What’s a lovely random thing you observed this week while you were out and about?

this, always this

All of the offices I've worked in have just transitioned from smaller work spaces to open-plan hot desking, making it almost impossible to concentrate. One place even issued everyone with ear defenders. If you want everyone to be in the office, why make it such a difficult place to work?

I have a big ask. My 9yo son is autistic and he’s been raising a betta fish he named Kevin. Yesterday He asked if he could “share a photo of Kevin with the whole world“. I don’t know if this will work, but a dad’s gotta try. Like and share if that’s your thing. Kevin says hi! 🐟👋

Buy One, Get One FREE on selected kids/teen books! Many titles are part of the Accelerated Reader scheme, so it’s a win-win for your young readers! Don’t miss out—stock up now. Cheapest item free, dm if there are any you would like reserved! All shares much appreciated xx

Fifteen seconds of January sea.

A photograph of a deserted pub car park surrounded by bare trees on a murky day: wet asphalt, grey sky. In the centre, next to a flumpy yellow cypress tree, are a litter bin and an ornamental lamppost who appear to be sharing a joke together. The head of the lamp is bent at an angle so it appears to be looking down at the bin whose lid has broken given it the appearance of a laughing face.

In January 2021, during the third national lockdown, I pulled into this deserted pub car park to turn the van round and found a lamppost and a bin engaged in lively conversation while they thought no one was looking. Incredible.

Playing around with some branding ideas for my homemade marmalade

a disabled parking spot with a yellow wheel chair icon that says is this the only time you put yourself in my place?

Handicapped Spot
#disabilitymemes #disability #disabled

The autistic experience of being the safe space for people who are not a safe space for you.

Way overdue for those actually writing books to be named & credited.
Celebrity ‘authors’ especially in children’s literature are basically scammers.

View from the cliffs. dramatic silver sky. Plants, then grass, then trees, the sea. View across the bay to Devon hills on the other side.

Back to work / study today?

Start your to-do list with the sound of a beach on a cold spring day with birds in the hedges. 🎧

Episode 123 - A sound-view from the Jurassic coast (32 mins)
> bit.ly/LenExm

A nestled group of buildings in a dark landscape. Oil and acrylic on canvas.

Gulls spiral a large white lighthouse. Oil and acrylic on canvas.

Kingdom. A group of buildings partially protected by a corrugated fence in a flat landscape. Oil and acrylic on canvas.

The Missing Urn. A moody topiary garden. Oil and acrylic on canvas.

Happy new year, everyone. I’ve not been on here much lately so allow me to introduce myself again, I’m Lee and I like to paint abandoned, isolated buildings in familiar yet otherworldly settings.

This was the year that was not the year   This was the year that was not the year  I repaired the bathroom tap  and emptied out the kitchen drawer  of a lifetime’s worth of crap.    This was the year that was not the year in which I launched a new career.  A West End hit eluded me  and so did Time Person of the Year.    This was the year that was not the year  I became a household name.  Action figures were not sold of me.  I wasn’t made a dame.    This was the year that was not the year I spent less time on my phone.  Nights of passion did not happen  in boutique hotels in Rome.    This was the year that was the year  I didn't get that much done – much the same as the year before,  much like the one to come.  Brian Bilston

Here’s a poem called ‘This was the year that was not the year’.

Ullswater from Glencoyne Head 17mm, 1/160 sec, f/4.5, ISO 100

Chasing the light, well the little there was of it

SOUND THE KLAXON WE HAVE OUR FIRST DRUMKIT #DuvetKnowItsChristmas

Donate to Duvet Know It's Christmas, 2024, organized by Rhodri Marsden Unbelievably, it's the 14th year of this thing. What is it? Improbably, the nig… Rhodri Marsden needs your support for Duvet Know It's Christmas, 2024

6/ Incredibly, over the last few years around £200,000 has been raised for homeless charities as a result of this thing. So, this year, if you're enjoying the pix, you could fling a few quid to Centrepoint via this link: gofund.me/637d21d0

Cărturești Carusel in Bucharest. I've got serious bookshop envy!

A collage of photos of the knitted Christmas tree at Orkney Library. The whole tree is made of knitted and crocheted squares, with knitted decorations and knitted presents under the tree.

Libraries are all about recycling, sustainability and magic✨, so what could be more magical and sustainable than our beautiful knitted #Christmas tree! 🎄

A team effort, created by knitted donations from staff and customers, and we've been using it for more than 10 years! 🎄

Thirty seconds of winter sea. Worth every freezing second. #Brighton

An overturned stick is held upright in a winter forest and covered in mature rosy Splitgill mushrooms. Their gills burst out like a fireworks display

Here are some nice mushrooms

It’s the most wonderful time of the year ✨

Photo of a hazelnut on a twisted hazel tree

After seven years of willing it on, my twisted Hazel tree produced its first nut! It quickly disappeared - perhaps a mouse or a squirrel noticed it too!

Map of historic railways at Strabane, Northern Ireland, overlaid onto modern satellite imagery. Shown are the Great Northern Rly (blue) and the County Donegal Rlys Joint Committee (purple).

The redraw of Northern Ireland's historic railways is complete. Next up are counties south of the border.
www.RailMapOnline.com

It’s an annual tradition, a free to download and print for yourself Advent calendar. This year it’s an Aardvent calendar.

Sentimental Moment or Why Did the Baguette Cross the Road? Don't fill up on bread I say absent-mindedly The servings here are huge My son, whose hair may be receding a bit, says Did you really just say that to me? What he doesn't know is that when we're walking together, when we get to the curb I sometimes start to reach for his hand —Robert Hershon

This wrecks me—every single time.

Cartoon of two men talking to each other. Their speech bubbles intersect around the words Venn diagrams. The one on the left says "I love Venn diagrams", the one on the right says "Venn diagrams are rubbish".

Bare trees in woodland with light on them.... looks like mosaics between the branches

Waltz of Trunk and Bough - Matthew Klooster

Love the stained glass window effect!

An avid hiker & outdoorsman, Klooster's work typically "profiles the exquisite & complex natural beauty that surrounds us in our everyday lives"

More of this artist's stunning paintings, here: kloosterart.com #trees

To be fair she does look like a chicken.