The Sunday Roast

Forget Social Status, This Blogger Is All Class

This week's interview is with Alex L, who writes
the blog The Discreet Charm of the Middle Class.

The first of the standard weekly questions. Why do you blog?

Short answer... anger, a lot of things make me angry and I just love to complain about them. I started blogging really just on a whim, but I quite enjoyed it so I kept at it. Even more so when people started reading what I was writing. If you're a writer and not just a blogger it is also handy to get a gauge on any storys you maybe working on, its like a free focus group.

What's the story behind your blog name?

Well the previous incarnation of my blog was entitled 'The Diary of a Whipping Boy', I called it that because I thought it sounded good. Only some time later to find out it was actually a fairly appropriate name. I would put myself throug the scummier side of modern society so everyone else wouldnt have to. Taking the punishment like the Whipping Boys of old would do.

As of Feburary this year though, the diary is no more, its now entitled 'The Discreet Charm of the Middleclass'. Why is it now called that well I dont know really I was just up for a change.

What is the best thing about being a blogger?

Having people say they enjoy what you do. Whether your trying to be funny or effect some other emotion knowing that you succeeded is a great feeling.

What key advice would you give to a newbie blogger?

Ease yourself into things. Don't worry if you don't get any comments straight away. And don't expect the world.

What is the most significant blog post you've ever read?

I'm not sure, Mike over at See Mike Draw always makes me laugh and smile. Something as straightforward as a cartoon can be just as enjoyable as thousand posts.

What is the most significant blog post you've ever written?

Maybe my article on bloggers' environment day. I think I hit a cord with that one. I'm not sure really, there's a few that stick in my mind. I really enjoyed the post about ''cops'' I wrote, though. The quote I built that post around was pure comedic gold.

Today's Sunday Roast with Alex L is the sixteenth in a weekly series of interviews with bloggers from around the world.

Verse And Worse

Random Wit, Errant Rhyme. Not A Literary Crime

If you hate addition
If you hate factors
Don’t wait for perdition

You might like tractors

The Candy Mad Can

Got A Sweet Tooth? This Is Crunch Time

Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON

The only thing better than a kid in a candy shop is an adult (who is also a big kid at heart) photographing the shelves in a candy store. All but one of the shots for this week’s Photo Hunt theme of ''candy'' were shot at a Melbourne Suga store, thanks to the staff member Lachlan, who was more than happy to give me permission.

You say candy, we say lollies. But when I was little, we just called 'em sweets.

And y’know what? We weren’t allowed to eat them as and when we wanted – because they would rot our teeth. Rot ‘em rotten. I remember being allowed one sweet after lunch – if I finished all my vegetables and all my fruit. It’s not that my parents were tough on us. Nothing could be further from the truth. But dental care was more important than munching on sweets.

I also remember how, when you used to board our flights to and from boarding school each year, the Indian Airlines flight attendants used to bring around a tray of individually wrapped sweets, as well as packets of cotton wool for our ears. I would ignore the cotton wool and always ask if I could have two sweets. I was never refused.

After I finished university and started in journalism and began travelling extensively around India and overseas, the tray of sweets still came around before each flight – much to my delight. I don’t know if it is still corporate policy, but I guess the idea stemmed from the days when Indian Airlines operated Viscounts and Skymasters.

I suppose the action of sucking a sweet for landing and takeoff actually compensated for cabins that were not as well pressurized as they are on modern airliners. Having said that, even when Indian Airlines began operating their Airbus fleet in the late 70s and early 80s, I would always take two sweets when the tray came around.

When I became a parent, we noticed an interesting trend with the Authorbloglets. None of them are really into sweets – or lollies, as we call them here in Australia. When our eldest was a toddler and used to come home from birthday parties with untouched bags of lollies, we started putting them into a spare kitchen drawer. It was christened The Lolly Drawer and all these years later, that is exactly how it is still referred to.

Since not one of the Authorbloglets is interested in the contents of the drawer, their friends come over and automatically home in on the drawer, like bees to honey. Some years ago, the daughters of a friend of ours were so enamoured with the concept of a Lolly Drawer that they declared they were going to start one of their own.

A week later, we asked how their Lolly Drawer was going. ''It doesn’t work,'' they lamented. ''As soon as we put something in there, we eat the lollies immediately, so the drawer is always empty. We want a full Lolly Drawer, just like yours.''

On the other hand, our Lolly Drawer fills up so rapidly that it has to be emptied every few weeks. And there is a set procedure here. The youngest Authorbloglet has been under strict instructions to ring a friend of the eldest Authorbloglet The information is passed on that the great ritual of The Emptying And Cleansing Of The Lolly Drawer is about to occur, and the friend appears – as if by magic – to take delivery of a sackful so large and so heavy that even the Tooth Fairy would be rubbing his or her hands with glee.

Finally, here is a true Australian staple. Caramello Koalas (above) are part of Australian culture. So too are another Cadbury product - Freddo Frogs, which get my vote any day of the week. The Freddo Frogs were invented by the late Harry Melbourne, who was an 18-year-old moulder when he had a famous conversation with his boss at MacRobertson Chocolates, back in 1930.

The boss wanted to make a penny chocolate and mentioned that he was thinking of moulding the new product into mice shapes. But the teenage Harry piped up, saying that many people were afraid of mice and that maybe a frog would be a better product. Today, they are a confectionary icon in this wide brown land.

And when the appropriately-named Harry Melbourne died in January last year, his coffin was draped in a Freddo Frog flag.

Stair Case

Sticking Point For Drunken Wager Over A Tractor

A Polish farmer is facing jail after a drunken bet in which he drove his two-ton tractor (we don’t known if it was a Massey-Ferguson) down a set of stairs in the middle of a town square in Tczew. He said: "After a few vodkas the staircase seemed a lot wider than it really was and nowhere near as steep." But the vehicle got jammed and he fled - only to be caught by police an hour later back in the pub after witnesses gave cops a description.

FOOTNOTE: Messy Ferguson.

Post Of The Day

Today’s joint winners are Old Man Lincoln with The Double Loaf and Jo Beaufoix with Dr No No No. The other contenders were A Mask To Hide Behind with Let Me Eat Cake; Quilldancer with N Is For Night; Merisi with Suddenly Summer; Out The Front Door with Aaaaalllmost; SuperBloggerSupremeMama with Spittle’s Special Powers; Daze Of Our Lives with Why God Created Children; Imac with Sky Watch Friday; Jane Wigley with Herbie Rides Again; ChampTownboy with Locomotive In The Sky; Memoirs Of A Chaotic Mommy with Monkey See, Monkey Do and Mushy with My Best Friend From 44 Years Ago. Do pay them a visit and leave a comment if you have time.

You can nominate a post too. Just leave a comment here with the URL or link - and tell us the name of the blogger you are nominating. Righty-o, then, it's over to you ....

Verse And Worse

Random Wit, Errant Rhyme. Not A Literary Crime

Sticks and stones may break my bones
So please don't ever try it
Experiment on android clones

And robots on a diet

Reach For The Sky

Photographers Are Going Great Guns

Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON

I had a Sky Watch Friday post ready to auto-publish, when I scrapped it after having a lunchtime wander with my camera yesterday. While most of you are gearing up for summer, we're only a fortnight away from winter. Despite that, the sky has been a startling blue most of the week, with daytime temperatures around 20 Celsius.

The blue of an unsullied Australian sky is really something to feast your eyes on. So while I'm sure you have plenty of wide blue skies above you at the moment, I thought I'd give you a taste of what Melbourne looked like at lunchtime yesterday. This shot (above) was taken down at Southbank, looking across the Yarra River at the central business district. I had taken a few shots of the ferries when I looked at the clock tower of Flinders Street Station.

Realising it was almost one o'clock, I looked straight into the sun, shielded my eyes and reached for my camera. There's nothing better than shooting straight into the afternoon sun to produce a great effect across a camera lens, with lots of light flare across the frame.

Then I shot this frame (above) to prove that you can take a sky shot indoors! I was standing on the central stairwell at Southbank, shooting upwards. Not only can you see the clear sky through the glass atrium, the composition also provides an interesting combination of geometrical patterns - there is the graceful arc of the balcony and the handrail above it, as well as the sharp white triangles formed by the roof struts.

Finally, this shot (above) depicts a royal-blue sky above the gentle silhouette of a graceful metallic awning. For the next couple of days we'll have rain and hail and cloudy skies, but yesterday our sky looked like a giant blue riband under which we are privileged to live.

For other participants in Dot’s concept, go to Sky Watch Friday.

Tee Time

76,000 Guests? That Sounds Like A Last Resort

Virgin Trains in the UK has apologised to customers after mistakenly inviting up to 76,000 of them (yes, 76,000) to a day at a golf resort. The company sent an email inviting people to an event at The Grove Golf Resort Hotel. The offer was intended only for the 75 members of its first class Traveller club.

FOOTNOTE: Fore richer, fore poorer.

Post Of The Day

Today’s joint winners are Mrs Nesbitt with Q Is For Quiche And Question and Old Man Lincoln with Where Are The Bees?. The other contenders were Rune with QE 2; John with Q Is For Queen Record; In The Gutter with Mother Of A Quiz; Woman In A Window with Her Storm; Casdok with Update; Hairline Fracture with Week In Review; The Other Blog with Changing Friendships; Sandi McBride with Would John Wayne Leave The Garden And Go Sit Down?; Yellow Rose with It's A Mug Shot and Retired And Crazy with The Cambridge University Graduation Ceremony. Do pay them a visit and leave a comment if you have time.

You can nominate a post too. Just leave a comment here with the URL or link - and tell us the name of the blogger you are nominating. Righty-o, then, it's over to you ....

Verse And Worse

Random Wit, Errant Rhyme. Not A Literary Crime

A fussy eater in his teens

Simply refused to eat his greens

And so his mum devised a ploy

In his ice cream she mixed bok choy

Bow, Wow

One Wake I Didn't Want To Miss

Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON

There is a lot to be said for planning and for being prepared, but a huge percentage of pure creativity derives from mental flexibility. If something stimulates you, run with it. So when I found myself on the banks of the Yarra River recently, I took a few shots in mellow light when I saw this tourist vessel, the 'Grower', approaching.

I had my 300mm Sigma lens on and shot a couple of frames as she drew closer. I waited on the bank and as she came level with where I stood, I realised there was a cycle, of all things, placed above the vessel's roof. I thought I'd shoot a really tight vertical frame, showing the bike, the red life rafts lashed to the roof, a section of the hull and the waterline.

As I composed the shot, I realised that the wake provided a really interesting view, because the curve of the bow wave was starting to produce a clear but distorted reflection. So I quickly changed the focal length and took two quick horizontal shots instead, showing the quick degeneration of the beautiful reflection.

Hot Property

Drink Up, Let’s Build A Solar Heater

A Chinese peasant has made a solar water heater - using only beer bottles and hoses. The beer bottles lie on a board in rows, all connected by hoses which allow cold water to flow through them and be heated by the sun. Ma Yanjun, a carpenter, said he invented it for his mother and he will build a solar-heated public bathroom for the village - when he has the money to buy enough beers.

FOOTNOTE: Shower power.

Post Of The Day

Today’s joint winners are Jennifer H with Finding Things and Family Affairs with The Secret To A Happy Marriage. The other contenders were Grit’s Day with Bad Bad Grit; Willow Manor with Stormy (and under the) Weather; Medic61 with Beautiful; Kimberly with I Love Him But …; Epijunky with Some Things Just Take Awhile To Figure Out; Kathryn with Seven Years And Counting; Celebration of Life with Happy Mother’s Day, Mom; Chewy with Grand Opening; Dot with Tractor Eyes; Miss Burrows with There Is No Such Thing As A Free Lunch and Holly with Madonna, You’ve Taken This Material Girl Thing Too Far. Do pay them a visit and leave a comment if you have time.

You can nominate a post too. Just leave a comment here with the URL or link - and tell us the name of the blogger you are nominating. Righty-o, then, it's over to you ....

Verse And Worse

Random Wit, Errant Rhyme. Not A Literary Crime

Said the Rasta to the pastor
Can you go a little faster?
My voice has faded to a croak

And the joint’s going up in smoke

Orville and Wilbur Ride

Light Entertainment? Naaaah, I'm A Bit Rusty

Fairground ride. Photograph copyright: DAVID McMAHON

Hit The Wall

Living History Watches Over Quebec City

Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON

I was probably about six years old when I picked up a Ladybird book and took it into the huge garden to read on the cane furniture under the shade of the giant trees. That book was my first introduction to Quebec City and I was immediately fascinated. Now, as an adult I look back on that crystal-clear memory and I am trying to work out why I was immediately captivated.

It was because of a simple reason. As a little fella who had not yet studied much history, I simply didn’t realise the strong French influence in the region and I had never heard the term "French Canadian" before. Little did I know that one day I would travel to Quebec City with cameras slung around my neck, to record scenes from a beautiful city that captivated me so many years ago.

So here is my Q for Quebec City post. In September 2005 I was fortunate enough to travel to Quebec City, Montreal and parts of Muskoka, Ontario, to photograph those regions for the Canadian Tourism Commission. Quebec City was my first stop and I was instantly captivated.

It was the first time I set eyes on the Quebec City Mural, a three-dimensional, five-storey trompe d’oeil (French for "to deceive the eye") that includes several people who played a prominent role in the city’s rich history. Among those who are painted into the mural are François de Montmorency-Laval, Louis-Joseph Papineau, François-Xavier Garneau, Jacques Cartier, Jean Talon, Comte de Frontenac, Louis Jolliet, Samuel de Champlain, Lord Dufferin and Felix Leclerc.

As you can see from the shot above, the weather was dull and grey. The mighty St Lawrence in the background reflects a brooding sky, yet the whole sight is arresting nonetheless.

The mural itself can be quite challenging to photograph. Can you guess why? Because there are always tourists milling around, listening to tour guides and trying to focus their cameras on the mural to capture their own distinctive view of it. I spent about an hour there on a cloudy afternoon, shooting various aspects of the mural.

There are many things that fascinate me as a photographer. It’s not just the technology at our fingertips; it’s not just appreciating the rapid advance from mixing chemicals in a darkroom to chips and memory cards; it’s not just the choice of angles and compositions. Above all those, it is the human process of self-discovery that completely enthralls me.

Give a human being a camera and you open up a whole range of possibilities.

So as I stood there, hoping it wouldn’t rain as the heavens had opened above me the previous day, I realized there was a distinct possibility that I might not get a chance to photograph the entire mural without anyone else ‘intruding’ into the frame. And that’s when my own process of self-discovery began.

If you have a problem and you can’t work around it, then you worth with it. Quite simply, I decided to use the milling tourists as a bonus, rather than a detriment.

Instead of becoming frustrated that I could not get that one elusive, clear shot, I spent an hour with a big grin on my face, enjoying the challenge of using the tourists around me to tell the story of the mural. I began to utilise the very presence of other visitors as an added dimension to the mural.

This shot (above) was taken from the left-hand side of one group. I trained my lens on the bottom storey of the mural, showing not seventeenth-century figures in flowing robes but contemporary figures in modern clothes. The "real" tourist in the foreground fitted in perfectly. Why did I choose him? Because he was wearing a baseball cap and it was more or less the same colour as the wall. Simple as that.

This shot (above) was taken from a slightly different angle. I had a few seconds to make my decision on this composition, because I saw a male tourist hand his camera to someone else and I knew he wanted his photograph taken. To my good luck, he strode off to stand beside the mural.

I had just enough leeway to frame this shot that almost endows him with the same quality as the people painted on the wall. To a casual observer, he might just pass off as just another painted figure. Can you pick the real man? (Answer: he's the figure in the foreground, wearing a cap and a jumper over a blue T-shirt!)

There was a group of about twenty tourists hanging on every word of their tour guide. The guide, mindful of the threatening clouds, was in a hurry to move the group through the square. I quickly composed this shot, lest they scoot off to their next stop, or seek shelter from the weather.

I was in the middle of the square when I noticed these two people on the curve of the hill to my right. They were in perfect position for me to swing my camera up and take a quick shot, freezing two contemporary figures alongside the men and women who shaped the history of the beautiful city.

If you didn't know that the mural ended at the wall, you might even think that this whole frame, including the cars and the two men by the street light, were artfully included in it.

Sometimes the strangest things happen when you have a camera in your hands. Having started out by trying to get a clear shot of the mural, I walked back as far as I could to try and get a shot of the whole mural with as many tourists in front of it as I could possibly get in one vertical frame. By the time I had found the perfect vantage point, with the added value of the curved, dark green handrail, guess what had happened? It had started to drizzle. The crowd cleared miraculously. And I was blessed with the shot (above) I had sought all along.

For the home of ABC Wednesday, go to Mrs Nesbitt's Place.

Post Of The Day

Today’s winner is Mother Of This Lot with Daughters Of The King. The other contenders were Suldog with Mom; Bart with Dan Erlewine Is The Freakin MAN; Random Lunacy with Writers Flood; ArtJewl with Freedom, Creatively Speaking; Upstream And Down with The Scent Of A Mother; Media Concepts with Television Of The Idiots By The Idiots For The Idiots; Moosekahl with Home Again, Briefly; Jules Stones with I Am Breathing; House Of Lime with My Other Mother and Gone Back South with Where Are They Now? On My Doorstep. Do pay them a visit and leave a comment if you have time.

You can nominate a post too. Just leave a comment here with the URL or link - and tell us the name of the blogger you are nominating. Righty-o, then, it's over to you ....

Verse And Worse

Random Wit, Errant Rhyme. Not A Literary Crime

Leo Tolstoy’s favourite ploy

Which brought him smiles of pride and joy

Was to declare: "I’m not from Greece,

Forsooth, my name is Warren Peace."

This Way To The AC/DC Concert

There's Electricity In The Air

Photograph copyright: DAVID McMAHON

I love a challenge. If you saw my recent post Nobel Peas Prize, you'll know that I simply could not resist picking up the gauntlet thrown down by Maggie May and Crazy Cath. And it's relevant to mention here that a few weeks ago, I was intrigued when I was told by a group of colleagues that power lines are the single most boring sight in the entire universe.

Boring? Excuse me? I took that as a challenge. Nuthin's boring in my book. I even discussed the issue with San Merideth, one of many bloggers whose work I admire greatly. San, who is blessed with many talents, pretty much agreed with me. We nodded our heads in unison - as much as people can nod their heads in unison when separated by half the globe. Basically, San and I agreed that nothing is boring if it is presented well and interpreted clearly.

So I made up my mind to photograph power lines. As you do when challenged. But I wanted to wait for a day when the sight was not enhanced or embellished in any way by a stunning sunrise or sunset. I wanted a muted sky. I was willing to wait. So I waited. And I waited. And I waited.

Finally, late one evening, when the sky was a monochrome, I got in the car and drove out to a deep valley to take this shot. As you can see, there are arcs, there are curves, there are parallel lines, there are angles, there are straight lines, all included in the one view. There are so many facets to capture in any sight, even one that is labelled pedestrian.

Is it a boring shot? I'd like to know what you think .....

The Wrong Arm Of The Law

Sorry, Inspector, We Have To Book You

A car chase in Hungary ended abruptly when a police officer pursuing a suspected car thief was pulled up for speeding. Inspector Zsolt Gyepes spotted a crook breaking into a car but forgot to put on his siren as he gave chase - and he was caught by traffic police doing 60mph in a 30mph zone. The stolen car sped off and the officers refused to let the police chief off, even though they recognised him.

FOOTNOTE: Brake and enter.

Post Of The Day

Today's winner is Corey with Thoughts On Parenthood . The other contenders were Hilary with Buds, Blossoms and Blooms; Thoughts From Miller Manor with Choosing Friends; Sandy Carlson with Blog Your Blessings; Maggie May with Cheers To The Girl In Bangladesh; DarylE with Sunday Afternoon; Shrinky with Losing The Plot; Momma with New Glasses; Nina with Sunrise; Willow Manor with My Wheels; Birdbath Chronicles with Happy Mother’s Day; Ramblings Around Texas with Alaska Sunday V- Dalton Highway; Absolute Vanilla with Remembering Origins; Daze Of Our Lives with Keeping On Going and Golightly with It Is Well. Do pay them a visit and leave a comment if you have time.

You can nominate a post too. Just leave a comment here with the URL or link - and tell us the name of the blogger you are nominating. Righty-o, then, it's over to you ....

Verse And Worse

Random Wit, Errant Rhyme. Not A Literary Crime

He may be just a country hick
But cattle farmer Russell Cody
Swears his all-time favourite flick

Is The Prime Of Miss Jean Brodie

Fish-Eye Lend

A Project That Really Struck A Chord

Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON

There's always an appropriate time in one's life for reflection - but sometimes you have to recognise the fact that it's not the appropriate opportunity. No, I'm not referring to metaphorical reflection, I'm referring to literal reflection! Me, I always have time for reflection of the soul, but in this case I'm talking about reflection in the objects that you photograph.

I'm always drawn to an image that comprises an unusual reflection, as most of you know. But a couple of weekends ago, I wanted to photograph this guitar in bright sunlight, to try and get the little chrome dials and knobs to throw a reflection on the rich burgundy surface of the guitar's body. I used the splendid SMC Pentax-DA 1:2.8mm lens for this experiment.

So I took the first shot (above) with one of the five tiny knobs slap-bang in the middle of the frame. Yeah, all good. Happy with the result. On the LCD screen, it looked like a fairly decent shot. I could see the tiny indentations on the knob clearly, and I could see the reflection as well.

Then I spotted something else. When I started the experiment, I hadn't realised that the concave top of the knob would act as a perfect fisheye lens. Have a close look and you'll see what I mean. The top of the knob is a faithful reflection of the sky as well as my surroundings, producing a full 360-degree view across its entire circumference.

That's when I decided to shoot one more frame, to try and get a clearer shot of the sky. This time I shifted slightly, so if you compare the two frames, you'll see that the second one (below) is off-centre but produces a much stronger image. Both shots are taken at F6.7 and with an ISO speed of 200, but the second one is clearly superior in every respect.

Symmetry is good in all aspects of life, but I always advise photographers to look for an asymmetrical view as well. You never know which result will turn out better - and let me tell you that looking at any situation from more than one viewpoint works pretty well in approaching real life as well.

Photography is a lot like life. We learn something every day. And like life itself, it's our duty to pass on the knowledge that we are fortunate to glean. Let me know if you agree.

(The Odd Shots concept came from Katney. Say "G'day" to her.)

Bigfoot

Volvo Owner Can’t Toe The Line

A German court has ruled that Volvo has to pay compensation to a man who claimed his feet were too big to use the accelerator on his new car. Michael Herzog, who has size 12 feet, said the area around the accelerator of his new Volvo C70 coupe was too small. The judge agreed and said the dealer should give him five per cent off the price of his new car.

FOOTNOTE: Coupe d’etat.

Weekend Wandering

Please answer today's question on your own blog, any time until next weekend. Just link to this blog (or to this post) so I can follow the progress of the discussion.

The question is: What was the best decision you ever made?

Mumbo Jumbo

Shall We Use This To Make Chili Gumbo?

Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON

Okay, some blokes are a bit slow. We all know that, right? Is this blog a debate forum? Did I hear some of you say that ALL blokes (and not just some of us) are a bit slow? Well, I've been known to be a bit backward in my time, and today was a perfect illustration of the theory.

Let me put all my cards on the table. I can cook, I can sew, I can iron, I can garden. But sometimes I get stuck in ordinary domestic situations. Picture this: I'm standing in the kitchen, in the process of making one of the Authorbloglets a Dad's Special Cheese Omelette.

The oil is heated, the eggs have been beaten to within an inch of their life, and I've judged the heat to perfection before pouring the eggs into the frying pan. The smell is so delicious that I might just have to employ an army of trusty serfs to keep the neighbours away.

Fast forward a couple of minutes. The cheese is now placed carefully in the sizzling mixture. Aroma? SEN-sational. And it'll soon be time to fold the omelette. I have the skillet with me when a little light goes on in my head. I remember that Mrs Authorblog recently bought a great turner. I take it out of the big kitchen drawer, but there's a big sticker on it.

No worries. Any human being can remove a sticker in one swift movement. But this sticker ain't comin' away. It becomes a battle of wills. I am sort of pulling it with all my strength and it's doing what stickers do best. It's sticking.

So I call for reinforcements. Mrs Authorblog materialises and peels off the sticker in one swift motion as I stand there dumbfounded at how easy and efficiently she has made a mockery of my efforts.

Things like that happen regularly in our household.

Then another little light comes on in my head. (Aside: Yes, I know that's it's impossible for men to have more than one brainwave at the same time!) The brainwave nudges me in the direction of the word "Jumbo''. Great association of ideas. I can photograph the sticker and use it for today's Camera Critters post.

I could even test the "Jumbo Turner". If I wave this sticker at a herd of elephants, will they simply turn away? Ain't that what the sticker says? Or if I take it to the airport, will it turn a Boeing 747 Jumbo around on the tarmac?

While these brilliant thoughts run through my head, I am just about to remove the Stunning Omelette Of Absolute Perfection and I call out to Mrs Authorblog to ask if she still has the sticker.

Yes, she still has the sticker.

But has Mrs Authorblog torn the sticker to shreds? Or is it intact?

God bless Mrs Authorblog. Not only is she beautiful and wise, she is also accustomed to silly questions from me.

Yes, the sticker is intact, she tells me, with a grin.

So I deliver the omelette to the waiting Authorbloglet. Then I get the camera out. And very carefully I place the sticker back on the skillet and photograph it.

This time I find I am blessed with superpowers. For after I have finished photographing it for this post, I am magically able to remove the sticker and consign it to the bin.

You know what they say. One good turner deserves another.

Check out the rules at Camera Critters