I've been reading a lot lately. I think it's been in reaction to an increase in workload, which has left me clambering for the best kind of immersive entertainment I know. Novels. Lots and lots of novels. And now, not for the first time in my life, I'm addicted. (Possibly obsessed.) In October I read … Continue reading October reading: lots and lots
I'm taking an engineering viewpoint on this week's photo challenge theme of Descent. Because I've long been fascinated and thrilled by the way our forefathers used the controlled descent of water under gravity as very clean power source (and indeed modern hydropower stations do too). Above is the flour mill at Cotehele in Cornwall. Water … Continue reading Descent – ways with water
Here's something I don't do much anymore. Not since I became addicted to downloading ebooks to my kindle. But it turns out I do still sometimes purchase treebooks... In such cases, out comes my good old (enormous) roll of 'contact'. I've been covering my fantasy paperbacks in transparent 'contact' (also known as sticky-backed plastic) for … Continue reading An old habit, and possibly a weird one
And now for more Travelling in the 90s — tripping back in time to 1994 and my last few days in the UK... [Saturday 29 January, 1994] Yesterday we headed back to London via Oxford. We wandered around for a while -- saw the canal, saw the castle, saw some shops -- before picking up … Continue reading Travelling in the 90s: last days in London
ZILLAH Well, that's one weight off my mind. We're finally free of the left Eye of Varrien. We gave it up to the Church of Elloran for the paltry sum of 20 gold pieces. I suspect that the priest ensorcelled Calwyn and Alix into handing it over for about a quarter what we might have … Continue reading D&D Chronicles: Zillah becomes a sell-sword with dire consequence
Imagine two musicians (a guy and a girl), who just met while he was busking on a Dublin street, now hanging out in a musical instrument shop so they can use a piano, playing one of his original songs together for the first time. She's vocally harmonising and adding piano to his guitar on the … Continue reading ONCE – The stage musical
On Sunday I bought some arrows. Three arrows with pointed heads, long wooden shafts and feathered fletching. They are hand-crafted replicas of old-style arrows I came across at the Old World Arts and Blacksmiths Fair I went to yesterday, and I completely fell in love with them. They look awesome standing in a glass jar … Continue reading Arrows
Last time I checked in for Sunday (er, Monday) Journal I was tearing my hair out, but the past month has been looking up. Reasonable progress on my novel revision, another TWO weekend retreats to Phillip Island... a bit too much 'dayjob' work though. On the writing front, I've spent a fair deal of time … Continue reading Sunday Journal: Progress and the career juggling act
I have two months worth of books to reflect upon today, because somehow I missed my August post. But I'll try not to go on about all of them and just present the highlights package. (That'll mean ignoring any books I might have happened to re-read... of which there were four.) AUGUST Hindsight - Sarah … Continue reading Reading highlights – August and September
Dipping into my occasional A-Z of fantasy series... We are up to K. It's another letter that, owing to its aesthetic properties, is rather popular for naming things in fantasy. (Yes, letters can certainly have aesthetic properties!) But not all that much else it seems. And so we have KING. King - the male ruler … Continue reading A-Z of fantasy: K is for King
Ellen Gregory 