We are looking more or less along what was once a Roman street in old Corinium. Although it winds left and right here and there, nearly 2000 years ago it would have run almost entirely straight.
What’s in an image? Sometimes quite a lot, more than meets the eye. I’m posting an image every few days.
Jupiter and the church tower
The town’s streetlights illuminate the lovely old architecture in Dollar Street, and Jupiter is bright enough to see high above the church tower’s flag pole. Click the thumbnail to enlarge it and you’ll also see a star a little further to the right, almost over the open window. This is Saiph, the bottom-left star of Orion. If you’re looking at the sky from the southern hemisphere Saiph will be Orion’s top-right star and Jupiter will be very low in the sky.
Looking south
We are looking more or less along what was once a Roman street in old Corinium. Although it winds left and right here and there, nearly 2000 years ago it would have run almost entirely straight, part of the Roman military road between Glevum (Gloucester) and Calleva (Silchester) through the local Iron Age kingdom of the Dobunni whose capital was about four miles to the north of Corinium in what is now the village of Bagendon. Behind you, in this view, the road continued north-west to Glevum where there was a military fortress. Some British tribes were allies of the Romans, including the local Dobunni. Some tribes opposed the Romans and their conquest of these islands. In the south-east direction the same Roman road (Ermin Way) passed through the town’s Forum, past the Basilica and made its way to Calleva to the south and east.
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What’s in an image? Sometimes quite a lot, more than meets the eye. I’m posting an image every few days.
The Norrington Room (Click to enlarge)
The photo shows the basement of Blackwell’s Bookshop in the centre of Oxford, the famous university town in the UK.
Blackwell’s Bookshop in Oxford is huge
You can get a good idea of size from the photo, there are four or five floors above the basement, large but not as open; the upper floors are smaller and have no long views like this one as the line of sight is broken up by countless units of shelving.
Map centred on Blackwell’s
This was where the original Blackwell’s bookshop was, but it has grown larger and larger over the years. The basement, shown in the photo, is known as The Norrington Room and has five kilometres of bookshelves in it, containing 200 000 books. Blackwell’s in Oxford also hosts a Caffè Nero on the first floor. The map (opens in a new tab, click to resize and drag it) is centred on the bookshop in the very heart of Oxford.
Some history
The current bookshop in Broad Street opened in 1879, though it was much smaller in those days, at a mere 4 m square. The first bookshelf unit is still in use, at the top of the stairs to the first floor. The shop soon expanded, incorporating the cellar and the first floor as well as several adjacent shops. There was an earlier Blackwell’s bookshop, also in Oxford, that opened in 1846.
Blackwell’s had an online presence from 1995, selling books worldwide. It also opened retail outlets in many other cities and towns across the UK. As a company it remained independent until the business was bought in 2022 by Waterstones, another major British book retailer.
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It’s likely the cracking will have been caused by differential thermal expansion and contraction with the iron changing its dimenions rather more than the ceramic glaze.
What’s in an image? Sometimes quite a lot, more than meets the eye. I’m posting an image every few days.
Click images to enlarge
This is one of the old brewery plaques, once numerous across Britain. This example is in Castle Street, outside The Brewers Arms, not far from the junction with Querns Lane and Lewis Lane.
Arkell’s Brewery
The brewery originated in 1843, the year on the plaque. It was founded in Swindon by John Arkell, remains family-owned and operates as one of the oldest remaining brewery companies in Britain.
The plaque is probably of cast iron with enamel decoration and apart from some cracks seems to be in almost perfect condition. It’s likely the cracking will have been caused by differential thermal expansion and contraction with the iron changing its dimenions rather more than the ceramic glaze. The plaque has seen more than 180 day/night cycles in its time!
Brasso
The image is of Noah’s ark with a large capital letter ‘L’, so a play on Arkell (‘arkL’). There’s a long history of businesses advertising their presence with logos and other illustrations, it happens in all nations and cultures, sometimes the themes, names and images employed can become quite famous and long-lived. When I was a young child, Brasso (a British brass polish) was sold in steel containers with blue and white rays coming out in all directions. It’s still available today in cans with the same design. And it probably looked just the same in Victorian times as well! When I was young it was fitted with a low-profile, steel screw-cap, today it has a much larger, plastic cap. Otherwise, it looks identical to me.
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The simplest and cheapest way to travel would have been to walk, and people often did exactly that. For an example look no further than the old story of Dick Whittington.
What’s in an image? Sometimes quite a lot, more than meets the eye. I’m posting an image every few days.
Click images to enlarge
This photo was taken in Cirencester, peering in through an entrance to a courtyard beyond. If you are familiar with the town, I wonder if you know where this is? *The answer is at the bottom of the post.
There’s an invitation in this photo
That’s why I called it ‘Come right in!’ There seems to be an unspoken welcome here. What appeals to you most in this picture? Is it the warmth of the light? Or perhaps the sparkle of the decorative lights at the far end? Or the open doors beckoning you to enter? In days of yore, this double doorway might have allowed a horse to be brought inside for stabling, feeding, watering and grooming to recover for use the following day. The carriage would have remained on the street outside.
‘Days of yore’, this funny old expression is a poetical way of saying long ago. ‘yore’ is an Old English word closely related to the modern word ‘year’. So the sense is ‘in the days of years ago’. There’s a large garden at the back of the hotel, with a lawn scattered with tables and chairs, a lovely place to eat and drink with friends or family in the summer months. I imagine the horses sometimes being turned out to graze in a grassy field here, what a treat for them!
Shelter for travellers
Travelling on horseback or by horse and carriage was a slow affair, requiring regular stops for meals or to shelter for the night, and that’s why the old routes between towns in Britain are liberally scattered with pubs, inns and hostels. Practically every village of hamlet would have had one and towns would have had many more. They’re not hard to spot, although these days many have been converted to other uses.
It wouldn’t always have been necessary to pay for accommodation, friends or family along or near the route would have made travellers welcome and on dry, warm, summer nights it would have been possible to pull off the main roads and sleep outside or in the carriage. The simplest and cheapest way to travel would have been to walk, and people often did exactly that. For an example look no further than the old story of Dick Whittington. In Roman times there were parallel systems for official/military and public use. Every 30 to 50 km (a day’s journey) there were mansiones or official stops with good accomodation, fresh horses, dining areas, and perhaps even baths. And between these were mutationes, (literally ‘changes’) for a brief stop, a fresh horse, and perhaps some refreshments but without overnight facilities. Non-official, privately run facilities included cauponae and tabernae, some of these were a bit rough and disreputable, some were well appointed with courtyards, kitchens, and decorated dining rooms. Several modern English terms come from these words – mansion, mutation, and tavern are notable.
The Bible is usually regarded as a religious book, but it’s also a good historical source as well. Read the book of Acts, for example, to get a good idea of what travel by land and sea was like 2000 years ago. See for example Acts 28:11-16 where a place near Rome called ‘Three Taverns’ is mentioned (Tres Tabernae).
* It’s the Corinium Hotel in Gloucester Street, once the Corinium Court Hotel.
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The photo shows a valley in Greenland, a valley is a low point, but Trump’s arrogant rudeness was another kind of low-point, and his falsifications were low-points as well.
What’s in an image? Sometimes quite a lot, more than meets the eye. I’m posting an image every few days.
Greenland (click images to enlarge)
A huge rumpus has developed over Mr Trump’s fixation on owning Greenland. I’ve never been to Greenland, but I’ve seen many photos and read accounts by people who have visited or who live there. It’s a large island with hospitable inhabitants but a very inhospitable climate, mostly covered by an ice cap up to 3 km (2 miles) deep, and peopled by a rich mix of the hardy Inuit natives of the land and Danes. The photo shows a valley in Greenland, a valley is a low point, but Trump’s arrogant rudeness was another kind of low-point, and his falsifications were low-points as well.
The rumpus continued until Trump backed down, but in his Davos address and press conference Trump said many things that did not ring true in my ears and mind so I wanted to see a fact-check.
What follows was not written by me. It’s Chat GPT’s response to my request for the AI to read the transcript, fact-check the claims, and draft a 1000-word essay for me. I planned to edit it into a finished article to publish here, but I decided instead to publish the draft as is.
Read it below: ChatGPT as a guest author on my blog.
Here’s my request to ChatGPT:
Please examine President Trump’s Davos press conference, fact check his claims and draft a 1000 word essay based on your findings.
Feel free to put this prompt into an AI of your choosing, the output will vary between AIs and may change over time as well.
Fact-Checking President Trump’s Davos Speech and Press Conference
Introduction
In January 2026, U.S. President Donald Trump delivered a highly anticipated speech at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, and later faced questions at a press conference. His address was notable not only for its bold proclamation of U.S. ambitions — especially regarding Greenland — but also for a wide array of controversial and, in many cases, misleading or incorrect claims about international relations, economics, and domestic policy. This essay examines the context of the speech, fact-checks key assertions, and evaluates the broader implications of the rhetoric deployed.
A Controversial Theme: Greenland and U.S. Expansionism
Perhaps the most eye-catching aspect of Trump’s Davos address was his discussion of Greenland, the vast Arctic island that is an autonomous territory of Denmark. Trump reiterated his desire for the United States to acquire Greenland, labeling it “critical” to U.S. and NATO security. He also — for the first time in this campaign — publicly pledged not to use military force to obtain it. – Time
However, this position was controversial for multiple reasons:
International Law and Sovereignty: Greenland is part of the Kingdom of Denmark; any transfer of sovereignty must be voluntary and negotiated. Danish leaders have consistently rejected selling or ceding control of the territory. – AP
Misrepresentation of Defense History: Trump implied that the U.S. “gave Greenland back” after World War II. In reality, the U.S. military presence in Greenland was based on agreements that affirmed Denmark’s sovereignty over the island while allowing the U.S. strategic access — but Greenland was not “returned” in the sense of ending U.S. ownership, because it was never wholly U.S. territory. – MediaITE
Strategic Importance vs. Imperialism: Trump’s framing of Greenland as a necessary bulwark against global threats was criticized as overly nationalistic and potentially destabilizing for NATO unity. European leaders stressed sovereignty and peaceful cooperation. – Guardian
Although Trump’s explicit rejection of military force was welcomed by markets and some commentators, the overall push was seen as a diplomatic provocation rather than constructive strategy. – Time
Misleading and False Claims
Beyond Greenland, Trump’s remarks included a number of statements that were factually inaccurate or misleading. Fact-checkers from multiple outlets documented significant issues:
1. NATO Contributions and Benefits
Trump characterized NATO as a burden on the United States, asserting the U.S. “never got anything” out of the alliance. This framing ignores both measurable benefits and longstanding structural agreements:
The U.S. does bear a large share of NATO defense spending, but it does not pay 100% of it; in 2024, U.S. defense spending comprised roughly 60-plus percent of total NATO expenditure. – NewsChannel3-12
NATO membership delivers both strategic security for the U.S. and economic and political stability among allies, which benefit U.S. interests. – NewsChannel3-12
2. Wind Energy and China
Trump derided renewable energy efforts, particularly wind power, and claimed he couldn’t find evidence of wind farms in China. This is demonstrably false:
China ranks first in the world in installed wind power capacity, with roughly 40–45 percent of global capacity. – Reddit
Such misstatements underscore pervasive misunderstandings about energy infrastructure.
3. Trade and Economic Claims
Trump’s economic narrative included assertions about U.S. trade imbalances and export markets that were incorrect:
He claimed the European Union does not buy American farm products and automobiles, implying that U.S. exports are negligible. In fact, the EU is a major market for U.S. agricultural exports and is among the top vehicle export destinations for U.S. manufacturers. – WRALNews
Additional claims about trade deficits — especially exaggerated figures about China and Canada — were similarly misleading when evaluated against official trade statistics. – WRALNews
4. Election and Historical Falsehoods
During the speech, Trump reiterated the claim that the 2020 U.S. presidential election was “rigged.” This assertion has been conclusively debunked by multiple courts, election officials, and independent fact-checkers. – HindustanTimes
Furthermore, in discussing geopolitical conflicts, Trump mischaracterized some historical events (e.g., conflating diplomatic tensions or border disputes with actual wars). – MediaITE
Economic Performance and Domestic Policy
Trump also touted U.S. economic performance under his administration, claiming low inflation and high growth. While inflation has been reduced from peaks seen earlier in the decade, some of Trump’s accompanying statistics — like headline growth figures and the scale of investment commitments — were overstated compared with independent economic data. – NewsWeek
His framing of U.S. economic strength was intended to contrast with his characterisation of the previous administration, though key metrics show that inflation, growth, and market performance fluctuate due to broader global and domestic conditions, not solely presidential policies. – NewsWeek
Rhetoric, Reactions, and Implications
Trump’s Davos speech was met with a mixture of shock, criticism, and, in some quarters, applause for his combative posture. European leaders, especially from Denmark and the EU, expressed concern about his Greenland remarks and his critiques of European energy and economic policy. – Guardian
Financial markets reacted positively to the pledge not to use force in pursuing Greenland, but broader geopolitical analysts warned that pushing such rhetoric in a forum dedicated to economic cooperation risked undermining U.S. credibility. – Time
Conclusion
President Trump’s appearance at the 2026 World Economic Forum was consequential — not just for its content but for the contradictions and controversies it generated. While his call for U.S. leadership and economic strength resonated with some domestic audiences, the fact-checking analysis reveals that many claims were inaccurate, misrepresented complex facts, or repeated debunked narratives. The emphasis on territorial ambitions like Greenland, along with misstatements about trade, energy, and alliances, highlights the challenges of integrating nationalist and transactional rhetoric into forums predicated on multilateral cooperation.
In sum, the Davos speech stands as a stark example of how high-level international engagement can be shaped as much by political theatre and domestic audience signaling as by policy substance — and the importance of grounding such speeches in verifiable facts if they are to foster trust and constructive global dialogue.
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