Photography
Postcard From Spain
The dawn cacophony begins with palomas who settle on the roof terrace just before 6am. At one time I thought that they all sang the same song, but if you listen you can hear a [more…]
Travel
Culture
Of Gods And Terminuses
We’re at the front of the queue on platform one in the concrete trench that is Euston terminus, tipped off early by the steward in the first-class lounge as to which platform we’d be departing [more…]
Arts
Ocean-to-Ocean, Part 2
Readers will recall from Part 1 that, for my retirement trip, I had decided to sail across to the eastern seaboard of the US and then travel across to the other side of the continent, [more…]
Hobbies
Postcard from a Shepherds Hut
* You may have already guessed this last bit… June 6th is a bit of a special day in the life of Yours Truly as it’s my birthday and Mrs ABS had planned a 3-night [more…]
19th Century
The Shock of The Modern
Besides excitement and trauma, might the shock of the new also provide a synapse re-ordering adrenaline burst that remodels the brain? As a little boy the make-believe near-future modernist world of Thunderbirds (and the like) [more…]
Arts
Ocean-to-Ocean, Part 1
Having finally become a Puffin-of-leisure in June 2024, I decided that it was time to start making use of my new-found freedom and begin travelling again, something I had previously enjoyed but which was rudely [more…]
20th Century
The Only One in The World?
I’m a great believer that surges of adrenaline reshape the connections in the brain in the way a deluge of flood water might reshape a river valley. You are not the same person after an [more…]
Hobbies
Postcard from Cornwall (Porthleven)
It must be close on 20 years since we last holidayed in Cornwall. We used to go every summer when our children were young but the lure of foreign holidays and the dread of getting [more…]
theatre
Postcard From London
Mrs AWS and I are in London having chaperoned a Chinese VVIP to a rendezvous in the food court outside Euston Station. The little girl and her new escorts head off in the rough direction [more…]