Be Very Careful…

Posted on January 6, 2026 by Guthlac

So at the start of December I mentioned that winter’s are not what they used to be. One month later it seems winter heard what I had to say and thought:

‘ you know what see what he has to say about this!‘

Well having frozen my proverbials off over the last few days I can say that yes winter has won. Its bloody cold. (East Midland’s standards applies – I’m sure if you lived somewhere in the middle of the Grampian mountains you might beg to differ!). Just to prove I’m a puny human, winter has decided to rub things into my cold face:

Storm Goretti is due on Thursday and, to quote the Met office, “… likely to bring heavy snow…’

Winter’s just taking the piss!

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I’ll have to Play…

Posted on January 3, 2026 by Guthlac

So where were you when you heard the Americans had bombed Venezuela? It is the sort of question that has an historical sense of grandeur. An example is … where were you when President Kennedy was shot? The answer to that question for is simple. I haven’t got the first clue as I was way too young to remember such things.

My answer to the current where were you is much simple. I was warming my feet in the car after spending sometime in a field capturing photos for the NW Leicestershire project. Boy it was cold. Christmas has come and gone and so it was really good to get out and about again. The light was incredible and the biggest moon I have seen in a while. (It was a full moon. Thankfully I didn’t encounter any werewolves!) As I headed west the moon seemed to follow my progress. Almost as if the moon knew where I was going.

Perhaps that is way every time the President of the United States opens his mouth today he seems to be saying crazier and crazier things. The latest pronouncement is that Venezuela is in effect an American colony. Until further notice America will run things. I haven’t been paying too much attention but this raises so many questions. None of the answers make any sense to me. Perhaps one day the question ‘…where were you when you heard the Americans had bombed Venezuela?…’ will acquire the same sense of importance as the Kennedy question. I do hope not.

Welcome to the year 2026.

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The Day After….

Posted on January 2, 2026 by Guthlac

So it is New year’s Eve. People are going out to parties or fireworks displays – all having fun. Not grumpy old me. Instead I was watching a bit of tele and doodling on my iPad. I had fun and I hope you had a good News Eve/Day.

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Billy Bob…

Posted on December 27, 2025 by Guthlac

Taking constitutionals at Christmas.

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Christmas come and gone…

Posted on December 26, 2025 by Guthlac

I had a good Christmas … I hope you did too. Unfortunately, for too many people in this country let alone the world at large that wasn’t the case. For them I wish for a happier New Year.

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Hardware or Software ?….

Posted on December 23, 2025 by Guthlac

As the few readers who have paid any attention will know I produce a significant of ‘art’ using an iPad Pro, Apple Pencil and app Procreate. One the years I have used this combination to produce some of my better pieces (other views may vary). However, over the past couple of months I have noticed that I don’t seem able to make anything of the standard I did before. Somewhere along my journey I appeared to have jettisoned some part of what talent I might possess.

In a twisted inversion of the nature/nurture conundrum: Its not me its you. To add a new layer of complexity Apple introduced iPad OS 26.x in the middle of this existential crises (artistic hyperbole you may well think, probably correctly) which lead me to question whether it was me or the software? Still my problems with material produced using Procreate/Apple Pencil etc continued.

Then yet another possible solution came to mind: how about changing the tip on the Apple Pencil? The pencil is nearly 5 years old so it won’t hurt. Next problem where is the spare tip that comes with the pencil? Thankfully, my ever efficient wife came to the rescue and quickly found the tip. It seems to have made a significant difference and I have gained most of the control of the medium I had before. (1)

I’m still not sure it is exactly the same feel that I had before iPad OS 26.x and conspiratorial side of my personality suggests that this is Apple forcing me too replace my aging and very well used iPad Pro. That is another story.

However, at the moment I can say with no confidence that it was the hardware – not me… ish.

What will my next excuse be when I continue to produce crap (Again your mileage may vary)? The options are as limitless as talent is limiting.

Fn

(1) Out of interest I have just asked Google AI how frequently should the tip be replaced? The answer as of the time of publishing this post was:

Apple Pencil tips can last from a few months to several years, depending heavily on usage and screen protector type, with heavy users on matte/paper-like protectors needing replacements every few months, while light users on glass screens might go years, but generally, replacing every 1-2 years is a good rule of thumb, watch for jaggedness, reduced smoothness, or screen unresponsiveness to know it’s time.

So let that be a lesson for all of you.

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15:03 hrs…

Posted on December 21, 2025 by Guthlac

This morning at sunrise a number of people banged drums, danced, pranced and pretend they knew what the hell happened at Stonehenge 3000 + years ago. (Spoiler Alert: – nobody knows for certain.) Yes winter solstice is here again. Yippee??

According to the BBC the solstice actually happens at 15:03 hrs (local time). I’m sure that some people, were they ever to find this mindless nonsense would huff about the BBC as a reliable source. Well I’m British and I still believe the BBC on facts like this. You may not but I do.

I’m sure that we will get many more damp, gray days like today. The good thing is that every day after today will be getting one day longer. One more day towards warmth and sunshine you can enjoy without having a warm coat on.

Oh and BTW it is the fourth Sunday of Advent which Marks the final week before Christmas, emphasizing hope, peace, joy, and love. Well that is what the great secular god Google AI tells me. Just in case anyone has forgotten: Christmas is a religious festival. Just thought I would mention it.

Does anyone bang drums and prance around the data centres where Google AI is said to inhabit?

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Good News Everyone…

Posted on December 20, 2025 by Guthlac

It looks like I am going to survive! Another scrap with an uncertain future. I fight to live another day or something like that. (1)

Fn

(1). AI is completely nonsensical. I asked co pilot to rewrite ‘I fight to live another day’ and this is what it came up with:

The phrase “I fight to live another day or something like that” expresses a sense of perseverance or determination to keep going despite challenges. It suggests that the speaker is striving to overcome obstacles, with the hope or intention of surviving and facing whatever comes next. The casual ending “or something like that” implies a degree of uncertainty or informality, as if the speaker is not entirely sure of their purpose but knows they want to keep moving forward.

So there you have it. An A.I. appraisal of the utterings on this page. I’ll let you contemplate any meaning it might have.

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Cold Stopped Play….

Posted on December 19, 2025 by Guthlac

Just what anyone needs…with Christmas less than a week away. I’ve got a cold. My wife is giving me knowing looks but she just doesn’t understand. We men really do need to mope around bemoaning our lot. It is in the DNA. I’m sure I read that somewhere on the internet. So it must be true.

All I’m fit for is some light sketching. I even missed the works Christmas outing yesterday (private joke). So I must be at death’s door.

I think the best thing do is to get a cup of coffee and a mince pie – for medicinal purpose you understand.

How will I survive?

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What we leave behind…

Posted on December 15, 2025 by Guthlac

We are the first generation that may well be known far better than almost all of the people that walked on this planet before us. Yes we have some idea as to what Henry 8th did. We also have some idea what he might have looked like. But when you gather every little bit of primary source data about the man it is likely to amount to a hill of beans compared to accumulated nonsense we posted about our lives. (Irony accepted).

Of course it is a very reasonable observation that there is an open question whether any of our cloud lives will survive anything as long as the end of the century let alone 500 years. If it does what story will it tell to the people of the future. How will they judge these years of increasing uncertainty as all around us the environment changes in ways that are a lot less sympathetic to leading what we would now consider to be a comfortable life.

We will never know.

So should anyone actually read this 500 years in the future – well Hi. Please don’t judge us too harshly for the sins we have committed. If, however, you are as judgmental as we are then I guess we will get everything we deserve.

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