Friends of the Armchair Traveller

 Early in 2023 I received an email from my friend Richard Leigh describing a project he had set for himself for the new year: Hi Peter, Looking forward to coming up on Saturday. At the start of the year I started a little 2023 side-hobby which I think might be of interest. Maybe you can save your response till Saturday and let me know in person… anyway just another thing to be on the list of things to discuss! Back in January, I became acutely aware that my  musical  exploration over recent years has been extremely diminished, and it was time to ‘go exploring again’. After all… music is a chance to CONNECT with people … as you know, Michaela has taught herself Russian and introduced me to this fascinating world of eastern European tunes from historic to modern music encodes MEMORIES and links to past experiences that seem to be unlocked by listening like nothing else music encapsulates CULTURE like no other and given my lack of physical travel for a very long time,...

  The Astonishing Drumming Bird                          Introduced to me by my friend Graeme Bertrand. Well, I thought I knew almost everything about birds, but recently I've found at that there are just so many gaps in my knowledge. The other day Graeme brought me a piece of paper with facts about a bird which drums to attract its mate to the nest he has built for her...  to see if she might be interested enough to stay with him to raise a family! You may already have seen clips about this wonderful species of cockatoo, the "Palm Cockatoo" , but for me this was news. I'm always keen to know more about birds which use special "routines" to attract their mates, especially Bower Birds, but I did not know about this species. Not only does the bird "learn" to drum from his elders, but he must also learn to craft his own "drumstick". This learning is not a speedy process, it takes time... just like those young crows...

HAPPY  NEW YEAR.                                             By Jan Fran (posted on Instagram). For almost three months there has been a feeling in the pit of my stomach. It’s there when I sleep, it’s there when I wake up. It’s there when I go to work, it’s there when I’m waiting in line at the supermarket checkout. It’s there when I smile, it’s there when I don’t. It’s there all the time. It’s as though my guts are inside a food processor that began slowly churning one day and still hasn’t stopped. Some days it churns harder and faster than others. Some days it’s subdued but if I stop what I am doing I can feel it. I’m not quite sure what the feeling is exactly.  Maybe it’s shock at the scale of the horror, the indiscriminate killing.  Maybe it’s disgust at the impotency and hypocrisy of our leaders. Maybe it’s revulsion at the cheerleaders and apologists or bewi...

Yesterday my sister Chris sent me this link: Hi Pete, This is the young woman, Bisan, I was telling you of: https://youtu.be/6xRi1fXXTd8? si=Sh877IrBZ9QV8Eq5 Such a brave young woman! She speaks for many of us! Thanks for sending this Chris, pt

 Some time ago I posted some beautiful micro photography by  Angel Fitor. Today I'm posting some similar exquisite imagery by Steven Kovacs courtesy:    SCIENCE  |  DECEMBER 15, 2023 8:00 A.M. These Ten Brilliant Portraits Illuminate Ocean Creatures’ Nighttime Antics Blackwater photographer Steven Kovacs takes spectacular shots of marine animals, helping scientists study tiny larval fish. Here's a link to the entire article: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/these-ten-breathtaking-portraits-capture-ocean-creatures-at-night-180983418

Sarsaparilla,             Raspberry Vinegar,                            Creamy Soda,                                             Heritage Cola,                                                      Brewed Ginger My friend Tom Cowan is an intrepid traveller, not because he wants to be but because his wife Lesley likes to tra...

  Jacques Henri Lartigue Following the 20 images I posted in Higgledy Piggledy the other day, I've decided to add some more of Lartigue's lovely images of his "muses". I've tried to avoid all his wonderful action shots which are so well known, and just go for the portraits of his favourite women as subjects. I presented this shot of Florette as No. 2 Some people thought this portrait of Florette was a shot by our friend Vicky Mousoulis, and I perfectly understand why they thought so.  Vicky was astonished that to learn that some people had thought of her in the same breath as Lartigue, but I think Vicky richly deserves that accolade. Anyhow, these are for today: Florette Ormea Florette Ormea Renée Perle   Renée Perle Florette Ormea ?    I think it's her but I can't be sure.   I copied this  from a site which gave no background details.  I notice that there are  no "beauty spots" on either  side of her nose, which  you can  se...