Too many books
I once had an older male friend, a bachelor, called David. His hobbies included collecting antiques (especially commemorative china) and books. I knew him from mid-1985 to early 2009: twenty-four...
View ArticleDigital Photography Review bites the dust
Oh no! DPReview, one of my favourite online photography websites, is to close down on 10th April. It has been around for 25 years, and has a huge and very useful archive of photo reviews and articles....
View ArticleAn important anniversary today
I had lunch today at Fields, Sidmouth's department store. Their café upstairs was packed. Why this should be so, on a cloudy, windy and rather chilly Wednesday in March wasn't clear. You'd think people...
View ArticleGiant wields big club in Sidmouth
I'd paid for two hours' parking in Sidmouth at a car park I don't ordinarily use, as it isn't the cheapest. But the place was full of people, and parking was at a premium. Astonishing for midweek in...
View ArticleOh dear! Gearbox trouble!
Not far from the end of my journey to Lyme Regis from my home in Sussex, hauling the caravan up a hill on the A35 between Dorchester and Bridport, a disturbing message flashed up on Fiona's dashboard:...
View ArticleA new lap tray
Life is not all troublesome gearboxes. I'm on holiday. The weather so far has been pretty dodgy - lots of wind and rain, and although snug in the caravan it's chilly outside. Even so, I've already...
View ArticleMud, mud, glorious mud
I had a Master Plan this year, having noticed that for two years running (down to global warming and climate change?) the weather from the start of November was way too wet, and quite uncongenial for...
View ArticlePoohsticks in Beer
No, not a post about how to add extra flavour to an alcoholic beverage. I mean the game made famous by Winnie-the-Pooh, a fictional bear (of little brain) in A A Milne's 1928 children's story The House...
View ArticleFrozen in Yeovil
I'm still in a farmer's field near Lyme Regis, although in three days' time I move on to North Devon. I haven't seen much sunshine. The forecast better weather hasn't materialised, and it's still soggy...
View ArticleA crucial feature I had forgotten about
I'm now in North Devon, on my usual farm not far from Great Torrington. I arrived in wet weather, and although I've seen much more sunshine (and even warmth) in these parts, it has remained - shall we...
View ArticleThat test warning of a dire emergency
Did you get the government's experimental emergency warning message on your phone at 3.00pm today? Were you as disappointed as I was?The message itself was just as expected, and I was fine with it. I...
View ArticleStrapped
LXV, my Leica X Vario camera, was well looked-after by its first owner. Its inspection certificates say that it left the Wetzlar factory in Germany on 27th November 2013, and on 17th May 2022 - when it...
View ArticleThe forthcoming Coronation of King Charles III
The Coronation is tomorrow. I don't live in London. Do I then watch it all on TV? As it happens, watching this event is not simply a question of turning the TV on and paying attention at the best...
View ArticleSelfies
I take a lot of photos of myself, many more than most people of my generation I suspect. Indeed I have hardly ever seen a 'selfie' (as nowadays understood) in anybody's photo collection if they were...
View ArticlePlease don't turn on the lights
I photograph a lot of churches. I call it one of my vices. Whether at home or on holiday, I'll make a point of visiting a town or country church and 'doing' it - meaning that I'll start with some...
View ArticleBlack and White
Some years ago Leica started a trend, offering a version of each successive M-Series rangefinder camera that could take pictures only in monochrome. They are no longer the only manufacturer to market...
View ArticleThe Monday Ritual
It's Monday morning, and I've just completed a ritual that has been part of my weekly routine since January 2019. I've refilled my Parker 51 fountain pen. It didn't need refilling, even though I do use...
View ArticleNo local 4G again! EEk!
I get my mobile phone service from EE, supposedly the outfit with the best geographical coverage in the UK. That's important: I live in the sticks, drive about the Sussex countryside almost daily, and,...
View ArticleIt was indeed a fire
I have now had a chat with the nice man at EE who is handling my mobile phone service complaint, and who will stay on the case until there is resolution. He told me that they have had a fire in the...
View ArticleI have a birthmark!
Well! I'm very nearly seventy-one, and I've never known before that I have a birthmark! It's on the back of my neck, but above the hair line, so it's not usually visible. My hairdresser Anne - who...
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