Mick Canning's Blog, page 4
August 26, 2023
26th August 2023
I tested one of the few apples on our tree in the middle of the month to see how ripe it was, and it came away from the branch easily. We shouldn’t be picking apples in mid-August, surely? But it’s a poor year, too. There are barely a dozen apples on the tree, whereas last …
August 21, 2023
What’s In A Name?
My Great Grandfather moved from rural Hampshire to London sometime in the late 1870’s, during the course of which he changed his surname first from Prater to Cannon, and then to Canning. We don’t know the reason why, but I suspect a family rift of some sort. Whatever the reason, from that point onwards our …
August 18, 2023
Silbury Hill
Silbury Hill, located a few miles from Avebury in Wiltshire, is the largest artificial mound in Europe, roughly the same size as the contemporaneous Egyptian pyramids, although it puts me more in mind of the Mexican pyramids. At 39m high and 160m wide and built of chalk, it was a colossal undertaking for the time …
August 14, 2023
In Another Lifetime I Could Have Been…(4)
…not anything I wanted to be, because that’s not true. Like everyone else, I have my limitations. Plenty of them. I’m sure we all play this game sometimes, even if it’s only in the form of ‘I wish I’d done so-and-so instead of the boring / hateful / planet-destroying job I’m doing now’, but it’s …
August 4, 2023
Venice – 2
I put a few photos of Venice up on here a long time ago. Today I fancied putting up a few more. We’ve been to Venice just the once, and really enjoyed it. We saw it in the sun and in the rain. Both were beautiful. We should probably go again before it sinks. There …
August 2, 2023
A Sense of Scale
One of the things that makes one comfortable in an environment is an understanding of its scale. Being able to intuit distances in an unfamiliar area and hence the time required to traverse them, and one’s general relationship with their surroundings. Yet landscapes do not always do this – the natural world is always ready …
July 23, 2023
Edale
Since it’s a nice sunny and warm Summer’s day, I thought I’d put up a few photos of Edale, in the Peak District. In Winter. Just because.
July 17, 2023
A Nine Daies Wonder
In February 1600 Will Kemp Morris-danced his way from London to Norwich, a distance of approximately a hundred miles. Kemp (or Kempe), born around 1560 and died, probably of the plague. in 1603, was an actor, dancer and all-round clown. A member of Shakespeare’s company, Chamberlain’s Men, he regularly played the role of the clown …
July 12, 2023
In Another Lifetime I Could Have Been…(3)
…a tramp. My wife often says I’m in touch with my inner vagabond. I’m taking that to mean that I enjoy walking, unless she’s referring to something else. My dress sense, for example. But yes, I love walking, especially long distance walking, but most of all I like to simply wander. There is a tremendous …
July 8, 2023
Some Nepalese Photos
It seems unbelievable (to me, that is), but it’s now fifteen years since I last visited Nepal. This is just a selection of some of my favourite photos from my trips there. Some you’ve already seen, some you haven’t. Travelling from India to Nepal Temple in Swayambunath, Kathmandu Valley Carved wooden window, Kathmandu Sunset light …
