblesse Oblige award yesterday, I'm still on the floor. . . (sur le cul...). Here are the details about this honor :
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The recipient of this award is recognised for the following :
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1) The Blogger manifests exemplary attitude, respecting the nuances that pervades amongst different cultures and beliefs.
2) The Blog contents inspire; strives to encourage and offers solutions.
3) There is a clear purpose at the Blog; one that fosters a better understanding on Social, Political, Economic, the Arts, Culture and Sciences and Beliefs.
4) The Blog is refreshing and creative.
5) The Blogger promotes friendship and positive thinking.
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The Blogger who receives this award will need to perform the following steps :
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1) Create a Post with a mention and link to the person who presented the Noblesse Oblige Award.
2) The Award Conditions must be displayed at the Post.
3) Write a short article about what the Blog has thus far achieved – preferably citing one or more older posts to support.
4) The Blogger must present the Noblesse Oblige Award in concurrence with the Award conditions.
5) Blogger must display the Award at any location at the Blog.
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Points 1 and 2 are covered by this post. For point 3, well, the entire purpose of this blog voyage, a Magic Lantern Show, Mr. Toad's Travel Diary, is to present extracts from roughly 30 years of photography and writing that I've been doing in my spare time, when not working to make a living. . . I only hope that in some small way, by doing so, that it holds water artistically, even if there are a few leaks in the hull, and that it may bring a certain measure of pleasure to a few fellow travellers out there in the blogosphere, in all corners of the world. . . I don't know where it is going, but it is the voyage that matters, right ? I would like to thank each and every visitor who has stopped by here since the start last September, and especially thank all of you who are leaving comments . . . you are the greatest !
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As for point 4 . . . if I understand correctly it is now up to me to pass on the flame of the Noblesse Oblige torch. Although I have been looking at quite alot of excellent blogs recently, there are three that have simply seemed to shine a little brighter . . . so without further ado I would like to bestow the award to these three blogs :
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1) Halfway to France . . .
La Framéricaine has created an incredibly lovely cross-cultural experience in her blog that simply radiates the warmth of humanity and friendship, as well as going far to promote french-american relations, and thereby amply fulfils the criteria for this award. What is particularly refreshing about her blog, above and beyond her excellent writing in all her posts, is the incredible attention she gives to responding to her visitors with thoughtful, funny, and caring answers to all comments received. And I've also observed examples of that same deeply human spirit when she leaves comments on other blogs.
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2) Indiaphagme . . .
Loulou out in New Delhi, India, in the realm of photographic arts, has been presenting some of the most intensely beautiful photographs on her blog I've ever seen anywhere, bar none. Her photographs and her blog are an expanding monument to promoting cultural understanding and appreciation. I strongly encourage all who may see these words to sign in to follow her blog, and give her your support and encouragement . . . she is well worthy of the effort !
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3) Gry's Photos . . .
And last, but by no means least, Gry's Photos in Norway is another shining example of excellent photography that promotes cultural understanding. Her blog has obviously been creating some buzz in the blogosphere, as there are now over 200 followers signed up, and there is a good reason for that ; her photographs are just astonishingly lovely, full of natural beauty.
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So to all three of you, it is an honor and a pleasure to pass on the Noblesse Oblige award ! Now I just have to figure out how to do point 5 . . . well, this is what it looks like, and you can copy it from here :
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Three Yellow Boats (No Submarine) . . .

And as a nightcap, one for the road, or for the sea, as it were, I'm sailing off to sweet dreams, as it is past my bedtime, in one of these yellow boats. . . photo taken August 2008, Morlaix Bay, Brittany, France. . .
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Ten to Four . . .

There is an expression in French : "d'être sur le cul !", which translates roughly as "to be on one's ass", and it is usually used to express the fact of being quite agreeably surprised by some astonishingly happy event. Well, excuse my French, but I am on my ass today because after 8 months of blogging, this humble blog received two awards today. . . a Noblesse Oblige Award passed on by Steve in the UK (whose Bloggertropolis is a joyous place to visit, some truly excellent writing happening there !) and a Kreative Blogger Award from Laurie, also in the UK (do not miss Creating Pictures In My Mind, she shares my passion, or I hers, whichever for cemeteries and funerary art). Wow, Laurie and Steve, I don't know what to say, other than, can you please each reach out a hand to help me get back up off my ass ?
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Perhaps instead of saying something and waxing sappy, I'll just post a photo which means alot to me. In case you were wondering why I changed part of the title of this blog recently to "Mr Toad's Travel Diary", it is because I have always loved the story "The Wind In The Willows", and because my wife calls me "Toad" alot, except she says it in French, so it's "Crapaud". She does this because I call her "Frog" or "la Grenouille", because she is French, and that is what Americans often call French people in general. I met la Grenouille for the first time at a party in Paris the night before I was flying back to the US in September 1991, after having spent two weeks travelling in eastern and southern France. We had talked for quite a while at that party, and she gave me her address before I left. A month or two later I sent her a framed print of this photo (which I took in a small village near Ornans, France - Gustave Courbet's birthplace) as a Christmas present. I can only imagine this small gift made an impression on la Grenouille, as less than one year later we were married ! Sometimes small gestures have big impacts ! The title of the photo is Ten to Four . . .
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Tuesday Afternoon . . .

Hi Everybody ! I'm back ! I had some concerned questions about my extremely long absence since the last post (Sunday night !), wondering whether I had been kidnapped by a squad of nymphomaniac female Australian beach volleyball players, or perhaps beamed up by the UFO which I mentioned having spotted in the post on Reflections (Carantec) last week and transported to a distant planet where inter-galactic ADSL connections to allow blogging were not yet working, or, horror of horrors, if I might have had to return back to work . . . well, the answer is : none of the above. It is Tuesday afternoon, and I'm still on vacation until next week ! And given that I'm on vacation, well, I'm doing the sort of stuff that people on vacation do... which doesn't necessarily leave alot of time for blogging.
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But in fact, Sunday we made the grueling six hour drive back from Brittany, which is what had me thinking about old Volkswagen buses, and then yesterday we went into Paris all day for things like shopping at WH Smiths (where I picked up Tom Robbin's most recent release "Wild Ducks Flying Backwards", Hunter Thompson's "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" which for some inexplicable reason was not yet in my small home library, and three works by David Foster Wallace, including the massive "Infinite Jest" which I've been meaning to get my hands on for some time), a visit to the Musée Maillol (which I'd never been to before) to see the expo on the paintings of Seraphine de Senlis (about whom we just saw the excellent recent movie), a trip to Pain Poilane to stock up on what may arguably the best bread in Paris (and you can order it on the internet and have it delivered fresh by FedEx around the world), and then to top the day off, like a bright red maraschino cherry on a chocolate sunday, the last stop was at the Olympia Theatre to see Jackson Browne perform ! (more on that later) So, after driving home from Paris last night in a driving rain, I was way too pooped to blog last night, and this morning I slept in, had a late breakfast, and returned to bed with Tom Robbins in hand for a good cozy reading session. . . life's small pleasures !!!
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Now, before I continue, concerning the UFO which I facetiously wrote about having spotted in a post below on window reflections, the one with the white disk of light, I had a very nice e-mail waiting when I got back from Brittany from a group named IQXS in the US which communicates worldwide on Twitter about UFO sightings. It is possible that they found my blog simply because the acronym "UFO" appeared in that post, otherwise I don't know how they found it, unless the aliens on that craft communicated with them telepathically ! :-) Anyway, they had some nice things to say about my blog, and wanted to know if the disk of light really had "whooshed off into the distance". Being the honest guy that I am, I had to "fess" up to having invented the story, and in reality, the white disk of light was just a lightbulb behind the shop window. I had this very kind response back from them :
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Dear Owen,
What an exquisite letter...
Thank you for your honesty and your integrity.
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I will let others know that it was merely a literary piece and not
a true sighting.
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I did not feel that you were making fun of anyone! No, not at all.
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Your photos were worthy of compliment!
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I am hoping that you and your camera come across a true UFO
and you can have the thrill of photographing the "real deal"!
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These are exciting times and many look forward to stunning
evidence that surpasses lights and orbs and discs.
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Continued success in your art and keep that camera in the ready!
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Cordially,
Team IQXS
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That was very kind of them, and I am making a note to myself to not try to increase visitor traffic to my blog in the future by creating spurious claims to having seen UFOs reflected in shop windows. But you can be sure I will be scanning the skies with more attention than previously. And I almost always have a camera in hand, so the chances are good that if any real UFOs should present themselves, I will be ready ! Now, as it is Tuesday afternoon, I'm going to give you a piece of music to savor while I go run a couple of errands, before getting back to the imporant business of ... B L O G G I N G ! ! ! There is so much more already prepared and ready to upload, I won't even begin to try to brief you here... enjoy . . .
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A Home On Wheels. . .

This has nothing to do with anything, it's just a blast from the past. (And an incitement to go take a look at Jumble Sale Rabbits where Liz in Scotland has also posted some old Volkswagen shots. . . there's some fun stuff going on there !)
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A long, long time ago I owned in succession two VW Transporters. The first one, bought in California, came to a tragic end in a fire. I'll never forget when I took off the inside cover of the driver side door to mount a stereo speaker in it, it was very obvious from the inside surface that a shotgun blast had hit the door just below the window. The outside had been repaired, smoothed over, sanded, and re-painted, but the inside had a multitude of unmistakable dimples in a circular pattern. Glad it wasn't me behind the wheel at the time. Not sure I want to know what really happened. The second VW bus, pictured below, broke down going up a long hill in New England, and it would have cost way too much to repair it, so it headed for a junkyard. . . was sad to see it go, had alot of good times in it. You can click on this first one for a bigger image to read the bumper stickers, one of which says, "The Only Good Bumpersticker Is A Dead One". . . So, that tells you something about the kind of guy I was between age 20 and 30 . . . then I got a job and got married, and moved to France !
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Yesterday : Part Two : The Ruined Chateau . . .

As I mentioned below in "Yesterday : Part One", yesterday, or day before yesterday, was a near perfect day. It started with a trip to the Carantec market, documented earlier, moved on to a lunch of roasted chicked with potatoes grilled in chicken drippings, and fresh strawberries for dessert; then in the afternoon, being the Mr Toad that I am, it was time to get in the motorcar and go visit the countryside. And that is exactly what we did.
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If you have been reading these pages for any length of time, you know that for years now I've been looking for my dream house. Well, yesterday afternoon I thought I'd found it, the real thing, the be all and end all of those long years of searching the wide world over. When I spotted a sign by a turn off into the woods that said "Chateau de So and So", I had dream visions of wonderland in my mind. And I followed the winding road for three kilometers through the woods until I spied this view through the tree branches. . .
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I was thinking, at long last, this is the place I've been dreaming of. . . we are moving here as soon as it can possibly be arranged. But then we got out of the car, and walked a little closer. And looked around the outside. Then looked around the inside after entering through a broken down basement door. . . oh shock ! oh horror ! oh sadness ! Bonjour Tristesse ! My dreams fled like wisps of pipe smoke in a Spring breeze . . . a whole crew of workers had been hired to refurbish this place, but it looked like they had been slacking off !
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Both the window and curtain people were obviously lacking in the skills which their advertisements purported they had, and the interior plaster fellow who was supposed to spruce up the family arms (redorer le blason) apparently got drunk and couldn't finish the job. . .
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The bathroom facilities were in a shocking state, I really am not happy at all with either the interior decorator or the plumber. . . I just can't understand how they thought they could deliver the property in this condition to anybody other than a family of wild boars.
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The interior decorator's choice of furnishings was, well, to say the least, somewhat doubtful . . . and likewise her choice of company, I honestly don't know what she and the gardener were getting up to in the afternoon, and I'm sure I don't want to know !
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Although this first piece in red with flowing spraycanmanship has a certain flair, overall I am seriously disappointed and have major misgivings about the poor taste and frankly limited if not totally stunted cultural, intellectual, and esthetic taste of the interior decorator.
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It was painfully obvious that the gardener, the interior decorator, the plumber, the window guy, and the electrician have all been farting off drinking beer all day long instead of doing the work they've been getting paid for. . . but this is France, it is hard to sack people who don't feel like working. . .
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It looked like the vegetation was literally trying to gain the upper hand and just pull the whole thing back down into the Earth. It appears clear that a new gardener is needed, as the current one has been too busy emptying beer bottles and playing around with the interior decorator to get any serious work accomplished ! I really don't know if there is any hope for this place. . .
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Grateful Dead Beer !

Now, before getting on with today's blogging business, to continue with "Yesterday", which is in fact now day before yesterday, if you see what I mean, it it is time for a word from our sponsors.
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After years of searching I finally found the perfect beer for Grateful Dead fans (otherwise known as "deadheads"). "Mallozh Ruz" is a locally brewed Brittany beer from the town of Huelgoat. For anyone interested in funerary art, cemeteries, legends of death and magic, or just plain art in general, having at least one of these bottles at home is a must. . . so, time to get in or on your planes, boats, cars, trains, tractors, bicycles, tricycles, horses, or rabbit drawn carriages, or whatever means of locomotion you habitually use, and get on over to Huelgoat to pick up a case or two of Mallozh Ruz beer ! Now how is that for absolutely free publicity ! And you can tell them that Owen sent you . . . :-)>
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This stone face was prominently displayed in front of a church in the town where I found the marvellous bottles of beer, Belle Isle en Terre, Brittany. . . I fell in love with her immediately, much to my wife's consternation ! Well, ok, she needs a little bit of a nose job, but that's not a problem. . . her inner beauty was clearly visible . . .
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Yesterday : Part One : The Market . . .

Sometimes life smiles on us. Yesterday, on vacation in Brittany, was as close to being a perfect day as I can recall having in a while. I'm going to do this in a few installments, as composing pages in Blogger is not very conducive for longer articles with multiple photos. Blogger has a pesky habit of inserting line spaces where I have asked for none, and then one has to go back and delete them back out even after publishing the first time. But I digress. "Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away".
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The day started with a trip to the Carantec market, which takes place every Thursday morning, year round. We love to go walk through, invariably one meets half the village, and there are often new and interesting vendors of odds and ends, as well as the old regulars. . . and as you can see from this first batch of photos from the market, I was still seeing red . . .
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These ceramic knife holders (is that the correct name in English ??? In French : Porte Couteau) being sold in sardine tins caught my eye . . . laid out on a red cloth. . .
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The hat merchant had a model which Bob Dylan made famous in his song about a leopard skin pillbox hat. . . for a good smile look up the lyrics to it on Google. . . with a red hat next to it. . .
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The seafood in these parts is out of this world . . . with a red skirt in the background. . .
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And fresh sausages galore. . .
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After a long cold Winter, fresh asparagus are starting to show up . . . Yum ! And a couple of red tomatoes for good measure. . .
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A row of baskets waiting for someone to take them home. . . Under a red "No Entry" sign. . .
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Our favorite market Thursday lunch, chicken roast at the market with grilled potatoes ! ! !
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Fresh Brittany strawberries for dessert ! (Note the "Famous Menton Lemons... from the South !)
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Crepes in abundance . . . on a red sign. . .
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Olives from somewhere farther south of here . . . (in red bowls)
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Signposts directing all the vegetables as to which way to the salad bowl. . .

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Seeing Red. . .

The house we are staying at in Brittany has red curtains, so I woke up this morning. . . seeing red. Later in the afternoon there was a red boat turned over on the beach. . .
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More Jean de Preissac . . .

To continue with the illustrations of Jean de Preissac, my wife's great uncle now departed, here are three more of his drawings that were printed as postcards back in the 1940's and 50's. . . My wife tells me he had a wonderful sense of humor and was always playing practical jokes on them when they were kids.
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The first one with the fish who are going to have a human for dinner, says in French "Je puis vous certifier qu'il sort de l'air", which translates roughly as, "I can certify that he is fresh out of the air". And looks like a boiled lobster. . . I love it !
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This one I left the uploaded image much larger than usual, you can click it for a bigger version, to help read the labels on the bottles for example, which say "Eau de Mort", instead of "Eau de Vie" (which is brandy in French). The caption here says "A Bridge Party in the Afterlife" ! And one of the skeletons is saying to his friend, "Your turn you drunkard to be the life of the party" ! What a mind ! ! ! Note the false teeth placed on the floor under a chair !
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This last one is titled "Alcohol renders people optimistic", and shows a drunk gentleman coming home and thinking that he is already in his own bed. . . LOL ! ! ! He exclaims, "Tiens, je suis déjà rentré", or "Hey, I'm already in bed". . .
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Anatomy !

This post is dedicated to my father, who was a professor of anatomy for many, many years, and who is still going strong as professor emeritus, conducting research into the inner workings of the miracles of the human body. My wife's great uncle, Jean de Preissac, was an illustrator with a wide range of interests and themes in his drawings, many of which were used on postcards. The four images below are details I photographed in a large work he did titled "The Amphi", short for amphitheatre. . . where a joyous assortment of medical dissections and studies were taking place, no doubt for the greater benefit of man and womankind. . . enjoy !
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The small sign in the first one says, like a menu at a restaurant : "Today the Dissection of a Macchabée (cadaver) Suffering from Gigantisme"
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Reflections on Brittany, Continued . . .

Weather in Brittany changes often, the other morning there was a heavy fog, which soon lifted. . . these two images could be titled : "Fog" and "Fog Not" . . .

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