Author Archives: admin

Greek Signs

Posted on January 24, 2016 by admin

A visit to Greece provided frequent linguistic reminders of its past:  Other shops’ literary allusions were in more questionable taste: Menus could be intriguing for an Aberdonian: The bus stations all had smart ticket machines, all out of order, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Greece, Language | 1 Comment

Greek Cats

Posted on January 10, 2016 by admin

Nafplio was cat central. Smudge was almost dirty enough to disappear against a grey wall: Some thought deep thoughts: Others kept a look-out: This youngster at our guesthouse was still rather wary of strangers, even ones bearing strokes: This family … Continue reading →

Posted in Greece, Nature, Pets | 1 Comment

Greek Animals

Posted on January 9, 2016 by admin

I didn’t take my big birding lens to Greece, since I knew there would be no big birds on display. Unfortunately it turned out that the olive groves play host to a dense population of kestrels and buzzards; the latter … Continue reading →

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Reading List 4

Posted on January 3, 2016 by admin

I finished 42 books in the second half of 2015. I had a fairly decent spread of (non-mutually exclusive) categories, I think; starting with Real Books How to be Both — Ali Smith High-Rise — J. G. Ballard The Narrow … Continue reading →

Posted in Books | 1 Comment

Maternity and Melville

Posted on November 15, 2015 by admin

Two recent completed books at Project Gutenberg: the first was “Maternity”, a collection of letters by working class women, published in 1915. The writers were officials of the Women’s Co-operative Guild, so typically rather better off than the average manual … Continue reading →

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Shades of Brown

Posted on November 8, 2015 by admin

After a long, hot summer, autumn has finally arrived in Slovakia. Soft colours: Herons take to the fields: and the skies: The usual raptors are around. Buzzards: And kestrels: As the leaves start to fall, it gets easier to see … Continue reading →

Posted in Nature, Slovakia | 1 Comment

Cat infestation

Posted on October 23, 2015 by admin

They get everywhere…. https://youtu.be/CDNl4UeaErk

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Blackbird(?) Public Art Project

Posted on September 26, 2015 by admin

Mixed Materials. 2015.

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Literary Scotland

Posted on September 8, 2015 by admin

Through a combination of accident and design, our Scottish journey intersected with several literary sites. Our main target on the trip was the Cairngorms, at more or less the centre of which are the Pools of Dee: At the time … Continue reading →

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Scottish Signs

Posted on September 6, 2015 by admin

We started and finished in Edinburgh, which is clearly a city of Kultur: Railways are always good value for comedy signs. Haymarket station must have a computer scientist in charge of its platform numbering: While Scotrail are very considerate to … Continue reading →

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