Vermilion Sands
An occasional journal
Stop!
Apr 11th 2017
Admin1 is reading The End of the Day by Clare North. Admin2 is reading Platform by Michel Houellebecq, an entertaining novel about sex and travel with a lot of bad-tempered social comment and literary criticism thrown in.
Simply the Nest
Apr 9th 2017
Admin1 uncovered this bird’s nest while trimming an overgrown viburnum bush.
Admin1 is reading Malice by Keigo Higashino. Admin2 is reading A Midsummer’s Equation, also by Keigo Higashino; an engrossing murder mystery solved by physics.
Gin and Tonic on the Veranda
Apr 8th 2017
After the coldest night this month (1.7 °C), the warmest (22.2 °C) and sunniest (9.38 kWh) day this year.
Admin1 is reading Salvation of a Saint by Keigo Higashino.
We scored 9.5 on the Guardian Weekend quiz.
Cloud of the Day: Cirrus spissatus
Apr 6th 2017
Lacy on a sunny afternoon.
Admin1 is reading A Midsummer’s Equation by Keigo Higashino. Admin2 is reading The Special Dead by Lin Anderson.
Tit among the Plum Blossoms
Apr 4th 2017
Admin1 is reading The Obelisk Gate by NK Jemisin. Admin 2 is reading 334 by Thomas M Disch: the 1984 of the 2020s.
Cherry Blossom Time
Apr 2nd 2017
Admin1 is reading All Our Wrong Todays by Elan Mastai, in which a self-obsessed twat goes time travelling; a disappointing book. Admin2 is reading None but the Dead by Lin Anderson; nice enough, with an interesting Orkneys setting, but with characters who seem to have been cooked up on a spreadsheet. We scored 5 on the Guardian Weekend quiz, thanks to a mention of 808 State on the radio today because the founder of the Roland company died, and thanks also to our generosity to ourselves.
Crowd of the Day: Save the NHS
Apr 1st 2017
Admin1 is reading Marked for Life by Emelie Schepp (implausible, and rather unpleasant).
We watched Arrival.
Pinstripes and Polka Dots
Mar 30th 2017
Barking up a tree.
Admin1 is reading None but the Dead by Lin Anderson.
Great Red Spot
Mar 27th 2017
Sunset with a slight resemblance to the atmosphere of Jupiter.
Admin1 is reading The Special Dead by Lin Anderson, which was readable, well-plotted and, most importantly, had nothing wrong with it — an author worth reading, who interestingly mixes forensic science with a smidgen of weirdness. Admin2 is reading The Truth by Terry Pratchett.
Magnolia
Mar 26th 2017
First flower of the season.
Admin1 is reading Liar Liar by MJ Arlidge — readable, but marred by loose plotting (an attempted murder ignored) and authorial tics (“truth be told”, why does every chapter end with a question?). Admin2 lost a lot of time reading Lost Time Accidents by John Wray: an epistolary chrononautical family saga. We scored 7 on the Guardian Weekend quiz.
More Sun
Mar 25th 2017
Another 8 kWh and our warmest day this year so far: 20.7 °C.
Admin1 is reading Hidden Prey by John Sandford.
We are watching The Bureau.
Spring Song
Mar 24th 2017
Shouting from the treetops that the sun is shining again and the solar panels have collected 8 kWh at the earliest date we have recorded. Admin2 is reading This Is Where I Am by Karen Campbell, which was like attending a course of lectures run by the Refugee Council and the Glasgow Tourist Board.
Raindrops
Mar 22nd 2017
Another wet and cloudy equinoctial day. Admin1 is reading Dominion by CJ Sansom; it seems the previous claim in March 2013 was some kind of error. Admin 2 is reading The Wolf in the Attic by Paul Kearney which was so-so.
Critter of the Day: Dunnock
Mar 20th 2017
Prunella modularis hiding in the hedge.
Admin1 is reading The Drowned Boy by Karin Fossum. Admin2 is reading The Sweetness of Life by Paulus Hochgatterer, a whodunnit set in Austria that chopped between characters until the plot was completely lost.
Pastel Rainbow
Mar 19th 2017
Admin1 is reading Black Wood by SJI Holliday (meh). Admin2 is reading The Drowned Boy by Karin Fossum.
We are watching Braquo saison quatre.
Heavy Cloud
Mar 18th 2017
This manhole cover is called CIRRUS.
Admin2 is reading Diary of a Bad Year by JM Coetzee, which was more enjoyable than one would expect from a series of opinionated essays footnoted with opinions from the writer, the typist and the typist’s sleazy boyfriend.
W have been watching Unforgotten 2 which was unforgettable.
We scored 6 on the Guardian Weekend Quiz.
Bit of a Tit
Mar 15th 2017
Cyanistes caeruleus peeping through the branches.
Admin1 is reading The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry (a charming and engrossing love story). Admin2 is reading Skippy Dies by Paul Murray, but abandoned it because it was not outrageously hilarious unless there is humour in humiliation.
π Day
Mar 14th 2017
Here’s our pi day pie with a π decoration produced with a 3D printed pi cutter. The gravy is escaping to make a cross face.
Admin1 is reading Some Kind of Peace by Camilla Grebe and Åsa Träff, which featured a psychologist protagonist so annoying, feeble and lacking in insight that she deserved everything she got.
Critter of the Day: Blackbird
Mar 13th 2017
Admin1 is reading The Wolf in the Attic by Paul Kearney (a fine pastoral fantasy in the vein of Keith Roberts and Robert Holdstock, all of whom are much concerned with the English landscape). Admin 2 is reading The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry.