Tag: Coins

Saturday Shares

Sharing the best stuff I have found on the internet lately, and some of my own pictures.

INTRODUCTION

No – I’m not getting into financial writing! This title refers to the fact that this post is largely devoted to sharing interesting stuff I have found recently, with some pictures, mainly from work.

I STAND WITH HARRY – UPDATE

The latest stage of this campaign to get Brentwood County Hugh School to confront and deal with their bullying problem, a campaign being run by veteran anti-bullying campaigner and autism advocate Kevin Healey, is calling for people to post pictures of themselves holding an “I Stand With Harry” poster. For the record this is the one I posted:

dscn7123

MAKE VOTES MATTER

The “Make Votes Matter” campaign have launched a thunderclap as the latest stage of their efforts to get the antiquated and defective FPTP system under which British general elections are fought.

SEA WORLD PETITION

Another long standing campaign entering a new phase. The new development is a map to which you can add your presence:

A NEW INTERACTIVE MAP

I have already posted a couple of links about this on my London transport themed website, but this is so good that I am posting about it here as well:

  • The Time Out piece that set me wise to this
  • The two links posted on my website (here and here)
  • To check out the tool (I caught it out once – when although it correctly had me change at Stockwell to the Victoria line for a journey between Tooting Bec and Great Portland Street it then had me change at King;’s Cross to the Circle/ Hammersmith and City/ Metropolitan, instead of alighting at Warren Street, strolling round the corner to Euston Square and travelling one stop west – a net gain of three stops with little time difference in the interchanges) click the screenshot below:
    tubermap

OTHER LINKS

These are individual links that defy any sort of grouping:

PICTURES

As already stated, most of my pictures are from work on Thursday and yesterday.

1
Lot 1 in James and Sons auction that will take place on November 30th.

1-a1-b

154
Lot 154
293
Lot 293

3030-a30-b3737-a37-b3838-a38-b4040-a40-b4545-b6767-a67-b67-c7272-a72-b112112-a

596
Lot 596
phylogenetic-tree-pin
Finishing appropriately given the nature of the post with an image of a pin badge that I spotted on twitter. The design is a phylogenetic tree btw.

The September Auction and a Sneak Preview of Some October Items

An account of james and Sons’ September auction, with a spotlight on the October auction.

INTRODUCTION

James and Sons’ September auction took place this Wednesday at Fakenham Racecourse, while apart from on that day my recent work has mainly been focussed on the October auction (Wednesday 26th, Maids Head Hotel, Norwich.

THE SEPTEMBER AUCTION

I was not involved with setting this auction up on the Tuesday due to having other work to do back at base, but I did make a flying visit to the racecourse that day to resolve some queries that people had raised at the last minute about auction items (one potential customer wanted an image that had been missed and another wanted a detailed condition report on pair of vintage spectacles – the fact that both items sold to the customers who had made the inquiries was final proof that their queries had been resolved). That just left…

THE DAY OF THE AUCTION

My work day did not get off to the best of starts, because I fell victim to a recent timetable change and arrived at the racecourse a little later than I would have liked (I now have a copy of the timetable that will come into force from this Sunday). Fortunately there were no serious issues with the IT, and the auction started on time.

INADEQUATE COVER

With the auctioneer needing regular breaks from the rostrum, and the only person capable of substituting for him being also the only person who could substitute for my role on the rostrum I was at my post while the first 650 lots went under the hammer, finally getting to consume my sandwiches at 2:20PM, before resuming my post for the last 50 or so lots (the auction ended at lot 781). This, combined with the heavy lifting work at the end, made for an exhausting and stressful day.

THE TALE OF THE HAMMER

The auction began with banknotes and coins, which fared pretty well overall. Then there were a large number of stamp lots, which predictably enough did not attract huge attention (www.the-saleroom.com while good for many things are poor on stamps, and there were not many people there in the room). After that there were a variety of different items, some of which sold well. In among the medley of items in this middle and latter part of the auction was lot 461, four decorative plates produced by Coalport, all in their original boxes with paperwork. This might not sound like the kind of lot to catch the photographer’s eye, but the the images below may provide some explanation…

461461-a461-b461-c461-d

My opening bid of £12 proved sufficient to secure the items (I had prepared for the possibility of success by bringing a stout, empty, fabric bag with me to transport them).

The auction ended with some ‘Bradbury’ stamp pages, which may as well not have gone under the hammer at all since by then there was no one left in the room save staff.

Overall it was a successful sale.

THE CLEAR UP

While two of my colleagues took a few items to our storage unit near the village of Syderstone (principally the rostrum and the stools that we sit on behind it) I moved as much stuff as I could (almost all of it) over to the door so that it could be loaded straight on to the van once they were back. The van duly loaded it was time to head back into town, and thanks to my colleague dropping me on Oak Street I was just able to catch the 16:38 bus home. The bus to work yesterday morning was 20 minutes late leaving King’s Lynn, so by the time I arrived there were a mere five boxes of stuff left to carry in to the building, a task I accomplished in not much more time than it took the kettle to boil for my coffee.

dscn5835

SPOTLIGHT ON OCTOBER

Wednesday apart, since September 15 I have been engaged on a major project at work – describing and imaging a vast number of posters – a task that is not quite finished, but which is responsible for almost 250 lots so far. The first 230 or so of these lots were film posters, ranging in size from a colossal 40 inches by 30 to 16.5 inches by 16.5. Here are a few examples…

481

495
This poster is definitely worth money.

497

551-a
This is an example of a double sided poster – one side facing inside, the other with mirror writing on it designed to show in a passing driver’s mirror.

551-b617646647648661567-a567-b578591613

Yesterday, after a few more film posters I finally got some variety…

676677679680681685692693

698
I particularly appreciated this poster and the next.

699749

Uppsala University Museum

Continuing my account of my holiday in Sweden with a virtual tour of the Uppsala University Museum.

INTRODUCTION

Welcome to the next installment of posts about my recent holiday in Sweden. This post picks up where my previous one left off, heading into this building:

DSCN9555
The outside of the University Museum

INSIDE THE MUSEUM

The Uppsala University Museum (students get in free), also known as the Gustavianum is housed in the oldest university building in Sweden. If you approach the museum as I did and start at the bottom and work your way up, the first exhibits you encounter are from the Egyptians, Greeks and Romans:

DSCN9560
This object sits in the entrance hall.

DSCN9561DSCN9562DSCN9563DSCN9564DSCN9565DSCN9566DSCN9567DSCN9568DSCN9569DSCN9570DSCN9571DSCN9573DSCN9574DSCN9575DSCN9576DSCN9577

DSCN9578
It is a very minor quibble, but the red background is too strong a colour and therefore detracts somewhat from the coins themselves. Having produced images of a very large number of coins I have arrived at the conclusion that a white background, so that all the eye sees in the picture is the coin or set of coins is best.

DSCN9579DSCN9580DSCN9581

The next two floors are taken up with items of various kinds from the more recent past…

DSCN9582DSCN9583DSCN9584DSCN9585DSCN9586DSCN9587DSCN9588DSCN9589DSCN9590DSCN9591DSCN9592DSCN9593DSCN9594DSCN9595DSCN9596DSCN9597DSCN9598DSCN9599DSCN9600DSCN9601DSCN9602DSCN9603DSCN9605DSCN9612DSCN9611DSCN9610DSCN9609DSCN9608DSCN9607DSCN9613DSCN9614DSCN9615DSCN9616DSCN9617DSCN9618DSCN9619DSCN9620DSCN9621DSCN9622DSCN9623DSCN9624DSCN9625DSCN9626DSCN9627DSCN9628DSCN9629DSCN9630DSCN9631DSCN9632DSCN9633DSCN9635DSCN9636DSCN9637DSCN9638DSCN9639DSCN9640DSCN9641DSCN9642DSCN9643DSCN9644DSCN9645DSCN9646DSCN9647DSCN9648DSCN9650DSCN9651DSCN9652DSCN9653DSCN9654DSCN9655

DSCN9656
The world’s first commercially successful portable computer – our ideas of portability have changed somewhat since then, as has the storage capacity of such machines!

DSCN9657DSCN9658DSCN9659DSCN9660DSCN9661DSCN9662DSCN9664DSCN9665DSCN9666DSCN9667DSCN9668DSCN9669DSCN9670DSCN9671DSCN9672DSCN9674DSCN9675DSCN9676DSCN9677DSCN9678DSCN9680DSCN9681DSCN9682

DSCN9683
This picture and the next combined to form

DSCN9684

DSCN9683.5
This picture

DSCN9686DSCN9687DSCN9688DSCN9689DSCN9690DSCN9691DSCN9692DSCN9693DSCN9695DSCN9698DSCN9699DSCN9700DSCN9701DSCN9702DSCN9703DSCN9704DSCN9705DSCN9706DSCN9707DSCN9708DSCN9709

After these treasures it was time to see the inside of the dome – a perfectly preserved anatomy theatre…

DSCN9712
Students would have stood in rows around the room, while the corpse that was being anatomised would be spread out on the table.

DSCN9710DSCN9711DSCN9713DSCN9714DSCN9715DSCN9716DSCN9717

The last exhibits that I saw were those relating to the Vikings…

DSCN9718DSCN9719DSCN9720DSCN9721DSCN9722DSCN9723DSCN9724DSCN9725DSCN9726DSCN9727DSCN9728DSCN9729DSCN9730DSCN9731DSCN9732DSCN9733DSCN9734DSCN9735DSCN9736DSCN9737DSCN9738DSCN9739DSCN9740DSCN9741DSCN9742DSCN9743DSCN9744DSCN9745DSCN9746DSCN9747DSCN9748

 

James and Sons July Auction

An account of yesterday’s auction, complete with photos, a link to a book review and a (well-merited) swipe at Stagecoach.

INTRODUCTION

This is my account of the latest auction held by my employers, James and Sons, which took place yesterday at the Maid’s Head Hotel in Norwich.

THE JOURNEY IN

Stagecoach, who have subsumed Norfolk Green, have very recently and without anything approaching proper communication cut a large number of services. One casualty of this piece of axe wielding is the 6:10 AM from King’s Lynn to Fakenham, which used to become the 6:55 from Fakenham to Norwich, and would see me arrive at the venue around about 8am, as needed. Fortunately, having been alerted to the mayhem while at work on Tuesday I had the foresight to check the timetables posted at King’s Lynn Bus Station and was able to come up with a back-up plan – I bought a single ticket on the X1 to Dereham and Norwich which is run by First Eastern Counties, departing at 5:55am and was in Norwich at the appointed time. This single fare and the single fare back from Fakenham (having travelled from Norwich to Fakenham as a passenger in the company van) amounted to £10 between them (£6 and £4 respectively) instead of £5.50 for a Dayrider Plus, to say nothing of the uncertainty created by the ham-fisted way in which these cuts were made. Surely if significant cuts to services are to be made (and I consider cutting what was the first bus of the morning on a particular route to be significant on its own – and I also know that half of the services that used to run between Fakenham and Norwich have been axed) the announcement should be made long in advance of the cuts happening, and every bus travelling on an affected route should be well stocked with new timetables that accurately reflect the planned reduction in services. Also, especially given the parlous state of public transport services in Norfolk, I consider any cuts to be unacceptable in any case.

THE LAYOUT

With people arriving to view stuff not long after we had got there, there was not a lot of scope laying stuff out artistically, especially given how much of it there was, but a couple of areas were reasonably well done nevertheless…

DSCN8067
Part of the toy display – inside that suitcase marked is lot 363 was a large collection of items of rolling stock.
DSCN8068
A little cluttered, but at least the three smartest hats got due prominence.

THE SALE ITSELF

I am glad to be able to report that there were no IT issues at any stage of the sale. While the coins & tokens, some of the militaria and some of the ephemera sold well, the stamps did not go well, and the vinyls did less well than we would have liked.

Once the auction finished we picked out all the stuff that had sold to bidders not in the room, loaded the van up for the return journey and were able to head back. I was able to catch the 17:38 rather than have the dicey prospect of relying on the 18:35 not having been cut (if they can cut the first bus of the day, why not the last?). However, I was not yet at liberty to relax – there was still the matter of watering a few plants at Hampton Court, Nelson Street. Thus, it was almost exactly 14 hours after I had left my flat that my time was my own again.

MY ROLE AND LOT 450

There are two members of James and Sons staff who can manage the IT during the auction, so we swap duties during the day (auction days are the only time I regularly do front-line customer service). My colleague did an IT session between lots 200 and 300, at which point we had a scheduled break. I then did the first 75 lots after the break, before swapping for 100 lots or so, for a period when a few things I was interested in were coming up, before I then went back to IT duties until the end of the sale.

The first items that I was interested in were five sets of railway postcards, lots 391-5:

391392393394395

These as expected went beyond my possible price range. Next to command attention was lot 403, a book of views of Cambridge:

403

Again, to no great surprise this rapidly went beyond my price range.

The next items of interest were some antique maps, which I was fully aware I would not be able to afford but enjoyed seeing go under the hammer. This set the stage for the last lot to command my interest, and unlike any of the foregoing it was one that I was determined to get if at all possible. Lot 450, “The Bus We Loved: London’s Affair With the Routemaster”, was not an item that I as someone who runs a London transport themed website could happily countenance going elsewhere. There was a mini bidding war as someone else was also interested, but when I went to £10 that secured the item. For more about the book please visit my review of it that is on my website.

450DSCN8071DSCN8072

SOME FINAL THOUGHTS

Yesterday was a very demanding day, both physically and mentally. However, everything went fairly smoothly. Given the Stagecoach schemozzle referred to earlier, the travel element of the day was as good as I could have hoped for.

 

 

Images and Other Stuff

Highlights from today at work, a mention of yesterday, a comment on the Melania Trump story and lots of pictures.

INTRODUCTION

This post is about today at work and a couple of other things.

TODAY AT WORK

Apart from the fact that it is so hot that for the first time in over three years as a James & Sons employee I went to work in shorts, the things I did at work covered three areas…

RESOLVING QUERIES RELATING TO THE JULY SALE

These numbered five, one of which was a repeat question therefore requiring no new work. Nos 2 and 3 which I will treat together featured a mishap over coin lots, which I was easily able to sort out, by producing and uploading the following images:

28
Lot 28 was an incorrect image, and he wanted to see both faces

28-a28-b

29
Lot 29 was incomplete rather than wrong – now resolved.

29-a29-b

Query no 4 related to a medal – someone wanted to see pictures of the rim, which are fiendishly difficult to produce, but I came up with these…

The final query was more involved, requiring detail as to whether the item was still in working order, and more info about its provenance. To help with this I produced these images:

The main bulk of my day’s work was…

IMAGING FOR THE AUGUST SALE

There were some interesting items today and a decent variety. I will start with the non-coin items…

309
This box of matches may be sufficiently old that they are not so safe as ton be impossible to strike!

310310-a311316316-a316-b

317
The cloth and the two bowling balls fir snugly inside the carrying case

317-a

388
There was so much stuff in this lot that I took two images and joined them together.

388-a388-b

Finishing the August images where the queries started, here a few more…

COIN LOTS

I am not going to share all the coin images I did today (even with a mere 18 lots done that would be 54 images) but here are a few of the best…

132
Lot 132

132-a132-b

138
Lot 138

138-a138-b

140
Lot 140

140-a140-b

143
Lot 143

143-a143-b

145
Lot 145

145-a145-b

147
Lot 147

147-a147-b

148
Lot 148

148-a148-b

149
Lot 149

149-a149-b

USING OTHER PEOPLE’S STUFF

I recently posted about the Lynn News taking the entire text element of a report that had the byline of one of their journalists from my blog (see here for more details) and pointed out that while I was grateful to them for covering the event I would have been even happier had they acknowledged me. Now today Melania Trump’s speech has hit the news for the wrong reasons – as whyevolutionistrue (who I am happy to acknowledge as my source for the quotes that follow) among others have noted it is all but identical to an earlier speech by Michelle Obama. For WEIT’s whole post click here, meanwhile for comparison, here are the two speeches:

Here’s the text from Trump’s speech:

My parents impressed on me the value of that you work hard for what you want in life. That your word is your bond and you do what you say and keep your promise. That you treat people with respect. Show the values and morals in in the daily life. That is the lesson that we continue to pass on to our son.

We need to pass those lessons on to the many generations to follow. [Cheering] Because we want our children in these nations to know that the only limit to your achievement is the strength of your dreams and your willingness to work for them.

And here’s Obama:

And Barack and I were raised with so many of the same values: that you work hard for what you want in life; that your word is your bond and you do what you say you’re going to do; that you treat people with dignity and respect, even if you don’t know them, and even if you don’t agree with them.

And Barack and I set out to build lives guided by these values, and pass them on to the next generation. Because we want our children — and all children in this nation — to know that the only limit to the height of your achievements is the reach of your dreams and your willingness to work for them.

In this latter case, of course we can be absolutely sure that Michelle Obama would not be pleased to hear her words from the lips of Mrs Trump.

To sum up this section:

  1. If using stuff from someone else (and Melania Trump’s speechwriters must have been aware of the origins of the words in her speech even if she was not) make sure that you are using it in a way that the original author would condone.
  2. Even if you have carte blanche to use stuff from someone else for goodness sake acknowledge the fact that you are doing so.

 

SOME FINAL PHOTOS

These last few photos come from yesterday, some of them featuring a barbecue lunch in East Rudham, with my parents, my aunt and my nephew.

DSCN7673
Two boats moored on the pontoon jetty, South Quay (before setting off in the morning)

DSCN7675

DSCN7678
The first of two shots of my newphew tending the barbie!

DSCN7679

DSCN7683
Bees love the wild marjoram the grows just outside my parents house, and this was the best shot I managed to get of one.
DSCN7688
Heading for home that evening – a couple of shots of the newly restored building on Purfleet Street – I would have knocked it down and started over but this still a massive improvement on what was there.

DSCN7689

 

Some Autism Coverage in the Lynn News

A grateful acknowledgement to the Lynn News for their coverage of the Autism Awareness Cup accompanied by a minor ethical quibble and also some images from today at work.

INTRODUCTION

At the end of this post I will be sharing some images from work today, but it is mainly about the Lynn News (and, one ethical quibble aside, positive about them).

THANKS FOR THE COVERAGE BUT AN ACKNOWLEDGEMENT WOULD BE NICE

On Sunday the inaugural Autism Awareness Cup took place on the astroturf at Lynnsport, and on Monday I produced this blog post about the event: https://aspiblog.wordpress.com/2016/07/11/the-autism-awareness-cup-a-new-event-takes-root/

Before creating the blog post I had also created a facebook photo album about the event.

Having published the blog post I then produced this email:

AAC Email

For clarification of the intended recipients, here is a second image…

AAC Email

Today the Lynn News produced the following:

AAC

You will note that save for the misplaced while between cup winners and Holland every word of this article appears in my blog post. While I thank the Lynn News unreseverdly for printing a story about this event, which will be the first of many, I would have been even more grateful had there been some acknowledgement, and maybe a mention of my blog.

SOME IMAGES FROM TODAY

5353-a53-b5858-a58-b104104-a104-b118118-a118-b120120-a120-b125125-a125-b217217-a217-b384384-a384-b384-c606606-a606-b607607-a607-b607-c

Coins and Militaria for Auction, Records for Ebay

An account of a day’s imaging, including some of the most interesting pictures.

INTRODUCTION

This post is about the imaging I have done at James and Sons today. In total I have produced 180 images today (no, I am not going to share them all!), using the scanner for the coin lots and the camera for the rest.

THE BULK JOB – THE FIRST TRANCHE OF COINS FOR THE AUGUST SALE

The coins I imaged today were lots 1-50 in the August auction, except that lot 3 was missing. Images of both faces of each coin were required, which meant two sets of scans, and then some editorial work, resulting in three images for each lot. Here to further explain the process is lot 1…

1-a
The image that becomes 1-a in the images folder
1-b
1-b
1
The two images joined together (1 in the main image folder.

I scan these many lots at a time at very high resolution (600 dpi), the exact number of lots depending on the size of the coins, and on the number of coins that make up the lots. The 49 coin lots I scanned today were achieved in four tranches (i.e eight scans in total). Here some of the more interesting specimens…

5
Lot 5

5-a5-b

6
Lot 6

6-a6-b

10
Lot 10

10-a10-b

13
Lot 13

13-a13-b

17
Lot 17

17-a17-b

23
Lot 23

23-a23-b

25
Lot 25

25-a25-b

31
Lot 31

31-a31-b

38
Lot 38

38-a38-b

45
Lot 45

45-a45-b

48
Lot 48

48-a48-b

50
Lot 50 – last of today’s tranche of coins

50-a50-b

RECORDS FOR EBAY

There were some interesting items here. In total there were 11 separate items, all boxed sets of multiple records, and I offer you a selection of images…

Hammond SpectacularJ S Bach - Harpsichord Works

La Boheme - Teatro Dell'Opera Di Roma
Unlike a couple of others that I imaged today this is not a duplicate – it is a different recording of La Boheme to the one that I imaged on Tuesday.

World of Great Classics

THE FINAL SESSION – MILITARIA

Having finished the records it was time to image some items of militaria. This once again required the camera. Here are are a few highlights to conclude this post…

207
Lot 207

207-a207-b207-c

209
Lot 209

209-a

210
Lot 210

210-a210-b

211
Lot 211

211-a

212
Lot 212
216
Lot 216

The July Catalogue Cover

An account, with lots of pictures, of the main thrust of todat at James and Sons.

INTRODUCTION

The catalogue for James and Sons July auction (27th, Maids Head Hotel, Norwich) went to the printers today. This post is devoted to the images that will be appearing on the covers (outside and inside) of the catalogue.

THE FRONT COVER IMAGE

Lot 151 was, as expected, the front cover image, and it went through several takes…

151
The original main image for lot 151
151-cover
The first cover image
151-cover2 cropped
The second cover image cropped but not edited
151-cover 2
The edited version of the cover image

THE OUTSIDE BACK COVER – COINS

All of the coin lots had already been imaged, but for the sake of uniformity of appearance I was asked to provide new images for nine of the selected coins…

91213192526283334

THE INSIDE COVERS

While I had already done some of the images used for the inside covers, most were of new items that I had to image from scratch, which came in two categories…

RECORDS

This is now the third sale at which we have had significant quantites of records, and here they are in tiled mosaic form…

The pick of the above images were used to fill one whole page of the catalogue (this part of the process is not generally part of my job, although I am well capable of it – it merely entails creating a table in word with the appropriate numbers of rows and columns and inserting the images), while on the other inside cover as well as some other lots filling spaces left over were all of the following…

HATS AND HELMETS

Not every image below was used, exceptions will be noted in the captions…

191

192
This image was not used because having been adamant that he wanted straight on images of all these items the auctioneer then decided that this one could be best presented at an angle.
192-a
The image that does feature in the catalogue

193-a194195

195-a
This image does not feature as it is a close up of some very impressive decoration.

196197198199200201202203204205

Rapid Progress on the July Auction

An account of today’s imaging, largely told by way of pictures.

INTRODUCTION

James and Sons’ July auction is progressing rapidly. A wide variety of items came my way for imaging.

A BIT OF EVERYTHING

Here are some of the highlights from today’s imaging…

1
Aftewr today there are only a couple of coin lots l;eft top be filled in this auction. This by the way is lot 1.

1-a1-b1-c1-d3131-a31-b

47
A very old coin indeed (cannot make out a date but it is either 12th or 13th century)

47-a47-b

 

49
Not quite so old – dates from Elizabeth I

49-a49-b

136
A parvenu – a sprightly 127 years old

136-a136-b141141-a141-b141-c

255
Two suitcases full of masonic regalia.

255-c262344

351
A complete domino set
352
The red train is damaged, the black not so – the canopy over the cab is supposed to be removable since…
352-a
…the driver and fireman cannot be seen when it is on.

352-b372401

403403-a403-b450

 

COINS, TOYS, MILITARIA AND A FEW LINKS

Some of the highlights from the early lots in the July auction, and a few good links.

INTRODUCTION

Although the links I shall be sharing have nothing in common with the main part of this post, which is about the start of imaging for James and Sons July auction, there are not enough of them to justify a post all to themselves, so I am tacking them on.

THURSDAY: COINS

On Thursday the imaging I was doing was all of coin lots…

60
Lot 60, the lowest numbered lot that I imaged on Thursday (I scanned these lots at high resolution, a number of lots at a time – scan each face, and bolt together to make the main image…
60-a
…while keeping the individual images to enable viewers to see them in closer focus.

60-b75-a9393-a93-b102102-a102-b

108
These ‘cartwheel pennies’ were produced only in 1797, because it was discovered that the amount of copper in them was worth more than the face value of the coin. They were therefore removed from circulation, which had the effect of causing a coin shortage.

108-a108-b

FRIDAY

Yesterday’s imaging was more varied, featuring a few more coin lots, toys and some militaria…

151
This is lot 151, and will start the militaria section – the four sets of medals that I arrnaged around the commemorative plaque were awarded to four brothers who served together.
151-a
The first of five close-ups of parts of the whole.

151-b151-c151-d151-e301303304307308309120120-a120-b132132-a132-b133133-a133-b135135-a135-b

LINKS

First of all, a link to an excellent in=depth piece about the murder of Jo Cox, written by kittysjones.

Then a link to two excellent letters in the Guardian about the Baker Small scandal – the first has among its signatories Mark Lever, chief executive of the National Autistic Society.

My two remaining links are both from weownit, one being to a petition against a plan by the government to ban councils from setting up bus companies to run their own services, and the other to some more detailed information as to why publicly owned buses would be an improvement.