Pharmacies in France are useful places. They offer a wide range of medicines and advice. However, the same is true of pharmacies elsewhere in the world… but they don’t have signs like French pharmacy signs. This one was filmed in Lille, but is typical of many. Continue reading “Why are French pharmacy signs so animated?”
Category: Photos
Olympic football: South Korea, Switzerland and a big hand for Coventry
Yesterday, Mexico defeated Gabon 2-0 then the Republic of Korea worked hard to beat Switzerland 2-1 in group B of the men’s Olympic football tournament. Not the sort of matches that get much attention here – although South Korea and California showed an interest – but a great day out and a great advert for Coventry, which hosted the two matches. Continue reading “Olympic football: South Korea, Switzerland and a big hand for Coventry”
People want trains, a teddy bear and a life expectancy map
If you run a website of any nature, you are likely to look at your web statistics and wonder about what interests people. I have been looking at the data for the six months since I started this blog, and can provide some insights. Turns out people like a teddy bear, but we’ll get to that. Continue reading “People want trains, a teddy bear and a life expectancy map”
The National Museum of Computing – Acorns, Colossi, Spectrums and a Witch
I recently visited the National Museum of Computing for a Guardian Government Computing article, which you can read here. I also took a lot of photos – here are some of my highlights, all of which are mentioned in the article. Click on an image for a larger version and caption.
If you’re interested in the history of computing, both Bletchley Park in general and the museum specifically are well worth a visit. It’s also worth finding out more about Alan Turing, genius, key contributor to the invention of computing at Bletchley Park and owner of Porgy (top-left): his centenary is on 23 June.
I’ve previously written about the history of computing, specifically on Parc Xerox and the word email.
Update, 25 July: due the popularity of the picture of Porgy, Alan Turing’s teddy bear, here’s the chance to meet the bear face to face. More about him here (see end of post).
If you’re interested in Alan Turing, a private members bill has been introduced into parliament to pardon him for ‘gross indecency’ (in other words, being a gay man). More from co-sponsor John Leech MP here, and this is where you can sign the e-petition.
Blackpool vs Scheveningen: which is the better fun, if slightly faded, seaside resort?
Both Britain’s Blackpool and the Netherlands’ Scheveningen are seaside resorts that, though they may have seen better days, are lots of fun. And they have a lot in common: trams, piers, cheap tat… but which is better?
Beaches: Blackpool has a great sandy beach, but it’s a bit hidden behind a big concrete sea wall (for understandable reasons involving winter storms and flooding). Scheveningen’s equally sandy beach is easily accessible, features posts with novelty logos and its beach cafes are really quite cool, even if high winds can end up dumping quite a lot of that beach in your drink.
Schev 1-0 BPL Continue reading “Blackpool vs Scheveningen: which is the better fun, if slightly faded, seaside resort?”