A Pox on BT

Just a quickie to say that I am an internet-free zone at the moment.
As soon as the village gets broadband again I'll be back but until then, toodle-pip!

WTF Monday

Quiet Corner

Hey, it's half-past week already. Stand on tip-toes and sniff the air; there's a faint tang of weekend on the breeze.

Up until a couple of weeks ago this was my familiar morning walk along the Thames during my seven hour a day commute. By Wednesday I would be desperate for the week to end.

In Smallville, however, every day feels like a sleepy Sunday. Here's a quiet little corner (the whole town seems to be made of those) with quaint, pastel cottages clustered around the church.

Relax. The weekend will be here in its own time.

WTF Monday - BP Special

In sympathy for the folk living around the Gulf of Mexico, here are a couple of shots I took in May, 1978 when a Norwegian supertanker, the Eleni V rolled over and split in half on a Norfolk sandbank.



I was reminded of this at last Saturday's beach party. Thirty-two years later the odd tarball still turns up in the sand.


That same sandbank now hosts a wind farm: an elegant and renewable "fuck you" to Big Oil.

Not 500 Words

Hey ho.
Much as I am still jumping around and whooping with delight at no longer being stuck on a train for seven hours a day, all that time stuck in a cramped little seat unable to move did give me the time to write my weekly story.
So … no story this week.
At least not yet, anyway. Busy, busy, busy.

Henceforth 500 Words will be an occasional rather than a weekly series. I'll post up the stories as they come in and then set the next sentence.
In the meantime …

Meanwhile, Back In 1972 …

Before I hung up the old cape I would satisfy my gadget lust in the Metropolis branch of the Apple Store.

Now I'm back in Smallville things are … er … somewhat different.

It's worth clicking on this to enlarge it enough to appreciate its full glory.

Yes, I know they spelled wizard wrong but I have a feeling this is not so much for Harry Potter fans as ageing acolytes of Roy Wood's early seventies glam rock band, 'Wizzard.'

No, I have not yet dared to venture inside but I suspect that when I do I shall not find rows of gleaming Macs to play with but dusty shelves creaking under the strain of ancient PC components and cassette-powered 4-colour video games consoles.
Which might actually be fun come to think of it.

WTF Monday - Fashion On A Stick Special

Many thanks to Katie for spotting this on her trip to Laos.

Size Isn't Everything

Yet more of the culture shock I am experiencing on hanging up the cape and moving back to Smallville:

Both Metropolis and Smallville boast banks …

In Metropolis they are boastful,

and in Smallville, beautiful.

I know which I prefer.

500 Words XLV - This Week's Sentence

This week's sentence is taken from 'Father Goriot', by Honore de Balzac.

The sentence is:

'No more gherkins, no more anchovies; they have made a fool of me!'

You know the rules. Let rip your wit upon it.

500 Words XLIV - Story Time

This week's sentence was taken from 'Barchester Towers', by Anthony Trollope.

The sentence was:

'There was nothing poetic in the nature of Mrs Quiverful.'

Just the one story so far this week:

Dive's 'Some Sage Advice For Students'

A cautionary tale relating to careers advice.