Rock Art in the Western Cape

In December 2002 I visited Cape Town and while there went to the Cedarburg Mountains. It was far too hot then to do the full walk which takes in many other sites but I was determined to do a little exploring to see some of the Rock Art of the San people who formerly occupied this mostly wilderness area. Please compare my photo above with the middle photo of this linked page.

My Picture of the Day and an old formula

Sheep on the Bryn - Shropshire/ Welsh Border Country.

Nothing to do with sheep, but I'm probably in for something bad to happen this week! You probably don't want to know this, but I cut my fingernails last Sunday and have just read the following old rhyme!

When to Pare the Nails

• Cut them on Monday, cut them for health.
• Cut them on Tuesday, cut them for wealth.
• Cut them on Wednesday, cut for a letter.
• Cut them on Thursday, for something better.
• Cut them on Friday, you cut for a wife.
• Cut them on Saturday, cut for long life.
• Cut them on Sunday, you cut for evil,
• For all of that week, you'll be ruled by the devil.

Wish me luck!

Dialects and the Treasures of Britain

As all will know, there still is a rich variation in accent and dialect to be found in the different parts of the UK. In the British Library Collections we can freely sample local voices online and also view writings and images in many differerent and fascinating categories as you will see. Many of the 650 recordings were made in the 1950's and sometimes later recordings can be compared to hear the shift towards more standard english.
To hear a particular Dialect open the website; go to Advanced Search, then choose the option to search by Place Name or Postcode, Enter. Type in the name of a place in England, for instance: Dudley [in the West Midlands, heart of the Black Country], then scroll down to Object Type, and choose Recorded Speech, then click on search. I found two recordings, the first of which is:

Quarry Bank Dudley. Roy talks about his early work driving the pit ponies at the Beech Tree Colliery in the 1940s. ...

Turn your sound on and Click the recording and it will play for you. Choose whatever place you like and recordings from that or nearby places can be found. Fascinating I hope you agree.

Bristol's Finest

Recently we had the excellent news that the SS Great Britain has been awarded the prestigious Gulbenkian Award and I can do no better than to quote: "It combines a truly groundbreaking piece of conservation, remarkable engineering and fascinating social history plus a visually stunning ship above and below the water line. Most importantly, the ss Great Britain is accessible and highly engaging for people of all ages." Lord Robert Winston, Chairman of the Gulbenkian judges 2006.
I have been on board several times over the years but not since the latest phase of conservation. In fact I had thought to myself that considering the state of the rusty ironwork and rotten wood within the ship, that I could never be saved, given our often damp climate. I was of course wrong and so much has been done over the last few years.
When I was in Port Stanley six months ago I saw the mizzen mast of the ship [top photo] and this gives some idea of the state of preservation at the start of the project. Now the ship has six splendid new masts and provides a fine view as one drives into Bristol city from the west along Hotwells Road. [bottom picture]

Adventure & Travel with the Cerise Cover

I've bought a new mug!

When Penguin first published their books in 1935, they had very plain covers for the instantly popular and cheaply priced paperbacks. For many years (off and on) I have been collecting "Pink Penguins", officially Cerise, which denoted Travel & Adventure. The main other colours were Green for Mystery & Crime and Orange for Fiction, though Penguin No.1 was Dark Blue for Biography: Ariel (A life of Shelley) by Andre Maurois.

By the late 1950's plain covers gave way to pictures but still with a penguin in a cerise background on the spine, then by the mid-1960's the familiar penguin logo was all that remained; colour coded no longer. My collection started many years ago with the two volume edition of Apsley Cherry-Garrard's The Worst Journey in the World which led me to an enduring interest in polar exploration. I now have a nearly complete set of the Travel & Aventure Penguins and many other Polar books in my collection.

Together is interesting. Published first in hardback in 1923 (Penguin Edition No 502 in 1945) Norman Douglas has a companion "Mr R." which, unknown to the general reader, was actually a 15-year-old Italian, René - Douglas was 55 by then, though the book is not in any way overtly homosexual; that would have been impossible to publish in Britain at that time. It is an account of their travels in Austria. In another of his books Fountains in the Sand he travels to Tunisia which he portrayed as formerly prosperous in the days of the ancient empires, but at the time of his visit in 1912 sadly decayed, due in Douglas's view to the "fatalism of Mahomet and his religion".

A visit into Prehistory

I was pleasantly surprised that a brilliant website that I found a few years ago hasn't substantially changed. Do have a look at the French GovernmentArchaeology site and in particular the Caves of Lascaux in virtual reality. There is a replica visitor centre near the actual cave but it is impossible now to visit the real cave because of the the further degradation that would occur if thousands of people were tramping through. Go there in cyberspace but... bring a torch!

Peeping over the Parapet

The World Cup starts today in Germany. For those of my friends in North America I might need to explain that this is the Soccer World Cup. I get some back chat here if I call football "soccer" but that is what we called it at school in London many years ago. Very many people in England are fanatical football supporters, for their local team, for a league or Premiership side AND for the National Team. Sales of England replica kit and other souvenirs have already broken all records this year and our Supermarkets have aisles full of shirts, mugs, boots, caps and pretty much anything else to which one can apply the "Red Cross on a White Background" flag of St George for England, including crates and crates of lager beer.

I for one wish the England team well, but confess to be less than enthusiastic about the month long event. As British, (Welsh and English ancestry) and with a sponsored child in Paraguay I have mixed allegiances. Wales did not qualify and Paraguay play England in their first round match tomorrow.

I am sure that sportsmanship prevails between all the teams now assembling in Germany, but I fear that English supporters may let us all down. Thousands are on the way to Germany or are planning football watching sessions in their local pubs throughout this country and a significant number of so called supporters will be spoiling for a fight at the slightest opportunity. Let us all hope that the tournament will be a great and memorable one for all the right reasons.

My Photo of the Day

The River Wye near Symonds Yat.

Another beautiful sunny morning here in Bristol. It's a shame I have to go into work, but there it is.

I'll drive there as I still have the lingering symptoms of a cold but that is the only excuse for not cycling to work this week. Maybe next!

My Photo of the Day

Yesterday was my Bithday and so I took the day off and had a drive out of Bristol to see friends, returning in the evening in time to go to my regular Geology class and learn all about stratigraphy again. This beginners/refresher course is run by a very knowledgeable Dr Allan Insole who lectures for the full two hours with many slides illustrating the subject. I had last studied Geology in the 1980's with the Open University and find that there have been some improvenents and clarifications to the science over that time.
Anyway - here is a geological photo to greet the day! It's the Gullet Quarry pool at the southern end of the Malvern Hills, some of the oldest rocks in Britain.

The Ducking Stool

This is the famous ducking stool used for punishing rogue market traders, witches and it seems anyone who transgressed accepted behaviour. It is kept at Leominster Priory Church and was last used in 1809. Here is a link to Crime and Punishment in Herefordshire

A Puzzle and a Rainbow

A friend of mine in Canada to whom I am distantly related has just sent me a link to an interesting early 20th Century picture postcard of a level crossing at the village of Bucknell in South Shropshire. The card had been sent to J. Herbert Esq of Chipping Norton in 1905 and the coded message reads: - “17.3.05. DD Kutu & mjof bt I’wf cffo litle up xsjuf gps & gbqbs xjui Csbttig’t xfeejoh go. Upu xfu mispoki mbtu npo & Tbu, po uif sproet. Mjab’t ysui eby po Uivst. mbtu (67). Tifoe npsf jeg. Rypus ujfxt po uif mbtftu. 494.”
I've had a go at translating the code, but some words seem easy some don't. Have a go!
Coincidentally I went to Bucknell last summer, and took a photo from the same level-crossing because of the remarkable horizontal rainbow showing against the distant hillside. See also GEOGRAPH LINK.
Here are both pictures

My photo of the day

This cheeky little chaffinch perched on my wing mirror hoping to be given some food. There is always a delay following click of my camera shutter and the actual picture capture and so he has just taken off again! Taken on a rainy day at Lake Vyrnwy in Mid-Wales.

Update and Picture

The sun is shining and I'm just about recovering from a virus throat infection that has laid me low since last Thursday and so I better stir myself into action and get out of the house soon. For now just this brief update and a picture of a King Penguin at the enormous colony on South Georgia's St Andrew's Bay.

European Kestrel

This stunning photo was taken by a friend in Austria who has a new camera and is achieving great results.

The Clifton Rocks Railway

Yesterday I visited the Clifton Rocks Railway here in Bristol. First opened in 1891 to to take people between the fashionable suburb of Clifton and down to the Hotwells Spa through a steep tunnel in the limestone cliff 500 ft [152 metres] long. The railway was never very successful having been built at the very end of the era when the Hotwells spring was popular. I seem to remember being told by a geologist friend that the taste of the water was disgusting! The railway was operated until the 1930's then during the Second World War used as a well protected facility for BBC transmissions and as an air raid shelter. Derelict for many years the future of the railway is still uncertain, but over the last two years a group of enthusiasts has been making a valiant effort of restoration. This weekend is the second annual open day and crowds of people were around to look at the ongoing work. It would take many more years and millions of pounds to restore it fully and even then would not be a profit making attraction. Crucially, parking is almost impossible at the base station by the river and difficult at the top in Clifton. Nevertheless it was well worth the visit to see what had been recovered and to see demonstrations of the hydraulic system by which the passenger cars operated. Do please have a look at the fascinating website.

Puzzle Picture - See Comment for answer

Why are these dancers dancing? (It's not for the fun of it). Photo taken somewhere in South East Asia last Sunday - but where?


[Puzzle, quiz, general knowledge, in the news, culture ]

Good Herefordshire Onions

Photo taken in the garden at Woofields Farm near Ledbury

Ancestral home of the Clan Maclean

Approaching Castle Duart on the East coast of the Isle of Mull

My Photo of the Day

The little Norwegian church at Grytviken - the "capital" of South Georgia. The church has been restored over the last few years by the British Army. Whaling operations from Grytviken ceased in the 1960's but there is a lively museum and many of the former whaling station buildings have been made safe for the summer season visitors from cruise ships. The permanent population of South Georgia is less than 5 people, increasing in summer and winter by the influx of scientists from the British Antarctic Survey and others.
Sir Ernest Shackleton's grave is in the cemetery to the east side of Grytviken Bay.

Any idea what this is? See Comment for Answer

A shrub - about 2m high with pine like leaves and these complex scarlet flowers? Photo taken at Spinner's Gardens in the New Forest.

Little Egrets

On Thursday I joined a trip organised by an old friend to the New Forest and have to write an account of the day for the group magazine. I will start on that later! For now I just wanted to post this to celebrate the fact that I saw a bird, fairly new to the British list that I had never seen in this country before. All is explained in my link here to the RSPB. Egrets have not reached the Severn Estuary as far as I'm aware, but are becoming increasingly common in estuaries around the South and East Coast, first appearing in significant numbers in 1989.

My Photo of the Day

Trees by the riverside - River Vyrnwy in Mid Wales

This on a section of the Ann Griffiths Walk

A parliament of owls and a warren of wombats

A Murmuration of Starlings

The English language has many quirky and fascinating words, not least the "Collective Nouns"

Here is a link to one of many web-sites - Some of the words date from the middle ages but some are much more recent.

An enviable view

In memory of my mother Pauline who would have been 90 years old today. This is the view from her cottage looking towards Meifod in Montgomeryshire