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Suffering from piles (of old magazines)
I've been having another sort out of old boxes. No, I don't need to keep old copies of Counsel or SCL magazine. Old copies of BAA Journal I'll keep for now (a while back they took a several-year run for their back issue stocks). Old BSFA stuff can go, but I keep convention publications ( Read more... ) -
Classic Cars, Heavy Horses and a Castle
Pictures from Kenilworth Castle today, where there was a classic car meet and heavy horse farm work demonstration.
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Bridge of Spies (2015)
Bridge of Spies isn't a legal drama in the usual sense; there are a few courtroom scenes in the first part of the film, but the trial of Soviet spy Rudolf Abel (played in a quiet but captivating performance by Mark Rylance) is hardly shown. Rather, this is very much a film about Abel's lawyer, James Donovan (Tom Hanks), and his experiences both of ( Read more... ) -
Lego becoming recursive
I recently bought a copy of Great LEGO Sets - A Visual History, a very nicely produced coffee-table book of the history of lego from the early days until 2014 or so. It's chock-full of pictures of a selection of what Lego fans and designers consider to be the pick of the sets over the years, including the Space Lego LL928 Galaxy Explorer - as I ( Read more... ) -
Well, he's free for another TV series now...
The news about Gareth Thomas' death set me thinking about whether or not there ever will be a reboot of Blake's Seven. I'm not sure who would be cast now as Blake, but for Avon you want someone with a vague resemblance to Paul Darrow and, ideally, a track record of playing a well-spoken sociopathic genius.
There's no question really.
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More model-making: getting down and dirty!
A bit more than a year ago I went on an introductory course on airbrush painting for model-makers. I ended up buying an airbrush and I've been using it for various of my modelling projects since. However, I wanted to try some more advanced techniques and the same company runs a two-day course on camouflage and weathering techniques. The first part ( Read more... ) -
More old Lego - the Technical Sets
As well as the Space Lego that I found in my Mum's loft, I also recovered three Lego Technical sets that I'd coveted in my youth and been delighted to receive for various Christmases between the ages of 9 to 12. After a fair bit of sorting it turned out I had almost all the parts for them (I had to substitute the odd pair of smaller bricks for one ( Read more... ) -
Spaceship, Spaceship, SPACESHIP!!!
I've posted a bit lately about my renewed interest in Lego, but it is a renewed interest; I started playing with Lego at around about 5, and between about 8 and 14 it was pretty much all I wanted for birthday or Christmas. Not surprisingly, me being me, there were two kit ranges I was particularly into: Lego Technic (or 'Technical Lego' as it was ( Read more... ) -
Model-making try-out: colour modulation on an AFV
My main model-making interest is in aircraft, but there are a couple of AFV (armoured fighting vehicle) kits I'd like to tackle, specifically those of the ex-Soviet SA-8 mobile missile system and ZSU-23/4 mobile anti-aircraft gun, because in the late 1990s my job involved helping support the examples of each the RAF operates at the Spadeadam ( Read more... ) -
The Royal College of Physicians, and John Dee
I've discovered a fresh bit of amazing London architecture: the Royal College of Physicians building next to Regent's Park.
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