Martyrdom and carnival puppets

Today, 22nd June, is the feast day of St Alban, the first British Christian martyr who was executed sometime during the 3rd century AD. It is probably to be expected that in the city that bears his name his death is commemorated annually on or around this date. The nature of the commemoration may however be a little surprising.

In-ger-lund

Last year one of my favourite beers (Old Hooky from the wonderful Hook Norton Brewery) started to appear on the supermarket shelves with a St George's Cross on the bottle cap in place of the usual brewery logo. Apparently this had something to do with a football tournament that was happening during the summer of 2010 and was presumably a marketing effort to encourage the drinking of beer whilst cheering on the national team to glory. Oh well, I guess a 50% success rate isn't too bad.

Swans-a-swimming

Sometimes it takes a while for photographs to mature.
Sometimes it takes a while for photographers to mature.
Sometimes it takes a while for technology to mature.

And sometimes, when all three have matured together it's worth revisiting old work.