The Snub (NO 335757, 837m) Green Hill (NO 348756, 870m) The Goet / Ben Tirran (NO 373746, 896m) 16 kilometres 820m of ascent The U-shaped valley of Glen Clova is decorated on either side by rows of corries, like some sort of sampler of post-glacial topography. This was a trip around two of them, neither … Continue reading Glen Clova: Brandy And Wharral Circuit
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Ultima Thule: Part 2
Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. Advertising slogan for the Apple II computer (1977), often hilariously misattributed to Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) In my previous post about ultima Thule, I traced the strange history of the Greek name Thule, and how it came to be associated with the Latin adjective ultima, meaning “far” or “farthest”. … Continue reading Ultima Thule: Part 2
Revell 1/96 Saturn V: S-II Stage – Part 2
In my previous post of this build log, I eventually got the heavily modified parts of the Revell S-II stage assembled, and had replaced all the kit fairings with more correct versions from New Ware. A good coat of white paint brought all the disparate parts to the same shade, and then I added the … Continue reading Revell 1/96 Saturn V: S-II Stage – Part 2
M*A*S*H And The Moon Landings
I’ve got into the habit of checking what the Internet Movie Database has to say about films after I’ve watched them. After rewatching Robert Altman’s 1970 classic M*A*S*H, I happened on something odd in the film’s “Trivia” section at IMDb: The loudspeaker shots and announcements were added after editing had begun, and the filmmakers realized … Continue reading M*A*S*H And The Moon Landings
Michael Palin: Erebus
They might have had monogrammed dinner plates and personalised silver cutlery, but the didn’t have very good maps. Michael Palin needs no introduction from me. He rose to fame with Monty Python in the 1970s, and then in 1989 began a career as a presenter of more-or-less gruelling travel documentaries, starting with Around The World … Continue reading Michael Palin: Erebus
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Gibraltar
One party elected to explore St. Michael’s Cave with almost tragic consequences. For a peculiarly long subaltern of Rifles succeeded in becoming jambed [sic] in “Clincher Hole”. In his case, it was not owing to extra width of shoulders or depth of chest as in that of the British bluejackets who had been unable to … Continue reading Gibraltar
Sidlaws: Glen Ogilvie Circuit
Gallow Hill (NO 391413, 378m) Craigowl (NO 376399, 455m) Balkello Hill (NO 361394, 397m) Unnamed Point 328 (NO 360408, 328m) 12.1 kilometres 400m of ascent I had an equinoctial walk in the Sidlaws last week, to celebrate the supposed onset of Spring after a dump of snow earlier in the week had left the hills … Continue reading Sidlaws: Glen Ogilvie Circuit
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Equinox
I’m posting this on March 20, the date of the first equinox of the year. In the northern hemisphere, we call it the spring or vernal equinox, because it marks the start of astronomical spring in northern latitudes. (The meteorological seasons follow the calendar months, so meteorological spring started on March 1.) Of course, for … Continue reading Equinox
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Revell 1/96 Saturn V: S-II Stage – Part 1
In histories of the Apollo programme, the S-II stage of the Saturn V is often referred to as “troubled”. There were difficulties with weight reduction that led to a delay in delivery of the first functioning S-IIs. That may be why Revell’s rendering of the S-II is so poor—it’s clear, from the paint scheme and … Continue reading Revell 1/96 Saturn V: S-II Stage – Part 1
Peter Berresford Ellis & Jennifer Schofield: Biggles!
It seems a tragic thing, and one that I cannot regard without distress, that a country which can send out such delightfully worded bulb catalogues as does Japan, can at the same time unload an inferno of death and destruction on unhappy people, most of whom could not have been in the slightest degree responsible … Continue reading Peter Berresford Ellis & Jennifer Schofield: Biggles!