The not-quite Lost Trades Fair Showreel

It was a great day out this past March, and we're looking forward to the next show, as are the organisers.



Here's their short showreel.

Post AMazed

"And now the party's over..."

Big family next door

We were taking a stroll, but left the neighbouring mob alone, as they seemed to be having a great time ~ young and old. How may can you see?

"Time Gentlemen, Please!"

A good precept I like for the student of history is "everything you know is wrong". It's more often true than you'd think, I find, in that even relatively solid areas of knowledge often have greater layers than you'd expect. One example is time. We are all educated in understanding and using time, but often unthinking of some of the more remarkable aspects of it (we use it in in base 60) and unaware of how different it has been throughout history to how we understand it.

For instance, the 'wrist sundial' is a perennial trope in cartoons and humour, but as seen in this illustration from History Today, something like it did really exist.

Time's shadow: ivory pocket sundial by Hans Troeschel, Germany, 1592. AKG Images/De Agostini Picture Library

This post was inspired by an excellent short article from History Today, here which has fascinating details different to another excellent podcast here from 'In Our Time' on the BBC - here.

History Today Link

BBC In Our Time Link

James

It's Very Windy

How windy? Very.

In fact this windy. The rain gauge as an anemometer.

James

Winter

It's been cold and windy here. When the rain isn't lashing, then the wind's howling. We've been all cosy indoors. Well, mostly.

This is a drawing done for a challenge called Drawing August. The deal is to draw something (anything) every day for amonth. to keep the impetus going, you've got to post and date a drawing each day. It's happening over on Twitter, just search for #DrawingAugust.

Here's my day 3 winter cosy. Awww.

Let's start with one Pom down - Again

The Ashes are back, some light (currently Nottinghamshire) sunshine in a particularly cold Melbourne winter, and the inimitable Blowers & co of TMS on the radio.  But that's all that's the same as 2009.

We've got one Pommie wicket (Cooked the Cookie... a valuable one, but all the early wickets are) but it has to be said that all the smart money's on England, and the team, which is strong, is unusually surrounded by a resurgent British sporting context with well deserved victories an a remarkable array of international sports, a state of affairs I can't remember having a precedent in decades.  It may have started with London (and Britain's) magnificent hosting of the most recent Olympics, something the UK should really take great credit for.

First drinks, but we don't get the Shipping Forecast. No "... Malin, Hebredies..."

In 2009 I asked ' The tough question is, as ever, whether I can find someone to venture five quid on England.' Delighted to get a $10 onto Australia with our best new Australian from Essex, Sally.  I reckon she's got a good chance at my cash, but as well as Australian victory, I'd mostly like a close, great series.

There's a new round of missing faces, and the picture below is now definitely regarded as 'history' by the commentators.


It's nice to realise you can remember some of the best cricket in its history. Will this be another great series?  The great thing about the ashes is you never really know.

So let's hop back to 2009.  "We have five Tests of five days in Wales and England to look forward to. And in the fine tradition of the game, anything might happen, and much of it probably will. It is certain that it will, however, finish in my old home ground of Surrey's Oval. Among other games I recall seeing Australia give away the last Test to England after a victorious series, and being there as Black Sarf London demonstrated the stupidity of Tebbet's Cricket Test as they celebrated the Windies' Blackwash - one of the nosiest and most intense days I can remember, including fast-jet time...

The Windies in their pomp were something to see, a machine which still echoes to today, but impressive as Big Bird was, there's nothing like the Ashes, right down to one of the most quixotic trophies - that actually isn't."

Remember, there's other sport stuff, and then there's The Ashes.

James

This post might not make sense if you don't speak cricket. A more comprehensible intro here from the BBC.