Mick Canning's Blog, page 2
September 26, 2024
It’s That Time of Year
Chestnuts. Watercolour on paper. Size: 8ins x 10ins. 21 years ago.
August 22, 2024
Kent’s Standing Stones
Although not perhaps the first county one would think of when discussing ancient standing stones, Kent does have its share. There are two main sites approximately equidistant on either side of the river Medway in north Kent. The eastern site consists of the remains of two burial chambers (Kit’s Coty House and Little Kit’s Coty …
August 16, 2024
The Footpath Book
Once, I thought I’d write a footpath book, a guidebook for an area I walked frequently and knew well. As well as the practicalities of walking the paths – pointing out turnings that were easy to miss, alternative routes, the geography of the paths – I would also discuss the history and geology of the …
August 7, 2024
The Gurdy Stone
One grey and chilly Saturday in February 2024 I travelled to the village of Kingston, just outside Lewes, Sussex, to pay my respects to the Gurdy Stone, a two-and-a-half-ton slate monolith. The stone, standing alone in a field a little way to the south of Kingston, can only be reached on foot along a permissive …
July 25, 2024
Phew!
A mere ten days after mentioning I thought I was close to finishing the final draft of A Good Place, it is, in fact, finished. This is the second novel I have written that’s set in India, this time in a fictitious hill station in the Himalaya, amongst the English diaspora remaining behind after Independence. …
July 15, 2024
D’You Know, I Can’t Even Think Of A Title For This?
I’m still here, although you might be forgiven for not realising that. One or two of you might have noticed, though, that I have been an occasional visitor to your blogs over the last few months, but mostly I’ve kept away from WordPress in that time. Of course. Life quite often has a tendency to …
Continue reading D’You Know, I Can’t Even Think Of A Title For This?
March 28, 2024
Photographs
I’ve become very bad at taking photographs. Not exactly lazy, it’s more that my focus is on the world around me. More and more now I find that when I’m out for a walk all my senses are tuned into the world around me – sounds, sights, smells – and I feel I just want …
February 2, 2024
Imbolc
Yesterday was Imbolc, February 1st. Imbolc is a pagan festival marking the halfway point between the Winter Solstice and Spring Equinox. Honouring the goddess Brigid, goddess of fertility, it celebrates the beginning of Spring. And so I went looking for signs of Spring. It was a real Spring-like day. Blue skies. Sunshine that felt almost …
January 27, 2024
New ‘zine – Issue 1
I’ve completed my first new year’s project. Ladies and gentlemen, I’d like to present Echoes and Imaginings, issue one. Quite pleased with the title, actually. My aim is to produce at least four issues, although whether I do or not depends largely on how quickly I can put each issue together. I want them to …
January 14, 2024
New Year New You Meh
Anyone still following their New Year’s resolutions? Good on you. As a rule I don’t make them, but this year I have drawn up a bit of a list. Partly, this is a coincidence. I’m on Goodreads, and they encourage you to set a reading target for the year, which I usually do as I …
