walking

Omniscient Kingfisher

March 26, 2020 by Simon Robinson Leave a Comment

26 March 2020 – 19:50 GMT – 7°C Mostly Clear – Co. Dublin, Ireland

I had wanted to acknowledge the great printer #normanackroyd on his birthday but Covid-19 meant no one was around at #eamesfineart to help me understand fair use had I used one of his prints on Instagram. I’d heard the BBC Radio 4 broadcast earlier of an Ackroyd interview by Robert Macfarlane while Ackroyd continued to work. Acid etching and heavy printing presses made for fascinating descriptions even unseen on radio.

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Mobiles and body heat

March 18, 2020 by Simon Robinson Leave a Comment

18 Mar 2020 – 23:03 GMT – 3°C Mostly Cloudy – Co. Dublin, Ireland

Here in Ireland, schools are closed. So people are out walking with their kids. I was walking on the beach earlier and I noted a few personal distancing issues. People on mobiles seem less able to maintain the social gap. Self importance still prevails. And the gap requested may not be big enough. Shampoo, deodorant and perfume wafted over me. I guess I’m already personal space sensitised. I noted proximity because today was cold and my ear lobes could still detect the body heat of people passing at more than one and a half metres.

I have had a cold the last few days. I looked at my FitBit today and was surprised to see the resting BPM tracked when I was feeling low and when I thought I was getting over it. In fact the daily BPM was rising for a few days before I noticed.

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Planning in a pandemic

March 14, 2020 by Simon Robinson Leave a Comment

14 Mar 2020 – 9:18 GMT – 7°C Mostly Cloudy – Co. Dublin, Ireland

Planning in a pandemic
You can’t. Accept it.

No travel bookings made. No accommodations booked. Can’t say the walk off. It’s not off so must plan as if it will happen.

Bought and assembled my hiking kit. Completed that task this week. Added gloves and another fleece. None of this is cheap: it’s an upfront investment in maintaining health rather than saving for later expenses for poor health. Fingers crossed for longevity.

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India and Illness

March 12, 2020 by Simon Robinson Leave a Comment

12 March 2020 – 07:11 GMT – 3°C Mostly Sunny – Co. Dublin, Ireland

I found a travel book on the beside table in a friend’s house. We were visiting Offaly where another guest had left it behind, judging from the stamped but unsent postcard bookmark. I read the first chapter and was hooked. How could you not become fascinated by the rescue of a gay leper? Or want to know more about an immortal Yogi? And my architectural hero Lutyens features in the story when in Delhi.

A great birthday card from the grandkids

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Haiku Way

March 9, 2020 by Simon Robinson Leave a Comment

9 March 2020 – 16:28 GMT – 10°C Light Rain – Co. Dublin, Ireland

the sound of the bat
flying in the thicket
is dark

A haiku I really like by Masaoka Shiki who in a short TB-curtailed life is credited with rescuing the poetry form of haiku. He urged poets to seek inspiration from the beauty of nature. He advised that we ‘encounter beautiful scenes and copy them realistically.’

In the bright room where I like to read, not just poetry, the rain is gently tapping the window glass.

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Inequality

March 8, 2020 by Simon Robinson Leave a Comment

8 Mar 2020 – noon GMT – 7°C Mostly Cloudy – Co. Longford, Ireland

Ireland had a general election recently. Moribund policies in discussion that brought about the election include housing, healthcare and pensions. The twelve-year economic recovery is not perceived as benefiting the majority of society that are working so hard to sustain it. And now an electorate desperate for change has voted into a position of strength a group that we suspected are run by an army council of shadow players.

However to focus on these issues is to miss a point. These issues may not be as important as one fundamental problem.

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