Monthly Archives: January 2024

Kardamyli & Proastio, Greece

Posted on January 14, 2024 by Brian

Mining the Diaries 81: Greece 2011 Anniska Apartments, Kardamyli, 10th May 2011 Patras, the manager, told us that the Priest had agreed to open the church of Agios Nikolaos in Proastio this morning.  Recently restored (thanks in part to EU … Continue reading →

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Maryland, USA

Posted on January 13, 2024 by Brian

Mining the Diaries 80: USA 2011 1618 Lennox Park, 1400 E. W. Highway, Silver Spring, Maryland, 25th April 2011 Up at seven-thirty, showered, packed and sitting in the early sun on the veranda of the Atlantic Hotel waiting for Matthew … Continue reading →

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Avignon

Posted on January 11, 2024 by Brian

Mining the Diaries 79: France 2011 Hotel le Colbert, Avignon, 10th March 2011 The Hotel le Colbert, in a narrow, quiet and shuttered back street, is independent and unpretentious.  The warm welcome yesterday was reflected in the décor of reds, … Continue reading →

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Shire Hall, Cambridge

Posted on January 9, 2024 by Brian

Workmen removed the Cambridgeshire County Council sign from outside the Shire Hall, Cambridge, today.  It was the final symbolic erasure of an era that ended formally when the new offices were opened at Alconbury in July 2022.  The Shire Hall … Continue reading →

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Only Colour: Nando’s Orange

Posted on January 6, 2024 by Brian
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Stuff Matters

Posted on January 5, 2024 by Brian

We routinely take for granted the materiality of the world around us: we don’t bother to think about why cutlery doesn’t rust, how concrete buildings stand up or why chocolate tastes good.  We don’t ask what goes on in the … Continue reading →

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Aleppo

Posted on January 4, 2024 by Brian

Mining the Diaries 78: Syria 2010 Cillicia Hotel, Aleppo, 9th September 2010 Breakfast to the sound of laughing doves in the palms and rafters – a peaceful counter to the roar and bustle of traffic in Syria’s industrial capital.  It’s … Continue reading →

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Magog Down

Posted on January 3, 2024 by Brian

Took a New Year’s Day walk at the Magog Down in welcome sun filtered by high, whispy ice clouds.  The uncut grass and herbage on North Down have weathered to grey, creating a curiously monochrome landscape, steely in one direction … Continue reading →

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Kardamyli

Posted on January 2, 2024 by Brian

Mining the Diaries 77: Greece Stone House, Kardamyli, Wednesday 9th June 2010 Morning.  Still, silent.  Sun breasting the Taygetos woke dormant cicadas. Today we planned to walk to the church at Agia Sophia, which we can see high up overlooking … Continue reading →

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Lot’s Wife

Posted on January 1, 2024 by Brian

‘The sculpture depicts the biblical story of Lot’s wife, who turned into a pillar of salt when she looked back at Sodom and Gomorrah, two cities which represented sinful ways.  Thornycroft was one of the leading figures of the New … Continue reading →

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