#VINYL: two excellent birthday presents, one deferred until today. Stunning #MilesDavis session and the new #TheWho album signed by Mr Townshend @yaggerdang at our brilliant local record shop @sleeve_notes_records (I turned up early this morning to bag a copy). Both recommended. I cannot believe how good the Miles Davis is, in fact, previously only available on CD on the Complete In A Silent Way Sessions - which I may have to get now… #music #jazz #rock

11:20 PM

#VINYL: two excellent birthday presents, one deferred until today. Stunning #MilesDavis session and the new #TheWho album signed by Mr Townshend @yaggerdang at our brilliant local record shop @sleeve_notes_records (I turned up early this morning to bag a copy). Both recommended. I cannot believe how good the Miles Davis is, in fact, previously only available on CD on the Complete In A Silent Way Sessions - which I may have to get now… #music #jazz #rock

2:04 PM

#TOUCHTYPING: learn you some touch-typing to make movements as efficient as possible so that dog can get some well-deserved rest #chihuahuasofinstagram

2:10 AM

#MARY: beloved by her students and my single most important influence. A brilliant writer and dazzlingly articulate. Her advice and observations have determined to a large extent how I’ve lived my adult life and given me so much to pass onto others, a classic example of the teacher who saw more in me than I ever saw in myself, and is the only person I know that can deliver a compliment so spellbinding it compels the recipient to instantly raise their standards and live up to it. Only today did we have a delightful and meandering conversation packed with childish delight and authoritative insight from her. The absolute GOAT: Greatest Of All Time. #teacher #mentor #friend

5:10 PM

#BODYGOSSIP: two legends Ruth and Natasha, campaigning on body image issues and mental health. Ruth continues the fight from @thecanvascafee1 if you’ve not been. I remain gobsmacked by the amount of plastic and cosmetic surgery all over Instagram, and the people who risk it. #activists #selfesteem

Ruth Rogers and Natasha Devon have never stopped campaigning

#BODYGOSSIP: two legends Ruth and Natasha, campaigning on body image issues and mental health. Ruth continues the fight from The Canvas Café off Brick Lane if you’ve not been. I remain gobsmacked by the amount of plastic and cosmetic surgery all over Instagram, and the people who risk it. Natasha was made an MBE for her efforts some time ago, and is to be found here.

Spectacular phenomena of nature are a rare joy to witness.

Wikipedia hosts a fine write up on the migration of the Monarch Butterfly here which explains the phenomena, but that hardly describes seeing it live.

We would have missed it completely but for a chance encounter with a gentleman while waiting to disembark the ferry from Baja California. He was, I believe, an enthusiast, and had been observing the migration for some years whenever possible. This footage is from March, when the butterflies begin their journey back towards Canada and the Northern US.

Always worth looking back on this stretch of the Thames on a morning like this. Lucky me.

4:36 PM

#KOMBUCHA: Batch #2 successful. That was easy. And it’s great. Amazing. When you give up boozing, soft drinks just don’t taste interesting enough. So the Kilner jar stood on my stereo for a week, a device which generates just enough heat for the brew. I don’t believe all the health benefit stuff, but there is strong correlation between diversity of gut bacteria and being skinny. I might have too high a diversity in that case. Anyway, #SCOBY to anyone that needs one to brew their own in TW10 or nearby… #leaftea #probiotics #fermentation #booch #kombuchabrewing

6:29 PM

#HIGHTIDE: the #Thames is still tidal at this point, a few hundred metres from #TeddingtonLock, and flooding from the non-stop rain the last week is widespread. Next picture shows the #river has breached its bank. #landscape #flooding #london #richmond