The old town hall in my village is now the local library. Taken this morning as I waited on the early Postauto into town.

Cold weather and snow for the last couple of weeks has resulted in the picturesque, but also some of the best local skiing conditions for years

Holbeins drawings, mostly made as preliminaries for full worked paintings, have always seemed much more effective to me. The subject is Grace Newport, The Lady Parker. For a start, what a beautiful name! The quality of this scan is not good - taken again from a newspaper - but for me this looks like a thoroughly modern woman, who could be appraising you with that steady gaze and hint of a smile from any of the glossy front pages. At least I think so. Hilary Mantel called her a "wide eyed child" in another article in the LRB, but she may not have been looking at this drawing - there seem to be many versions - but this one really caught my attention.

I've commented before about the differences between painting and photography. For me the area where they come very close is in portraiture, where representation and insight always perform a subtle duet.

This was about the only view I could get that eliminated football field sized acreages of advertising and scaffolding due to renovation work at the moment. Even then Jaws and Swatch manage to get a bit part.

Using the film promo as an ad spoof is not a new idea, but this has a little twist for me that says something about Switzerland. The event being advertised is the big timetable change that occurs every year. Often it doesn't mean many big changes, but in a country where public transport is an integral part of life, even small timetable changes have to be taken seriously. I know many times and connections by heart for example (sad bastard I hear you say).

So what is this? Self mocking or just trying to inject some fun into a regular ritual?

Time for a change. Time to lighten up a bit. Time to.. well I don't know... the Leningrad Cowboys defy description. However this excerpt from their Wikipedia entry might give you a clue.

"The songs, all somewhat influenced by polka and progressive rock, are performed in English and have themes such as vodka, tractors, rockets, and Genghis Khan"

It's been snowing in Zurich. These photos were shot in the early morning a couple of days ago.

Zurich doesn't get a lot of snow, maybe 3 or 4 days a year of heavy fall, and it doesn't last for long. Nothing like some other cities in the world, but what is more important is that it means snow in the mountains for skiing

Despite it's presence being impossible to miss as you cross the bridge from the Frari on route to San Polo and the Rialto, this small cafe is wonderfully cosy, friendly, unspoilt and slightly unusual. One of my favourites.

I've made it even worse in this photo of the Campo dei Frari, where just part of the facade is reduced to a bare brick wall like some old warehouse. The large white sign is a familar sight in Venice as you walk around, indicating the boundaries of the various Sestieri (districts) and Parrochie (parishes). If you follow those people round the corner you get to the public entrance in what I suppose is the chancel.

Inside things are very different. You can find some idea of what is inside in the Wikepdia article, but if you go to Venice a personal visit is best.

This also came from the same batch of B+W negs as the previous one. Camera was another new addition to my collection. Pentax ESII with the SMC Takumar 50mm f1.4. Quite a famous lens whose optical design is still in use today. And very impressive the results have been I must say. Nice rendering and pretty sharp. All for about 100 euros.

So here's some nice leaves that came back in a recent bunch of black and white negs.

There are several iconic views which immediately identify Venice. The Rialto Bridge, the Campanile, Basilica and Doges Palace, S. Maria della Salute from the Piazzeta or Accademia Bridge. I like this one, Palladio's masterpiece floating on the lagoon. However I've come to realise that it's not a Venice icon alone. There are many similar views of island basilica. I particularly remember a lot of scenes like this from holidays on the Dalmatian coast - not far from here actually.

Everything has to go like this in Venice, quite an effort when you consider all the bridges.

The Piazza doesn't wake up until well into the morning, so you can often snatch a lone figure.

For me the vaporetti are the clockwork that keeps Venice going. If you take the routes that circle the city and ferry commuters morning and evening to and from the railway and bus stations it gives you a good insight into daily life.

Get off at one of the stops like Fondamente Nove or on the Giudecca and make your way into the heart of the town from there

Although this is a couple of days after the "acqua alta" of 1st December, he clearly isn't taking any chances....

(Photo courtesy of Peter)

I have been in Venice during November December for the last 4 years and although there had been regular flooding when some portions of the city were under water it has always been manageable (for a tourist) because you know the times and you know the worst affected areas. This was different. The entire city was under water. Many people will have seen the images on television, but they only tell a partial story, and I found some of the news reporting comically inaccurate. A lot of the media didn't seem to realise that this was a high tide, and not for example river flooding as experienced in other parts of the world. The Guardian especially disappointed me by attributing it to "recent heavy rain" - I'm not an expert but I don't think heavy rain ever contributed much to a rise in sea level. And in fact there was no real heavy rain anyway.

The real culprit was a combination of strong winds with the morning high tide. The previous day this had been estimated at 1.15m which is quite high and will result in flooding in certain areas, but a lot of businesses know that they have the defenses to cope with this and can be prepared. No-one could really be prepared for this one. The customary flood barriers on doorways were overrun and wellington boots were useless unless they were thigh length fisherman's waders. The flooding itself was "only" at it's worst for 3 hours. In the evening I was able to meet my son and his girlfriend from the airport and we enjoyed a meal in a restaurant "as if nothing had happened".

That this was possible is a tribute to the Venetians, most of whom had to make a massive effort to clean out the premises and shift material out of reach of the floods if possible. For many it will have cost a lot of money and destroyed a lot of goods and possessions. I was told that insurance and the government will not help. Nonetheless we were met with friendliness and a certain amount of philosophical resignation in the days that followed. Hats off to the Venetians I say.

You might wonder why I have no photos of my own. Unwisely I had left the apartment that morning only with the view camera, and I wasn't too excited about setting it up in 3 feet of water.

Hence the injunction you often see about not lingering on them, and the joke in the title of this post. However it's a bit of a waste of breath, especially given that the tourists get the best photos from the bridges and the locals seem to like to pass the time of day (or night) there anyway