Generally agree, but the time of the flight makes a big difference.
Recently flew at 06:30 from Milan. I wanted to get there as late as possible. My family insisted otherwise.

Fond memories of being in Harare Airport listening to the aggressive announcement of anyone late for their flight.
"Mr Jones, YOU are the person who is making everyone else on your flight late! They will know you when you board!"

Revelation 10:6 There shall be time no more.
Principally because I read Tom's Midnight Garden many times as a child.

There is also the Frank Sinatra sounding Singing Sword.

Camel Up Which camel will win? Place your bets in this zany family friendly camel racing game.

Played Camel Up on 2026-04-10 boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/15... #bggplay via @boardgamegeek.com

Terraforming Mars Compete with rival CEOs to make Mars habitable and build your corporate empire.

Played Terraforming Mars on 2026-04-10 boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/16... #bggplay via @boardgamegeek.com

Fully agree. I think if you were the right age and mindset were you first watched GPB, you wanted to become John Cusack and fall in love with Minnie Driver (or vice versa). It is a great film.

Been travelling, so only just caught up with this @thecontinent.org article by @mininghistory.bsky.social on Anglo American. It's worth a read.

This plain blue copy of Hurricane Season is rather battered. I think the weathering marks work quite well in depicting the tone of the book.

#Booksof2026 17 - Hurricane Season by Fernanda Melchor (tr. Sophie Hughes).
Episodes of life following the murder of a "witch" in a Mexican village. The constant thread of misogyny and sexual violence gives a sense of the reality of life there, but does make for a challenging read.
#BookSky

The Science Fiction Masterworks cover of Limbo by Bernard Wolfe.

#Booksof2026 16 - Limbo by Bernard Wolfe.
A dystopian science fiction where young men amputate their limbs to reduce their aggression. Similar in tone to Brave New World, including a not entirely satirical unpleasant misogynistic undercurrent. Don't think it has aged well.
#BookSky

I agree with this. Currently in the middle of an Italian holiday. Whilst travelling between Rome and Milan, stopped for six hours in Florence. Did so much, it feels like an extra two days of holiday.

The paperback cover of Watling Street

#Booksof2026 15 - Watling Street by @johnhiggs.bsky.social
Much better than most travel books, especially the chapter on Northampton. And it doesn't fall into the usual Milton Keynes clichés. An interesting read.
#BookSky

#Booksof2026 14 - In Code by Sarah Flannery
Half primer into the mathematics of encryption, half autobiography of an Irish school girl.
#BookSky

The hardback cover of Dirty Kitchen by Jill Damatac

#Booksof2026 13 - Dirty Kitchen by Jill Damatac. It details her life as an undocumented child migrant in the USA. What struck me was her sense of grace and forgiveness towards her parents who were pretty horrible to her.
#BookSky

The Penguin Modern Classics cover, designed by Stefanie Posavec

#Booksof2026 - 12 The Best of Everything by Rona Jaffe
Four young women building their lives and careers in 1950s New York. Office romances, dodgy boyfriends, abortion, etc. It is pretty good, but does tail off towards the end.
#BookSky

Terraforming Mars Compete with rival CEOs to make Mars habitable and build your corporate empire.

Played Terraforming Mars on 2026-03-05 boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/16... #bggplay via @boardgamegeek.com

Very close two player game. Only one point separated us.

The Wordsworth Classics edition of The Man Who Would Be King.

#Booksof2026 11 - The Man Who Would Be King and Other Stories by Rudyard Kipling.
The intro to this edition argues that Kipling isn't quite as racist and misogynistic as he is thought to be. If these were the stories chosen to support that view, I wonder what the others are like...
#BookSky

Paperback cover of Time Shelter.

#Booksof2026 10 - Time Shelter by Georgi Gospodinov (translated by Angela Rodel). A psychiatrist runs a clinic where patients relive decades of the past, but then countries want to move back in time, and reenactments start. Satire on populism and nostalgia, but didn't quite work for me.
#BookSky

The paperback cover is a black and white photo of a rather scary looking clown holding a small poodle.

#Booksof2026 9 - Happy Go Lucky by David Sedaris.
Another collection of essays by one of my favourite writers. Unbuttoned and Pussytoes (both about his father) were two highlights.
#BookSky

A view from a hill over looking Lake Bunyonyi. You can see some of the 29 islands of the lake.

Two Crested Cranes standing on a fallen tree.

A view of Lake Bunyonyi with Mount Muhabura emerging from the clouds in the background.

Went to Lake Bunyonyi in south western Uganda. Beautiful scenery, through a combination of the Lake and the surrounding hills... and the eight hour drive from Kampala is not that bad.

Last night I met a descendant of the great late 19th century cricketer K. S. Ranjitsinhji. We were meant to talk about tri-continental economic links, but somehow we kept drifting back to #cricket.

The paperback cover of Nomads by Anthony Sattin

#Booksof2026 8 - Nomads by Anthony Sattin.
At times an interesting history of various nomadic people and tribes. But I felt the parts on the 'genetic' reasons for nomadic life were slightly pseudo science.
#BookSky

The paperback cover is very battered. This is a book that has been passed between many readers.

#Booksof2027 7 - It's Our Turn To Eat by @michelawrong.bsky.social The story of an epic corruption scandal in Kenya, and the efforts of John Githongo to blow the whistle on it.
Couldn't help feeling that this nearly 20 yr old story has many recent equivalents. Highly recommended
#BookSky

The paperback cover features an elephant standing on a red circle.

#Booksof2026 6 - A Carnival of Snackery by David Sedaris
A selection of diary entries from 2003 to 2020 by one of my favourite writers. Whilst I like trying new authors and style, it also good to read a book that in advance, you know will be great. Funny, frank and thoughtful.
#BookSky

Quacks Pull ingredients from your stock to make your pot bubble, but hopefully not explode!

Played Quacks on 2026-01-30 boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/24... #bggplay via @boardgamegeek.com

Perdido Street Station and The Last Days of New Paris are also good examples of Mieville books where the urban setting is key to the concept.

Wingspan Attract a beautiful and diverse collection of birds to your wildlife preserve.

Played Wingspan on 2026-01-30 boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/26... #bggplay via @boardgamegeek.com

MANTIS A colorfully cutthroat card game of RAINBOWS and REVENGE.

Played MANTIS on 2026-01-30 boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/35... #bggplay via @boardgamegeek.com

The 30th anniversary paperback cover of Mythago Wood

#Booksof2026 5 - Mythago Wood by Robert Holdstock
A mysterious wood, the power of myths and legends. It felt like something I would enjoy, but I couldn't get into it.
#BookSky

The Paperback cover has a large avocado (compared to the size of the squirrel).

#Booksof2026 4 - The Hotel Avocado by @bobmort.bsky.social
A sort of convoluted crime story with some pleasingly odd situations.
#BookSky