The origami flapping bird is a classic model, probably The Classic Model, and provides plenty of technical challenges for a beginner with a great payoff. Quick to make, fun to demonstrate, and a very familiar model to most people. But it is not the ONLY flapping bird in existence.

12:49 PM

#THANKSLEICA: nice to see such an illustrious company doing its bit for women in these difficult times #Leica #accessorize #womenempowerment

8:40 AM

#BOXES: been folding a lot of #origami models recently and reading a lot of #TomokoFuse books. Stopped by #japancentrelondon en route back from VanMoof for this sweet paper to make boxes and lids from. Simple but precise and a complete and utter PITA to put together at the end: highly satisfying.

4:42 PM

#VANMOOF: @vanmoof #London are brilliant, excellent customer service. When the bike went pop they were able to get an Addison Lee van sent out to collect it during #COVID-19, and then rang some days later to simply say they would replace the bike instead of having to wait for a long while to obtain parts. Amazing. Spent my day getting over to the store and collecting the replacement, rode it back to the car in Pimlico, performed great. But arrive at home in Richmond, and the replacement is borked. “16 err” it blinks, even after two resets, and goes nowhere. Massively, massively deflated after everyone’s efforts in getting bike back to the store, swapping over all my accessories, etc. The customer service is great. But they can’t help the reliability. #sigh #ebike #vanmoofx2

10:23 PM

#TIGER: first trip out since before #lockdown to @woburn_safari and delighted to see this marvellous resident. Have been feeling a bit fried this week but all is restored and back on track thanks to some nature and family time. #wildlife #nature #leicaq2 #leicapowered

1:28 AM

#BLM: this is my little music/African-American culture bookshelf. You may borrow these, I recommend #IcebergSlim and #HueyNewton to begin with. The sudden explosion in the #blmmovement is amazing and emotional, certainly for me, having grown up in a viciously racist England and watched many things change, yet stay the same. It’s easier to be brown than black, although I wouldn’t put a number on it, and the idea than anyone should feel pity or sorry for those affected by racism is a waste of time. I don’t have any kind of sense of inferiority or self-pity whatsoever. And those who know me will laugh, too. Direct the emotions at racism itself, using this handy list to identify it. 1) Traditional biological racism - in which I’m just clearly inferior. 2) Ethnocentrism - in which I am a threat to the in-group’s culture and habits. 3) Symbolic Racism - a modern form of anti-black feeling, attitudes and behaviours, in which I no longer face discrimination, my failure to progress is my own fault, and I’ve gotten more than I deserve. 4) Aversive - in which they will not engage with me and simply turn away. 5) Dominative - in which I am pushed away or dealt with violently. Collect the whole set! #fightthepower #kleinpenning #hagendoorn #socialpsychology #maybe2020wontbesobad

10:28 AM

#REPAIR: finally, I’ve found the spare parts I need to repair my original #ContaxG2 that I’ve had for twenty years. And then the backup body - which is much nicer, but has no sentimental value, will be up for sale… #contax #g2 #rangefinder

7:25 PM

#FATHERSDAY: which is everyday in lockdown. Larking about, feeding the ducks, practicing frisbee and accelerating in age, holy cow. Still, a pretty good trade-off. Happy solstice and happy half-birthday to me, 46.5 years complete, may have to start acting my age soon #🍀

3:28 PM

#DRAGON: that cloud is definitely hiding something.

3:22 PM

#VISIONSOFTHEFUTURE: I loved these posters from @nasajpl the second I saw them, so I’ve finally printed them now that I’ve got my massive printer back! The Grand Tour is the route taken by Voyager 2 - repeatable when the outer planets are lined up on their huge orbits, every 175 years or so. #gravityassist #nasa #jpl