They are stalwart lads. At least I think they are lads, they never take their helmets off.

Sailors marching to the church.

OTD in 1912, five days after the Titanic disaster, a memorial service for those who lost their lives was held in St Mary’s Church. The church was completely packed. Sailors marched from the docks in order to attend. Southampton, a town in mourning, came to a complete standstill for the service.

The stalwarts of Gnomeland Security are the first to appear in the fairy garden, ensuring it is safe for the fairies to appear. They say it isn't. They were right, moments after this the hail came down. 🌱

Brief spell of sunshine this morning after days of rain, but these daffodils look only somewhat beaten down. Mind you, we had hail in the afternoon. 🌱 #FlowerReport

Quite the impressive siege-camp in that first pic!

Henry VIII is one of the strongest arguments for a republic in history.

More Phoenician.

Titanic at Southampton embarking upon her maiden voyage.

On this day 114 years ago, at noon on 10 April 1912, Titanic began her maiden voyage from her home port of Southampton to New York.

1/12

I was in the Nubia Gallery at the ROM yesterday, and noticed this 4th century CE box from the ROM excavations at Gebel Adda in Nubia (near the first cataract in Egypt). What interested me were the "sphinxes" with *wings* as wings are not in the Egyptian tradition, but in the West Asian tradition. 🏺

Magnified view of a shell-tempered St. Neot's Type Ware

Magnified view of a fine-grained Thetford Type Ware

Magnified examination of the Anglo-Saxon & Medieval North Elmham pottery at the ROM yesterday. I had a magnifying lens on my head, as well, so the magnification was greater than what you see here! I was not working with fresh breaks, but you could see the fabric in some cases.

#medievalsky 🏺

Viola.

It seems this viola seedling is eager to take it's place in the garden! 🌱 #FlowerReport

They were!

Carrots cut in half lengthwise.

We are having carrots for Easter Sunday dinner. Other stuff, as well, but I'm responsible for getting the carrots ready!

Irises

Easter Sunday Irises in the front garden on the sunny side of the house.

Okay, not exactly sunny today, but I did go out at least long enough to take this photo! 🌱 #FlowerReport

The "Tomb of the Righteous One" in Nazareth

Happy Easter to all those that observe it! And a lovely Spring day off to those that don't!

This is the "Tomb of the Righteous One" in Nazareth, the nuns that found it say it is the tomb of St. Joseph. My photo of 2008.

Story characters created in Hero Forge.

I recently finished a short series of stories for Medium and used Hero Forge to create the header image. It really does make cute images!

@heroforgeminis.bsky.social

Medieval pottery.

I was at the ROM this week working on pottery from excavations at North Elmham in Norfolk. Here are some very nice 13th-14th century Grimston Ware handles!

#medievalsky 🏺

"Le rappel des glaneuses" (Calling in the Gleaners), 1859, by Jules Breton. The image is set in Courrières, Breton's native village in Artois, France. Oil on canvas painting currently housed in the Musée d'Orsay, Paris.

As someone that studies the past I know better than to think artists depict reality. However, I suspect the strong women of the past depicted in "Calling in the Gleaners" (1859) by Jules Breton would take any incel going on about "trad wives" or "women being women" and slap some sense into them.

A photo of a page published by The Sunday Times Style. The page features an interview with Monty Don. Here is the text: UNZIPPED! Monty Don The horticulturist, 70, on navy jumpers, his mullet era and weeding the carrots in suits What was the first item of clothing you bought? I remember very clearly a pair of crushed-velvet, bottle-green loons when I was 14 or 15. I bought them in a men’s clothing outlet in Bournemouth, where we were on holiday, such was the glamour of my life. This would have been in the early Seventies and I thought they were fantastic. At that time, tie-dye, three-button T-shirts and loons were the look and absolutely what I wanted to wear. What item of clothing do you have too many of? I probably have 30 very similar navy jumpers. If I like something I buy it in every iteration possible. I have Guernseys, Slazengers and there’s a company called Shackleton that does jumpers based on the ones Shackleton wore on his expeditions. I will happily put on three jerseys when I get up in the morning — a thin cotton one, followed by a cashmere one and a thicker one on top — because this is not London. I have lived in the same old house in Herefordshire for 36 years. What do you never wear but can’t throw away? I’ve always loved good cut and fabrics, so I won’t throw away a beautiful jacket or well-cut shirt. I have Comme des Garçons and Yohji Yamamoto clothes from the Eighties that I haven’t worn for 30 years. Would I wear them now? The brutal truth is that, at 70, I’m not quite the same shape as when I was 20. I have to suck in my tummy and hold my breath. Tell us a secret from your style past I had a Damascean moment when I was 19. Up until then I wore pretty much what my peer group wore, but I remember seeing photographs in a book of farm and country workers from the late-19th/early-20th century and I loved the clothes they were wearing. I bought a pair of heavy, high-waisted corduroy trousers — bear in mind this was 1974–75, when everything w…

Someone at Nook Shop in Stoke Newington, North East London sent me this photo of a recently published interview with Monty Don, whose style I admire. I found the interview charming, so I thought I'd share it here. To me, Monty Don is a great example of developing personal style.

Titanic at Southampton.

Titanic at Southampton on 4 April 1912, six days before her maiden voyage. This photograph was taken on this day 114 years ago. She had arrived from Belfast in the early hours of the morning and is dressed with signal flags to celebrate the first visit to her home port.

It was a lovely day yesterday, and I finally managed to clear up the fallen leaves from the Autumn! The early snow rather hampered my usual routine! Today it is raining, so I am posting this nice photo of snowdrops in the fairy garden on the north side of the house. 🌱 #FlowerReport

I love old paintings of the Countryside, before it was filled with massive lorries plummeting along the narrow lanes with a death-wish.

This is, of course, "The Hay Wain" (1821) by John Constable, depicting the Stour between Suffolk and Essex. My parents had a print and said it was the New Forest!

I watch Monty Don on Gardener's World through Britbox and am often wondering "where does he get his clothes?"

It's doing it again.

A Czech Man Used This Stone in His Barn's Foundations. It Turned Out to Be a Rare Bronze Age Spearhead Mold The rectangular object dates to around 1350 B.C.E. and was likely created by members of the Central European Urnfield culture

What a remarkable story and find !!

www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/a...

Denmark’s Floating Islands: Turning Urban Harbors into Havens for Bees and Birds - All Things Nordic In Denmark, an innovative ecological idea is reshaping the relationship between cities and nature: floating islands covered with wildflowers are being installed in urban harbors to create habitats for...

Best idea from Denmark since Lego!
all-things-nordic.com/2026/03/05/d...

The old folks did some fine horse coins.

There is still snow and ice on the ground, but this south-facing slope on the sunny side of the house is ready for Spring!

🌱 #FlowerReport

I especially like the half-crown and the shilling.

One thing all the case studies showed was how *used* the air is in crowded places. It is not that I am "more afraid" as this article suggests, I am better informed about how much of other peoples exhalant is in the average bar, restaurant, or subway car.