A suitably corpse roady vibe at St Aiden's Church, Holy Island. Lindisfarne monks bearing St Cuthbert to his final resting place in Durham Cathedral around AD 875. 1999 sculpture by Fenwick Lawson, carved from seven elm trees.

Old anchors on the Northumberland coast. Tinted charcoal on paper.

Part of Chillingham Castle, Northumberland. Pencil and graphite sticks.

St George's Church, Jesmond.

Nice one, @gwr.com

Another foray into gouache on paper.

A fantastic talk, testing the boundaries (pun intended) between fictional, imagined, and physical place, "Santa Claus, c/o Oslo" from @cerihoulbrook.bsky.social and @idatolgensbakk.bsky.social.

Night falling over the Caledonian Sleeper to Aberdeen, which also seems to be the @folkloresociety.bsky.social Express.

I've wanted to try using gouache (opaque watercolour) for a while. First attenpt here - you get a much better range of heavy/dark and light tones. But it's too hot, the paint kept going runny!

"Let no Irishman throw a stone at the foreigner; he may hit his own clan" ❤️ 👏

Nothing says "We value your opinion" like "Dear Comma".

The real reason I miss writing deadlines.

In the 1990s, my parents ran a small regional magazine called the Wessex Journal. It contained all sorts of insights, artworks, etc on life in the South West in the late C20th. My mum kept a full set; here it is being packed up to go to the Dorset History Centre, where it will be publicly available.

I love Northumberland's big skies.

My mother's funeral was yesterday. Breathing a bit of a sigh of ... something. Many thanks to all who have donated to the Stroke Association, the page is still open. X elisabethdunn.muchloved.com

Blimey, that went quick

The Cat House in #Riga. Apparently, the cat was placed there with its tail facing towards the nearby Tradesmans' Guild, with whom the house's owner had had an argument.

My, we have some serious quality journalism in this country.

I may just be tired at the end of a long week, but I can't seem to help reading this pop-up from @wired.com as a mafioso threat. You pay for the articles next time, capiche?

I have a small issue with Michael Heseltine's otherwise great description of Farage. If he really looked like a farmer, he would be wearing a boiler suit and covered in cow shit. What he actually looks like is someone who wants to look like a farmer.

An ale from Yorkshire called "Swale Trail Pale", explicitly referencing Keld and Grinton, of Swaledale Corpse Path fame (stuartdunn.blog/2023/07/14/t...). I think the weekend has come early.

A little side project documenting various landscapes, gardens etc in watercolour.

Life is made slightly better by knowing there is a place called Kettlesing.

Roman Corbridge (Coria), Northumberland. The granary building on the left of the picture remained at the same level for 200 years, but the Stanegate road in the centre/right of the picture rose by nearly 2m as a result of renovation and resurfacing. I love seeing how mobility changes landscapes.

A drawing of my cat. Because why not.

There's a whole map of them!

I'm generally a fan of the BBC and of the idea of public service broadcasting in general, but sometimes they make you go - eh? BBC News - BBC sacks several people over 'abusive behaviour' www.bbc.com/news/article...

Shrimp, grits and iced coffee for breakfast. I am officially in the Deep South.

When the Fun Lovin' Criminals hit middle age

Many thanks @annachorlton.bsky.social. I'm much looking forward to digging in!