This selection of feel-good photos (mostly staged for the camera) made me smile. I hope they work for you too. A young man with his pet Owls. Taking your dog to the hairdresser’s. A skateboarding nun. The fisherman’s cat lives in his beard. This old lady is using a puppet of an o … | Continue reading
This is the third part of a fiction serial, in 758 words. Now that Mabel no longer worked at the cinema, she could enjoy being a customer instead. Her twice-weekly dates with Reg fell into a pleasant routine. He would pop round after work on a weekday, and they would just sit and … | Continue reading
If you use your phone or tablet to blog on the WordPress App, you should read the article in the link. Changes are being introduced this month, splitting the choice of Apps between the current format, and the new Jetpack App. The most obvious difference will be that you will no l … | Continue reading
The postcards were produced in the 1960s by photographer John Hinde, a key figure in the development of the colour photograph as a postcard. Each photograph is innovative in its use of colour and stage-management. Shot with large format cameras, the production of these photograph … | Continue reading
This is the second part of a fiction serial, in 733 words. Sitting with her cup of tea, Mabel did what she liked to do best. Thinking about the past. It was the year 2012 now, and she would soon reach the milestone of her eightieth birthday. Reginald would have been two years old … | Continue reading
My friend Antony sent me this professionally made short (14 minutes) film. It makes a serious point about our future, and the increasingly ageing population. A good cast makes it worth your while watching. | Continue reading
Originally posted on Stevie Turner: ‘A House Without Windows‘ is now just $0.99/£0.99 on AmazonUS and AmazonUK until 31st March. Back in 2017 an assistant from the Development Department of a New York film company searched for ‘Generational Crime’ (criminals who fathered children … | Continue reading
This is the first part of a fiction serial, in 675 words. **Please note. This first part is a re-posting of a short story that inspired the serial. Many of you will have read it previously.** She was all in a fluster, as she knew she would be. Why had she agreed when Elsie sugges … | Continue reading
Today is the 1st of March. It is my birthday on the 16th, so this month always has meaning for me. We are also collecting a car today, so fingers crossed that it all goes well. I had to insure it yesterday, and the telephone renewal went very smoothly indeed. I take heart from th … | Continue reading
In 1968, I bought a record called ‘Stop Her On Sight’ (also known as S.O.S.) It was by the powerful American Soul singer and Motown recording artist named Edwin Starr. I already owned his previous UK hit record, ‘Headline News’. I really loved that new record, and went on to buy … | Continue reading
As a change from my nostalgia photos, here are some enormous dogs. No matter how big they are, they behave exactly the same as any other dog. You all know I am a dog lover, because of Ollie. Compared to these giants he is tiny, and I doubt I could cope with a dog this … Continue … | Continue reading
A collection that dates from the early 1840s, to the turn of the century. The video runs for 6 minutes and has interesting black and white photos from the period covering aspects of everyday life, as well as featuring some historical figures. (Only one photo has been colourised) | Continue reading
The founder of Longshot Island has created a new website/magazine to publish work created with the use of A.I., alongside conventional writing. You will be paid for successful submissions, and he is interested to explore this new genre. This is a contentious area indeed, and sure … | Continue reading
Another selection of carefully colourised photos from those two decades. The video runs for 8 minutes and includes 40 photos. | Continue reading
Hard to believe it is almost 53 years ago that I heard this record on my car radio. It had the feel of Motown, but was by someone I had never heard of before. Off I went to the shop to buy the single, and as I only remembered the title, I was glad that … Continue reading Retro Mu … | Continue reading
On Saturday afternoon, I took the Panasonic LX-100 out with me on Ollie’s walk. Before anyone asks why there are no photos of Ollie, he flatly refused to stay in sight of the camera! As that camera only has a 75mm zoom, I wasn’t even able to fool him from a distance. (The photos … | Continue reading
Something of a ‘Groundhog Day’ week for me, with every day much the same. I am not complaining, as I find routine comforting, and having no dramas or stress about anything is always to be welcomed. ————————————————————————————— My only break from routine was to empty out my old c … | Continue reading
Most of us are familiar with the many haunting photos taken during the Great Depression in America. We might also have read ‘The Grapes of Wrath’, or seen the film adaptation. I found this 7-minute video on You Tube that uses colourisation techniques to revisit many photos of the … | Continue reading
No real theme in these, I just found each one interesting. Female mill workers, 1900. (Partially colourised.) Young mill girls with their bobbins, 1901. City boys evacuated to the countryside during WW2, 1940. WW2 rescue workers at the scene of German bombing of Cardiff, 1941. Ch … | Continue reading
Diane Arbus is one of the most influential photographers of the twentieth century. Born in New York City, she was working as a fashion photographer before she began to pursue an artistic career. Arbus made portraits of people from across society, but is best known for her powerfu … | Continue reading
Lisette Model (born Elise Amelie Felicie Stern; November 10, 1901 – March 30, 1983) was an Austrian-born American photographer primarily known for the frank humanism of her street photography. A prolific photographer in the 1940s and a member of the New-York cooperative Photo Lea … | Continue reading
I am delighted to announce that the lovely American blogger, Cheryl Oreglia, has published her first book! You can read Cheryl’s blog by following this link. https://cheryloreglia.blog/ Here she is. And here is her book. Grow Damn It! is a captivating work by Cheryl Oreglia, who … | Continue reading
The area of The Bigg Market in the English city of Newcastle is named after a type of grain, not because it is big. This is from Wikipedia, and explains the history. The Bigg Market is a site of historical significance in Newcastle upon Tyne and dates back to the Middle Ages, whe … | Continue reading
Over 50 years ago, I heard a song on my car radio and knew immediately that I had to buy the single that day. It was undoubtedly American, and bordered on ‘Easy-listening’, but it played in my head for the rest of the day until I stopped at a shop to buy the record. I … Continue … | Continue reading
I rarely post about American politics on ths blog, and almost never about specific American politicians. Today, I am making an exception to highlight the dangers of one particular American politician who has recently been trying to stir up the desire for secession and civil war i … | Continue reading
These quite early photos I found online date from 1845-1860. They show people with the tools of their trade, and were all taken in America. A Stonemason. A Blacksmith. A Surveyor. A Cooper. (Barrel maker) Carpenters. A Butcher in his shop. A Door-to-Door Salesman. A Fisherman. A … | Continue reading
My friend Antony sent me this. Make sure you view picture 1 carefully before viewing 2. A truly remarkable incident proving again, you ain’t gonna, go until you’re actually wanted! This is an interesting, even breathtaking couple of photos. Be sure to read the 1st caption below t … | Continue reading
As anyone who suffers from Vertigo will tell you, there are good days and bad days. I have had more good ones for a long time now, as long as I remember to not lie flat on my back in bed, or in the bath. Also to avoid ladders, and anything else that requires looking … Continue re … | Continue reading
A Motown hit that was not written by Holland, Dozier, Holland, but by Smokey Robinson. In 1966, this classic from The Temptations was one of my favourite records of the year. I never met a girl who makes me feel the way that you do It’s alright Whenever I’m asked who makes my dre … | Continue reading
As most of you will have read, we bought a car on Monday to replace my dying Zafira. It will be collected on the 1st of March. If you didn’t see the post, this is the car. We Did The Deal ————————————————————————————— Spring has sprung this week. We had an unseasonal increase in … | Continue reading
It has just occurred to me that I forgot to compile my last serial into one long post. So here it is. A long read, at 19,164 words. George hadn’t been sleeping that well since retiring. Losing the routine of working all day had upset his body clock, and left him restless at night … | Continue reading
In the early 1930s, aristocrat and member of parliament, Sir Oswald Mosely, formed the British Union of Fascists, the BUF. He was attracted by the success of Mussolini and Hitler in Italy and Germany, and disillusioned with democratic politics in Britain. A member of The Labour P … | Continue reading
Despite being young during the 1960s and 1970s, I did not like most of the fashion during those decades. These are examples of clothing and hairstyles I would never have been associated with. Hippies/Flower Power. These trousers. Punk. Skinheads. Let me know if any of those trend … | Continue reading
I hadn’t previously seen the majority of the photos in this 11-minute video. Many are colourised for effect, and that works well. As well as the subtitles, there is some commentary explaining them. Despite the rather sensationalist title of the video, none of the images are parti … | Continue reading
The Women’s Land Army (WLA) was a British civilian organisation created in 1917 by the Board of Agriculture during the First World War to bring women into work in agriculture, replacing men called up to the military. Women who worked for the WLA were commonly known as Land Girls … | Continue reading
I found these online. Someone took the trouble to compile a selection of mini-skirted ladies who are all on or near stairs. Happy memories for me! | Continue reading
Many songs from the 1960s were associated with protest against the Vietnam War, even if they were not intended to. One of those was ‘Paint It Black’, by The Rolling Stones, released in 1966. This was a huge hit on both sides of The Atlantic, and reached the number one spot in the … | Continue reading
My thanks to Gavin Marriott for this guest post. Cyclone Gabrielle For most in England the news about New Zealand is that their English Cricket team (led by a Kiwi coach & captain by the way) is touring here at the mo. So we gave them a welcome of wet pitches. The same welcome gi … | Continue reading
Most of these photos are from America. They show images of an idealised family life in the 1950s. Mum is a housewife, dad goes to work. Watching TV before dad gets home. The whole family sitting down to Sunday dinner. Girls on a sleepover talking to boys outside through the windo … | Continue reading
I have seen thousands of photos taken during the civil war, but these carefully colourised photos really make the subjects come to life. The video is short, at only 6 minutes. | Continue reading
Originally posted on Elizabeth Gauffreau: Click Here to Read the Story in Coneflower Cafe (PDF, p. 3) Am I Excited? Yes, I’m Excited! I am thrilled to share that my short story “Henrietta’s Saving Grace” has won the 2022 Ben Nyberg contest sponsored by Choeofpleirn Press. The sto … | Continue reading
These pictures were taken by John Turner, a property manager based in the centre of London, and were recently unearthed by his daughter and her husband, Liz and Martin Carroll. Following John Turner’s death in 1987 a suitcase was passed to them by his widow, Betty. A quick glance … | Continue reading
I couldn’t leave out The Four Tops from this series. This song was a huge hit in Britain when I was 14 years old, topping the charts for a few weeks. I had my vinyl copy, and played it constantly. It brings back good memories now. Another great Motown song from the team of Hollan … | Continue reading
We don’t do a lot to celebrate this day in my house. Cards are exchanged, but we refuse to fall into the pit of commercialism that demands overpriced roses or chocolates, cuddly suffed toys, or heart-shaped mementos. As usual on this day, I would ask everyone to consider the lone … | Continue reading
In just over an hour on Monday, we had a test drive of a used car, and were offered a better than expected deal to trade-in my old car too. As car buying goes it was relatively painless, and we pick up the newer car on the 1st of March. This is the actual car. … Continue reading … | Continue reading
**No spoilers**. In 1985, I went to see a film at the cinema. I was attracted by the two stars, William Petersen, and Willem Dafoe. This is a film about obsession. The obsession of one government agent for revenge, and the obsession of a criminal to avoid arrest at all costs. Jus … | Continue reading
There is no particular theme in these photos I found online. Most were taken in London, in the 1960s. ‘Beatlemania’. This was the line used by the newspapers to describe the hysterical fans of The Beatles in the early 1960s. This policeman has his hands over his ears to block out … | Continue reading
I have posted separately about the ‘Birthday boy’ today. It is impossible to imagine life without Ollie being a part of it. ————————————————————————————– After the numerous car troubles lately, we are going to test drive a much newer used car on Monday. It is what they like to ca … | Continue reading