20th Century
A Sacrifice of Three
Robert Ryan was my great uncle. This fading photograph is the only one we have of him. He gave his life for King and Country when he died on 7th November 1942. He was 20 [more…]
Culture
Arts
The Geek’s Guide To Distilling Commercial Gin For £2.50 A Litre Bottle
First, for those people in the UK and other countries where it is illegal to distil spirits without a licence, here’s the legal bit: “It is illegal to manufacture spirits in the UK without a [more…]
Animals
Fish and their Chips
You’ve seen the creation of the Aquarium, introduction of the fish and corals and watched it settle in. The set up took around three months from initial purchase, fit out, water conditioning and maturing to [more…]
Animals
Aquarium – Corals
With all the fish in place, the next step up is coral. There are two types generally stocked, soft Corals and Hard Corals – the soft ones are easier to look after, needing less light, [more…]
Arts
The Geek’s Guide To Distilling Commercial Vodka For £2.50 A Litre Bottle
First, for those people in the UK, here’s the legal bit: “It is illegal to manufacture spirits in the UK without a distiller’s licence which is required under the provisions of section 12 of the [more…]
Animals
The Inhabitants Arrive
The tank is in place, the systems all built, the water and rock conditioned – the impurities are down to 2 or 3 parts per MILLION (nitrates, nitrites, ammonia and phosphate). Things were starting to [more…]
Animals
For Dog’s Sake
Early shift Postaliers may have noticed that lately I have joined their ranks in contributing to the comments that no-one reads. Following the death of my beloved Schnauzer, Hattie, I have, quite unexpectedly, been granted [more…]
Animals
For Dog’s Sake
Before she was mine, she belonged to my dearest friend, my sister. Just before she died, she asked if I would take her in, and I told her that I would (I’d already decided [more…]
Arts
The Geek’s Guide To Making A Decent Wine For £1.50 A Bottle
Who likes a wine? Not me. No. I don’t like a glass of wine. I like loads of wine. Loads. Before I started to make beer from scratch as I mentioned in my previous article [more…]