http://plasticfantastic.my-expressions.com/atom_7829.xml 2008-07-23T16:51:32Z Expressions Photoblogging http://plasticfantastic.my-expressions.com/archives/7829_1501551975/302026 James 2008-07-21T21:10:52Z 2008-07-21T21:10:52Z <a href="http://plasticfantastic.my-expressions.com/archives/7829_1501551975/302026" style="border:0;"><img src="http://my-expressions.com/up_media/5433/pblog/7789/et_1216674674.jpg"/></a><br> No talk of meat or Citroën Méhari's today. No talk of delicious pig's colons. I need to rush downstairs and make sure that the annoying, toy lion hugging, short-tempered, squeaky-voiced Cadel Evans hasn't regained the yellow jersey in the Tour de France. Watch him getting tetchy on youtube here. Annoying that I can't remember quite where this garage was. I can see it, but I can't see it, if you know what I mean. Annoying. Holga CGFN + Fuji Pro 400H © James Arnold 2008 http://plasticfantastic.my-expressions.com/archives/7829_1501551975/301436 James 2008-07-18T00:00:00Z 2008-07-18T00:00:00Z <a href="http://plasticfantastic.my-expressions.com/archives/7829_1501551975/301436" style="border:0;"><img src="http://my-expressions.com/up_media/5433/pblog/7789/et_1216327084.jpg"/></a><br> And the flesh you so fancifully fry Is not succulent, tasty or kind Its death for no reason And death for no reason is murder But does that count if you're a vegetarian travelling in France? A vegetarian cyclist travelling in France for a few days in order to see a stage of the Tour de France? I'm a vegetarian and apart from a little hiccup on Valentine's about five years ago, no meat has passed between these lips for nearly twenty years. But on my recent trip to France? Well, the steak and chips I ate on our first evening out certainly was quite tasty. Who cares about French cows anyway? The duck I ate on the second evening out was melt-in-the-mouth delicious. Coin-coin! (That's what French ducks say) And by day three I was tucking into a plate of Andouillette - sausage made from pig's colon. As Wikipedia puts it: 'The French andouillette is an acquired taste and can be off-putting to diners due to its extremely pungent odor, often compared to the smell of faeces. The aroma is due to the pig colon utilised in the sausage, which incorporates some of the same compounds that contribute to the odor of excrement.' Look out for it in a supermarket near you. And avoid it. What make of car is this? I didn't get a chance to look as just after I took the photo we were apprehended by the wife of the garage owner, who whisked us inside to look at a stack of other old French cars in various states of knackeredness. Obviously keen to show off the collection, she talked in French while we smiled, pointed at things, shrugged our shoulders and nodded. Then we got back on our bikes and cycled off. Holga CGFN + Fuji Pro 400H © James Arnold 2008 http://plasticfantastic.my-expressions.com/archives/7829_1501551975/301218 James 2008-07-15T20:48:10Z 2008-07-15T20:48:10Z <a href="http://plasticfantastic.my-expressions.com/archives/7829_1501551975/301218" style="border:0;"><img src="http://my-expressions.com/up_media/5433/pblog/7789/et_1216154919.jpg"/></a><br> I'm sure that on my last trip to France, the one before the recent one, that behind every French house there stood a rusty old Renault. Or Citroen. Or Peugeot. Just as in England every garden has to have a concrete windmill or a gnome or two, it seemed that in France it was compulsory to have an old car tucked away in the corner somewhere. Well, they've all gone. There's not one anywhere. Apart from this one. This is the last remaining rusting Renault in France. If you're near Plumaunden I'd advise you to go and see it soon before it disappears. I've done a bit of research and found out that the EU has given grants of €25,000 to each household to get their gardens cleaned up. That's €25,000 of British taxpayers' money. €25,000 to make them get rid of their grandparents cars. Recycle them. Dump them in the river. That sort of thing. Anything. Now everyone drives brand new cars and has tidy lawns and tidy flowerbeds. Sprinklers too. Holga CGFN + Kodak Portra 400VC © James Arnold 2007 http://plasticfantastic.my-expressions.com/archives/7829_1501551975/300748 James 2008-07-13T09:03:31Z 2008-07-13T09:03:31Z <a href="http://plasticfantastic.my-expressions.com/archives/7829_1501551975/300748" style="border:0;"><img src="http://my-expressions.com/up_media/5433/pblog/7789/et_1215939829.jpg"/></a><br> Here's a lesson you could learn from. If you're in France on a bicycle for only three days and are expecting to take some really good photos. And you have told lots of people to expect to see good photos. In fact, in a roundabout way you've bragged about how good the photos will be. Well, don't just screech to a halt every now and then in front of an old caravan and just point and click without thinking too much about what's in front of you. If you then come home with only two rolls of film (24 photos of rather boring caravans in rather boring fields) and scan them in on a Sunday morning before you've had breakfast you can expect quite a high level of disappointment. Learn from my mistake. Due to unforeseen circumstances the 'Semaine Française Rouillée Nationale de Caravane' at Plasticfantastic has had to be postponed for the foreseeable future. I'm off for a slice of Marmite on toast. And yes, this cricket hut is the same one I showed you ages ago. It looked a lot smaller last time. Holga CGFN + Fuji Pro 400H © James Arnold 2008 http://plasticfantastic.my-expressions.com/archives/7829_1501551975/300533 James 2008-07-11T08:24:58Z 2008-07-11T08:24:58Z <a href="http://plasticfantastic.my-expressions.com/archives/7829_1501551975/300533" style="border:0;"><img src="http://my-expressions.com/up_media/5433/pblog/7789/et_1215764714.jpg"/></a><br> Don't come too close. I'm ill. In fact, I'm not so ill any more. I feel lots better this morning. Since returning from France I've been shivering, sweating and aching. Feeling nauseous too. Not nice. No pictures of Tour de France riders taken with the Holga, too busy dancing by the side of the road. More details to follow. Lots of French caravan photos taken though so I was thinking that maybe neek week could be 'Semaine Française Rouillée Nationale de Caravane' at Plasticfantastic. That depends whether I get my film back and have the energy to scan it in though. I'm off for a bath now. Holga CGFN + Fuji Pro 400H © James Arnold 2008 http://plasticfantastic.my-expressions.com/archives/7829_1501551975/298368 James 2008-07-08T00:00:53Z 2008-07-08T00:00:53Z <a href="http://plasticfantastic.my-expressions.com/archives/7829_1501551975/298368" style="border:0;"><img src="http://my-expressions.com/up_media/5433/pblog/7789/et_1214431378.jpg"/></a><br> Did you see me on TV? I'm famous. Well, in France at least. What a day that was. I'll let you know the details when they've happened. I'm writing this four days before I became famous so I'm not really able to say too much about the whole thing. Let's just say that I may be recording a French number one single quite soon. And the champagne was delicious. Or will be. Or was. I can't string this out any longer. Here's a link you could look at if you like: www.bigtop-design.co.uk As I'm away I've no idea whether anyone has looked at the website. If you have, that's brilliant. Thanks. If you've sent me any comments about how we could improve it, or anything else. Thanks again. I shall reply to you all on my return. Which is today. See you soon! Holga CGFN + Fuji Pro 400H © James Arnold 2008 http://plasticfantastic.my-expressions.com/archives/7829_1501551975/298367 James 2008-07-07T00:00:52Z 2008-07-07T00:00:52Z <a href="http://plasticfantastic.my-expressions.com/archives/7829_1501551975/298367" style="border:0;"><img src="http://my-expressions.com/up_media/5433/pblog/7789/et_1215033477.jpg"/></a><br> This is getting confusing now. What day is it supposed to be? Monday? If it is, then Day 3 of the Tour de France starts from St Malo today. I'll be there with my pink thong and purple bubble wig. I'm aiming to get on the television just as the cyclists fly past Dinan. If that doesn't work, then I've hired a fat old Labrador that I'll be letting off the lead just before the cyclists finish the sprint stage. A fat old Labrador is certain to cause a massive pile up. Watch for me waving in the background. As I've mention every day for what seems like the past year, we've redesigned our company website. Here's the link: www.bigtop-design.co.uk Do you like it? Does it work properly? Holga CGFN + Fuji Pro 400H © James Arnold 2008 http://plasticfantastic.my-expressions.com/archives/7829_1501551975/299237 James 2008-07-06T00:00:53Z 2008-07-06T00:00:53Z <a href="http://plasticfantastic.my-expressions.com/archives/7829_1501551975/299237" style="border:0;"><img src="http://my-expressions.com/up_media/5433/pblog/7789/et_1215591193.jpg"/></a><br> They tried to make me go to rehab I said no, no, no Poor old Amy. I like her a lot, but perhaps she should cut down on the booze just a little bit. I reckon she could even drink Terrorkitten under the table. As I keep mentioning, we've redesigned our company website. We're not showing it off to the world just yet, but if you fancy taking a peep into the steamy and dark room of delights, here's the link: www.bigtop-design.co.uk Please let me know what you think. Good or bad. Holga CGFN + Fuji Pro 400H © James Arnold 2008 http://plasticfantastic.my-expressions.com/archives/7829_1501551975/299236 James 2008-07-05T00:00:53Z 2008-07-05T00:00:53Z <a href="http://plasticfantastic.my-expressions.com/archives/7829_1501551975/299236" style="border:0;"><img src="http://my-expressions.com/up_media/5433/pblog/7789/et_1215033761.jpg"/></a><br> I've lined up a couple of photos for when I'm away cycling in France. This is one of them. I didn't get much time to write anything though as I was too busy ironing my cycling shorts and applying lots of vaseline to my undercarriage. What tense should I be writing this in? I've no idea. As I mentioned the other day, we've redesigned our company website. We're not showing it off to the world just yet, but if you fancy taking a sneaky glance while no ones looking, here's the link: www.bigtop-design.co.uk If you're using Internet Explorer on a crappy old PC then you might have some trouble viewing it properly. Sorry about that. Perhaps you should consider buying a nice new iMac. If you've got any comments, can't see things you think you should see or have any suggestions for how we can improve it, we'd love to hear from you. Holga CGFN + Fuji Pro 400H © James Arnold 2008 http://plasticfantastic.my-expressions.com/archives/7829_1501551975/299239 James 2008-07-03T00:00:00Z 2008-07-03T00:00:00Z <a href="http://plasticfantastic.my-expressions.com/archives/7829_1501551975/299239" style="border:0;"><img src="http://my-expressions.com/up_media/5433/pblog/7789/et_1215034533.jpg"/></a><br> I don't usually go in for titillation on this site, but I think I can make an exception for this beautiful balloon lady. Close your eyes and imagine the annoying sound she would make as you gently caressed her silky rubber thighs with your fingernails. Imagine vigorously rubbing her up and down against the hair on your head and then watching her magically stick to the ceiling. Imagine. Imagine. Imagine. Something far more boring to look at now. We've redesigned our company website. It's live as of today, but we haven't told many people about it as I'm sure there will be lots of glitches. If you fancy taking a sneaky peep through a gap in the curtains, here's the link: www.bigtop-design.co.uk If you spot any mistakes, or anything that looks odd, please, please let me know. I'm off to France tomorrow, but I've lined up a few photos to keep you satisfied during my absence. I'll miss you. By the way, still a spare ferry ticket in my pocket with your name on it. I'll five you five Euros if you come with us. Holga CGFN + Fuji Pro 400H © James Arnold 2008