With an Access All Areas pass the opportunities to get some good photos and video footage were endless at this year’s reenergised Edinburgh’s Hogmanay party. These are… Read more “Hogmanay in Edinburgh 2018”
Author: Phyllis Stephen
#2 Today I am……
Setting up a masterclass which you can come along to. I use my phone all the time to make videos and tell stories for my site The Edinburgh… Read more “#2 Today I am……”
Rainy day in Edinburgh
I love new things. So today I tried out a new app on the iPhone called Steller. It is short for storytelling, and yes it is a… Read more “Rainy day in Edinburgh”
#1 Today I am……
Cooking a Spatchcock Chicken a la Nigel Slater. I do love Nigel’s recipes. They suit my kind of cooking perfectly: that kind of slapdash affair that occasionally… Read more “#1 Today I am……”
The power of photography
Image from The International Center of Photography website. Sebastião Salgado, Iceberg between Paulet Island and the South Shetland Islands on the Antarctic Channel. At sea level, earlier… Read more “The power of photography”
Paris in autumn
Is there ever a wrong time to go to Paris? I don’t think so. Whether you get there by road rail or air, it is probably the… Read more “Paris in autumn”
Recycling has got me tied up in knots
We live in a World Heritage site. I am reminded of that every time I go out of the front door and look up at the glorious… Read more “Recycling has got me tied up in knots”
We have a new Pippa… thank goodness….
Actually we were probably getting a bit fed up with Pippa to be honest. (Sister of the Duchess of Cambridge in case you have been living in… Read more “We have a new Pippa… thank goodness….”
Feed the Birds
The RSPB put out a call for the Great Big Garden Birdwatch last month, a very noble enterprise and one which must give them a great deal… Read more “Feed the Birds”
Escapology
In Essex last month police told the public to stay indoors till they investigated a report of a lion which was apparently on the loose in a field there. Except it wasn’t. Or at least it doesn’t seem to have been. The police were eventually stood down and there were no more sightings after that.
The Essex police said:-“Officers had spent Sunday night searching for any trace of an animal and the operation continued on the morning of Monday, August 27. However, the force ended the search at 2pm on Monday after finding no trace of any big cat.”
I visited Dublin Zoo this year, and thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience. The zoo there is flat, unlike ours here in Edinburgh which is perched on the side of a hill, making a visit seem more like an expedition. It was a much more pleasant walk in Dublin where the zoo is part of the Phoenix Park. But the other factor is that the animals have some apparent freedom. In Edinburgh there is a proliferation of cages and wire, whereas in Dublin where they have used moats, water barriers and wide spaces to obvious advantage.
It came as little surprise, to me at least, that a Scarlet Ibis had made a break for freedom from Edinburgh Zoo last month. Apparently, a squirrel had gnawed through part of the cage where she and her fellow beautiful red birds were housed, and before anyone realised, she had literally taken flight. There were several sightings over a few days, and I saw the bird myself one morning down near the River Forth. Twitter went a bit mad about the bird, and several news outlets carried the stories of the various sightings over the time she was at large.
But then the rather sad news came that the bird had been recaptured, and was now back in the zoo. Of course it could have been worse. Some predator could have caught up with Cherry, and her fate could have been a dire one.
But the perverse side of my nature wanted her to have a bit of a life outside for a while, and perhaps even have some more real life adventures.
Of course it might have been different if Cherry had been a lion…..
I’m on the phone!
Multi-tasking, or at least the idea of it, is nothing new, but mobile phones have taken it to a new level. Our smart phones can do so… Read more “I’m on the phone!”
Eating my way through February
This week seems to have centred round food and eating. I love cooking, and I love eating even more, so these are things that go together well.… Read more “Eating my way through February”
Around the British Isles in seven days
This week has been a hotch potch of cities, starting in London last Sunday, moving back to Edinburgh by way of very cheap fares on East Coast… Read more “Around the British Isles in seven days”
Old adverts
I love old adverts. They are so uncomplicated. These days it takes you most of your time to work out what is actually being advertised….. Old advert… Read more “Old adverts”
Unblogging
I have not been idle over the last few months. Just that rather than posting my own personal thoughts on random articles, I have taken a more… Read more “Unblogging”
Party political broadcast for………..the General Election 2010. Talking about the Elephant in the room
At dinner parties it is one of the subjects you should avoid. But this week, more than any other week it is the subject on everyone’s minds… Read more “Party political broadcast for………..the General Election 2010. Talking about the Elephant in the room”
Yes I have baggage!
Madonna flew into Heathrow with a couple of bags today…..The Telegraph shows her 25 pieces of luggage being hauled by a porter across Terminal 3. So there… Read more “Yes I have baggage!”
What do you know?
If you were suddenly rendered bookless, aimless and Googleless, then what information would you remember from the recesses of your mind? Of course it depends what, if… Read more “What do you know?”
Trains and boats and planes
In Scotland we have an ongoing transport problem. In some areas of the Highlands there is little or no public transport at all, since the demise of… Read more “Trains and boats and planes”
Beatrice Chalangat
Yesterday I met an amazing young woman who is really trying very hard to change the world or at least a part of it. Beatrice Chalangat is… Read more “Beatrice Chalangat”