“February’s so gloomy in this part of the world, don’t you
think? It’s not so much a month as a twenty-eight-day-long Monday morning.”
David Mitchell “Black Swan Green”
Friday 31 January 2020
Thursday 23 January 2020
On this day
Today's most useless piece of information -
On 23rd January 2018 twelve camels were disqualified from a camel beauty contest when it was discovered their owners had used botox on their lips. (I'm not sure the above camel in Chester Zoo would have stood much chance with or without botox!)
"Put your sweet lips a little closer to the phone Let's pretend that we're together all alone. I'll tell the man to turn the jukebox way down low. And you can tell your friend there with you, he'll have to go."
On 23rd January 2018 twelve camels were disqualified from a camel beauty contest when it was discovered their owners had used botox on their lips. (I'm not sure the above camel in Chester Zoo would have stood much chance with or without botox!)
I'm reminded of the Jim Reeves song...
"Put your sweet lips a little closer to the phone Let's pretend that we're together all alone. I'll tell the man to turn the jukebox way down low. And you can tell your friend there with you, he'll have to go."
Tuesday 14 January 2020
Over the past couple of years I have really fallen for Instagram. And it never ceases to amaze me that I can take a picture on my phone, post it on-line in seconds and receive a comment from a friend in Russia a moment later.
The one problem is that it only translates the original post, not the following comments. And its translations to and from Russian can leave a lot to be desired. "Out of sight, out of mind," for example might become невидимый маньяк which translates back as "Invisible Maniac".
Some of my Instagram posts are really, really exciting and daring - like eating chocolate sponge for breakfast, seeing a wine bottle gift container in the form of a post box, or even getting ink on my fingers... If you feel you can't manage without seeing such marvels you can find me on Instagram at @cjohnedwards
I look forward to If you want to see my doings on Instagram you can find me at @cjohnedwards
I look forward to perhaps seeing some of you there.
Monday 6 January 2020
Bushfire update
Bushfire update from @paulhiltonphoto on Instagram =
"Around 480 million animals are feared to have died in the bushfires sweeping Australia.
Ecologists at the University of Sydney estimate around 480 million mammals, birds and reptiles have been killed, directly or indirectly, by the devastating blazes since they began in September, The Times reported.
This includes almost 8,000 koalas, which are believed to have burnt to death on the state’s mid-north coast. This week I spent a day doing a black walk with members from @koalacrusaders on the Sunshine Coast. Which basically means walking through areas after fires, to look out for injured wildlife, with a focus on koalas 🐨. The also use detection dogs, Bear has many years under his belt alongside his owner and trainer Russel. @usc_detection_dogs
Right now the @koalacrusaders are raising money for a koala Sanctuary for all their injured koalas that can’t be release, due to injuries. Please take a moment to check out their website. The news across Australia is devastating. The country has been burning for months, with huge heat waves, the climate crisis is real and it’s only going to get worse. With most of the Southern Hemisphere in drought, many of the worlds leading scientists have forecast a mega - drought for Australia for many years to come.
"Around 480 million animals are feared to have died in the bushfires sweeping Australia.
Ecologists at the University of Sydney estimate around 480 million mammals, birds and reptiles have been killed, directly or indirectly, by the devastating blazes since they began in September, The Times reported.
This includes almost 8,000 koalas, which are believed to have burnt to death on the state’s mid-north coast. This week I spent a day doing a black walk with members from @koalacrusaders on the Sunshine Coast. Which basically means walking through areas after fires, to look out for injured wildlife, with a focus on koalas 🐨. The also use detection dogs, Bear has many years under his belt alongside his owner and trainer Russel. @usc_detection_dogs
Right now the @koalacrusaders are raising money for a koala Sanctuary for all their injured koalas that can’t be release, due to injuries. Please take a moment to check out their website. The news across Australia is devastating. The country has been burning for months, with huge heat waves, the climate crisis is real and it’s only going to get worse. With most of the Southern Hemisphere in drought, many of the worlds leading scientists have forecast a mega - drought for Australia for many years to come.
Saturday 4 January 2020
My Postcrossing Year 2019
Although I only sent about 100 postcards through postcrossing (and received the same amount back) I actually sent a total of 460 to other friends and acquaintances. And a wonderful 440 came back the other way (plus dozens of folded cards as well).
Thursday 2 January 2020
Books Read in 2019
(Please note the date in brackets is the year read, not the year published. A +sign indicates it has been read before. 2 + signs mean I've read it before twice or more. My favourites are shown in red.)
Atkinson, Kate. When will there be good news? 2019 (Jackson Brodie 3)
Atkinson, Kate. Case histories 2019 (Jackson Brodie 1)
Attwood, Margaret. Wilderness tips. Poor. 2019
Backman, Frederick. A man called Ove. Excellent. 2019.
Bingham, Harry. The dead house. 2019 (Fiona Griffiths)
Brandon, John G. A scream in Soho. 2019
Brody, Frances. Death of an avid reader. A Leeds Library Kate Shackleton novel. 2019
Brunoff, J & L. De. Babar a la chasse aux oeufs 2019
Bude, John. Death makes a prophet. 2019
Butland, Stephanie. Lost for words. (Bookshop romance). 2019
Butlin, Ron. The little book of Scottish rain. NF. 2019
Cannon, Joanna. Trouble with goats and sheep. 2019
Cleeves, Ann. The moth catcher. A Vera Stanhope novel) 2019
Cleeves, Ann. Harbour Street. (Vera) 2019
Cleeves, Ann. The mill on the shore. (Molly & George Palmer-Jones). 2019.
Cleeves, Ann. Cold earth. (Jimmy Perez - Shetland) 2019.
Cole, Martina. Damaged 019 (Kate Burrows retired) 2019
Croft, Kathryn. The girl with no past. 2019.
Crombie, Deborah. No mark upon her. 2019
Dahl, Roald. Boy. 2019
Edwards, Martin. Suspicious minds. Set in Wirral. 2019
Edwards, Ruth Dudley. The Anglo-Irish murders. 2019 not finished
Elliott, Angela J. A strange scent of death. (Novel based on disappearance of Flannan Isles lighthouse keepers.) 2019
Ellis, Kate. The Jackal man. (Wesley Peterson) 2019
Ellis, Kate. The flesh tailor (Wesley Peterson) 2019
Fadiman, Anne. Ex libris. (NF execellent) 2019
Fields, Helen. Perfect prey. 2019
Fox, Kathryn. Skin and bone. (Det Kate Farrer – Sydney, Australia). 2019
Franklin, Ariana. Relics of the dead. (Adelia Aguilar). +2019.
French, Nicci. Day of the dead. 2019.
Gibney, Patricia. The stolen girls. (DI Lottie Parker – Irish garda) 2019
Gray, Alex. The bird that did not sing. (Spt. Lorimer) 2019
Gray, Alex. The darkest goodbye. 2019.
Gray, Alex. Keep the midnight 2019
Griffiths, Elly. The ghost fields. (Dr Ruth Galloway) 2019
Guskin, Sharon. The forgetting time. 2019 Not finished
Highroads of Literature. NF ++ 2019
Holmes, Efner Tudor. The Christmas Cat 2019
Honeyman, Gail. Eleanor Oliphant is completely fine. 2019
Indridason, Shadow district. 2019
Jackson, Holbrook. Bookman's holiday. ++ 2019
James, P.D. Cover the face. (Dalgleish) 2019
Jour, Belle du. The intimate adventures of a London call girl. 2019 (part...)
Kacirk, Jeffrey. Altered English. Dipped into it. 2019
Larsson, Steig. Girl with the dragon tattoo. 2019
Larsson, Steig. The girl who played with fire. 2019
Larsson, Stieg. The girl who kicked the hornets' nest. 2019
Lawler, Liz. Don't wake up. 2019
Lodge, David. Therapy. 2019 excellent.
Lodge, David. Deaf sentence. 2019. Excellent.
Lodge, David. The British Museum is falling down. (+) 2019
Lodge, David. Small world. 2019
MacBride, Stuart. Broken skin. 2019
MacBride, Stuart. Dying light. 2019
MacNeil, Kevin. The Stornoway way. 2019
Mangan, Lucy. Bookworm. NF. 2019
Marshall, Laura. Friend request. 2019
Mitchell, Maggie. Pretty is... 2019
Mosse, Kate. The taxidermist's daughter. 2019
Nicolaou, Maria. Divorced, beheaded, sold. Ending an English marriage 1500-1847. NF Excellent. 2019
Orczy, Baroness . The old man in the corner.. 2019 the tea house derective
Postgate, Raymond. Somebody at the door. 2019
Pratchett, Terry. The wee free men. (+) 2019
Pratchett, Terry. Wintersmith (+) 2019
Pratchett, Terry. A hat full of sky. (+) 2019
Pratchett, Terry. I shall wear midnight (+) 2019
Pratchett, Terry. The shepherd's crown (+) 2019
Pratchett, Terry. The wit and wisdom of Discworld (+) 2019
Pratchett, Terry. Equal rites (+) 2019
Pratchett, Terry. Wyrd sisters (+) 2019
Pratchett, Terry. Sourcery (+) 2019
Pratchett, Terry. Lords and Ladies (+) 2019
Reed, Mike. 100 humorous poems. 2019 NF
Rendell, Ruth. Going wrong. 2019 excellent
Robinson, Graham. Observations on life. 2019 nf poetry
Robotham, Michael. Watching you. 2019
Runcie, James. Sidney Chambers and the problem of evil. 2019
Sachar, Louis. Holes. (Camp Green Lake) 2019
Sayers, Dorothy L. Strong poison. Lord Peter Wimsey. 2019
Schlink, Bernhard. The reader. 2019
Spring, Neil. The lost village. 2019
Steiner, Susie. Missing presumed. (+ part then realised I'd read it c2017
Templeton, Aline. Cold in the earth. (DI Marjory Fleming) 2019
Tiffany, Carrie. Mateship with birds. (Excellently written monograph on kookaburras and sex!) 2019
Tudor, C.J. The chalk man. 2019
Walsh, Rosie. The man who didn't call. 2019
Whitehouse, David. The long forgotten. 2019
Wilkinson, Colin. Liverpool from the air. (NF). 2019
Wright, John D. The age of the Victorians. {NF}. 2019
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