Author: Mister Bump UK

Formerly Stroke Survivor UK. Designed/developed IT systems for banks, but had a stroke in 2016, aged 48. Returned to developing from home, plus do some voluntary work. Married, with a grown-up, left-home daughter.

Life through the Lens (25 October 2020)

A day late this week. Sorry, did not feel like publishing yesterday.

As my previous series came to an end, I had the idea to post some of my own photographs.

When my eyes were better, I used to enjoy photography. I had some decent kit and was around just as digital photography was taking off. Although it was strictly a hobby for me, two of my photos were published. One rural shot of hay bales ended up in a brochure made by the UK’s NFU (farming), another ended up in a coffee-table book about lighthouses. I wasn’t David Bailey but a couple of times, I was fortunate to be in the right place at the right time.

I thought I’d share some. All these photographs were taken by me, I own the copyright so if you’d like to use any, go for it. Just so long as you don’t use them to make any money.

My aim is to publish weekly again but this time, on Sunday afternoons. I’m just going to repeat this spiel each week, too, for the benefit of new readers, so you can safely skip to the camera graphic to save reading the blurb each time.

If you look at the category above (high on left, by the date), I’ll put every photo in that same category so you can find previously-published photos. If I feel a photo needs some explanation, I’ll maybe write a line or two to go with it. Like the last time, I’ll keep going until I run out of steam. Oh, and feel free to join in, if the fancy takes you.

I’ve linked to a higher-res umage under each photo.

After my photograph last week, how could I not include a shot of the Matterhorn itself? The Matterhorn stands just shy of 4,500m, straddling the border of Switzerland and Italy, and is one of the tallest peaks in the Alps. In fact, several of the tallest peaks are in the near vicinity.

I love that I managed to capture the Alpenglow here, which gives the mountain that reddish tinge you see.

I like that photo, but taking such a close-up, you can’t really get a feel for the scale, so here is another, from the nearby town of Zermatt.

Recession

for Fandango’s One Word Challenge(FOWC) of 26 October 2020, merchandise.

The silky hair upon his head,
The flawless accent, better-bred.
Smart and dapper in his grey pinstripe suit,
For “class”, there is no substitute.

Each day before he goes to work,
Repolishes shoes and combs his hair.
He goes out looking very smart,
With what he does, must look the part.

For every day, he walks his beat,
Department store in town’s High Street,
Unwary shoppers he ties to entice,
With his alluring merchandise.

He’s not been doing so well of late,
His boss starts to inversigate,
“You have your targets, don’t you know?
Your sales record is just too low.

At quarter’s end, results are in,
The sales have been very thin,
I’m ‘fraid we’ll have to let you go,
No room for hangers-on, you know.

He leaves the shop for the last time,
No need for suit, no shoes to shine,
At fifty-eight, beyond transition,
When looking for a new position.

Fandango’s Flash Fiction Challenge

for Fandango’s Flash Fiction Challenge #89, which asks us to conjure up a story based upon the following image:

It was coming up to Melissa’s fortieth anniversary. Her doting husband, the efficient Mark, had it all planned. Given Melissa’s recent all-clear following cancer surgery, it seemed appropriate to combine this celebration with her milestone event, and arrange a surprise party, with friends she had not seen for years. One former bridesmaid was even jetting in from her new home in Spain.

Confident that everything was under control, Mark’s one last task was to leave work early the day before the party, and collect the specially-made, extravagant, chocolate cake from the confectioners close to his office. Mark was elated – the cake stood three feet high, topped with an exquisite sculpture of Eros, where Mark and Melissa had first met. The cake safely collected, this was it. Remembering that they had once thought they would not see this day, Mark now thought that nothing was left to go wrong, and that this would be a party to remember, as he walked out of the shop and turned toward the Tube. The enormous cake obscuring his view, Mark did not see the uneven slab on the pavement and, catching it with his foot, the cake was sent flying as he lost his balance. What seemed like a lifetime later, Mark landed on the pavement, squarely on top of the now-ruined cake.

Seeing the incident right outside her café, the barista rushed outside to see if she could help. Many of her customers, who had seen the incident, just sniggered.

Desperately sad today, I’m sorry.

Suggestion Box (2)

Here’s another suggestion. I’m on a roll this week.

When somebody appears on an advert, I think that the advert should say whether they are an actor or not. Quite simply, when somebody says “buy x” or “do y“, I think we should know whether they are being paid to say what the’re saying.

I don’t so much have a problem with commercial adverts, because it is obvious (to me) that these people must be actors (although what might be obvious to one person might not be obvious to another). But when somebody speaks on a particular theme, perhaps as part of a political broadcast, or from the government, say, and gives the impression they they are just a concerned citizen, I’d like to know whether that is true or not. Or when somebody comes on and speaks for a charity, I’d like to know whether they are being paid to speak for that charity. If the charity is using that image to tug on our heartstrings.

The only safe assumption currently is that anybody who says anything is being paid to do so, but this should be stated explicitly.

written for Weekly Prompts Weekly Challenge of 24 October 2020, Suggestion Box.

Esme

Some of you will remember I talked a month ago about my daughter’s cat, Esme, staying with us.

We just had a call from my daughter that Esme was run over and killed instantly. She’d have only been about 3½.