Author Archives: Duncan Toms
North by Northwest – Alfred Hitchcock
No. 37 in the IMDB top 50 is North by Northwest directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Made at the end of the 1950s this is a fairly light adventure story of mistaken identity, cold war criminals and FBI agents. It’s mostly … Continue reading
Posted in Film
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Brooks Was Here – Brooks’ Story from Shawshank Redemption
Yesterday we watched The Shawshank Redemption, a film I hadn’t seen in a long while. I cried twice. Particularly moving is the story of Brooks the librarian who went to prison in the early 1900s and on his parole in … Continue reading
Posted in Film
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Winchester Architecture – St Thomas Street / Southgate Street / St Cross Road
This area is to the south west of the city centre. St Thomas St is a fine street running from the High St to St Swithuns, with a variety of houses mainly C18. Southgate St runs parallel and is much … Continue reading
Posted in Architecture, Hampshire, Photos, Travel
Tagged southgate, st cross road, st thomas street, thomas st, well house
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Light on Life by BKS Iyengar – Chapter 3: Vitality – The Energy Body (Part 2)
Selected extracts and quotations I’ve chosen from the third chapter (Part 2): The destructive nature of hatred is everywhere evidenced in intolerance, violence and war. But it also exists in our own lives when we wish others ill or … Continue reading
Citizen Kane – Orson Welles
Continuing through those films in the IMDB Top 50 I haven’t seen, number 38 is Citizen Kane. I knew very little about this film but had read in various places that it is the ‘best film ever made’. Maybe these … Continue reading
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Fizzy Tat
Oh no I’ve filled my head with shit. Diverting fizzy tat that as I lie in bed waiting for sleep, comes back around with a slap. And then I’m asleep and my brain is undoing. Not enough time in a … Continue reading
Scrap Book: Christmas Jam
Here we are, Mum, Peter and I at Christmas, maybe 1980. I don’t remember this in the slightest, nor our family being musical. Peter’s got his Arsenal scarf, I’m in jazz black and still with chicken pox scars. I probably … Continue reading
Posted in Photos, Scrap Book
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Meanwhile, in Athens…
You don’t expect to see so many hungry people in a major European city. They line up each day looking for a handout in the soup kitchens and bread lines run by the municipality. But the 40 workers under contract … Continue reading
Posted in Current Affairs, Economics
Tagged austerity measures, debt, economic collapse, greek crisis
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Healthiest and unhealthiest countries in which to live, 2012
Healthiest and unhealthiest places to live: Top 10 EPI 1 76.69 Switzerland 2 70.37 Latvia 3 69.92 Norway 4 69.2 Luxembourg 5 69.03 Costa Rica 6 69 France 7 68.92 Austria 8 68.9 Italy 9 68.82 United Kingdom 9 68.82 … Continue reading
I was kicking some water down the road when I realised it’s not this or that, it’s both
Posted in Wake Up Call
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Brockwood Park School Pavilions Project Update January 2012
Brockwood Park School Pavilions Project, a set on Flickr. Due for completion in July this year, work on the pavilions is really moving forward, with most of the major construction work completed. Currently the verandahs and walkways are being built … Continue reading
Posted in Architecture, Brockwood, Hampshire
Tagged balcony, beams, boading school, brockwood park school, oak frame, pavilions, skylight
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Winchester Architecture – Kingsgate and Canon Street
Continuing my tour of the Listed Buildings of Winchester, today I covered Kingsgate Rd/St and Canon St. This area is to the south of the city centre, outside of the old walls. From the medieval gate, Kingsgate Street runs directly … Continue reading
Posted in Architecture, History, Travel
Tagged architecture, C17, C18, georgian, georgian road, kingsgate, medieval gate, winchester
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Winchester Architecture – Wales Street / St Johns / Chesil Street Areas (The Soke)
Ther is a suburbe at the est gate of sum caullid the Soken: and is the biggest of al the suburbes longging to the cyte of Winchester. Minns says:- The Soke, so called from the Saxon soc, which signifies a … Continue reading
Posted in Architecture, Travel
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Winchester Architecture – Broadway / Eastgate St / Colebrook Area
An architectural tour of the Listed Buildings in the Broadway, Eastgate and Colebrook areas of Winchester, in the east of the city. These buildings include The Guildhall, St Johns Chapel, mills, old hospitals, shops and houses, and are mostly from … Continue reading
Posted in Architecture, Photos, Travel
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Climate Change Deniers ‘Orchestrate intentional and malicious campaign’
He is one of the most vilified men in the highly vilified field of climate science, yet Professor Michael Mann is surprisingly jolly. Despite being the focus of a brutal campaign orchestrated by the fossil-fuel industry and senior politicians within … Continue reading
Light on Life by BKS Iyengar – Chapter 3: Vitality – The Energy Body
Selected extracts from the third chapter (Part 1) Prana is the energy permeating the universe at all levels. It is physical, mental, intellectual, sexual, spiritual, and cosmic energy. … Prana is special because it carries awareness. It is the vehicle … Continue reading
Buddhism Now and Zen by Felicia Lamport
Illustration by Edward Gorey
