Category: Family

Family related posts; generally only of interest to fellow members of the Brown Clan and relations by Marriage into this mad house.

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a ‘New’ Razor

Shaving Kits
My Mercer 34C Shaving Kit

I was having to work on Saturday so Caroline went shopping on her own. I was surprised and pleased to find she had bought me a present.

In its original case a DE Razor made in England. That evening I started my research to find out more about it.

The razor came in three parts, the head and open comb was soon identified as a Long Open Comb and Twin Pin. The bottom plate was soon identified as a Raised Flat Bottom.

The raised flat bottom was available from 1933 to 1945. The Twin Pin plate was dated to 1933 to 1939.  The handle was a Ball end hollow end cap, which dates from 1930 to 1939, which means the kit can be dated from 1933 to 1939.

A little more research on the case that it all came in, finally identified it as a British Service issue set number 44 circa 1933 and the razor itself is a Gillette New Long Open Comb, Made in England.

Its amazing the quality of information available on some sites and the detail some collectors go to.

Gillette New, Long Open Comb - made in England
Gillette New, Long Open Comb – made in England

After switching last year from a ‘normal’ cartridge shaver to an old fashioned DE (Double Edged) Razor, I have found the condition of my skin improving and I am enjoying the ritual of old fashion shaving.

We are going on holiday soon and I did wonder whether or not to buy a small travel razor, well thanks to my lovely wife I now have a wonderful 1930’s DE razor perfect for travel.

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Birthday Meal

spmc-1103April is Birthday month here for the Turner & Brown Clans.

This week while we have been all together as a family we have been celebrating various family birthdays.

It was also, despite our diet an excuse to have a meal out at the local Indian restaurant with our parents.  The local Indian restaurant is a particularly good one and well worth a visit if you are in Lincoln.

So a good Easter holiday but now its back to work and back to the diet.

Lets also hope for some better spring weather in order to practice some flower photography.

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Spring Rides

With Easter now over and the clocks having changed to British Summer Time, we now get an hour more daylight in the evenings.

Today was the first day back at work and with the late evening sun, it made the commute home a really enjoyable ride.

As the days get longer then often so does the commute home, as I find longer and more interesting routes home on the Motorcycle.

Lets hope for a great Spring and Glorious Summer.

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Spring Photo Shoots – Getting Ready

Here at the Brown Household we are starting to get ready for our Spring Holidays/Landscape Photography Trips.

We have two Spring Holidays planned, one to the Forest of Dean and one to the Shetland Islands.

Part holiday but also part photography trip, so we will be taking the car and not the motorcycle, so we will not be to limited with regard to what equipment we can take.

The primary shooting is going to be Landscape so i’ll be taking the Large Format Ebony.

LargeFormat-Chair-2

The secondary shooting will be be wildlife, so DSLR’s with lens up to 300mm will be needed.

Ferrys and hotels are now all booked so now its just a matter of research to try and locate some likely spots to visit to see if they are suitable.

Always exciting and certainly as far as the Shetland Islands, its the first time we have been there so should prove a new experience.

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Fun Sayings – English

There are a number of sayings that I really like. I was reminded of one of my favourites the other day when someone mentioned the loveliness and purity of the English Language.

English as a lovely language yes but Purity; certainly not.

English: a language that lurks in dark alleys, beats up other languages & rifles through their pockets for spare vocabulary.

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Comic Relief 2013 – Red Nose Day

Well its finally here, Red Nose Day 2013.

A funny way to raise money for charity. We will be having a few events here at work, and I know a few studios that are having studio events. So if there is an event near you please support it.

Hope you enjoy the day and together we can all raise a lot on money for Comic Relief.

 

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February is here and a fresh start to the Year

Gull coming to LandAfter the Sunday at Boutham Park shooting wildlife, I have spent the last week in bed with a rather bad chest infection.  Not only did the boss send me home on the Monday but even the Doctor sent me to Hospital to get checked out further.

So most of last weeks Blog entries were all pre-written posts as I have spent the time asleep in bed.

This Monday I am now starting to feel better and i’ll be heading back to work on Tuesday now that I can face staring at a computer screen without my head exploding.

I am going to be thinking hard about what I am going to photography this year.  With this I’ll be considering my lens and where I have gaps in my current selection.

I have two trips planned so far, both landscape and wildlife focussed.  The first is a trip to the Forrest of Dean, the second which we will be planning over the next few weeks is a trip to the Shetland Islands.

For the Landscape I have the gear and equipment I need but will lookout for mild large format telephoto, possibly 200-300mm range.  For the SLR, I am going to keep my eye out for something a little longer then my 70-200mm f/2.8 and possibly add another teleconverter.

So here as I finishing writing this with one last coughing fit over the keyboard, i’ll also add one more lens into the mix, possibly a Leica 90mm.

 

Lens to consider this year.

Large format:

210mm or 300mm f/5.6

Digital SLR:

300mm f/2.8 or f/4

200mm /f2

Range Finder:

50mm f/2

90mm f/2

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Landslips at Whitby

Whitby Harbour & ChurchWhitby is one of our top three holiday destinations in England.  When we visited a few months ago there had been a landslip, resulting in some houses having to be demolished.

Last week there has been another landslip, this time near the church.  See the BBC news website for more details.

Lets hope it does not get any worse.