It Was Diana's Day Off,

normally we would have gone out, 

but Diana wanted to do a few things indoors, so we had a lazy day, in the afternoon we watched a couple of blasts from the past, starting with The Man from Laramie, a tale of a frontier encounter with ranchers, a lady store keeper and a mystery man who is selling guns to the Indians, and the hero, played by James Stewart, which was followed with, 

Man in the Saddle, the hero this time played by Randolph Scott, again featuring ranchers, a damsel and Mexicans, it was then time for our evening meal, after which no BattleBots, it was cancelled for some sport thing, but we did watch Deadliest Catch, two of them as it happens followed by,

 The Batman, which was a tad more gruesome than I remember it when he stared with Robin, after which Diana was off to bed, a early start tomorrow, for myself a Have I Got More News For You followed by one from It Ain't Half Hot Mum, before I too was off to bed.

“Never Was There So Compleate A History Of The Creatures As This Since The Daies Of Solomon, Who Writ The Story Of Beasts And Creeping things”

the claim referred to this book, 

Edward Topsell’s 1658 The History of Four-Footed Beasts and Serpents, published more than thirty years after its author’s death and considered the first major illustrated work on animals printed in English, it actually combined his earlier work on four-footed beasts (1607) and serpents (1608), Topsell was not a naturalist himself (he in fact was a clergyman) and so heavily quotes the observations of others, in particular Thomas Moffett and Konrad Gesner, who, in turn, relied on classical authorities like Aristotle, Ovid, and Pliny, so as you might expect there were a few differences between the description and woodcuts in the book, which ran to over 1,000 pages, and the animals in real life, here are a few,

Prasyan ape

Cynocepale, or baboon

Camelopardal (giraffe)

Manticore

Lamia, but the book does have some illustrations that pass for the real animal as we know them, 

Lion

Badger

Elephant

Porcupine and of course, 

a Unicorn, the book was printed in London by E. Cotes, although it is easy to not take the illustrations seriously, it was a brave work armed with only second or third hand knowledge he did a what must be said a remarkable job of compiling so many creatures, Topsell’s work, as John Lienhard explains, “was actually an early glimmer of modern science. For all its imperfection, it represents a vast collection of would-be observational data, and it even includes a rudimentary rule for sifting truth from supposition.” to look at all 1,102 pages have a look here.

A Quick Question,

it is an electrical appliance, 

but what is it?

it looks like a horizontal single slice toaster, 

popular in Japan, it is for grilling chicken, it is a Yakitori, (Japanese: 焼き鳥) (literally 'grilled bird') a Japanese type of skewered chicken, it's preparation involves attaching the meat to a skewer, typically made of steel, bamboo, or similar materials, after which it is grilled over a charcoal fire,

grilling yakitori at home just got a lot easier thanks to the new Yakitorill: a combination of the words yakitori and grill,

 the unit was developed by Fukuoka-based firm Guardner, it promises less smoke and an overall cleaner experience, 

the manufacture claims that because the heat source is from the top of the unit, stopping the fat from burning, making less smoke in the process, 

skewer locks also make it easy to rotate the chicken, ensuring you get an even grill across the yakitori, other features include a splash guard that keeps your table grease-free and a serving plate that keeps the skewers warm, the unit sells for 22,000 yen, at today's rate £115.76 or $141.33, and now the bad news, from the sales page:

'This product is for use only in Japan. Please note that use overseas is not covered by the warranty or repair service'.

that's a shame it looked so good, it fact it is making me hungry just looking at it!

Blog Posted,

and I was on my way out to visit Duncan, 

into a cold grey day,

the number 54 bus was on time, and I sat upstairs in the front seat, but already the bus windows were steamed up, 

past Peter Pan's Pool,

looking towards Catford, nothing but grey sky, 

a number of officials at Catford bus garage, ticket inspectors I guess, 

round the Lewisham one way system, 

not many commuters in Blackheath station on the up line, unfortunately no through trains this morning to Gravesend, so a change of trains at Dartford, 

over Gravesend again grey skies, 

I was soon off of the number 483 bus and walking up the hill to the nursing home where Duncan lives, 

the trees looking bleak with no leaves, 

into the home, where Duncan was in good sprits, we chatted away, Diana had bought some strawberries that he likes, whilst there one of the squirrels called by, but as soon as I found my camera he had left, as Duncan's lunch arrived I left for the 483 bus stop, 

what was once the school clock frozen in time forever, 

I walked to the bus stop, 

at platform 0 I was lucky, the train going through to Blackheath, so no changing at Dartford, 

onto the number 54 bus which was packed, I only got a window seat opposite Peter Pans pool, opposite one of the buildings had a bee garden on the roof, 

more brown than green but hopefully it will improve in the next few months, 

not so this one on top of a bus shelter, 

the plants really growing well, 

at Foxgrove Lodge, the wisteria in a few months time will transform the building.

arriving home it was soon time for my sherry and read, 

followed by a huge vegetable samosa, 

for tonight a lamb and chicken curry with peas and mushroom rice, 'Cheers!',

after a BattleBots and a Deadliest Catch I decided to watch Birdsong, which is a TV mini series, a drama set before and during WWI which was quite enjoyable, about half way through Diana arrived home so it was feet up for a coffee and a chat, after Birdsong we watched one from It Ain't Half Hot Mum, before we were off to bed.

Having Spent I Guess,

a considerable amount of money on a product lines badge, 

like this, worldwide known Honda badge, I often wonder why change a well known symbol, again I suspect at considerable expense, but there it is, money to burn I guess as Honda's new badge is unveiled,

 

image from designhill, 

and here it is, not being au fait with corporate image culture I have to ask why? and then Walmart announced this:

 'Walmart is excited to announce a comprehensive brand refresh that reflects its evolution as a people-led, tech-powered omnichannel retailer.'

and this is it,

wow! I am totally underwhelmed, I wonder what the cost of this "comprehensive brand refresh" cost in terms of design and to reprint all of its signs and paperwork? and does the above really make a difference to me spending money on a Honda or going to Walmart? I guess I am missing something.

It Takes Up To 6 Months,

to complete one to these amazing panoramas, 

all images © Paul Hiles, he been producing aerial landscapes and cityscapes since the mid-1980s when he studied Fine Art at Birmingham Art School, his degree exhibition in 1986 featured an 18ft-long triptych of the industrial Black Country, the factories and coal-burning power stations near Dudley, but then set his sights on London, above Nelsons' Perspective, from the article;

'I roughly sketch out the main drawing. This can take a whole day, involving changes and rubbing out until I'm happy with the composition. I then work on the drawing for up to six months, fine-tuning it with the last stages being all the hidden details, i.e. stories, influences. classic cars, people, names or designs on buildings, lorries, vans or boats. This helps to keep the viewer interested. Once they find one hidden unexpected detail they continue to search for others'.

London 2012,

Clapham Junction, 

St. Paul's,

Notting Hill, 

above Paul Hiles with his latest (and favourite) artwork, Hampstead 2024, if you go to the article which is here, you can click on to each illustration to increase the size of it, what stunning artworks, you can view Paul Hiles' exhibition London Stories which is at Lauderdale House, Highgate, from 5 February-3 March 2025. Entry is free. Check out more of Paul's artworks on his website, amazing!