Mike Riversdale

One last UK trip over the English border to Hereford for the very first night of  Rhod Gilbert & The Giant Grapefruit tour , a tour that is still on as at time of writing. What to do in Hereford for an afternoon? The Hereford Mappa Mundi of course, dur! The Hereford Mappa Mundi (Latin: mappa mundi ) is the largest medieval map still known to exist, depicting the known world. It is a religious rather than literal depiction, featuring heaven, hell and the path to salvation. Dating from ca. AD 1300, the map is drawn in a form deriving from the T and O pattern. Since my early teens and learning of the Hereford Mappa Mundi's and having it so close to my home town I have been enamoured with it. It feels like a drop of history that, through magic, has been transported through time and preserved in amber. Or perhaps an actual wizards scroll of the First Age from The Lord Of The Rings . All this just up the road from me. Enjoy the full photo album after checking out the centaur wit

Chatting and wandering through some shops with a mate and he mentioned just how expensive quality pillows are nowadays, "$500 for a pillow Michael, $500!" Firstly, yeah, he has a quality at the uppermost of standards, I've never bought a pillow for anything like that price. Maybe I should. From then on everything we window shopped was, "That's 3 pillowsworth!", ha ha ha I'm going to be measuring everything in pillows from now on. "How much, for a suit, what, no way, that's 1½ pillowsworth!"

Welsh police station light.

The hīkoi mō te Tiriti  was the calling card, a start, a bringing people together from across the nation so that the work can now begin. Why? The Act party is already rallying it's members around the messages it wants to flood the select committee with. It is here they think they can insert their divisive messages. Act, David Seymour, and his backers (notably Atlas, but also other foreign neoliberal billionaires) are willing to play the long game, this is merely the start for them. Having said that, I suspect they've probably taken a small step back due to the sheer amount of people saying, "No, we do not accept this" culminating in today's 45,000+ show of will, but that won't mean anything in the coming weeks. Tomorrow the hard work starts. Let's not get too work-y though, first up something simple, add you voice to the  Stop the Treaty Principles Bill - TOITŪ TE TIRITI!! petition which is, as I write this, at 250,738 signatures, more than the total num

I'm never likely ever to have a Christmas up at the farm ever again. The memories are warm, long, and part of me. When I do a Christmas it's this Welsh country house setting I am endeavouring to recreate. Thanks to my Mum an' Dad, my brother, my Nan an' Grandad, my Great Uncles and actual Uncle, my cousins and their families, you all made those times so so special.

Well, folks, it's been a while since we've seen a hīkoi of this magnitude. Thousands are taking to the streets, their voices echoing down the Golden Mile, demanding change. This ain't no walk in the park – this is a protest, a call to action, a damn good old-fashioned hīkoi. People have been walking from the very top of the north island, the bottom of the south island, and even overseas , congregating in Wellington later today. Now, I'm not one to get all political, but when you see a sea of people, young and old, Māori and Pākehā, all united by a common cause, you can't help but get a bit stirred up. These folks aren't messing around. They're marching for their rights, for their future, for a fairer Aotearoa. So, what's got everyone so fired up? It's a complex issue, but at its heart, it's about Te Tiriti / the Treaty of Waitangi and how the right-wing Act party, enabled by National, are wanting to re-write the nation's founding document. T

"I don't know a roller is gonna shift the water in the ground in time lads, sorry." tbf, once the river went down the water was all gone from the paddock in about 3 days although I can imagine it was a tad soft underfoot for a while though 😁

It's a shame most people don't write, even if it's not to be read.

As the Wye was full with rushing flood water the Monnow couldn't empty and slowly filled up like a pond.

What we tiny insignificant creatures can stare into when we send out wee machines off this planet is mind boggling. Euclid “Dark Universe” Telescope Unveils Stunning 208-Gigapixel Window Into the Cosmos for instance:  The huge mosaic released by ESA’s Euclid space telescope on October 15, 2024, accounts for 1% of the wide survey that Euclid will capture over six years. The location and actual size of the mosaic on the Southern Sky is shown in yellow. This all-sky view is an overlay of ESA Gaia’s star map from its second data release in 2018 and ESA Planck’s dust map from 2014. Credit: ESA/Euclid/Euclid Consortium/NASA; ESA/Gaia/DPAC; ESA/Planck Collaboration Not only can we have our machines look for us, unencumbered by our skin thin atmosphere, they send back, across the seemingly emptiness of space, data that is both used to produce astounding images but also used by very clever people and more machines to explain to us all, "What is out there?" It's humbling, astoundi

My early life was one of absolute joy, safety, and happiness. There was quite the blip when my father left us, however even that worked out in short number of years. I left the nest via quite a wonderfully different path and, after the final formal education, have subsequently meandered through a life of connecting, explaining, and getting stuff done . At all times I have never thought about what people thought about this. It's my life and I'll do it how I want thank you very much. As I got older though I suddenly started to think, "Oh, people have thoughts, and sometimes they have thoughts about me that aren't what I have about me. Weird." I've rarely tried to find out the details though, their thoughts are theirs and none of my business. Sometimes though, just sometimes, I do have desires to know what someone is thinking about me. Curiosity, pangs of desire, maybe anger or even pain. 99.9% of the time I pull up my big boys pants and ask only to find out the

The River Wye flooding is something that most Monmouthians can remember but it certainly wasn't an annual event. For me it was maybe once, perhaps twice, in 10+ years. When it did flood though it would cause havoc hence the flood defence work done in the 1980s, with the flood gate and by clearing away the crap and opening up the two extra arches on the Wyesham side of the Wye Bridge. When you Google "Monmouth floods" you get the following, but not the most recent a month or so ago, or indeed the January 2024 floods. 2020 : Storm Dennis caused heavy rainfall in February 2020, which led to flooding in Monmouth and other areas. The river reached its highest recorded level in Monmouth.    2021 : Storm Christoph caused flooding in the Wye catchment in January 2021.    1947 : People in Monmouth would sit on their front doorsteps to watch the flood rise, and would bring milk, water, and bread in boats to people through their windows. 

On the left, the carpet. On the right, the wallpaper.

Ha ha ha, it so easy to create absolute bollocks. Using just one 5 word AI prompt, "Create a novel praising brexit".  Imagine if I had the time, was being paid, and had an agenda. The year was 2050. The United Kingdom, a beacon of renewed sovereignty, stood tall on the world stage. The Brexit years had been a period of immense change, but the transformation was undeniable.  Across the nation, once-dormant industries hummed with renewed activity. Freed from the shackles of EU regulations, British businesses thrived. The fishing industry, once decimated by quotas, flourished. British fish filled the markets, and coastal towns revitalized.  Agriculture blossomed too. No longer bound by the Common Agricultural Policy, farmers tailored their practices to local needs. Fields once fallow were now vibrant with life, and the countryside echoed with the sounds of prosperity.  The NHS, long a source of national pride, received a much-needed boost. Freed from EU directives, the governmen

There's something very peaceful, with everything in their proper place, about this scene. The room is silent, a tap is being run in the kitchen off to the right, the muffled sound of a distant car is heard, and all is well with the land.

This is the second, and last time, that my trawl across the ages through my daily photo has me in the same year that we are all actually in. Yup, tomorrow it'll be photos from 2024, and hey, we are in 2024! I suspect we'll be well into 2026 before this second around the photos truly catches us up, with a daily photo taken in the actual day it's shared, imagine that madness  Enjoy the crapcam blurry wobbly video of some fireworks celebrating the end of 2023.

If I had more disposable money I would ... and I am bloody gonna in the new year when I will actually have a little more of the $ .. fuck it, I'm doing it now ! I recommend you read the full  NZGeo has been an icon of environmental journalism for 35 years, but times are changing, and we need your help to survive  article by James Frankham (publisher), here's what grabbed me and why I have just become a subscriber to a physical magazine (these are paragraphs copy-n-pasted, not meant to be read in this order, that's what the original article is for): Over the next few weeks I will be taking the unusual step of opening our finances and forward plans so that readers can be involved in the future shape of New Zealand Geographic and the role our journalism plays in the public conversation. I hope this paints a picture of where we’re at, where we’re going, and how you can help. Before I start, however—thank you. Thank you for reading NZGeo, and for caring enough to read this emai

Still my favourite Pepper Raccoon brooch, determined to wear it every day until the new year! A blue mushroom (Werewere-kokako) designed enamel brooch from Pepper Raccoon, get yours !

I can't recall the time I was able to add a signature to an email, don't think it was back in the very early Demon days in the mid-1990s, anyways, since for my Internet use was a baby, and still, my email signature has ended the phrase: Life is too short to drink bad wine. Is it really a Winston Churchill quote, I don't think so, hang on .. [Googles] .. definitely didn't originate with Churchill, but of course he may have said it just like I am, it has a life affirming positive message. Aha, potentially this 'misattribution' attribution would be more appropriate: Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832) German poet, statesman, scientist (Misattributed) Often attributed to him, but not found in Goethe's works. The attribution, though, may come from translators' commentary on Goethe's West–Eastern Diwan, "The Book of the Cup-Bearer" (1819/1827), that refers to a poetic passage as deriving from Diez's 1811 translation of the Book of Kabus

It's 'new' in the sense of being '1450 new' 🧐 Wandering the streets of Gloucester, up Westgate and down Eastgate, through Southgate and along Northgate, was both a journey of a tourist as well as one of a student as I slowly regained my late 1980s bearings. I love old shit, we all know that, and the outside of  The New Inn  was too good not to venture in. Wow, it was like stepping back in time and you could imagine the smells, sounds, and sights of centuries of occupation, conviviality, sales, and living. It is the most complete surviving example of a medieval courtyard inn with galleries in Britain, and is a Grade I listed building. The announcement of Lady Jane Grey's succession to the English throne was made from the Inn gallery in 1553. What a stumble upon tourist find, I was a happy chappy. Nowadays the Inn is a restaurant, pub , and 36 bedroomed hotel , together with a coffee shop and two function rooms. Of course, it is supposedly haunted, be a disappoi

As I come to the end of my 2023/4 Wales trip I have a few new photo albums to add. I've also discovered some very old All Blacks training sessions at the Basin Reserve putting them into public albums. Gloucester (England, UK) Gloucester Cathedral Hereford (England, UK) Hereford Cathedral Mappa Mundi Monmouth 24 v 19 Pontypool (Jan 2024) All Blacks training (2005) All Blacks training on Basin Reserve (2001)

Whilst Gloucester Cathedral is not Hogwarts from the outside in three of the movies, it was various corridors of Hogwarts with it's insides. It's also where I received my degree, all gowned up. Man alive that was a long time ago, but still some fundamentals of my computer learning hold firm.

Two of my favourite books ever are  The Timewaster Letters by Robert Popper . Imagine my surprise and absolute delight dear reader when I heard there's a similar new book, The Elsie Drake Letters (aged 104) , from the amazing Mr Popper. Buy all three, sit back and lose yourself into a glorious eccentric Britain that never existed but absolutely does in all our minds. Definitely the funniest things you'll read this decade.

What a glorious sign on the side of an old Gloucester building 'telling' us that, "some people do say ... but we couldn't possibly comment". This building was probably erected ca1520 at a time when Hare Lane was the main road from Gloucester to the north, and before Worcester Street was built. The original use is now uncertain.  Although popularly known as the Raven Tavern, it has been established that the Raven Tavern was in fact located in Southgate Street. The present site had for long been associated with the Hoare family who emigrated to America in the 17th century, but there is no evidence to support this. Restored by public subscription in 1949, the building was opened as an Old People's Centre in 1964. I didn't know which collage to use so you can have the rest as well 😁             

Sometimes it's just fun to be silly, Spying on the bird next door having sex .

I've long said to my mates that Christmas Eve is the big pub celebration in Monmouth. Everyone goes out and has a bloody big and raucous time of it. Seeing I was staying at one of the big pubs in town for a few days I felt it would be rude of me to ignore such tradition.

My brother and family popped over to Monmouth for a few days either side of Christmas Day 2023 and, with Mum's house being tiny, I was forced, sadly, to stay in town at a local hotel/inn/pub. I struggled through it, but as you can imagine, the incessant jollity, good food, and beer was tough to ignore. I survived, just.

Do I have this correct? The "Living Next Door to Alice" was originally released in 1972 but it's the Smokie 1976 version we all know. However, the one we actually know and sing along to is a later version, "Alice, who the fuck is Alice!?", which I always thought was Roy "Chubby" Brown: Ooooooooh ... Smokie collaborated on a novelty re-recording in 1995 with comedian Roy Chubby Brown, with the song interspersed with Roy Chubby Brown saying "Who the fuck is Alice?".  So it's both Smokie AND Roy "Chubby" Brown, got it.

I don't know of any airports that have a great setup for people walking out of the customs and stepping onto home/foreign land. They all have nothing special exits with some sort of barrier to hold back the excited people wiggling from foot to foot as they wait for their loved ones, or the consignment of hidden diamonds. Once everyone has hugged it's get out of the place as soon as possible. This is not departure with all manner of retail therapy on offer. This is hug and go.

Wrapped around the railings separating Waitrose from the Doctors Surgery is a snake. It may be a part of the railings because a snake is a medical symbol, but I hope not and just want it to be a flourish for no more reason than it's fun and they had a bit of metal left over 

Men have two types of toilet they can use, inside and outside, no no I joke, it's stand-up and sit-down.  Stand-up toilets ("urinal", what a crap word) are most often prevalent in pubs and bars. Long, metallic, and somewhere to point ya cock and have a piss. Before using this type every man has to pass the Official Men's Room Etiquette Aptitude Exam . I have no problem with these sorts of toilets, apart from they are generally icky and you can end up with wet shoes. The second type of toilet is the sit-down toilet. This is the one you're most used to as you will, unless you're Adrian Chiles , have this at home. Most offices are these types, and more and more the sit-down can been seen in newer and better pubs. The sit-down has two massive advantages over the stand-up. You can have a poo using one (a "shit-down" if you will ;), and anyone can use them not just humans with wee tubes. Here's the rub, for some reason men don't seem to get that t

The thinking that went through the minds of the white paint people is quite something eh. So, a part of the road had been dug up to sort out pipes or something. Once that job is done they full in the hole and pop a little bit of tarmac on top. Then, because the hole had cut across some white road markings they painted them back on. Fair enough. Look at the rest of the markings, old and completely gone, however our four new fresh road markings are there. Job done, no more or less, but job done.

Silent night, holy night All is calm, all is bright Round yon Virgin, Mother and Child Holy Infant so tender and mild Sleep in heavenly peace Sleep in heavenly peace

The tree has been chopped down and the stump carved into a large bird of prey, very cool indeed. 

Most people can locate where they are in their body, tap your forehead / brow just where there's a dip and about 2cms inside is where you are. It's not, but that's where we think we are, it's certainly where I'd put myself like some Numskull living inside this body called Mike Riversdale. Neuroscientists believe that consciousness, sometimes referred to as qualia, is located in multiple areas of the brain, including the cerebral cortex, thalamus, and claustrum:  Cerebral cortex The surface of the brain contains sensory, motor, and association areas that are thought to be essential for consciousness. The frontal cortex is involved in detecting new things, while higher-level sensory regions provide ongoing representation. [source:  Study sheds light on where conscious experience resides in the brain ] Thalamus Located in the middle of the brain, the thalamus is thought to be related to consciousness. The interaction between the thalamus and cortical regions, called t

It's got a quiet but brooding feel about it, and I love the swoosh of the telephone wires as if they're rushing to get out of the way of whatever's coming.

This house is watching, it sees you ...