Simon Varwell

@simonvarwell

Loves trains, the outdoors, travel, Esperanto, ambient and post-rock music, dystofic, good food and scrontous beer. Hates car-centric societies, late stage capitalism and courgette. He/him. Inverness | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 | 🇪🇺 Work: @hisasimon.bsky.social

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Simon Varwell@simonvarwell· 21d

Summer of sport.

A rather lonely basketball hoop and stand, in a forlorn looking park. There are trees and some somewhat 1980s looking houses in the background. It’s all in black and white.

Simon Varwell@simonvarwell· 21d

A very rare midweek night out. Town is hoaching with tourists, in a good way.

A couple of pizzas and drinks on a wooden table. Well, the pizzas are on plates. Which are on the table.

An ice cream, with a blur of a street in the background.

A riverside scene, lush with trees on either bank. There are grand looking churches on either side and distant hills. The sky above (well obviously - it wouldn’t be the sky below) is cloudy and blue-grey.

Simon Varwell@simonvarwell· 24d

A lovely bike ride today. I don’t think the sheep were interested to see me though.

Me, a white man, with sunglasses and cycle helmet and shirt, holding the camera and taking a selfie. Behind me, past a fence, is a field with sheep in it and trees in the distance.

Simon Varwell@simonvarwell· 28d

Well I watched Memento and it’s still sealed.

A close up of a sealed food packet. One of the bits of text says “Pierce film to open”.

Simon Varwell@simonvarwell· Jul 12

Dinner is out of the oven.

The same as above, but out of the oven and all stirred together. It’s now a dish of roasted gnocchi and veg all bound together with gooey melted cheese.

A blue pasta dish filled with said grub.

Simon Varwell@simonvarwell· Jul 12

Dinner is in the oven.

An oven dish in an oven, containing, on the right side, a bundle of chopped veg with some oregano sprinkles on, and on the left some gnocchi and a solid block of feta and a drizzle of honey on top.

Simon Varwell@simonvarwell· Jul 11

There was so much thunder and lightning last night. Stood by the back door trying to photograph it. This was a flash, I think. No filter. Never experienced a storm like it I don’t think.

A purple sky over a silhouetted treeline.

Simon Varwell@simonvarwell· Jul 10

⛈️⚡️in Inverness, but it’s too overcast and bright to show you anything dramatic.

A grey, cloudy sky. There are shades of grey, cloudy outlines and not much else. It’s like a painting of Aberdeen.

Simon Varwell@simonvarwell· Jul 10

It’s been a hugely busy week. Friday night is a very welcome addition to the current chronological state of play. Je via sano. 🍺 🥃 💤

A can of Dog Falls’ Quercus 24 (a Belgian dark ale) next to a Black Isle Brewery branded stem glass contain the aforementioned beer. Next to them is a Tomatin distillery branded whisky glass which has a rather generous measure in it.

Simon Varwell@simonvarwell· Jul 4

Walked into town for chores in the very humid warmth. Somewhat regretted it so got the bus back. But not before picking up some beer - two favs from the Dog Falls stand at the farmers’ market and three I’ve never heard of from Woodwinters. Looking forward to a hydration break later.

Five tons of beer all with various hipsterish designs. They’re all stouts or dark beers of varying degrees. I’ll Untappd them all in due courses as I get stuck into them I’m sure.

Simon Varwell@simonvarwell· Jul 4

Not a hugely sunny day, but warm and calm enough that there were heaps of bees doing their thing in the garden this afternoon. See if you can count how many.

Simon Varwell@simonvarwell· Jul 4

An indulgent Saturday lunch: vegan bacon and (non-vegan) egg roll, with cheddar, cucumber and American mustard. And Irn Bru of course.

A brown roll (with contents as per skeet text) on a blue plate. A glass of rusty orange liquid is just behind it, slightly out of focus. A toaster and kettle are just visible in the background.

Simon Varwell@simonvarwell· Jul 2

A bit late, no? Ah, hang on…

A headline of a news article that says “World Cup prep' potentially' starts now for Scotland”, with a picture of a smiling sportsman. In small letters below are the words “Scottish Rugby”.

Simon Varwell@simonvarwell· Jun 29

I hardly ever eat fish, but it was jumbo fish finger paninos for dinner.

A panini with fishfingers, lettuce and mayo.

Simon Varwell@simonvarwell· Jun 29

Day off. Chores in town. Hoaching with tourists.

A square photo of a riverside taken from the top of an incline. The river is very much obscured by thick, lush trees. Between them is visible a bit of the river, a couple of bridges, a church spire and some distant hills. The sky is light blue and a little cloudy.

Simon Varwell@simonvarwell· Jun 28

A peek inside Edderton Old Church in Easter Ross this afternoon. An atmospheric place.

A black and white photo of a church interior. It’s taken from the front, with open pages of a Gaelic Bible in the foreground and rows of pews beyond.

The exterior of an old church and graveyard.

Simon Varwell@simonvarwell· Jun 27

Quite chuffed with dinner this evening. A tofu and boiled egg salad. Not in shot: a dressing of soy sauce, lime juice, ground ginger and honey.

A blue bowl with lettuce, cucumber, tomato, carrot, baked tofu and halved boiled eggs, with a scattering of toasted pine nuts and sunflower seeds.

Simon Varwell@simonvarwell· Jun 27

A trip to Nairn today. Warm but breezy on the beach.

A wee tub of ice cream, with a wafer in that’s got “James’s cafe” printed on it.

A beach scene. A wall breaks past the beach into the sea. There’s a short tower at the end. The sky is blue-grey and cloudy.

A beach scene. The sand is littered with seaweed. The sky is thick with clouds and light pushes through in various points.

Graffiti on a wall. It says “SWEDGE” in purple font with yellow shading.

Simon Varwell@simonvarwell· Jun 20

The neighbourhood cat has come to say hi.

A silvery grey cat sitting on the lap of a white male (me) who is wearing a green t-shirt (with an Esperanto star on it). In the background, out of focus, is a fence and a not very cloudy blue sky. The cat has an expression of disinterest.

Simon Varwell@simonvarwell· Jun 18

Nice to see the model railway back in the Victorian Market. An impromptu visit and I really enjoyed this zero alcohol Chouffe.

The interior of a food court, looking up to a wall decorated with flags and a mural of Scottish countryside. There’s a small model railway running along a shelf above.

A bottle and glass of nonalcoholic Chouffe beer.

Simon Varwell@simonvarwell· Jun 14

If any #Scotland fans fancy singing Yes Sir I Can Boogie in #Esperanto, it’s your lucky day. Here’s my suggested translation. Enjoy. Se iuj ajn amantoj de Skotlando emas kanti Yes Sir I Can Boogie en Esperanto, ĝi estas via bonŝanca tago. Jen mia sugestita traduko. Ĝuu.

Sinjor'
La okuloj plenhezitas
Mi scivolas
Se planon havas vi

Ho karul'. Mia reputaci' gravas
Mi impresas
Kaj vi tuje petos plu

Ho! Sinjor', mi bugios
Se mi audos kanton ĉi
Mi bugios tra la nokto apud vi

Sinjor', mi bugios
Se vi restos, pravos vi
Mi bugios tra la nokto apud vi

Sinjor'
Mi ne estas babilema
Аŭ pasema
Do dancon faru ni

Sinjor', mi jam diris unuverse
Kaj refrene
Sed mi donos sancon plu

Ho! Sinjor', mi bugios
Se mi ařdos kanton îi
Mi bugios tra la nokto apud vi

Sinjor', mi bugios
Se vi restos, pravos vi
Mi bugios tra la nokto apud vi

Simon Varwell@simonvarwell· Jun 14

Feeling lazy despite the sunshine. So it’s beer and Taskmaster.

A bottle of McEwan’s Champion next to an Islay Ales mug.

Simon Varwell@simonvarwell· Jun 14

There’s one for posterity.

A screenshot of Scotland’s World Cup group table. It shows Scotland on 3 points, Morocco and Brazil on 1, and Haiti on 0.

Simon Varwell@simonvarwell· Jun 8

And I found some electrifying graffiti this evening too.

A photo of some street art on a wall. The background is sky blue (not to be confused with Bluesky) and there are various coloured lines, with gaps between some of them wherein have been painted electricity symbols, as if the lines are wires.

Simon Varwell@simonvarwell· Jun 8

So glad we’re in a season of good weather. Out for a long walk tonight and the breeze is fresh and the sky is bright. Also I went for a bike ride into the woods yesterday (can’t believe I failed to skeet this at the time - I’m a disgrace to middle age men). Anyway, roll on the summer.

Me - a white man, slightly unshaven - in a cycle helmet, sunglasses and cycle shirt. The backdrop is a field of sheep and some trees.

A blue sky (not this Bluesky) with patches of blue-grey cloud. The sun is shining from behind one of the bigger ones.

Simon Varwell@simonvarwell· Jun 6

Might give up Wordle now.

A screenshot of a badge telling me I’ve achieved a 100-day streak in Wordle.

Simon Varwell@simonvarwell· Jun 4

This is fun/interesting. I’m Iceland apparently. So I guess that means I now believe in elves and stuff. Though of course generalisations like this are always a bit dodgy if taken too seriously. (Via @derbren.bsky.social) www.idrlabs.com/cultural-dim...

Screenshot of results of a cultural dimensions test. Apparently I prefer
• A low power distance.
• A balance between collectivism and individualism.
• Femininity over masculinity.
• A balance between high and low uncertainty avoidance.
• A balance between short and long-term orientation.
• Indulgende over restraint.

Simon Varwell@simonvarwell· Jun 2

A nice sunset going on just now. Unless you’re in the southern hemisphere.

A cloudy sky, with sunbeams bursting through a gap, casting yellows across a blue-grey backdrop. The tops of trees are visible.

Simon Varwell@simonvarwell· Jun 1

Oh, unrelenting rain tomorrow. That’s nice.

Screenshot of a weather forecast webpage. It shows double-drop rain and grey cloud all day.

Simon Varwell@simonvarwell· May 31

The effort and the reward. A muggy day for a bike ride but thankfully not too oppressive.