Arthur’s Seat and Salisbury Crags, from Edinburgh Castle. Edinburgh Castle, from Salisbury Crags. Salisbury Crags and Edinburgh Castle, from Arthur’s Seat Edinburgh Tourist Board website All photos copyright M. Sowden 2009.
York: Remembering I’m Always In The Middle
March 23rd 2006 The river Ouse was, for a long time, the bloodstream of mercantile York. In Roman times it provided the means to transport bulk goods for the military (grain, for example, as seen in the remnants of beetle-infested Roman grain cellars along Coney Street). It allowed cost-effective transportation of raw and worked materials in and out of the … Read More
There’s A Voice, Keeps On Calling Me
Last week, I finished working at my regular online writing gig.
The Appeal Of Fallen Buildings
There’s a place that haunts my mind – and it’s in Belgium. Now, the less charitable among you may suggest that Belgium generally haunts everyone’s mind. Some Belgians feel this way. But this is probably unfair, even if it’s quite funny. Belgium has had a long and glorious history of being everyone’s favourite Shortcut To Somewhere Important, and it’s not … Read More
Q10: Fitting A Door In My Brain
The problem with using a PC that’s connected to the Internet – well, there are plenty of problems. Oh, this will be a big list. Short break first. E-mail. Digg – WOAH that’s crazy. Stumbleupon. Twitter. Facebook (Friends – status updates OHMYGOD message message message). BBC News. Huffington Post. E-mail again. How’s my Space Pioneers empire going? E-mail. Check Stumbles … Read More
An Afternoon At Josie’s
(January 2005) A lot of people pass through Bempton. The village, a little to the north of Bridlington and a little inland from Flamborough Head, is the site of the ornithologically famous Bempton cliffs, one of England prime seabird nurseries (particularly gannets). The cliff walk is spectacular, so you’ve be forgiven for not lingering in Bempton itself, except to grab … Read More
Travel Tip: Smapping
Whenever I go anywhere new, I keep an eye out for information boards, so I can smap them. Smapping is the process of taking a digital photograph of a map that you won’t have access to later, except if you take a snap of it. My first smap was of the Durham train station ‘You Are Here’ glass-encased map. Smapping … Read More
Owl Call
There are few sounds that pull at you like an owl’s cry. A few days ago, I was up in the early morning, freeing a spider from my room (the mosquito season is over: normally I’d leave a spider where it was, but it wouldn’t take long to starve). I tipped the end of my V-bent magazine over the bushes, … Read More