Jeff did us proud at the trefor.net xmas bash held in December 2012 at the Phoenix Artist Club. Cool photography by Nick Pickles.
March 20, 2013
March 19, 2013
Station announcements
I have just invented two new and different ways of making train announcements at railway stations. The ideas came to me when standing around at Kings Cross station waiting for my own train to be announced. Announcements for other trains came and went but not my own. I found myself saying to myself “that’s all well and good but it’s not my train and I am therefore not interested”.
The first idea is that you should only be able to hear the announcements that affect you. I have no idea how to go about implementing this idea but that’s not my problem. I’m the ideas man – someone else goes away and makes it happen.
The second idea is that the accent of the station announcement should reflect the destination of the train and each of the stopping points along the way. This came to me when I noted that “Hull” was pronounced with a decidedly “correct” English accent rather than saying “Ull” as they do in that part of the world.
So a train going from London to Aberdeen via York should have announcements that start in Cockney, flow through a Yorkshire brogue and end up with a strong Scottish lilt.
Och aye!
Pudding
Can’t quite remember now where I took this pic though I could probably work it out from the metadata and a look at my calendar if I was that bothered. It looked good. It tasted good. By golly it was good.
March 18, 2013
March 17, 2013
The river god and the god of the bridge
The river god lives under the old bridge at the narrow stretch of water just after the river comes out of the trees and meanders into the pleasant meadows of the valley below. The river god should not be confused with the god of the bridge who coexists under the bridge but is a different deity. The river god can roam up and down the river but the god of the bridge has to stay in the same spot.
The bridge was built by the villagers many years ago. It was well built of stone and brick and has stood the test of time. If anything its aged and weathered look improves the aesthetics of the bridge which is popular not only for the convenience it provides as a river crossing but as a picturesque addition to the head of the valley. The bridge god is quite content to live under the bridge and is equally happy to share the space with the river god who could live anywhere but likes the feeling of enclosed shelter the bridge provides.
There is no animosity between the two gods who as well as sharing the same space under the bridge also share the same community of worshippers, the descendants of the good folk who built the bridge.
The gods that live under the bridge have a limited set of responsibilities. The god of the bridge is solely responsible for the safe passage of people and animals across the bridge. The god of the river has a wider though similar set of duties. He looks after the wellbeing of the river, the animals and fish that live in and around the river plus to a certain extent the fertility of the meadows either side of the river. This duty to maintain fertility is shared with the rain god and the sun god who are mutually exclusive and do not talk to each other.
The river god is not always a nice guy and has been known to flood the village causing distress to its inhabitants but these occasions are rare and quickly disappear from the communal memory. Most of the time he is a good god.
The villagers have many other gods that they worship. We will from time to time take a look at these other gods so that over a period of years Philosopherontap will become a useful resource for those needing to know about the gods of various places. Although some gods have names the river god and the bridge god are not in their number.
Into the arms of Gonzalo Garcia
Now these are words to light up the imagination. Who is Gonzalo Garcia and who or what went into his arms?
He sounds like the hero of Mexican romantic novel. Picture him in his high-waisted jacket, tight fitting trousers and wide sombrero pulling his horse up below the window of the object of his affections; the beautiful Rosita, her dark hair falling in ringlets over a heaving bosom, denied to him by a strict and disapproving curmudgeon of a father. She climbs down a rope of knotted bed sheets and into his arms, riding off on the back of his horse, the outline of a tall cactus plant silhouetted against the full desert moon.
Nope, that’s not our Gonzalo. I know but I’m not going to tell you…
scones
This is a photo of a tray of scones taken during the Durham Food Festival. Simples.
March 16, 2013
sleeping woman on tube
We shall probably never find out who she is. She was asleep when I got on the tube and still asleep when I got off. For all I know she woke up in Cockfosters or some such last stop on the line. Her story is hers to keep.
March 15, 2013
Domestic scene in the Davies kitchen on a Saturday night
Domestic scene in the Davies kitchen on a saturday night – good music, good company and simple home cooking
Horseguards en route to Whitehall, London
Funny to consider that the horseguards need a police escort.
The ten fifty four from Newark Northgate to London Kings Cross
Karen Duffy,
Head of Performance,
walked the aisle
with a pleasant smile
and then she was gone
to the next carriage
to serve another.
Logs at Fillingham
Logs at Fillingham. Taken when visiting the Christmas Shop. On that trip we saw a buzzard in the plantation. Didn’t get a decent photo though I did get some sort of low light video. Magnificent creature.
March 14, 2013
Colin Dudman plays the Phoenix Artist Club
Colin Dudman plays the Phoenix Artist Club at my Xmas bash 2012. We had a great night and went through 53 bottles of champagne. Gotta be done.
Pic by Nick Pickles
March 13, 2013
Blackboard at Google Campus
Blackboard at Google campus in Old Street during an UKNOF meeting – see whose Twitter handle is in view & follow 🙂
March 12, 2013
Crowded tube – London Underground
I will typically avoid the tube if I happen to arrive in London at rush hour. It is not a pleasant experience. I suppose people have no choice. I think this picture was taken after the Rolling Stones concert on the Sunday night at the O2. We just about made the last tube train out of the Greenwich Peninsula. Many didn’t & would not have found it easy to get back to town.