Monday, December 17, 2007

Oranges and lemons

The orange was a walk with my new blogging friend Rosie, and the astonishing bouncing Porridge, both vying to be the eponymous Bitch about Brittany, although despite her protestations to the contrary, Rosie is REALLY VERY NICE. We went on a bit of beach in St Brieuc I'd never been to before. It was wide and enormous, sheltered from the icy temperatures of today, the light was verging on the epiphanic at times, the sand ripples hypnotic, the cream and black of the dogs most fetching against all kinds of backgrounds...

The lemon was the camera, which was working fine yesterday indoors and out, was dead as a doornail for no apparent reason from the moment I tried to turn it on once we'd descended to the beach. So much for the cool photo-blogger, I had to tuck it into my jacket where it formed an unsightly and impotent protruberance, and walk along feeling a bit of a lemon myself.

Molly was not really quite rock-and-roll enough for Porridge, a dog of exalted breeding and irrepressible high spirits, winner of a shiny cup (for obedience!). Tiring eventually of attempts to incite her to play by running round her in circles, Porridge thought it would probably be more of a laugh just to bowl her across the beach with a flying tackle. Moll had the last laugh when Porridge got told off good and proper and had to walk on the lead for a bit while she skipped around and thumbed her nose. She was very eager to come pounding in when we arrived home and tell her dad what a good time she'd had, so I don't think she was much put off.

I feel most disconsolate about the camera; and slightly concerned that something as slight as the failure of a switch can deprive me of something that has become so important and leave me feeling so bereft, a feeling akin to there being something wrong with the dog or my husband... though of course I know the camera is not capable of suffering and could at a pinch be replaced.
I have 'phoned the camera shop, a place where I feel reassured and understood, and will hurry down there asap tomorrow. Naturally, it is but a few months out of guarantee.

11 comments:

marja-leena said...

Sorry about your canera, I'd feel equally bereft. Hope it's a quick and inexpensive repair (not the battery? or failed memory card?).

Lucy said...

'Fraid not ML; all options tried...

Catalyst said...

At least a photo shop is close at hand. They should have you up and running promptly. I hope!

Granny J said...

I can certainly empathize -- I am lost when I go out, the batteries shut down & I've forgotten their replacements. When I think of it (and when it's critical, such as a visiting friend or brother), I take the new and the old camera. In fact, I am quite certain that I shall wind up with several cameras as I update over the years.

Rosie said...

I bet Porridge broke your camera...it was probably her energy field that saturated it

Unknown said...

Let us hope your camera gets better soon. In the meantime, word pictures will have to suffice. But you can't be sure about apparently inanimate objects being free from suffering. Yours, we know, has seen some wonderful things and must be in the habit of being shown them.

Lucy said...

Thanks all.
The prognosis is not great. The camera shop diagnoses a dead motor, said they were too snowed under with work until after Christmas, and were not sanguine about being able to repair it anyway, predicting a return to Canon being the only solution. This would cost and probably take ages. I'm chasing up the records to see if it might have an extension of the guarantee, but it was bought on-line for us by a friend so that's a bit complicated.
I'm a bit disgusted that it gave out so quickly, it's less than 18 months old, I feel let down by a friend!
Meanwhile the cheapest little point-and-shoot compact I can find has been ordered from Amazon France, and that'll have to do for the foreseeable...

Avus said...

An "impotent protuberance" - that's a new one!
As to cameras - they are all "singing and dancing" now, but when they go wrong............
I find eBay the best place for shopping for such items - much cheaper and worth the risk,

Lucy said...

Avus, hello.
I have a resistance to e-bay which I must doubtless overcome, and probably would have done except I wanted the item in a hurry and felt it would just take too long... the compact was really very cheap. It'll probably show.

Fire Bird said...

;-(

meggie said...

Cameras become so important, don't they?
It seems they are tyrants, & we are at their mercy.

Not true of course, but I kick myself when I forget mine.