I went for an 8km walk in Delimara today. Took several photos close to St Peter's Pool and the Delimara lighthouse. This old ladder however made it to 365 as it has a deeper meaning to me than meets the eye.
Apart from the rugged wall of the hut that has been built from recycled Maltese stone, the ladder shown here is a specialised one. You may notice how the rungs are set close together. If you had to climb this ladder you would find it kind of uncomfortable as there is not much space to put your foot in and the climb is very slow unless you go two at a time and it becomes more uncomfortable as the lower foot will tend to get stuck between the rungs. That is all from personal experience. So why this ladder. This is a mason's ladder. My paternal grand father was one and had similar ladders. He was a stone dresser and if you had to carry a 64kg block on your shoulder up to different levels than this is the ladder you would want. One small step up at a time.
The B&W photo is effective in itself but the accompanying narrative adds interest and poignancy. I can hardly imagine lifting a 64kg block up that ladder and placing it in position!
Thank you so much for your comments @ankers70 64 kg is realy heavy. I failed to mention that during my grandfather's time the blocks were slightly larger. It was during the 1970's that the government reduced the size of the standard block to make the work "lighter"! @summerfield The stone dresser's work is no more apart from a few workers who use modern tools which make light work of the job and are usually employed by turnkey companies for restoration jobs. It is a craft that has been lost as our buildings are now built using concrete blocks, lighter, easier to handle and no need for polishing and squaring. @borof@taffy@denful@ljmanning@wakelys Thanks for your time.
and here i thought my 5 or 6 km walk is a feat.
@ankers70 64 kg is realy heavy. I failed to mention that during my grandfather's time the blocks were slightly larger. It was during the 1970's that the government reduced the size of the standard block to make the work "lighter"! @summerfield The stone dresser's work is no more apart from a few workers who use modern tools which make light work of the job and are usually employed by turnkey companies for restoration jobs. It is a craft that has been lost as our buildings are now built using concrete blocks, lighter, easier to handle and no need for polishing and squaring. @borof @taffy @denful @ljmanning @wakelys Thanks for your time.