Ode to Autumn

The autumn leaves remind us of a growing season over.
There are berries in the hedgerow, but no flowers on the clover.
From cottage chimneys wood-smoke curls, and daylight sooner ends –
Lamps shine out from windows, for family and friends.
A drizzle falls in droplets fine –
Makes pathways shine.
Frost threatens:
Winter beckons.

This post was inspired and prompted by the ‘100 word challenge’ here.
(Just fifty words, plus the three ‘prompt’ words, were allowed this time.) 

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The Gallery: Week 78 – Inspirational People

Aside from those who inspire me personally, whom I don’t wish to discuss here, I often think that those who have given their lives for their country, so that many privileges, that we take for granted, have been preserved and passed on to us who live now, are a source of great inspiration to us – or certainly should be.  So, too, are those who carry respect for all such people in their hearts.

This photograph was taken at a ceremony marking the 70th anniversary of the start of World War Two – the third of September 2009.

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Moments, Minerals, and Things Marine…

So what do I collect?  Well, I suppose, first of all, I collect moments.  Points in time that were part of the future, but are now part of history.  Moments of shape, line, perspective, colour, and contrast.  Most people just call them photographs, or, more clinically still, images.  But to me, many of my photographs, indeed all of them in some sense, are moments.  Several of them appear elsewhere on this blog.

But what about things you can see and touch in reality?  Sure, I’ve collected stamps and a few coins in my time, but my main enduring inclination as a collector has been, and is, towards minerals and sea shells.  The marvellous blend of beauty and history, I think, is what appeals to me.  Most of the things like this that I collect, I gather from beaches or other open spaces, for no cost.  One or two are purchased specimens.  Either way, I rate them as more interesting souvenirs than twee ornaments with the name of a seaside town emblazoned on them.  I’ll just show you a few: first, some shells…

Next, an interesting pebble…

and here, another pebble with fossils on it, rather prized…

and finally,a piece of fluorite…

This is one of my few purchased specimens.  It is, indeed, a very impure sample of ‘Blue John’ fluorspar.  The colour is said to come from oil, trapped as the rock was formed.  Whenever did the remains of dead sea creatures make something look so beautiful?

This post was prompted by the ‘Writing Workshop’ here.

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A, B, and C…

Do you remember them?  The story went something like this:

A set out for B’s house, three miles away, at d miles an hour.  B set out for A’s house at the same time, at e miles an hour.  State the formulae for calculating the time t minutes before they meet, and the position of the point p where this occurs.

They talked for five minutes, then headed for B’s house at f miles an hour.  Meanwhile, five minutes after they started out, C set out for B’s house at g miles an hour.  State the formula… And so on…

This post was prompted by the ‘100 word challenge’ here.
It is based on some memories of long ago! 

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Summer is Over…

As I looked out of the window on Wednesday morning, it seemed that the unseasonal weather had ended at last.  The autumn heatwave, which will, no doubt, go down in meteorological history, was evidently finally over.  Rain had fallen overnight, and cloud cover remained at what the experts once called ‘eight over eight.’  A few garden flowers still seemed reluctant to submit to the inevitable entrenchment of ‘the fall.’

On Thursday, typical equinoctial weather prevailed – a cold start, wind, a mild noon, showers, and a cold finish; the cacophony of roosting birds occurring noticeably earlier.  All the flowers were withered.  All?  Not quite…

This post was prompted by the ‘100 word challenge’ here.
It is based on my own observations over the last few days.

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The Gallery: Week 77 – Colour

Just one colour, the lady said.  Just pick one.

Now, there’s a poser, thought I.  A spectrum, madam?  A kaleidoscope?  A veritable riot of chromaticity?  On all counts, I could supply you from stock.  But one colour… ah, there, you have me…

Full of such musings, I walked out onto my patio – and there, the answer hit me between the eyes.  Or, more correctly, hit me right in the eyes.  Here it is: I give you…

Shape, line, texture.  And colour.  One colour.  Which is, er, well… sage green.

This post was prompted by ‘The Gallery’ here.

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More Pages, Please…


Many of us use this type of diary/organiser, and that’s not surprising.  They’re versatile, rugged, small enough to take around but large enough to be useful, and usually affordable, particularly if you shop around. The only real snag is that supplies of extra pages are quite expensive, and the choice of paper type is limited.  Here’s how you can get round this problem:

First of all, you’ll need (obviously) a stock of the various kind of paper you like to use.  I find coloured paper very useful because you can allocate different colours to different subjects. Shop around for bulk packs of assorted colours. Squared paper is also a winner – just get hold of an A4 pad.

Then you’ll need a trimmer like this one – again, shop around for one that suits your needs as they are clearly useful for lots of things besides making organiser pages – all sorts of craft work, preparing printed photos for display, in fact for any time you need a straight and clean edge on a piece of paper! Generally, more expensive ones will have greater cutting capacity.

The other main item you’ll need is – no prizes for guessing – a special 6-hole punch.  This is comparatively expensive as it has only one purpose, but, with care, will last a lifetime – and is available in an adjustable design to suit standard and small-size organisers.

This picture shows pink A4 paper being reduced to 170mm wide – for the long side of the pages.  This measurement isn’t sacred, by the way – a little more or less might suit you. Also note that for lined paper, and for the smaller organisers the cutting plan will need to be different, but the general idea is the same.  Oh, and those little left-over strips make bookmarks and other crafty things! About five sheets at a time is sensible to cut.

Next, of course, these sheets are cut in the other direction – typically to give a page 95mm wide – again, see what suits you.  This give three lots, or fifteen pages in total at a time.


This picture shows the special punch in use. Note the use of the rule to check that the pages are reasonably centralised. (Un fortunately, this punch doesn’t have a paper guide.) Again, five sheets at a time is about right for the punch to cope with.  At the end of the job, a tray of coloured confetti is left!

…And here is the finished product.  To sum up, in return for some initial outlay, with care you can inexpensively make as many (or as few) extra organiser pages as you like, when you like, from whatever paper you like – even in your favourite colour – and you’ll have the satisfaction of having something that’s just that bit different.


I hope you find this post interesting and helpful.
It was prompted by the ‘Show Me Your Stationery’ blog theme here: 

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That Firefly Phil bloke, still knocking out photography and other stuff.