Though words can describe beautifully, they can never capture all the nuances of a picture. Pictures say more than a thousand words, but is everything a picture says necessarily true? One of the classes I remember the best from my time at Emrys ap Iwan was one on interpreting historical paintings. Observing bias and point of view, political agenda etc. I tried teaching this to some of my students during the time I spent at Tyrifjord Skole, in Norway, this spring - with little success. I do blame this at least in part on not having enought time.... Biathlon is the one sport I actually follow dedicatedly enough to watch most major competitions. Since Biathlon isn't exacly widespread in Britain I watch the races at
http://eurovision2.feedroom.com/?&fr_chl=28f50f88ca97c97431107a5b9e494d75454fca83
The IBU streams the video feed, that goes out to all the TV channels, on their website for free. Although I don't get the commentary, half of what commentators say is rubbish anyway - so I don't really mind. After watching today's men's relay I came across a picture I couldn't help but laugh at. The picture shows the French team that won second place behind the Norwegians. The French biathletes are known for their great team spirit, often describing themselves as a big family. The two on the left are the brothers Simon and Martin Fourcade, with Vincent Defrasne and Vincent Jay to their right. Although the scene depicted no doubt is one in which the brothers and Defrasne share a joke, as Jay takes a thoughtful moment to himself; the picture might well have been analysed differently had one not already watched this scene on TV. The picture seems to be telling the story of three bullies making fun of the new kid at the bus stop - Jay playing his part perfectly with his downward gaze. Martin at the back is the instigator, with Simon and Defrasne as his accomplices. Great team spirit indeed, families at their best...
