Saturday 26 April 2014

Meganzers


Saw these lovely spiky- haired birds whilst kayaking round Derwent Water

Catbells

 
Beloved little hills, climbed by me & Marcus, 23rd April 2014

Striding Edge, Helvellyn

 
After 20 years, made it up Helvellyn again, at last, with Nathan

Friday 18 April 2014

Iridescence

 
Spotted over the old Huddersfield Tech, strange atmospheric effect, like pieces of broken rainbow or oil on water....

Cooking Propaganda for March 1940


Birdie

 
Escaped Rhea causes havoc at the eighteenth hole down in Hertfordshire

Thursday 17 April 2014

Haircuts of the great Dictators no 2

 
Benito Mussolini. Backwash and clippers. A barber in South Ealing received an unexpected visit from the North Korean Embassy for daring to advertise "Bad Hair Day"
 with a picture of Kim Jong Un and a BOGOF offer......

Shanghai Nail House

Defiant little "nail houses" or "dingzihu" , left marooned on vast swathes  of bulldozed land being redeveloped across Shanghai. 
 
See: www.theguardian.com/cities/gallery/2014/apr/15/china-nail-houses-in-pictures-property-development

Shanghai Sky

1990s

Tuesday 15 April 2014

The clocks were striking 13



As promised Mark, the link between The Canterbury Tales, 1984 and The Wasteland. It's April. The Prologue of the Canterbury Tales starts, " Whan that Aprille with hise shoures soote, the droughte of March hath perced to the roote"....The Wasteland begins "April is the cruellest month..." and 1984 begins; " It was a bright cold day in April and the clocks were striking thirteen"

The Waste Land

Cheery stuff, poetry
 

1984

 
Big Brother is watching you. Unless he's taking a selfie...


Monday 14 April 2014

Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!

 
She Ping, World Record Holder for covering himself with 468,000 bees....rather him than me!

Prison Books

 
Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy joins protest about ban on books in prison...NB that should be "gaol"

Very Bad Feeling

 
British Army to use robot mannequins to test military hard wear.....

Charlie Chaplin's Stick

What links the Two Ronnies' glasses, Tommy Cooper's magic flowers and Charlie Chaplin's stick? They are all to be featured in a new Museum of Comedy, planned for the capital.....

Knife, Fork and Spoonbill

 
Update to most Endangered Bird Species List...

Egyptian All Action Superhero

 
Super Sisi! Ousted by ex President Morsi, General Abel Fata Al Sisi now features as a Superhero in his own  video game......

Geoffrey Chaucer's Finger

 
A little literary puzzle. What links Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales", George Orwell's "1984" and T.S. Elliot's "The Wasteland"......

Sunday 6 April 2014

Badgered

 
Princess Ann makes some choice remarks on the badger cull

Friday 4 April 2014

King Alfred's Cakes

Mushroom of the month, King Alfred's Cakes, en route to Woolley Campsite. Even more disgusting in real life, purplish brown lumpy fungus balls...