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
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!
Ordnance Survey OpenData In QGIS 3: Part 3
I finish my last post about using Ordnance Survey OpenData in QGIS having produced this map of the area around Blaven, on the Isle of Skye: It’s tinted for height, shaded and marked up with contours to emphasize landforms, and has features such as surface water, coastline, roads and buildings added. Now it needs some … Continue reading Ordnance Survey OpenData In QGIS 3: Part 3
Ultima Thule: Part 1
ˈʌltɪmə ˈθjuːliː ultima Thule: a distant, unknown region at the extreme limit of travel Years ago I talked with Knud Rasmussen, the great Danish explorer, who in the early twenties had made a trip by dog team from Greenland around the Arctic rim to Nome, Alaska. In our library here at Bluie West Eight [Sondrestrom … Continue reading Ultima Thule: Part 1
Tamiya 1/48 P-47D Thunderbolt “Razorback”: Part 3
Go to the first post in this build log At the end of my previous post in this build log, I’d got the main body of the aircraft ready for final weathering and the placement of details like the propeller, external fuel tanks, undercarriage and guns. The propeller is the Hamilton propeller (and associated decals) … Continue reading Tamiya 1/48 P-47D Thunderbolt “Razorback”: Part 3
Dave Hutchinson: Europe At Dawn
Obviously, the world and everything in it had been stupid since the dawn of time. It was just that, every now and again, there seemed to be a surge in stupid and there was nothing anyone could do about it except hang on and hope things would get better soon. This is the fourth novel … Continue reading Dave Hutchinson: Europe At Dawn
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Uniquely Shakespearean
[T]here are 357 cases where the Oxford English Dictionary has Shakespeare as the only recorded user of a word, in a particular sense, on one or more occasions. David Crystal & Ben Crystal The Shakespeare Miscellany (2005) Shakespeare is well known for being a wordsmith. Elsewhere in their excellent Shakespeare Miscellany, the Crystals note that … Continue reading Uniquely Shakespearean