prɒrəʊˈɡeɪʃən prorogation: the act of discontinuing the meetings of an assembly without dissolving it For present purposes, the relevant limit on the power to prorogue is this: that a decision to prorogue (or advise the monarch to prorogue) will be unlawful if the prorogation has the effect of frustrating or preventing, without reasonable justification, the … Continue reading Prorogation
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Revell 1/96 Saturn V: Fully Assembled
This is the final post of my three-year project to assemble Revell’s 1/96-scale Saturn V model kit. It’s intended to provide a few views of the completed model, and to act as a sort of index to the various sections of the stage-by-stage build log I wrote as I went along. The kit is fundamentally … Continue reading Revell 1/96 Saturn V: Fully Assembled
Letters From Abroad: Ash, Slashed-O, A-Ring
If you were (according to my usual scenario) sedated, abducted and awoken in a foreign country, then a glimpse of a road-sign featuring all three of these special letters would mean you were in one of two places—Norway or Denmark. These are the three additional characters that go to make up the 29-letter Dano-Norwegian Alphabet—added, … Continue reading Letters From Abroad: Ash, Slashed-O, A-Ring
Glen Isla: East Side
Badandun Hill (NO 207678, 740m) Mid Hill (NO 220709, 774m) Bawhelps (NO 226722, 828m) 21 kilometres 880 metres of ascent This was a slightly odd little outing, but no less enjoyable for that. A hillwalking companion of many years (one of the CCCP crowd) was keen to climb Badandun Hill. We had a weather forecast … Continue reading Glen Isla: East Side
Western Norway
ARTHUR: You… are you saying that you originally made the Earth?SLARTIBARTFAST: Oh yes… did you ever go to a place… I think it’s called Norway?ARTHUR: What? No, no I didn’t.SLARTIBARTFAST: Pity… that was one of mine. Won an award you know, lovely crinkly edges. Douglas Adams, Hitch-hiker’s Guide To The Galaxy:The Original Radio Scripts (1985) … Continue reading Western Norway
Revell 1/96 Saturn V: Lunar Module
After completing the entire Saturn V stack, top to bottom, I had one small additional component to complete—the Lunar Module. This sat invisibly inside the Spacecraft/Lunar Module Adapter during launch and translunar injection, and was revealed only when the SLA panels were discarded during the lunar coast phase. The LM that comes with the kit … Continue reading Revell 1/96 Saturn V: Lunar Module
Three Books About The Franklin Expedition
The riddle of the last Franklin expedition has all of the elements required to elicit and maintain widespread interest—struggle, shipwreck, murder, massacre, cannibalism and controversy. The story of the lost expedition has become a magnet for speculative historians, a mystery that far outstrips the contrived unfolding of fiction, and an inviting field for those who … Continue reading Three Books About The Franklin Expedition
Gaudeamus
ɡɔːdiːˈeɪməs gaudeamus: merry-making by college students Turn on the spigot Pour the beer and swig it And gaudeamus igit- (uh) -tur Tom Lehrer “Bright College Days” (1959)* Gaudeamus is the first-person plural present active subjunctive of the Latin verb gaudeo, “to rejoice”—so it means “let us rejoice”. It’s the first word of a thirteenth-century … Continue reading Gaudeamus
Glen Shee: Creag Leacach From The South
Carn Chomh-Stri (NO 137719, 718m) Creag Leacach SW Top (NO 149741, 943m) Creag Leacach (NO 154745, 987m) Carn Ait (NO 142734, 865m) Carn an Daimh (NO 135712, 755m) 17.3 kilometres 890m of ascent Another southerly approach, to a hill on the opposite side of Gleann Beag from my previous venture on Carn a’ Gheoidh. Again, … Continue reading Glen Shee: Creag Leacach From The South
Revell 1/96 Saturn V: S-IC Stage – Part 2
Last time, I described how I needed to extensively modify the front and back ends of the Revell S-IC stage, using resin parts from RealSpace and New Ware, combined with some custom decals and a little scratch building. Next, I needed to assemble the component parts of the stage—the fore and aft skirts, the intertank … Continue reading Revell 1/96 Saturn V: S-IC Stage – Part 2