A standard base of onions. garlic, celery, and carrots. A handful of dried herbs rounds it off.

Originally known as the Storey Institute, it was funded by philanthropist Thomas Storey in the 19th century to promote art, science, and literature.

Today it is an important center for arts, innovation, and creative business.

There's a weekly changing exhibition space and an excellent cafe, too.

After about 80 minutes we arrive at Stand 2 at the Grade II listed Preston Bus Station. It is 'tired' and needs some TLC applied, but the staff do well with the resources they have. There's a cafe, and the loos are clean. The electronic timetables are accurate and there are places to sit down while waiting. And there are no speakers playing music.

I like this place!

A bit of New Zealand bush. There is nothing quite like it. It did more for me in a few minutes than many hours of therapy.

Drinking fountain near Dolphin Square

The hydrangeas approach the end of this year's glorious display. I wish I could embrace aging with the same grace.

Better luck next time, Arsenal ⚽

📷 Google Pixel 8 Pro - Hugging (Oak) Tree - RSPB Sandwell Valley, West Midlands, England, UK

What looks like spit under the leaf is evidence of some mites that are making a home on this Turkish sage.

This is an ornamental sage, and not for eating. It looks good though.

I wondered where there colander had gone ...

Sunlight splits through a crystal and lands here

Eat.

My kitchen is cold enough to hang meat. So, put another jumper on.

Yoga completed for the morning.

Air fryer eggs and soldiers, with grilled black pudding. A1 sauce in the side (knocks spots off that HP rubbish).

Coffee, and a citrus shot.

Still cold but not feeling so gloomy now 😁👍

A herring gull doing its thing.

Some decrepit industrial buildings have been cleared to make way for a new housing development. The way things are, people need places to live more than vacant workshops.

I love Spanish blood oranges but they leave their mark. I treasure it.

It's still dreich out there. It's going to be a slow day.

By midday my kitchen had reached this balmy temperature and the relative humidity had actually dropped to this number.

No bread-making today.

In case you are wondering why I don't turn a heater on, consider these numbers:

Household electricity prices (2024) in US $ per KWh

Italy 0.43

Ireland 0.41

Denmark 0.36

Belgium 0.35

Germany 0.35

United Kingdom 0.35

France 0.30

Australia 0.26

Kenya 0.26

Netherlands 0.25

Uruguay 0.23

Spain 0.21

United States 0.18

China 0.08

Russia 0.05

Saudi Arabia 0.05

Turkey 0.05

Venezuela 0.05

Qatar 0.03

I'm thinking of laying an extension cable to Doha for some cheap power!

Found during excavation for the canal. The Roman road was on a similar alignment.

Vintage marmalade on toasted caraway wholemeal bread.

I'm stuck at home with a painful Achilles tendon. it's also raining. the temptation is to eat everything in the flat.

Toasted, the flavor of caraway comes out very well and goes well with the marmalade.

Decommissioned cars from Glasgow Subway on Argyle Street.

The intention is to transform them into a restaurant and workshops.

To be fair, I have no idea what this poster is about. What I can say is that I have definitely been experiencing the willies today. NO! - stop that sniggering: read the definition:

dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/willies

I have done some tweaking on this image using Darktable - apparently it's a bit like Lightroom, but I don't know what that is, anyway. But I need something that will process RAW images ...

And I have finally bitten the bullet and changed my ancient phone for something less antique (but still 'pre-loved'). My, how Android has evolved in nearly 8 years! I have no idea how this phone works, really. It's giving me the willies!

The southern end of Morecambe Bay: Knott End-on-Sea. Look dead center on the horizon and you can make out the two power stations at Heysham.

There's not much here now, but up to the 1950s it was a popular holiday destination. Tastes change, and people seem to demand 'attractions' and warmer weather.

The butcher in the village has some awesome meat, much of it local. The cheesemonger was well-stocked. The hardware shop was full of all sorts of interesting things, and some were even useful. The breeze was sharp, even in July, so I found a charity shop and bought a nice sweater - and a load of photo printing paper, some bail jars and a barometer for my friend; an unexpected haul! Proceeds go to the local hospice, which is good. A pot of tea and a sandwich in Ralph's Cafe was just the restorative I needed. Too soon for fish and chips, tho' the chippy looked excellent. Tourism is not quite dead. What else is there to see, I wonder?

Banana Yoshimoto wrote this. Dealing with loss and love and other stuff, it was very readable and short enough for a single sitting.

Give it a go.

When the railway viaduct was built across the River Kent in 1856-57 it ceased onward shipping to Milnethorpe. Arnside became the unloading point, which transformed the sleepy fishing village into a bustling trade hub.

Our first snow of the winter

The annual winter fair comes to town.

#android #androidography #fotodroids #galaxynexus #snapseed #landscape #Switzerland #zurich #2013 #sky

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Today I made a wholemeal bread that for once didn't go mad and produced an acceptable loaf. I used 40% English wholemeal flour and 60% Canadian strong white flour.

#android #androidography #fotodroids #galaxynexus #snapseed #landscape #snow #winter #forest #zurich

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Friday's almost complete mise en place.

This is the entrance to the former Shrigley & Hunt stained glass works. Now the building is used as student accommodation.

I think the monogram has been executed with great style.

Shock, horror! Yes, I am a huge fan of Audrey Hepburn. Imagine my delight when I saw this shop window on my way to dinner tonight! Elegance comes to Lancaster.

Audrey Hepburn was a Belgium*-born actress who played a role in the Dutch Resistance during World War II.

She helped the Resistance by performing in secret ballet recitals to raise money for the resistance. She delivered coded messages, documents, and the underground newspaper by bicycle. She also worked as a doctor's assistant during the battle of Arnhem and cared for children who had been traumatized by the war.

*Corrected after some very helpful fact-checking by a kind Flickr-friend. Thanks, mate.

Another benchmark. On St Mary's Gate this time. I can't find any record to state they were cut on anything other than vertical structures.

youtu.be/a01QQZyl-_I?si=kJ0HXMVwf9TKiMqv

One of the best things about part time work is the lack of pressure.

More cabbages, and more apples. And a nice red capsicum for a splash of interest, with green lentils for a bit of protein.

What should i do with these green tomatoes? I'm thinking an interpretation of salsa verde. Not enough to bother making a chutney.

Lines. They are everywhere. If you step over them you get shouted at. But if you've lived behind them the stress is sometimes overwhelming.

Lines are everywhere today. It hasn't always been thus. We were supposed to know our place. Toe the line. This far and no further. Hard lines of you got it wrong. Write a 100 lines, i will hold the line. The thin red line. The medic puts in a line. The triage nurse puts you at the end of the line. The orderly sees your name in the lined ledger and goes over it with a line. No more lines.

Saturday morning daydream

Tomato plants grow

Gently healing

From my recently found fence.

I love the flaking layers of paint, like a rusty old trawler that's been hauled ashore.

At the back of the yard were some pretty thistles. Bees like them, which means I like them. Seeing this on a bigger screen is telling me to use my camera instead of my phone!