Rochdale Canal
Britain is full of decaying infrastructure. Whether it’s disused railway lines, abandoned after Dr Beeching’s report, or stagnant canals filling slowly with …
Hartshead Pike
Hartshead Pike is a familiar landmark to anyone from Oldham or Ashton. It’s a monument on top of a hill with commanding …
The Lone Kayaker
The Lone Kayaker is the name of Rupert Kirkwood’s blog about his life kayaking around the coast. It’s well worth browsing because …
Artificial Rubbish – part 4
I decided to ask Chat GPT to give me a summary of my blog. According to an Artificial Intelligence summary provided as …
Refusing to change tense
I was searching for a Yellow-Browed Warbler in a local copse when I came across this bunch of flowers tied to a …
Artificial Rubbish – part 3
There’s more artificial intelligence swamping Facebook at the moment. At least the page Nature’s Symphony lists itself as a “Digital Creator”. Other …
To live in the hearts of those we love is not to die
Sums up my philosophy in life. St Mary’s, Wolborough. Churchyard.
Artificial Rubbish – part 2
Facebook isn’t the only social media platform overwhelmed by Artificial-Intelligence-produced content. Threads is full of it, too. Here’s one user who is …
Artificial Rubbish – part 1
Here’s an eye-catching photograph for you from Z F photography from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It has over 41,000 likes and over 1,000 …
Dazzleships
HMS Medway is off Dartmouth after its latest mechanical problems and the indignity of being towed back to the dockyard in Gibraltar …
Neanderthal
I’ve been fascinated by the genetic research into the presence of Neanderthal genes in modern humans over the past few years. Neanderthals …
I made a film
I’ve been busy. I’ve got a camera and I’m going to use it. I made a film here in Orkney for a …
It’s a carefully laid trap
Each of these seats is a carefully laid trap. It’s a system which has evolved to take €18 off each tourist who …
Scala Contarini del Bovolo
Six floors, eighty steps, 28 metres and €9. That’s the spiral staircase named after snails, ‘del Bovolo’, in Venice. The Palazzo was …
The gondoliers
Gondoliers in Venice appear to earn a top salary of €100,000. For that I’d expect some adherence to uniform standards. We saw …
Bridge of Sightseers
A tale of two bridges. One is the Ponte dei Sospiri, the Bridge of Sighs, built in 1600. It’s the bridge between …
Pink lamps
It’s a foggy early morning in Venezia and the low cloud gives an eerie feel to the place as we wander around …
Asymmetric Gondolas
On a recent trip to Venezia (Venice) I was fascinated to see that gondolas lean. They all have one side much larger …
“From the age of five I was taught how to torture, mutilate, and kill.”
From the age of five I was taught how to torture, mutilate and kill. I was instructed how to inflict the maximum …
Adult Human female – the sequel
I was delighted when someone commented on my blog post Adult Human female with a thoughtful and opinion-filled reply. In my original …
The Enchanted Shirt
I’ve enjoyed John Hay’s poem, The Enchanted Shirt ever since I bought a slim volume of his poetry, Pike County Ballads, printed …
Equivalents for the Megaliths
Paul Nash’s painting, Equivalents for the Megaliths, from 1935, is in Tate Britain, and I was thrilled to get a close look at it.
Poundshop Tolkien or Game of Thrones knock-off?
The Premier Inn haven’t cleaned my room properly again. They’ve left someone else’s book next to my bed, which appears to be …
The Magpie’s Box
We were at Tate Britain in London a month or so ago when my eye was drawn to this exhibit, mainly because …
“Girls are not much better either”
I’m briefly stuck in the 1970s, before I get back to jellying a salad in the 1940s, because I’m fascinated by this …
Adult Human female
I was at the Natural History Museum in London a month ago when I saw the skeleton of an adult human female. …
Three Old Women
I’ve always wanted to go to Hampstead Heath. No, not because it’s the busiest gay cruising site in the UK, possibly the …
The ultimate Babylonian Lion jigsaw
If you’ve ever received an unwanted jigsaw for Christmas, it may well have been one of those ‘ultimate most difficult jigsaw ever’ …
Egyptian Ibis mummy
The British Museum is full of curiosities. Here’s the Easter-egg-like sarcophagus of an Ibis mummy. It’s made of gilded wood and bronze …
Cat Mum
I love all the plunder in the British Museum. Some of the debate about returning treasures is so emotive it’s difficult to …