Mystery mist
(View over a city park: Suzhou, China)
Sometimes I like to take a walk around the area surrounding our neighbourhood in Suzhou, just to take the air and enjoy some mild exploration. On this occasion, I found the park at the end of our road – the canal water was developing a steamy, atmospheric mist in the late afternoon. This shot is looking towards the centre of Suzhou, at the periphery of downtown and the industrial park.
A few weeks ago I was back in this park where a troupe of teenage acrobats and dancers were practicing for some sort of show. It involved much repetition of key scenes involving the flinging of all female participants into the air and some decidedly amateur presenting by a pair of moderators. I sat for ten minutes in an attempt to understand what was going on. The attempt was an utter failure. Tucked behind this bridge and canal lake is a concealed open air auditorium that must be used for public presentations. There is even an enormous television screen playing round the clock advertising, unless (presumably) it is set to play special messages for the delight of a certain crowd or event. These screens are a mystery to me – such an enormous screen in the UK would not be stashed in a small park, generally ignored and used solely for ads. It is a strange and mysterious phenomenon.
– Today Rosie is on a day out in southern Scotland with her family –
