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Walking the River Lea
3 comments on Walking the River LeaThis summer I achieved something that I have wanted to do for a long time, which was to walk the entire course of the River Lea from the source to where it flows into the Thames. I consider the Lea to be “my” river. It rises a short distance from where I live in Leagrave and flows through the centre of Luton. So in a way it has always been there in the background. However,…
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Voting in the Local Elections 4 May 2023
Off to the polling station to cast my vote in this year’s local elections. Unlike the last local elections there were candidates on the ballot I felt I could vote for.
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My best music of 2022 playlist
It has become my habit that at the end of each year to put together a “best of” playlist of the music that I have been listening to, or has meant something, that year. Again I’ve used the music streaming service Spotify to pull together the playlist. So if you’d like to listen to it here is the full playlist of about four and half hours of my best tracks of 2022. It is the…
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First time using the ‘Purple Train’
As I currently mostly work from home I don’t go into the office very often. I proabably should go in more but the idea is that you go in “with a purpose” and there haven’t been many reasons lately. But last week I needed to travel in for a face-to-face meeting which gave me an excuse to have my first journey on the Elizabeth Line. Which was a bit of fun. I was impressed with…
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The Saxon Church of St Laurence
I went on a family canal holiday this summer. One of our stops was at Bradford on Avon where on a very wet and rainy day as I was searching for somewhere to buy groceries I came across this little historical and architectural gem. The Saxon Church of St Laurence. There was something about this ancient building I found quite moving. A sense of calm and a connection with England’s past. How many generations of…
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Finland v Germany in the UEFA Women’s Euro 2022
Evening of July 16 2022. Watching Finland lose three nil to Germany in a Group B match of the group stage of the UEFA Women’s Euro championship 2022 at the Milton Keynes stadium. A very hot and sunny day. Goal scorers: Sophia Kleinherne 40′, Alexandra Popp 48′, Nicole Anyomi 63′.
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Steve Dillon Exhibition
Here are some of the photos I took when wandering around the exhibition of work by Luton artist Steve Dillon. Dillon, a comic book artist famous for his work on Judge Dredd, various Marvel comics, and co-creating the character Preacher, died in 2016 The exhibition was put on by the Culture Trust Luton in the basement of the Hat House building with support from the artist’s family. A review of the exhibition from The Guardian.
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Opening of Hat Works
I attended the opening ceremony of Hat Works, the newly refurbished building on Guilford Street, Luton. One of the creative spaces operated by the Culture Trust Luton as part of the Hat District project. Heard a fascinating talk from the owners of the hat making business that had previously occupied the building. “Luton’s oldest hat factory has now been restored for the newest creative talent. Set within the stunning grade II listed building at 47…
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My best music of 2021 playlist
It has become my habit that at the end of each year to put together a “best of” playlist of the music that I have been listening to, or has meant something, that year. The playlist is a bit shorter than usual this year. It seems I haven’t been listening to a lot of new music during 2021. What I have been listening to, over and over, has been the superb album called Polydans by…
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Job opportunities with The Culture Trust, Luton
There are two exciting job opportunities currently being advertised for roles with The Culture Trust, Luton (where I am a trustee). Hurry if interested, closing dates are early next week. Creative Directorhttps://jobs.theguardian.com/job/7302444/creative-director-/ Executive Assistant to Chief Executivehttps://jobs.luton.gov.uk/jobs/executive-assistant-to-chief-executive-lcst00062
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New Liberal History website
Its been a long time in the making – rather too long if I am honest – but at the end of January we were finally able to go live with the new website for the Liberal Democrat History Group. liberalhistory.org.uk I’d built the previous version of their website back in 2015 (I think) so it was due an upgrade and I was very pleased the Group asked me to build them the new version.…
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My best music of 2020 playlist
It has become my habit that at the end of each year to put together a “best of” playlist of the music that I have been listening to, or has meant something, that year. Again I’ve used the music streaming service Spotify to pull together the playlist. So if you’d like to listen to it here is the full playlist of about seven hours of my best tracks of 2020. There is a bit more…
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DIY out back
My second major DIY project of lockdown has been installing some decking outside the back door. Rather pleased with the effect and it solves the problem of the uncomfortably deep step you had to deal with.
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DIY in the loft
I’ve been undertaking a major DIY project this spring. Laying boards down across most of the floor in the loft and fitting it out to provide more, and better organised, storage space. I’m rather proud of the MDF shelves I’ve built. (Although not so proud of the somewhat wobbly DIY table.)
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Nothing before the 2020s
This passage – observations of our time from an alternative future – from William Gibson’s Agency has been rather haunting me: … Why aren’t they happy, there?” “The drivers for the jackpot are still in place, but with less torque at that particular point.” He took a seat at the table. “They’re still a bit in advance of the pandemics, at least.” She took the seat opposite. “Nothing before the 2020s has ever seemed entirely…
