Some kind of good news – unless the liver spot does turn out to be cancerous, the official stage that Bernard’s at is T3N0, which means he’s quite big (2-3cm) but hasn’t spread to the lymph nodes, so officially Stage 2. For more on staging go here: https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/what-is-cancer/stages-of-cancer#tnm So the MRI on Monday will show … More The stages of Bernard
A very ordinary cancer, as my wife jokingly calls it, because she’s near the end of three months of tonsil cancer treatment, which is much more special, obviously. … More Beating Bernard
A lovely autumn dog walk at Ninesprings Country Park in Yeovil that had a surprise in store. Ninesprings is my other go to dog walking venue in Yeovil, useful when it’s raining because of all the tree cover, and if you stay on the paths it’s not as muddy as the Riverside Walk. Of course, … More A new word at Ninesprings
As has been said many times elsewhere, and by me here, September this year marks 20 years since Bob Thompson and I started developing my reworking of Lego’s original three and a half pages of Boneheads of Voodoo Island into what would soon become Bionicle. But it was also 1999, and the Millennium Eve was … More A lesser-known Bionicle anniversary
This really does work – I tried it this morning. De-ice your car windows with a zip lock bag with warm water in it. I know, it went viral, but I hadn’t tried it before. It’s no slower than de-icer, even on really thick ice (ours was very thick this morning), and while, yes, the … More Something from the Internet that actually works
How had I forgotten how incredible this album was?! … More Cheap Trick at Budokan
A long overdue return to the Lake District … More Birds and boats and lakes
A balanced look at the current vaping headlines … More New Vaping hysteria
Autumn returns, as does my writing. … More A return to the river
A few new arrivals on the Riverside Walk. … More A few bits and bobs
A solitary Bramble flower emerges from a sea of green along the Riverside Walk, heralding summer, but hinting at the berry-rich autumn to follow.
Macro photography is the new meditation! … More More small things
Some of the smaller occupants of the Riverside Walk … More All the small things
It’s that baby Starlings time of year again. … More Hungry Starlings
Migrating swifts greeted with an endless feast of gnats. … More Swifts at twilight
An unexpectedly early morning expedition along my favourite riverside walk. … More Early morning walk
I had a bit of exciting news the other day, that one of my Peregrine photos had been shortlisted for the British Wildlife Photography Awards. I put ten of them in in the end, although only at the very last minute, as the usual self-doubt and imposter syndrome were kicking in big time, but in … More Peregrine shortlisted
The Yeovil Country Park Riverside Walk is full of Chiffchaffs at the moment, and more seem to be arriving every day if their all-pervading sound is anything to go by. Some of them have been there all winter (a sign of global warming I suppose, although I wouldn’t exactly call it tropical at the moment!), … More A Plethora of Warblers
A Sparrowhawk hides his head in embarrassment at missing his prey. … More A commotion in the woods
This is the reality of bird photography for most of us – small birds far away, too far away even for a decent walkabout telephoto. For every great shot you show off on Flickr or Twitter or wherever, there are always countless others of birds determined not to let you get anywhere near them. The … More Small birds far away
When it comes down to it, it’s all you can do. … More Don’t worry, be happy
A Facebook memory that I was jogged to post the other day. … More Facebook memories
Or, how I found a new word that changed my world and saved my life. … More Reactance
Originally posted on Anthony Wilson:
? Dear Facebook I thought I would write to let you know that after years of thinking (and even talking) about it, I am finally going to leave you later this year, probably on or around Easter, definitely before the summer. You won’t really miss me. I was never one…
I love this lady’s blog – with a name like ‘Cultivating Joy’, what’s not to love? She is always a go to for morning motivation – just wish she had a reblog button! But, she is worth the effort of copying and pasting. Enjoy. “Last Friday, on my day off, I gave myself a wonderful … More Permission to relax
My wife, daughter and I took the dogs to the beach the other day, and while that particular beach is always very special to us, I had no idea just how special this visit was going to be. The stones had all largely been washed down to the shore line, leaving a vast sandy arena … More Peregrines – an hour of magic on a Dorset beach
Yes. This.
An interview with me on my life and my rather unconventional career. … More Desert Island Discs, of a sort
I got exhausted, full-on mind and body exhausted, and blogging two thousand words a day didn’t help. It was fun, but it became almost maniacal, and in the end I burned out. So I’m having a bit of a rest, from everything, to try to get some perspective back. I started practicing mindfulness a few … More Normal service will be resumed as soon as I’ve got my zen back
When I first read this, having just gone through a few days of personal hell – which I may or may not write about when I’ve got some energy back – I thought “yeah right, easy for you to say”, but you know what, he’s right. “You should use your energy and time and effort … More Discipline Your Mind
Alastair Swinnerton 