The massive disco ball which stands on the prom at Blackpool, just south of the Pleasure Beach. From last Autumn’s trip, but with the weather this week showing a few chinks in winter’s armour, it seems apt.
Category Archives: In My Life
Where you come from, where you go
I went to New York last week, mostly for work, but I had two free days at the end to explore the city. I took, as always, a Lonely Planet guidebook, but most of the time I built a list of places to go from going online. It strikes me now how easy the world has become,Continue reading “Where you come from, where you go”
A week with the iPad and my family
Normally I spend my time surrounded by people who are completely comfortable with technology. They are – we are – people who work at computers all day long. That’s not a small thing. It changes your perceptions of how you approach problems, how you find information, how you communicate, how you get from A toContinue reading “A week with the iPad and my family”
Today was the first day of Autumn
Two weeks ago: This is last week of the holidays (passing two schools on my way to work, I’m still attuned to the calendar). The kids will be getting their new uniform, the nylon stiff and the shirt folds still sharp. I am getting my old jumpers out; I feel the cold first in myContinue reading “Today was the first day of Autumn”
Six things I have learned from cycling home
The clunk of the crank and the spin of the wheels with sun in their spokes; the way your legs move like you’re running but your feet never touch the ground. Stopped traffic, the smooth swoop of a fast corner and with it the freedom of the city. I cycled quite a lot when IContinue reading “Six things I have learned from cycling home”
The history of school history
A few years ago, my Mum took early retirement and went back to university to study for an MA (even going so far as to live in halls again…); she liked it so much[1], she went on to study for a PhD. With that under her belt, she’s now working at the Institute of HistoricalContinue reading “The history of school history”
Gone to Texas
I’m in Austin, Texas for the next few days for South by Southwest interactive. The sky is blue, I had a a burger for breakfast and there were weathered muscle cars in the hotel parking lot. Texas, folks, is true.
More people visit the Blackpool Tower each year than the Pyramids
This is and other excellent factoids in a strange little piece on the Guardian website: “Inspired by Mayor John Bickerstaffe’s visit to the Eiffel Tower in 1889, it survived a fire at the top eight years later and was largely rebuilt in 1921-4 because cheapskate owners had failed to use rust-proof paint. Mistaken for aContinue reading “More people visit the Blackpool Tower each year than the Pyramids”
Alternatives to wrapping paper
Couldn’t find any wrapping paper I liked for Mrs Jester’s presents – something of a dilemma, given that I was shopping in my lunch hour on the 23rd and fully intended to get to the pub after work. The answer came when I gave up and ended up, as is often the case with me,Continue reading “Alternatives to wrapping paper”
Garden photography
Since I’ve got family nearby, I’ve visited Wakehurst Place in West Sussex a couple of times this year. It’s lovely; it combines an Elizabethan country house with extensive gardens and the Millennium Seedbank, the world’s largest seed conservation project. Earlier in the Autumn, the gardens featured an exhibition of photos from the International Garden PhotographerContinue reading “Garden photography”
