Life Observed

Take an object, cut it into small components and disorder them. Sell this randomised item to a consumer. Buy randomised item. Re-order the components to recreate the original item. Pause to smile for a moment. Disorder and randomise the assembled item again. Has anyone considered what all this might be doing to Entropy?

The Victorians were a model of moral self restraint, with their charitable institutions and their patriotism.  Here is another example. It's a detail from a Victorian bicycle, to be found in the Oxfordshire Museum in Woodstock. This is the sort of thing that made Britain great. It is the sort of thing we need now.  The Saddle of Pain.

"By the time we got to Woodstock, we were half a million strong..." Well, we went to Woodstock at the weekend, and were blessed with lovely weather. Woodstock is a very well behaved genteel little Cotswold town hard by Blenheim Palace. Everything is tidy and in it's place. In fact it is very difficult to image the place over run with hippies back in '69, all come to see Jimi Hendrix play serious rock. 

We went down to the local nature reserve to throw bread at the ducks recently. It turned out to be during a tropical downpour and we retreated to the edge of the building to shelter among the eavesdroppings. The wooden structure above offered no shelter at all, and seemed to serve no purpose, but I was impressed by the choice of curved and shaped timbers.  They seemed to form an oriental pictogram if one stood in just the right place.  Needless to say, I did stand in just the right place.  Well you have to, really.

Despite the best efforts of the choir, there were still some in the congregation that did not fully appreciate the Rutter. (No, we don't encourage dogs in church to be honest...)

The passage of ten thousand feet have worn the church floor tiles down over the years.  Specifically, the red tiles have worn while the black ones have fared rather better. Surely the path outside should be stained with red dust...

Sunny Sunday morning.  Blue sky.  New blossom and old stonework. Predictably, I had to take picture.  Unfortunately, phones are not really cameras and you can't see enough on the screen in bright sunlight, so I cut the top off the church. Failure: Subtract several points.  Nice contrast though

I wonder if there is a government subsidy that encourages farmers to allow their barns to decay and become photogenic? Probably not, I suppose

Look: I made my car lighter, stiffer and faster by sticking this fake carbon fibre over the excessive Japanese chrome.. Awesome.

I don't know how trees reboot themselves each year, but this large silver birch in our garden decided to throw all its leaves away in the heat of last summer, and it has failed to start this spring. This has all the signs of a dead tree. A big dead tree. On a different tack: How are bees supposed to find this new bee home.  Should I put up signs? "Just Completed! Bee starter homes for rent, over by the dead tree".

Government cutbacks and general funding reductions are now hitting all levels of society.  King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table are certainly feeling the pinch, and are reduced to four members and a set of cheap plastic furniture.  Bold and lengthy quests are currently banned. PS. Is it "cutbacks" or "cutsback" ?

Also from Hindhead, this lovely timeless scene. No cables or aerials to spoil the view. If you are of a certain age you might imagine a Hillman Minx* coming slowly round the bend in the road... *A kind of cross between a Mountain Troll and a Polecat