Liverpool

[BidC]

12 hours ago, Ed Rooney said:

What a day this has been. I saw two people taken away in ambulances, one with a heart attack, the other with an overdose of H. A young girl was doing vigorous CPR on the heart guy when I came around the corner. No response. The cops gave the women with OD a shot but she wasn't responding either. No, I did not take pictures.

 

When I got back to my hotel the electricity was off. It stayed off for 4 hours. 

 

But the weather was clear today. 

 

That sounds like quite a day - a bit shocking in fact ...

I drove to Liverpool from my house sit in Chester this week. Have never been before. I did my midwifery training in a hospital near Manchester in the 80s, but never went to Liverpool. It seems like a very interesting place. I couldn't stay long as I was worried about car parking fees (!), but had a nice wander around.

I hope you are enjoying you stay Edo -

If you like animals (particularly cats, as they leave more time free), house sitting may be a useful means of part-time accommodation. I once house sat for pretty much 9 months in a row, in between house purchases.

 

[Robert M Estall]

Edo's more of a Dog person. House and or dog sitting works well for some, but it's hard if you don't have a base to keep at least some of your "stuff" Perhaps that's the market for some of those  self-storage depots spring up in so many locations. I've only visited a couple with friends shifting some stuff for them and seen them being used in weird ways. 

Edited September 23, 2019 by Robert M Estall

[Allan Bell]

3 hours ago, Robert M Estall said:

Edo's more of a Dog person. House and or dog sitting works well for some, but it's hard if you don't have a base to keep at least some of your "stuff" Perhaps that's the market for some of those  self-storage depots spring up in so many locations. I've only visited a couple with friends shifting some stuff for them and seen them being used in weird ways. 

 

The mind boggles.😉

 

Allan

 

[Ed Rooney]

Not going to complicate my situation with either cats or dogs. I sort of had a cat once. 

 

In the house I was staying at in Woodstock, a neighbor's female cat, Nuppy, used to come to my window at night and run her paw on the glass asking to come in. It was winter and cold and the cat's owners never let her in the house. One night it was snowing so I let her in. She looked the place over, the way cats do, and then she settled on my lap while I watch the logs burn and listened to moody winter music. So I started to let her in every night and then feed her and soon we were pals. That is, she was my cat pal, which is different from a dog pal. Very different. Once she brought me a vole she'd killed and then she brought me a bird. She meant well.

 

Desmond Morris wrote two books that are interesting: Cat Watching and Dog Watching. He also wrote one about humans. 

[Vincent Lowe]

Not my sort of thing but it might be of interest to someone - Liverpool Street Photography

 

Seems a bit steep to me, especially for non RPS members, but then I don't do this sort of thing so what do I know.

Edited September 27, 2019 by Vincent Lowe

[Allan Bell]

43 minutes ago, Vincent Lowe said:

Not my sort of thing but it might be of interest to someone - Liverpool Street Photography

 

Seems a bit steep to me, especially for non RPS members, but then I don't do this sort of thing so what do I know.

 

Those prices are not bad for what it is. I have seen similar quoting £400.

 

Allan

 

[John Mitchell]

3 hours ago, Vincent Lowe said:

Not my sort of thing but it might be of interest to someone - Liverpool Street Photography

 

Seems a bit steep to me, especially for non RPS members, but then I don't do this sort of thing so what do I know.

 

No doubt guided photo "tours" like this can be instructive. However, I've always felt that it's best to follow one's own nose when it comes to photographing a place.

[Vincent Lowe]

6 hours ago, Allan Bell said:

 

Those prices are not bad for what it is. I have seen similar quoting £400.

 

Allan

 

 

Blimey.. I'm in the wrong business....!

 

4 hours ago, John Mitchell said:

No doubt guided photo "tours" like this can be instructive. However, I've always felt that it's best to follow one's own nose when it comes to photographing a place.

 

Exactly my sentiments.

 

Edit - though I suppose a tour like this might get you into places that aren't usually accessible. 

Edited September 27, 2019 by Vincent Lowe

[John Mitchell]

8 minutes ago, Vincent Lowe said:

 

Blimey.. I'm in the wrong business....!

 

 

Me too. It seems that the best way to get rich from photography these days is to teach aspiring photographers how not to get rich. 🤣

 

That said, I'm sure the Liverpool street photography tutorials are very good.

[Ed Rooney]

I don't relate to photography as a group activity.

 

But . . . in the past I taught classes like that myself. My students were beginners who found watching me work and explaining what I was doing helpful. 

[John Mitchell]

8 hours ago, Ed Rooney said:

I don't relate to photography as a group activity.

 

But . . . in the past I taught classes like that myself. My students were beginners who found watching me work and explaining what I was doing helpful. 

 

I took some classes like that way back when and found them quite useful.

 

It looks as if you've landed in a fertile city for street (and beyond) photography. You're uploading a lot of nice shots.

 

Hope you get settled soon.

[BidC]

On 23/09/2019 at 14:18, Robert M Estall said:

Edo's more of a Dog person. House and or dog sitting works well for some, but it's hard if you don't have a base to keep at least some of your "stuff" Perhaps that's the market for some of those  self-storage depots spring up in so many locations. I've only visited a couple with friends shifting some stuff for them and seen them being used in weird ways. 

 

Dog sitting is tough (imo) - there is the 'four hour' rule, whereby one must return as otherwise they become quite distressed. I've always felt freer looking after cats, but I do understand the pull towards dogs.

The 'stuff' issue is a good point, though if one is travelling I'm guessing the possessions that one carries are limited ... 

I guess it works for some people and not for others.

This time, for me, it didn't work so well (as a 'holiday') !

Those dogs played me up something dreadful  

[Ed Rooney]

There's no question that dogs are as smart about humans as humans are smart about dogs, Bridget. They are by nature intuitive creatures. Sometimes this goes wrong as it did with that woman in the UK last week and her two pit bulls. The last time I checked, pit bulls were illegal to own in Canada.

 

I would love to have the companionship of a dog but not the constant involvement or costs. 

 

Here's my friends' dachshunds, Len and Jen

 

 

.

 

These sand doggies are easier to take care of . . . except in a high wind.

 

 

Edited September 30, 2019 by Ed Rooney

[John Walker]

Out of interest, have any of you actually seen one of these sand dog 'sculptors' start from scratch?  I've been told they carry a silicon dog moulding that has sand stuck all over it and just a small quantity of sand which they fart about with all day to make it look like they are 'sculpting'.

[Ed Rooney]

I wouldn't be surprised, John. This guy had the look of a bad actor. And here's another guy who shows up sometimes. They are right at the Strand entrance to Albert Dock, a street crossing for tourist.

 

 

 

Of the non-musical buskers, this guy in Seville takes the prize.

 

[John Walker]

I must get up early enough one day and watch one set up.  The ones that appear in Canterbury only ever seem to be finishing off a paw like the guy in your photo.  You can pass by an hour later and they'll still be working on that same paw. 😕

 

That waiter guy in your other picture must struggle to get onto his steel frame with that pose!   

 

Two great photos.

[Ed Rooney]

When you drop a coin in his bucket, he quickly pops into another pose. 

 

I had 4 bad things happen today. But they were followed by 5 good things.

 

The Bad:

 

1. Could not find any way to transfer money from my New York bank to a letting agency. ???

2. My bank, Chase, does not deal with its customers by email. ???

3. I could not use my iPhone with the EE SIM card to call the States. ???

4. By UK law, I was told, agencies cannot accept cash, cheques, or a bank card for payment. Only a bank transfer. ???

 

The Good:

 

1. Got a letter from the NHS giving me the name of my official GP. So I have been accepted for free healthcare.

2. Picked up my Rx at NHS for October. So that's ongoing now. And free!

3. One of the young ladies in reception at my hotel wrote me a good reference.

4. Another young lady said she would bring me a phone card to use for calling NYC.

5. A third young lady, sister of the first, told me to speak to a bank manager about opening an account with my hotel as my address. 

 

 

[spacecadet]

The payment thing isn't the law- they can accept any method they wish. But they can also decline, of course.

Maybe there's a block on international calls on your phone which you can remove.

You ought to be able to transfer money with the appropriate IBAN numbers, but it may be quite expensive.

[Ed Rooney]

Yeah, Mark, there are a lot of maybes in my life. I have the IBAN number but I don't know where to put it in the Chase form. 

[george]

Ed, 'if' I remember correctly for me to transfer from UK to Portugal it was via a SWIFT payment, see if you can find anything like that with your bank. Or maybe use a money transfer company?? I have used Moneycorp and Transferwise before. They may be able to help. Good luck, it would be nice to be settled. Jenny

[Bryan]

Looks like you may have found somewhere to rent Ed?   If so that's good to hear!

[Ed Rooney]

I didn't want to add my compliant to yours, Bryan, regarding the anti-pain gels. My shoulder only bothers me when I sleep on that side. I've been bitching about things too much in the past year. But . . . 

 

My hotel has had a total failure of the electricity. The staff, whom I love, has been moving everyone to other hotels. I don't even have my toothbrush or a change of clothes with me for tonight, just my meds and my MacBook. 

 

Edo

Edited October 18, 2019 by Ed Rooney

[John Mitchell]

Bummer. Hope you managed to grab a camera or two as well.

[Ed Rooney]

I have both Sonys. Forgot the conversion plug for my Mac. I have no idea what tomorrow will bring. Maybe they can include this problem with the Brexit vote tomorrow. 

[John Mitchell]

58 minutes ago, Ed Rooney said:

I have both Sonys. Forgot the conversion plug for my Mac. I have no idea what tomorrow will bring. Maybe they can include this problem with the Brexit vote tomorrow. 

 

Uh-oh. I hadn't realized that the vote is tomorrow. It sounds like the gods might be trying to tell us something.

 

Best of luck.