The Official Highway Code, by Dept for Transport: #BookReview.

Subtitled ‘This guide is for all road users’ this 2022 edition is the 8th revision. I read the 1969 version after learning to drive and taking my test when I was 19. I’m sure there must have been an earlier edition as I recall reading one before that test. Subsequently, I read the 1978 edition, …

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The Accidental Spurrt, by Walt Pilcher: #BookReview.

Subtitled ‘A Mark Fairley Mystery’, this parody of the whodunit will have you smiling, grinning, chuckling, and laughing out loud as the author takes you on a revealing journey with his reluctant PI.There are many characters in this humorous novel, some of whom are deliberate cardboard cut-outs to mock the worst of the genre, but …

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#ScenicSaturday 11/June/22

Cretan Coast at Sissi Endlessly crashing Silver shines the sparkling sea Against solid rock # The daily words and picture series is hard to sustain if I’m to get on with my normal writing, so I’ve gone for a weekly one instead. Sometimes there’ll be accompanying words, other times the picture will stand alone. I …

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Rewild Your Garden, by Frances Tophill: #BookReview.

Subtitled ‘Create a Haven for Birds, Bees and Butterflies’, this lovely little book gives practical guidance on how to do just that. Written to inform simply and comprehensively, the book also gives reasons for making changes to what are often gardens artificially regimented by tradition, ideas of taste, a desire to ‘tame’ nature, or simple …

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#ScenicSaturday 04/June/22

Forest of Dean A new series starts today and will continue each Saturday. The daily words and picture series has run its course now the pandemic is more or less as under control as it’s going to be. I’d still like to share my love of the natural world with you, but the daily post …

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The Reality Exchange, by James Vigor: #BookReview.

In this imaginative and engaging page-turner, James Vigor brings to life a number of fascinating characters to populate an action-packed story mostly set in space. This is science fiction at its best. But it is also more than that. Its themes of justice, abuse, slavery, piracy, and the eternal prominence given to wealth, are all …

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#Words and #PictureOfTheDay: 31/May/22

East Lyn River, Lynmouth. Today’s the last of my daily ‘natural beauty’ pictures. However, I’ll post one each week under the title ‘#Saturday Scenes’. Sometimes with words, sometimes as a stand-alone picture. But I’ll always welcome your comments and shares (the buttons at the foot make it easy to do that, and the more people …

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#Words and #PictureOfTheDay: 30/May/22

A Change of Viewpoint. Viewpoint changes scenes Five days past you saw this view From the other end. (((((((((((----)))))))))) From the end of May, I’ll be posting a picture just once a week. Books and writing have taken a back seat for too long. I started this daily series when Covid confined people to their …

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#Words and #PictureOfTheDay: 29/May/22

A Surprise for Some? Sunshine and shade The very essence of Photography Painting with light Here on the banks of The River Wear As is flows to the North Sea through The city of Sunderland. Was that a shock? To see beauty in such a place? Perhaps prejudice plays a part In judgment. (((((((((((----)))))))))) From …

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#Words and #PictureOfTheDay: 28/May/22

A Slow Stream. Quiet flows the stream Winding through trees tall and new On its journey out (((((((((((----)))))))))) From the end of May, I’ll be posting a picture just once a week. Books and writing have taken a back seat for too long. I started this daily series when Covid confined people to their homes, …

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A Bookkeepers Guide to Practical Sorcery, by Kate Russell: #BookReview.

Kate’s story is aimed at children but written in a style many adults will find appealing. Adventure, some burgeoning teen romance with all its attendant uncertainty and embarrassment, the injustices routinely visited on many workers by employers, treachery, greed, hope, courage, threat, and ultimate justice, weave spells throughout this entertaining work. There are also monsters …

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#Words and #PictureOfTheDay: 27/May/22

A Green Lane in the Yorkshire Wolds. How old the green lane Where once the drovers Led their cattle sheep and geese To market over Wolds Beneath bright wide skies Of quiet early springs They lie a memory and Reminder of softer days When chasing money Was reserved for food Shelter clothing and needs Rather …

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#Words and #PictureOfTheDay: 26/May/22

Bourts Inclosure Tall majestic silent Grow the pines Harbour for wildlife Bringer of summer shade Provider of timber Balancing human needs With natural beauty When their long lives Eventually must end (((((((((((----)))))))))) From the end of May, I’ll be posting a picture just once a week. Books and writing have taken a back seat for …

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#Words and #PictureOfTheDay: 25/May/22

The Brook Flows into the River Gentle flows the brook To join the wider flow Of a river sometimes wild On its constant journey Down to the eternal sea (((((((((((----)))))))))) From the end of May, I’ll be posting a picture just once a week. Books and writing have taken a back seat for too long. …

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Perilaus II, by Mark P. Henderson: #BookReview.

312 pagesUrban/Thrillers A book underpinned by scholarship, this crime thriller-cum-psychological thriller-cum-literary novel works on many levels. But how to review it without even hinting at spoilers?I think it’s safe enough to let potential readers know the ‘author’ of a crime novel is about to commit himself to the method and occasion of the murder at …

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