Minnesota Photographer Jim Brandenburg Honored

Nature photographer  Minnesotan Jim Brandenburg has had four of his photographs selected by the International League of Conservation Photographers to be included in the Top Forty Nature Photographs of All Time.  Twenty eight photographers were represented in the Top Forty, including Ansel Adams and Edward Weston.  Brandenburg's four photographs were the most by any one photographer. To see the honored photographs and many more, go to Jim's blog.  Inspiration for you as you prepare for the landscapes of northern England!

David Almond Honored

David Almond has been awarded a 2010 Hans Christian Andersen Award for his writing.  The awards are given every two years by the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) to an author and to an illustrator "whose complete works have made an important and lasting contribution to children's literature." This year there were 28 authors and 27 illustrators nominated from 32 countries, including authors Eoin Colfer from Ireland and Walter Dean Myers from the United States.  The winning illustrator is German author/illustrator Jutta Bauer. Read more about David and Jutta in this short School Library Journal article.

Edinburgh in a Weekend

We've been asked about the feasibility of going to Edinburgh from Alnwick in a weekend.  It is very possible and often done by short term study program participants.  Trains to Edinburgh run a few times a day from Alnmouth, which is about 7 miles from Alnwick.  To reach Alnmouth, you can either take a bus, or schedule a taxi.  Same for the return trip.  The remainder of this post is an excerpt from an e-mail that I sent to someone asking me about Edinburgh.  Rather than reinvent the wheel, I am posting as I wrote to her:

Edinburgh is very possible in a weekend. Most students leave early on Saturday morning from Alnmouth, several trains a day I believe, a couple of students last time even returned very late on Saturday evening, but I think they felt that was a bit much. Edinburgh is a very “walkable” city. You could visit Edinburgh Castle and then strolldown the Royal Mile to the Palace of Holyrood, which is Queen Elizabeth’s official Scotland residence. Lots of other things as well, including the tea shop where J.K. Rowling wrote the first Harry Potter book , the Edinburgh Zoo (great penguins, check to see if there is still the Penguin Walk at 2 pm in the afternoon), the Royal Botanic Gardens .  Oh  and you must take tea at Jenner’s Department Store (billed as the Harrod’s of the North) Also lots of parks and of course the Sir Walter Scott monument is right across the street from Jenner’s. Can walk to the top for 2.5 pounds (a little less than $5.00). And don’t forget Arthur’s Seat which gives you a great view of the city and I believe a glimpse of the Firth of Forth. I could continue, but I think you get the picture that there is LOTS to do there.

Edinburgh will not be cheap, but it will not be as expensive as London. Last program, some students went to golf mecca St. Andrews which is southeast of Edinburgh and found that to be very expensive as well as somewhat cumbersome to get to.

First Day of Class--Stateside!!

This morning we are meeting for the first time for class content in children's literature and photography.  I got off to a bit of a rocky start by creating some schedule confusion, but I think that we have that cleared up.  Probably some students are wondering what they have gotten themselves into!!

Moving on,  Merton is now working on the photography class. Everyone seems eager to start taking pictures.  In that vein, I took a few of my own as photo class was starting.  Take a look below.

Let the Adventure Begin...

...right here, right now with the first entry in the 2010 British Children's Literature and Photography Summer Study program blog.  As we enjoy the early onset of summer, the temperature in Newcastle Upon Tyne is currently 7 degrees Celsius (about 45 degrees F), with a predicted overnight low of 3 degrees C  (about 37 degrees F).  Newcastle is where we will land when we reach British soil in July.  It is about 40 miles south of Alnwick, so the temperature there will typically be a bit warmer than Alnwick's.  The  predicted weather in Newcastle today is rain, giving away to light showers later.  The last two times we have been in northern England in the summer, it has been very sunny, but you will need to pack your rain gear just in case our luck doesn't hold.

The financial outlook is good today, with the dollar strong against the pound (Today it takes $1.52 American dollars to equal one British pound.  In contrast, in the summer of 2008, the dollar was weak.  One memorable day, it actually took $2.02 American dollars to equal one British pound.) All that boils down to:  when you seen something costing one pound, multiply it by 1.5 to translate to American dollars.  In 2008, we had to multiply by 2.  So pray to the financial gods that the dollar stays relatively strong. 

Enough for today.  I have miles to go before I sleep!!