Vermilion Sands
An occasional journal
Pink Sky at Night
Jun 2nd 2017
…and pink rainbow bright.
Admin1 is reading A Big Boy Did It and Ran Away by Christopher Brookmyre.
Damn Fine Cherry Pie
Jun 2nd 2017
…and damn fine coffee: Mystery Coffee Mark 7.
Admin1 is rewatching Cracker.
Buzzfeed
May 31st 2017
A bee arriving on thyme.
Admin1 is reading Attack of the Unsinkable Rubber Ducks by Christopher Brookmyre. Admin2 is reading Memo Random by Anders de la Motte; a forgettable book with an amnesiac protagonist.
Pagan Idol
May 28th 2017
Admin1′s pile of twigs for the binfire.
And our first circumzenithal arc for a while.
Admin2 is reading A Natural Curiosity by Margaret Drabble; the social lives of the hifalutin chatterati in the fictitious Yorkshire city of Northam, accidentally unmasked as Sheffield.
Stormy Weather
May 27th 2017
Yesterday was our sunniest day this year and the sunniest ever for national solar panels. Today, thunder, lightning and heavy rain.
We are watching The Bureau saison deux and scored 11 on the Guardian Weekend quiz.
Happy Birthday Dave
May 24th 2017
And happy United Nations Day everyone.
Today was our warmest day this year 26.4 °C but we confidently expect tomorrow to be better. [Update: Yes! 31.1 °C]
Sunshine
May 22nd 2017
Diffracted through the chestnut tree. Today is day 2000 since we installed the solar panels; in the course of which we have generated 7,614.530kWh of electricity and earned £3,638.05.
Admin2 is reading If Not Now, When? by Primo Levi, a wonderful story of ragbag resistance fighters in the woods in World War 2.
Cactus Flower
May 21st 2017
Hope all these red things are an omen for the election.
Admin1 is rereading seveneves by Neal Stevenson. Admin2 is reading Disclaimer by Renee Knight, a not very thrilling psychological thriller with a twist that untwisted implausibly at the end.
We scored 11 on the Guardian Weekend quiz.
First Poppy of Spring
May 19th 2017
Another poppy has been struggling to come out for ages but this one won.
Admin1 is reading The Dangerous Game by Mari Jungstedt, in which a teenage anorexic fails to evoke much sympathy, and the author has her main detective character buy one of her own books — in which said detective appears. Admin2 tried to read October by China Mieville but abandoned it because it was too serious and informative.
Rainbow Pink
May 18th 2017
A magic evening with a brilliant red sky and a pink rainbow over our house.
Admin2 is reading The Goldilocks Enigma by Paul Davies and Admin1 is watching The Hunger Games and The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.
Crowd of the Day: The Many Not the Few
May 15th 2017
Jeremy Corbyn came to perform at the Brudenell Social Club, but the crowd was too big for the venue or the car park so the meeting ended up in the middle of the road with people up trees and on rooftops.
Admin1 is reading Luna: Wolf Moon by Ian McDonald. Admin2 is reading In a True Light by John Harvey.
We are watching Fortitude. Brrr!
Spin
May 13th 2017
Admin1′s 3D-printed two-tone fidget spinner.
We greased the centre bearing with silicone oil and it whizzes round like crazy.
Admin1 is reading In a True Light by John Harvey. Admin2 is rereading Atomised by Michel Houellebecq, which had all the elements of science fiction yet managed to be an unhappy family saga instead.
And we scored THIRTEEN on the Guardian Weekend quiz. Woot!
Halo Sunshine
May 11th 2017
A halo with a sundog on the left.
Admin1 is reading Wasted Years by John Harvey. Admin2 is reading On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan. We are watching series 2 of The Missing.
The Black Tulip
May 8th 2017
We are watching Line of Duty series 4 and scored 9 on the Guardian Weekend quiz.
Cloud of the Day: Cinnamon Buns
May 6th 2017
And a scary face. Yesterday we did over 12kWh, at the earliest time in the year ever and our 13th ever best day. Today less than 4.
Admin1 is reading Proof of Life by Karen Campbell — very well written, but a bit overlong and unfortunately read out of sequence. Admin2 is reading The Contortionist’s Handbook by Craig Clevenger, which got tied in knots.
Dog Eat Dog
May 2nd 2017
Cloudy jaws snap at a sundog.
Admin2 is reading New York 2140 by Kim Stanley Robinson. A big building story like High-Rise or 334 but with much more competent residents despite the added handicap of being partly submerged.
The Garden after Neglecting to Plant Tulips
May 1st 2017
The traditional May Day photo. Compare previous years. Last month was our second sunniest April ever recorded.
Admin1 is reading The Revisionists by Thomas Mullen (something of a slog, and managed to make an interesting-sounding time-travel premise dull). Admin2 is reading Mark Steel’s in Town which is by Mark Steel and is about towns, or sometimes counties or regions.
Tulips
Apr 29th 2017
Admin2 is reading The Thirst by Jo Nesbo.
We scored 8 on the Guardian Weekend quiz.