MM No.2: Of landscapes and light

It just occurred to me, after last Sunday’s chapel service at St Salvator’s, that the traditional choir’s pews are in the shape of the chapel (or some similar cathedral-esque structure) itself.

The weather this past week has been quite beautiful, but the rather strong gusts have made for some challenging cycling!

Sunrise on Tuesday.

Thursday morning.

* * *

On Tuesday I went on my first class field trip to two upcoming University developments at Guardbridge and Kenly. These are major energy projects intended to help the University reach its target of being the first carbon-neutral university in the UK.

Guardbridge is an old paper mill that the University recently acquired and plans to convert into a biomass energy centre to provide heating to the University. Scottish National Heritage has requested that the old buildings be retained for historical reasons and heritage value.

There have been concerns that the biomass activities at Guardbridge will adversely affect the nearby Eden Estuary, an important wildlife conservation area. Therefore, implementation of the project has to be done carefully.

Kenly wind farm is a wind energy project that will see six turbines installed on a piece of farmland owned by the University (the distant light-brown patch in the centre). During our visit, the cows kept staring at us.

These are the subjects of an upcoming poster assignment that will take up most of my time over the coming days!

* * *

Meanwhile, back in town…

Everyone’s heard of the Greenwich Meridian, the line upon which all time on Earth is based. But did you know that a professor in St Andrews once proposed an alternative line? This is Gregory’s Meridian Line, which stretches down the door of Parliament Hall. The convenient thing is that, regardless of which line was eventually chosen, it would still have been GMT.

One of the activities I’ve been regularly participating in, is the St Leonard’s Chapel Choir, which sings Compline every Thursday night. Here are some pictures from last Thursday:

Rabbits are very active in the late evening and at night. There were at least five hopping about near the path on my way to St Leonard’s Chapel.

The approach to St Leonard’s Chapel.

The lighting of the candles.

* * *

Over August and September, the town played host to the St Andrews Photography Festival. Many of the works still hang on random corridors all over town, such as this portfolio of Moroccan works by Hamish Brown at Martyrs Kirk:

Speaking of photography, the light over the weekend has been quite exceptional.

Ruins of the medieval Cathedral, Saturday afternoon.

Corridor between the Irvine Building and St Salvator’s Quad, Sunday morning. I liked the HDR-ness of it; no editing was done!

In closing, let me highly recommend the October 2016 issue of the National Geographic. There is a very interesting piece on migrant communities in Europe, and another about getting Millennials into the great outdoors. The latter dubs Millennials the “selfie generation,” obsessed with taking selfies against the backdrop of grand vistas and the like.

According to one definition of ‘Millennial’ – people who came of age during the turn of the millennium – I’m one! And so, to start the week off, here’s a selfie (though the more exacting will call it a we-fie):

We-fie with wifey. There’s a ring to it. (No pun intended, gah.)