Life Observed

I am mighty impressed the sea can lift this gravel two meters and dump it all against the beach huts. After all it's only salty water. It doesn't have a mind or anything. I'm just as impressed that the council will come and put all the gravel back eventually.

Another guitar appeared. Or is that "yet another guitar"? Can you have too many guitars? Yes I expect so. But this one is fifteen years old and was for sale locally.  It would have been rude not to buy it, surely.

You know where you are with an Imaginary Friend. Someone who won't let you down or complain or object to your socks.  Wait a minute.  Where's he gone?

He'd had enough :)

Don't drop the Key to the Castle.  You might injure a servant...

Kingston Lacey, wallpaper made of silk. Like you do...

Felix the cat. Only £3.99. Includes shortbread biscuits.

The sea misbehaving.  Put those flagstones back and don't do that again.

Don't leave your mobile phone on the windowsill at this monastery. That's probably why the monks don't have mobile phones.

An embarrassing historical moment captured by quick thinking sculptor. When the Corinthian rugby team saw the strength of the opposition, their heads literally exploded.

Imagine sitting in a bath of cold water all day long, and then all night as well. 

The sun always shines at thirty five thousand feet, even in October. Below us, just rain and gloom.

Greek Orthodox churches are beautiful and new inside. They generally look like they were repainted just last year. Perhaps they were. However, there's always an exception.

"Testing Testing: ένα, δύο, τρία, τέσσερα "

This statue commemorates the dangers of spicy food. To quote the rather wonderful Goon Show .. "No more curried eggs for me!"

No matter what the event, whatever time of day, someone somewhere will be holding up a phone taking a picture or a video.  Perhaps one day humans will evolve some sort of bony structure on our head to support the essential accessory.

This quiet community of around ninety Greek Orthodox monks is gated and locked.  That is to stop the locals carrying off small bones as relics.

How often have we heard this one. God of underworld bursts up out of the earth in his chariot and carries off daughter of goddess. This surprisingly scary wall painting was done thousands of years ago.  Excellent.

Using the tools supplied, assemble your very own Byzantine Basilica

I spotted this fabulous cast iron down pipe in Athens last week.

While walking through Kavala, surrounded by the obligatory Greek Bouzouki music that bar owners feel the tourists need to hear - we heard Smooth by Santana. We traced it to the "Wood and Rock" bar (outdoor seating, cash only) which really is let into the rock. Stratocaster* on the wall, and great rock music. Time for a beer and chill out before heading back to the hotel. Lovely. **A nasty cheap copy of a Stratocaster. The most copied guitar ever made.

Reflections from the Mediterranean sea of a Greek fishing boat. Location, Kavala.

You know this. It's one of the buildings on the Acropolis. (Acro meaning highest point and Polis meaning town). What you see has mostly been restored from stones lying around. This is because the buildings on the Aropolis have been blown up at least twice in the past 300 years. Hint: If you are storing gunpowder to sustain your defences during a long siege, don't put it in the largest and most obvious building in the city...

Here we have a Greek/Roman amphitheatre. (The Romans added the top bit later). Someone is attempting to show the acoustics by dropping a coin at the centre. Alas I couldn't hear the coin due to the fake shutter click of smartphone cameras. PS, there's a cat down there somewhere.

Douglas Adams was right. You can suspend an item in free space entirely by the power of art.

Some years ago I posted an opinion that context is all important in a picture. If you go abroad and take a picture of a cat, it is just a picture of a cat. However, a picture of a cat in front of the Acropolis is a completely different animal. Well, we just came back from a trip to actual Greece and while staying in Athens I tried quite hard to locate a cat with the Acropolis in the background, but all the moggies I spoke to charged far too much to be in a picture. So here is an alternative. A cat in an Amphitheater. PS. What is it with Mediterranean animals? Every archaeological site has cats in it. And all the associated coach parks have a sleeping dog. Is it a job creation scheme?

I don't often use the word "spectacular" (or the word "frightful" for that matter) - but this corporate madness in Newbury last weekend was rather something. .

Help! Fire... Everywhere..

We live in a time of wonders. You could compare the wit of Trump with that of Oscar Wilde. You could compare the statesmanship of Boris Johnson with that of Churchill. You could say "they bestride our narrow world like a collossus" in these times. You could do all of these things..

It turns out we have bees under our summer house. It turns out that this is a Good Thing because bees are important and under threat. It also turns out I don't know why they are called Bumble Bees.

Industrial strength coffee is very much the order of the day in post hipster Britain. It has become so strong that conventional pouring methods no longer work.  Your local barista is likely to use this high pressure coffee pump for your quad shot day-starter.

A new venture to create a ski resort on the south coast has proved ill fated. At present there is no snow and there seems to be little chance of any.  Skiers still take the cable car up the mountain in case it is white on top.

Being just the under-gardener you have to accept your rank in life: Just a little lower than the head gardener.

In high winds, if no-one notices, these points get blown over and all the trains end up in West Bromwich. No, really

Once upon a time a popular music combo called the Beatles had some success. Much of it was built on heaps of iron like this VOX AC50 that I am refurbishing. After decades of quiet retirement it is being coaxed back in to life. It is hot and dangerous work. Sometimes I feel like a coal miner.

Victorian hospitals were stark and dreary places. Your symptoms were displayed outside your ward on a large red banner.  Serious diseases merited warning cones and lights.

Don't know about you, but I find this very moorish. PS. Disadvantage of being Queen of everything and Empress of India. One gets all sorts of stuff given to one.  One's poor cupboards!

Our new house build is going slowly. The builders turned up in the afternoon, lit a fire and made a cup of tea. Then it was time to go home.

We are sorry to report that Igor has escaped again. If you see him, don't make eye contact, comment on his general appearance or call him a monster.

Lady Stoat-Mitherer* agonised over the impending interview. Choosing the right staff is important, however they should not be made too comfortable, it may set a precedent.  So she had the comfy sofa removed by the Butler's assistant. *Pronounced "Smythe"

The growing family of modified amps... We are expecting two more!

White and grey. Or grey and white. Just stop perching on my roof, OK?

A slow motion sea fog reluctantly climbs over the Isle of Wight.