On the Loss of Cousins

Charles Evans, Charles Geraint Payne and Henry Marten

I grew up without any first cousins, my aunts and uncles did not have children though later on I had step-cousins. Recently I have fallen headlong into researching my ancestry which has revealed many relatives, some of them quite famous, some from long ago being actual kings and queens within what must be an enormous margin of error. It is obvious that everybody is related to everybody else; the thing is to prove that link with double and triple checks on sources.

All of this is not the point of this post. The most sobering thing about the recent past is how many of my various nth cousins n-times removed were killed in the First World War. The tree stops short so many times with various reports of death or missing in action. The most poignant of these is that of Charles Geraint Christopher Payne who was killed in action at Neuve-Chapelle, France on trhe 12th March 1915.

This is not the end of his story though. 

On Why We Don't Blog Anymore

Respect What We Have Lost

Literally because there is too much else to do which can fulfill a need for a second or two of complex interest before passing. I have to leave all devices in another room simply to be able to read a book. My fortnightly reading of Private Eye (Other satirical magazines are NOT available) is punctuated by quick dives into the Internet to check a name or fact. On top of this I think that my mind has become rewired (like a Taxi Driver's) to work better with short, complex images and phrases to the extent that longer prose does not quite sink in as it used to to.

This is of course a bad thing and we have to do something about it. My first action should be to delete my Facebook account. I have been considering this for sometime now and the recent revelations regarding the obviously immoral harvesting of data have just made this more likely. I don't see this bringing down Facebook (whatever Agent Q

Which One Have I lost?

Down on the Street

Space Gallery - Liverpool Museum

Threads

St. John's Beacon

The disk at the top of the tower used to revolve until the bearings seized up. I'm not sure how structurally sound that makes it now.

Bridge Torrent

The Battle of the River Plate

I'm sorry to have to tell you that you are suffering from an Oxbow Lake.

Substation

Pavement Dinosaur

Reflection and Hand Prints

Bolt on Promenade

Malteser Cross

Up Town Down

Bridge of Sighs - Liverpool Version

Toyish Kipple

Costa Pipes

The Old One Two

Falling Star

Vanishing Point

That's What You Call Them You Know - Dingies

There are Actually Only Two of Them

Looks very impressive doesn't it? I'd love a Dinky version.

Nearly Ten Years Ago Now

Dave! Dave - I can't let you do that Dave. If you continue you will be exterminated. Is that OK Dave?

Flotsam or Jetsam?

Something for this blog while doing something for that blog.

Diggers - at a Price

I took this while standing too close to the security lodge at Switch Island Retail Park. The guard was nice enough about it and seemed satisfied that I wasn't up to anything. I did offer to give him the URL of the Blog but he was happy enough.

Coniston Detritus

Mutatis Mutandis