Category: Geographical

Image of the day – 28

Similar tank traps have been used along the front lines by both sides in the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine.

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What’s in an image? Sometimes quite a lot, more than meets the eye.

I’m posting an image every day (or as often as I can). A photo, an image from the internet, a diagram or a map. Whatever takes my fancy.

Tank traps

We have some history today. The river is the Churn and it runs in several different channels through the Cotswold town of Cirencester. On the bank you will notice three, large, concrete blocks; there’s also a fourth, partly hidden by the block on the left. The blocks were placed here during the Second World War to slow down German armour in the event that Britain was invaded. German failure to win the Battle of Britain in the air war prevented the invasion, but at the time the blocks were cast and put in place invasion remained a real threat.

The trees in the photo and the wall in the background are more recent than the blocks. The river bank led to an open field with the grounds and gardens of Abbey House beyond at that time, with the centre of the town on the other side of the gardens. The town would have been very vulnerable to attack from this direction.

Similar tank traps have been used along the front lines by both sides in the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine. The main difference is that modern, concrete traps are pyramidal (‘Dragon’s Teeth‘, not cubic. The sloping sides use less concrete and are more effective against tanks, but concrete cubes were also commonly used in the 1940s.

It pays to anticipate problems. But wars are rarely anticipated years in advance; political differences can boil over into actual conflict quite suddenly. And once they have started it can be very difficult to bring them to an end.

NOTE: These blocks can be seen from Grove Lane in Cirencester, quite close to the Norman Arch. From inside the Abbey Grounds, walk through the arch and turn right along the footpath for just a few yards. Look across the river, and there they are! A piece of Cirencester history that you can see for free.

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Cirencester

For convenience, here’s a list of all the Cirencester area images:

A417 roadworks, Advent Market, Bishops Walk, Baunton, Canal 1, 2, Castle Street, Christmas lights 1, 2, Church 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, Churn flood, Countryside, Fallen tree, Fleece, Gasworks, Gloucester Street, Hare 1, 2, Hospital, Market Place 1, Phoenix Fest, Riverside Walk, Stone plaque, Stratton Meadow, Tank traps, View, Wonky 1, 2, Yellow Iris

Themed image collections

The links below will take you to the first post in each collection

Cirencester, Favourites, Irish holiday 2024, Roman villa

Useful? Interesting?

If you enjoyed this or found it useful, please like, comment, and share below. (If you don’t see those links, click the article’s title above the main photo and they will appear.) Send a link to friends who might enjoy the article or benefit from it – Thanks! My material is free to reuse (see conditions), but a coffee is always welcome and encourages me to write more often!

Image of the day – 17

When you eat makes a huge difference to health, wellbeing, and even the length of your life.

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What’s in an image? Sometimes quite a lot, more than meets the eye.

I’m posting an image every day (or as often as I can). A photo, an image from the internet, a diagram or a map. Whatever takes my fancy.

Fish and chips

Food! You can’t live without it, it provides the energy for all your conscious activities and also the energy to keep your body working – the brain, the liver, lungs, heart, kidneys, even the digestive tract that digests your food – all the organs need energy to do their various essential jobs that you rarely think about.

But also, too much food is bad for you, the wrong kind of food is bad for you, and when you eat it makes a huge difference to health, wellbeing, and even the length of your life.

There’s plenty of good advice out there, but many of us fail to follow it. If you haven’t thought about this very much, right now is a good time to start. Where to look? The UK’s NHS provides some good ideas. So too does ZOE. Maybe watch a ZOE video, pick one that seems interesting to you.

Food – Enjoy it, but rule it. Don’t let it rule you!

PS – Think about others too. If you can afford it, donate some items to your local foodbank (most supermarkets have donation points). And if you are unable to afford what you need, get along to a local foodbank and ask for help. The Trussell Trust is one of the big organisations, search for a local branch. Or search Google for other options.

Themed image collections

The links below will take you to the first post in each collection

Cirencester, Favourites, Irish holiday 2024, Roman villa

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Useful? Interesting?

If you enjoyed this or found it useful, please like, comment, and share below. (If you don’t see those links, click the article’s title above the main photo and they will appear.) Send a link to friends who might enjoy the article or benefit from it – Thanks! My material is free to reuse (see conditions), but a coffee is always welcome and encourages me to write more often!

Image of the day – 16

The stratus is semi-transparent near its fuzzy edge, you can see the higher layer through it.

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What’s in an image? Sometimes quite a lot, more than meets the eye.

I’m posting an image every day (or as often as I can). A photo, an image from the internet, a diagram or a map. Whatever takes my fancy.

Layer upon layer of clouds

I spotted this cloud scene in May 2024 and just had to capture it. As you can see, it’s a fine example of multiple horizontal levels of clouds of different kinds. At the bottom are small cumulus clouds, including one that looks higher than the others. That’s just perspective, they’re all at the same level, imagine them sitting on a transparent sheet stretched out from the horizon and passing overhead.

Above this is a grey layer with a fuzzy edge, it’s stratus cloud and again it’s a flat sheet at a higher level than the cumulus layer. The third layer is altocumulus, a third sheet at a higher level again. The stratus is semi-transparent near its fuzzy edge, you can see a higher layer through it.

The fourth layer is cirro-stratus, white and stretched out from side to side. And the final layer is cirrus, stretched fore and aft, at right angles to the cirrostratus below. So much going on at different levels in the atmosphere!

It’s very clear that things that seem really simple (the air above our heads) can show complex patterns of behaviour. That’s a good lesson to learn for life in general.

Themed image collections

The links below will take you to the first post in each collection

Cirencester, Favourites, Irish holiday 2024, Roman villa

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Useful? Interesting?

If you enjoyed this or found it useful, please like, comment, and share below. (If you don’t see those links, click the article’s title above the main photo and they will appear.) Send a link to friends who might enjoy the article or benefit from it – Thanks! My material is free to reuse (see conditions), but a coffee is always welcome and encourages me to write more often!

Image of the day – 15

Going against a designer’s explicit instructions is always asking for trouble. In this example, the blunderer was dismissed.

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What’s in an image? Sometimes quite a lot, more than meets the eye.

I’m posting an image every day (or as often as I can). A photo, an image from the internet, a diagram or a map. Whatever takes my fancy.

What a blunder!

Well, what happened here? This is Blunder Lock on the Thames and Severn Canal at Stonehouse. When the canal was being built in the late 18th century, the engineer failed to follow the designer’s instructions and excavated this lock to an incorrect depth. For this and other issues, the engineer was later dismissed, and the lock became known as ‘Blunder Lock’. It’s a quirky name, but a good one! Click the image to enlarge it, you’ll see the name board on the far bank.

Going against a designer’s explicit instructions is always asking for trouble. In this example, the blunderer was dismissed, lost the canal contract, and no doubt missed out on future employment opportunities. This is surely something we all need to remember – an object lesson that applies in all walks of life! Following engineering instructions; following national and international law; and, for those of us who follow Jesus, obeying his command to love.

It should go without saying that all of this applies only to instructions that are good, wise, and intended to generate good outcomes.

Themed image collections

The links below will take you to the first post in each collection

Cirencester, Favourites, Irish holiday 2024, Roman villa

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Useful? Interesting?

If you enjoyed this or found it useful, please like, comment, and share below. (If you don’t see those links, click the article’s title above the main photo and they will appear.) Send a link to friends who might enjoy the article or benefit from it – Thanks! My material is free to reuse (see conditions), but a coffee is always welcome and encourages me to write more often!

Image of the day – 13

Rio faces south and there’s a large, nearly landlocked bay, so this view was taken from a west-facing vantage point.

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What’s in an image? Sometimes quite a lot, more than meets the eye.

I’m posting an image every day (or as often as I can). A photo, an image from the internet, a diagram or a map. Whatever takes my fancy.

Sunset in Rio (Wikimedia Commons)

Most of the photos I post here are my own. But yesterday’s image was from NASA, and today’s is a stunning view of the sunset from Rio de Janeiro and came from Wikimedia Commons. If you need a good quality, free to use image, look no further, it’s an excellent place to browse around. You will also find free to use sound files, documents and much more.

At first I was puzzled that the details say this is a sunset. Rio faces south and there’s a large, nearly landlocked bay, so this view was taken from a west-facing vantage point.

Themed image collections

The links below will take you to the first post in each collection

Cirencester, Favourites, Irish holiday 2024, Roman villa

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Useful? Interesting?

If you enjoyed this or found it useful, please like, comment, and share below. (If you don’t see those links, click the article’s title above the main photo and they will appear.) Send a link to friends who might enjoy the article or benefit from it – Thanks! My material is free to reuse (see conditions), but a coffee is always welcome and encourages me to write more often!

Image of the day – 4

While we were looking around the house, I spotted bound copies of ‘The Works of Ruskin’

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What’s in an image? Sometimes quite a lot, more than meets the eye.

I’m posting an image every day (or as often as I can). It might be a photo I took, an image from Wikipedia, NASA, or some other open source, a diagram or a map. Whatever takes my fancy.

The Library at Lydiard House

This photo is a shot of the Library at Lydiard House near Swindon. The house and the park around it are owned and managed by Swindon Borough Council as a facility for local people. It’s well maintained and well used for many indoor and outdoor purposes.

The house was built in the 17th and 18th centuries by the Tregoze family. While we were looking around the house, I spotted bound copies of ‘The Works of Ruskin‘, filling several shelves.

Themed image collections

The links below will take you to the first post in each collection

Cirencester, Favourites, Irish holiday 2024, Roman villa

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Useful? Interesting?

If you enjoyed this or found it useful, please like, comment, and share below. (If you don’t see those links, click the article’s title above the main photo and they will appear.) Send a link to friends who might enjoy the article or benefit from it – Thanks! My material is free to reuse (see conditions), but a coffee is always welcome and encourages me to write more often!

Image of the day – 3

One of the five round houses built by the canal company for some of their lock keepers and lengthmen

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What’s in an image? Sometimes quite a lot, more than meets the eye.

I’m posting an image every day (or as often as I can). It might be a photo I took, an image from Wikipedia, NASA, or some other open source, a diagram or a map. Whatever takes my fancy.

Cerney Wick round house (left) and me on the right

I take photos far more often than I am photographed. On 11th July I was out walking with two friends, and one of them took this photo of me. We were following part of the Thames and Severn Canal; the building at upper-left is one of the five round houses built by the canal company for some of their lock keepers and lengthmen. This particular round house is close to the village of Cerney Wick.

I’ve been posting a series on walking the canal, but I haven’t written up this section yet.

Themed image collections

The links below will take you to the first post in each collection

Cirencester, Favourites, Irish holiday 2024, Roman villa

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Useful? Interesting?

If you enjoyed this or found it useful, please like, comment, and share below. (If you don’t see those links, click the article’s title above the main photo and they will appear.) Send a link to friends who might enjoy the article or benefit from it – Thanks! My material is free to reuse (see conditions), but a coffee is always welcome and encourages me to write more often!

Image of the day – 2

Come on mate, get preening! How do you expect to find an attractive female robin with scruffy, untidy feathers like that?

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What’s in an image? Sometimes quite a lot, more than meets the eye.

I’m posting an image each day, or as often as I can; a photo I took, an image from Wikipedia, NASA, or some other open source, a diagram or a map. Whatever takes my fancy. This is the second in the series.

The robin at Pretty and Pip

Pretty & Pip is one of my favourite coffee shops in Cirencester. I wrote ‘the robin‘ because he’s always there, in their lovely courtyard. If I didn’t know the guy that owns and manages this place I might even think the robin ran it! He certainly thinks he belongs there, and he does a pretty good job of picking up cake crumbs and generally keeping the place spick and span.

But come on mate, get preening! How do you expect to find an attractive female robin with scruffy, untidy feathers like that?

Favourites

For convenience, here’s a list of my favourite images:

Anemone, Cloud, Honeybee, Hydrangea, Kiftsgate1, Kiftsgate2, Large White, Mugshot, Nelson, Robin, Rose, Spilhaus, Sunset1, Weston beach

Themed image collections

The links below will take you to the first post in each collection

Cirencester, Favourites, Irish holiday 2024, Roman villa

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Useful? Interesting?

If you enjoyed this or found it useful, please like, comment, and share below. (If you don’t see those links, click the article’s title above the main photo and they will appear.) Send a link to friends who might enjoy the article or benefit from it – Thanks! My material is free to reuse (see conditions), but a coffee is always welcome and encourages me to write more often!

Image of the day – 1

The demolition of a famous old landmark, the ‘Air Balloon’ pub.

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What’s in an image? Sometimes quite a lot, more than meets the eye.

I’m going to post an image each day, or as often as I can; a photo I took, an image from Wikipedia, NASA, or some other open source, a diagram or a map. Whatever takes my fancy. This is the first in what may become a long series.

Roadworks on the A417, at the Air Balloon Roundabout

The scarp slope of the Cotswolds is steep, and roads usually have to twist and turn to reduce the slope to acceptable levels. A new section of dual carriagway is being built near the village of Birdlip, to complete the link from the M4 near Swindon to the M5 near Gloucester.

It’s involved the demolition of a famous old landmark, the ‘Air Balloon’ pub, and the amount of rock being moved is astronomical. All of this to smooth out a course for the new road that will let it make the 300 m climb in one, long, sweeping bend. The completion date is estimated to be Spring 2027.

Cirencester

For convenience, here’s a list of all the Cirencester area images:

A417 roadworks, Advent Market, Bishops Walk, Baunton, Canal 1, 2, Castle Street, Christmas lights 1, 2, Church 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, Churn flood, Countryside, Fallen tree, Fleece, Gasworks, Gloucester Street, Hare 1, 2, Hospital, Market Place 1, Phoenix Fest, Riverside Walk, Stone plaque, Stratton Meadow, Tank traps, View, Wonky 1, 2, Yellow Iris

Themed image collections

The links below will take you to the first post in each collection

Cirencester, Favourites, Irish holiday 2024, Roman villa

< Previous | Index | Next >

Useful? Interesting?

If you enjoyed this or found it useful, please like, comment, and share below. (If you don’t see those links, click the article’s title above the main photo and they will appear.) Send a link to friends who might enjoy the article or benefit from it – Thanks! My material is free to reuse (see conditions), but a coffee is always welcome and encourages me to write more often!

Two videos about Russia’s actions

I’m not going to add any comment of my own here; both videos speak for themselves, they are eloquent.

Please watch these two videos, one from Times Radio, the other from Anna who publishes a daily video about events in Ukraine as it struggles against the continuing Russian invasion and partial occupation of its land. Watch them to the end, and pass on the link to this article or to the videos themselves. Let family members, friends, and local politicians see this for themselves. Thank you.

First the news and discussion on Times Radio:

And next, an impassioned plea from Anna:

I’m not going to add any comment of my own here; both videos speak for themselves, they are eloquent. It is, I believe, well beyond time for the collective West to face down the evil regime in the Kremlin much more directly, much more effectively, and with greater and growing determination.

The actions ordered daily by Russian political and military leaders are not acceptable in any way.