Category Archives: Museums & Galleries

John and the shoe shine scam

Posted on September 24, 2024 by Gary

In 2006, Turkish writer Orhan Pamuk won the Nobel Prize in Literature. In 2008, his next novel, The Museum of Innocence, was published. It tells the story of an Istanbul man, Kemal, who loves Füsun, his poorer cousin, someone he … Continue reading →

Posted in Gary's Posts, Museums & Galleries, Weasels in Istanbul 2024 | 1 Comment

Always losing her daughter

Posted on September 23, 2024 by Gary

Something I haven’t mentioned about Istanbul is the cats. There are a lot of them. You can’t really look anywhere that is devoid of cat. In groups, individually, asleep on posts, staring up at trees, sauntering along the street. It’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Gary's Posts, Museums & Galleries, Weasels in Istanbul 2024 | 1 Comment

Tati-incredible

Posted on August 9, 2024 by Gary

The Bunge Museum is huge. It is another hembygdsgården type place where lots of Gotland buildings have been moved to form an open air museum but, unlike the others we’ve seen (apart from Skansen) it is, as I said, huge. … Continue reading →

Posted in Gary's Posts, Gotland 2024, Museums & Galleries | 1 Comment

Lost: One monkey

Posted on August 8, 2024 by Gary

In 1948, three Swedish, 14-year-old boys, decided to explore a cave on Gotland, near a place called Lummelunda. The cave had been explored back in 1924 but the fellow who tried only managed to get a little way before having … Continue reading →

Posted in Gary's Posts, Gotland 2024, Museums & Galleries | 1 Comment

Ingen dryck, ingen glass, ingen korv

Posted on July 17, 2024 by Gary

I stood before a room painted in eye watering red. In the centre of the room, a figure kneels, in silent prayer. The figure appears to be that of a young school boy. On the wall in front of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Art Exhibition, Gary's Posts, Museums & Galleries | Leave a comment

Big ugly American car cemetery

Posted on July 8, 2024 by Gary

Today we went off-road for a bit. Mirinda wanted to drive down the other side of the Övre Fryken Lake and, as we drove, the road became narrower and narrower. What started as a pedestrian/cyclist/car shared track, gradually ended up as … Continue reading →

Posted in Gary's Posts, Museums & Galleries, Värmland 2024 | Leave a comment

Art, lunch and linen

Posted on July 4, 2024 by Gary

Mirinda loves the British Arts and Crafts movement. We have pieces in our house that owe their existence to the artistic movement. We have visited many British sites in order to bathe in the brilliance that was Arts and Crafts. … Continue reading →

Posted in Art Exhibition, Gary's Posts, Museums & Galleries, Värmland 2024 | Leave a comment

Swarming robot mowers

Posted on July 2, 2024 by Gary

Having had possibly the best hotel breakfast I’ve ever had (at the Scandic Klarälven), we packed the car, checked out of the hotel, spent a long while searching for Mirinda’s hat which was at reception and walked into Karlstad. Our … Continue reading →

Posted in Gary's Posts, Museums & Galleries, Värmland 2024 | Leave a comment

The tyranny of trousers

Posted on March 12, 2024 by Gary

I read today that “the world already has enough clothes to dress the next six generations” which is ridiculous. That’s clearly capitalism gone mad. I think, personally, people don’t need a lot of clothes. Okay, they WANT a lot but … Continue reading →

Posted in Gary's Posts, Lymington 2024, Museums & Galleries | Leave a comment

Three thousand species of fungi in the New Forest

Posted on March 5, 2024 by Gary

I had an adventure today. At least that’s what Mirinda called it. And, to be fair, it felt like an adventure, given I’ve not been much further than the library for the last few weeks. So, last week, I decided … Continue reading →

Posted in Gary's Posts, Lymington 2024, Museums & Galleries | 1 Comment