iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Chris King @chrisfk.bsky.social · 15/10/2026

Has anyone ever seen a packet of Brets bigger than this. 250g + 33% extra. Standard 70 cl bottle of wine for scale

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Chris King @chrisfk.bsky.social · 15/10/2026

Gorgeous warm summer-like day today in Haut Limousin.

Landscape with green fields studded with small trees in middle distance. The view is framed by taller trees in foreground to the left and the right with shrubs/a hedge between them and, with a bit of a red-tiled roof just visible in bottom-right corner. A forest is discernible on the horizon. Above: a cloudless azure sky.

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Chris King @chrisfk.bsky.social · 14/10/2026

I wouldn't say horrible against a red brick wall. We city dwellers take our natural beauty as and where we find it.

Flowering quince blossoming over the top of a graffitied brick wall.

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Chris King @chrisfk.bsky.social · 13/10/2026

This very late Van Gogh - Rain, Auvers (1890) - shows this Hiroshige influence very clearly. I was privileged to be responsible, albeit in a very small way, for its care when I worked as a Museum Assistant (Fine Arts) at what was then the National Museum of Wales 35 years ago.

Landscape dominated by golden wheatfields in foreground and background. A line of trees appearing blue by contrast in middle-ground (including a stand off almost black columnar trees in the middle of that line). Just below the black trees, silhouetted against the golden wheat, is the shape of a large black bird (probably a crow) in flight. There's a narrow sliver of grey-blue sky at the top of the pic. The whole pic is crossed by oblique blue lines, running from the top to the bottom, suggesting heavy rain falling.

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Chris King @chrisfk.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

Fire salamander (Salamandra salamandra) in our 'cave' (cellar) in France.

Lizard-type creature (actually an amphibian, a Fire Salamander) standing on grey concrete floor. The head (in right upper quadrant of pic), body, all four limbs and tail (in lower left quadrant) are all primarily black, but bear distinct yellow markings. One such marking appears on either side of the head. The body has two dotted yellow lines, one on either side of the spine. The tail is ringed in black and yellow and the upper portion of each limb bears a yellow marking.

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Chris King @chrisfk.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

This reminds me strongly of the emblem of my Lancashire ancestors seen here in the church in Standish with the initials of my great x7-grandfather.

Wooden pew end featuring low-relief carving showing a stylised (i.e. not naturalistic) owl standing with the body of a rodent (perhaps a rat) in its talons. To the lower left of the design is an uppercase R, to the lower left an uppercase. To the left and right off the pew end can be seen the red seat cushions on the pew, with hassocks hanging from the back of the pie in front. At the top of the pic, daylight streams in through the church windows.

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Chris King @chrisfk.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Lovely. I became well acquainted with his work during my short time as a junior curator at NMW (as it then was) in Cardiff, having first discovered him during my Art History degree. I didn't have to look far to find that I still have my copy of the catalogue of the 1982 Tate exhibition catalogue.

Cover of catalogue of Richard Wilson exhibition with artist's name in uppercase lettering over an image (a detail from Wilson's c. 1765 painting 'View of Hounslow Heath) with seated figure in red with broad-brimmed straw hat in foreground. Grassy heathland beyond with a body of water just to right off centre and trees to the right of that. More distant trees in the background. Blue sky with large white clouds above.

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Chris King @chrisfk.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

Yup - Paris is SO much better than it was.

Maps of Paris showing high pollution in reds and oranges and areas of low pollution in shades of yellow and green. Map on left, captioned '2007' is almost entirely reds and oranges, whereas that on right, captioned '2024' is mostly yellows and greens, with just a few major roads still showing as partially red.

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Chris King @chrisfk.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

Graffito seen round our way a while back.

End of brick wall bearing white painted slogan 'EAT THE RICH'. On left, damp tarmac pavement with base of black (and yellow, at top) painted lamp-post in foreground and trunk of plane tree and part of road-surface on background. To right, part of low metal fence with ivy growing below and other vegetation above.

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Chris King @chrisfk.bsky.social · 24/06/2026

On the homeward trail through the roadworks on the M20. Sunset seen through filthy windscreen.

View through a car windscreen on a motorway. The back of a lorry immediately in front with traffic cones to the left of our lane. In the upper left quadrant, a flame-coloured setting sun. The sky ranging from brilliant yellow-orange advice to violet-grey toward the horizon.

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Chris King @chrisfk.bsky.social · 11/06/2026

Interesting selection of birds identified by Merlin app on our first evening of our latest stay at our place in Limousin. Only the third time is as many years that I've heard a Golden Oriole and I've never encountered a Red-backed Shrike before, either here or anywhere else.

Screen-shot from Merlin app with list of birds identified during a recording session with a pic of each bird to the left of its name: From the top: Common Chaffinch, Common Chiffchaff, Eurasian Blackbird, Eurasian Golden Oriole, Eurasian Blue Tit and Red-backed Shrike.

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Chris King @chrisfk.bsky.social · 11/06/2026

Lovely! Not bad here in Limousin either. Just arrived today from rainy Birmingham.

A rather dried out summer lawn, bracketed by trees with a hedge beyond. Behind the hedge, fields and more trees can be seen. The whole scene is bathed in sunshine, with a blue sky above with just a few wispy white clouds.

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Chris King @chrisfk.bsky.social · 21/05/2026

I wasn't sure if Burham had yet been confirmed as the Labour candidate for the Makerfield by-election, so I asked Google: 'Has Andy Burnham been confirmed as the... ', and here are Google's suggestions for the rest of my question.

Google search. I typed in the words "Has Andy Burnham been confirmed as the" and the screen-shot shows Google's top two suggestions as being "the new Pope" and "the next Pope".

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Chris King @chrisfk.bsky.social · 29/04/2026

I have just learned the French name for the butterfly called in English a Comma (because of the little markings in the shape of commas on the underside of its wings). It's 'Robert le diable', i. e. Bob the devil, for some reason.

A Comma - a brown/orange speckled butterfly with very unevenly indented wing-edges, resting on a bristly flower-head with its wings half-closed, displaying the small white comma-shaped marking, which gives this species its name, on the underside of its wing. Green foliage in the background.

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Chris King @chrisfk.bsky.social · 08/04/2026

Quite a good haul of birds on the Merlin app on my three-and-a-half minute walk along the edge of my local suburban Birmingham park earlier.

List of birds identified in a Merlin app listening session. List is arranged vertically , with a thumbnail pic of each bird on left with name of each bird on right.

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Chris King @chrisfk.bsky.social · 31/03/2026

Second half of list from same recording session. Should be a wren in there too, but it got missed off the screen-shot.

List of birds identified in Merlin recording session. Pics of each bird arranged vertically on left, with the name of each one to the right of its pic.

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Chris King @chrisfk.bsky.social · 31/03/2026

Osprey - wow! Attached is first half of list of birds identified during most successful Merlin session on our current visit to our place in Haute- Vienne. A good variety, but no osprey, sadly!

List of birds identified in Merlin bird-call recording sessions. Images of each bird arranged vertically on left, with name of each alongside its pic to the right.

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Chris King @chrisfk.bsky.social · 30/03/2026

Bit more variable here in Haute-Vienne. Il pleuvait à torrent il y a deux heures.

Landscape with trees and part of a red-tiled roof in the foreground, beyond which are fields dotted with further trees. There are patches of blue sky overrated overhead appearing between large white cumulus clouds, some of which have grey bases.

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Chris King @chrisfk.bsky.social · 22/03/2026

This evening's Limousin sunset.

Twilight view of distant trees with red sun setting behind them and firey sky above. Several telephone wires cross the picture - 3 parallel ones at an oblique angle from top left corner towards the trees and two almost horizontally crossing the pic towards the top.

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Chris King @chrisfk.bsky.social · 07/02/2026

Schnork looking very cosy in her table-bed. Originally one of those cat-shelves attached to a window, but Scnork turned her nose up at it - too awkward to jump up there and don't think she thought it looked all that she safe, so now it's a table-bed and she loves it! #Caturday

Dark tortie cat, lying in shallow cream-colored bed on a wooden table-top.

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Chris King @chrisfk.bsky.social · 04/01/2026

I don't expect ludicrous statements from Starmer, but hoped in vain for a calm, measured, balanced, dignified statement along the lines of that, yesterday, from the French minister for Europe & Foreign Affairs, Jean-Noël Barrot.

Statement on X from French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs condemning the oppression and violation of the human rights of his own people by Venezuelan President, Nicolas Maduro, while also condemning the US strikes in Venezuela and abduction / arrest of Maduro and his wife as being in breach of international law and contrary to UN Charter principles.

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Chris King @chrisfk.bsky.social · 02/01/2026

Good morning, BlueSky. First snow of winter in our corner of Birmingham.

Suburban garden scene under a pale blue morning sky. In foreground, a large privet shrub/overgrown hedge straddling a boundary fence between two gardens, the top of which is lightly dusted with snow. To the left, in one garden, and to right in the other, are small areas of snow-covered lawn. In the right foreground is a table, also snow-covered on which sit two plants in pots. There are trees in the background.

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Chris King @chrisfk.bsky.social · 01/01/2026

Lucky you. We're heading to our place in Haute Vienne next week. Pic shows the forecast for our first week there.

Screenshot from weather website showing max and min temp and icon indicating prevailing weather for each day from Thur. 8th to Wed. 14th - these show sleet on Thur. 8th, Sun. 11th and Mon. 12th and light rain every other day.

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Chris King @chrisfk.bsky.social · 06/12/2025

Creme Egg car parked outside, Cadbury's factory, Bournville.

Egg shaped three-wheeled car in Cadbury Creme Egg get-up - back half (including back wheel) red, front half (including front wheel) blue - featuring, centrally, words 'Creme Egg' in blue on a yellow 'egg-splat' ground, above which is the word 'Cadbury' in a smaller cursive font. Vehicle is parked on pavement in front of red brick and glass frontage. Two purple and yellow bollards in the foreground.

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Chris King @chrisfk.bsky.social · 28/11/2025

Contrastingly, sunshine and blue sky, if quite breezy, here in Birmingham despite BBC Weather continuing to insist that we're experiencing worse weather than we actually are!

Suburban skyscape: blue sky with a few small white clouds framed by terraces of late Victorian/Edwardian red-brick houses.

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Chris King @chrisfk.bsky.social · 24/11/2025

Moo is very cute. Our Kedi, usually known as Schnork, has just turned 14.

Tortie cat lying on white fleecy on red sofa.

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Chris King @chrisfk.bsky.social · 22/11/2025

Grey, less cold + VERY wet here in Brum.

An autumnal garden scene with shrubs in the foreground and trees beyond, under a grey sky.

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Chris King @chrisfk.bsky.social · 20/11/2025

Schnork/Schnorkie. Official name (rarely used): Kedi. Also addressed from time to time as: Pumpkin, Chicken, Sausage, Pickle and Cheese-weasel.

Dark tortie cat, curled up asleep on grey blanket with front paws outstretched.

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Chris King @chrisfk.bsky.social · 10/11/2025

Interesting pre-sunset orange glowing sky over Stirchley.

Suburban streetscape looking down side road with houses, parked cars, street lights and distant Lombardy poplars, under orange glowing sky.

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Chris King @chrisfk.bsky.social · 18/10/2025

'Automatic braking' has caused at least one death (likely more than one).

Excerpt from article about road accidents caused by cars' automatic braking system activating unexpectedly. It says: 'Another driver, Aurelie Tormos, who responded to the call out saw a friend travelling with her die after the brakes of her vehicle activated when driving at high speed on a motorway.

Ms Tormos was convicted of involuntary manslaughter.

"We cannot change the past, it will not bring [my friend] back. However we can allow her accident to be counted as a technical defect and not wait until there are [several] deaths before reacting." she said to FranceInfo.'

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Chris King @chrisfk.bsky.social · 15/10/2025

Morning all. Sorry to hear that it's a grey one where some of you are. Quite early still, of course, but looking promising here in Haute-Vienne after cloudy and chilly day yesterday. Off across the departmental border into Creuse later to buy a heated towel rail. Can barely contain my excitement!

Early morning view over garden and fields beyond. View over fields framed by foliage much closer to camera with chimney pot visible lower right. In background, on rising ground beyond fields, distant trees. Sky pale blue shading to orange behind trees at horizon.

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Chris King @chrisfk.bsky.social · 10/10/2025

Excited to try a new (to us) (seasonal?) flavour.

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Chris King @chrisfk.bsky.social · 09/09/2025

This morning's birds, according to our Merlin app, heard from our bedroom window.

Screenshot from Merlin app of birds identified from their song/calls during a single recording section. Names of birds listed on the right with a pic of each bird to the left of its name. From top to bottom, birds listed are: Common Woodpigeon, Common Chaffinch, Eurasian Nuthatch, Collared Dove, Eurasian Golden Oriole, Great Tit, Common Buzzard and Eurasian Blue Tit.

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Chris King @chrisfk.bsky.social · 05/09/2025

Update: the fog is starting to burn off. View over foggy fields from end of the garden.

View over lawn in foreground, with hedge in middle ground and green fields and trees beyond, under grey/foggy sky.

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Chris King @chrisfk.bsky.social · 05/09/2025

Very foggy here in rural Haute-Vienne. We normally have a lovely view out over the fields in the gap between the cherry tree on the left in the pic and the ivy-clad ruin on the right, but just a grey wall there this a. m. Today and tomorrow due to be dry. 27C forecast for tomorrow!

Garden view with low building with tiled roof on right, flowering yucca in foreground and cherry tree and lawn centre-left, under a grey/foggy sky.

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Chris King @chrisfk.bsky.social · 03/09/2025

I am pleased to report that our Brets drought is over, thanks to a 22km round trip to our equal nearest town that has a choice of supermarkets. Pic shows two-thirds of our haul - sauveur 'Falafels à la Libanaise' had already been scoffed before the photo was taken.

Two bags of Brets crisps On the left is a bag of 'Sauveur Chevre et piment d'Espelettes'. Design: below flavour name is an image showing crisps on left and a number of chili peppers and a goats cheese on the right - all against a white background. On the right is a bag of chips 'Sauveur Aligot à l'aveyronnaise'. Design: below flavour name is an image showing crisps to the left and a pan containing melted cheese to the right - all against a brown background.

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Chris King @chrisfk.bsky.social · 14/08/2025

Not quite as pretty (or anywhere near such good photos) but herewith Red Underwing and Copper Underwing in our Birmingham garden. #Moths

Dark moth at rest (wings closed in delta shape) on white-painted beam. Subtle dark grey on lighter grey pattern on wings.

Patterned largely brown moth on greenish fabric. Diamond-shaped reddish marking on upper back. Gold marking elsewhere, mainly on lower edge of wings.

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Chris King @chrisfk.bsky.social · 11/08/2025

BBC Weather website stubbornly continuing to insist that local weather is currently dry with a 0% chance of rain. It is in fact currently raining here.

Screenshot of part of webpage showing hour by hour local weather, stating that it is/will be partly cloudy and that at 20:00, it is/will be dry with sunny intervals and a temperature of 25 Celsius and a 0% chance of rain while by 21:00, skies will be clear with a temperature of 24 C and also with a 0% chance of rain.

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Chris King @chrisfk.bsky.social · 09/08/2025

(1) Schnorkie (no flash) iooking cute, (2) Seconds later, Schnorkie (with flash) looking demonic.

Tortie cat lying on red armchair with head resting on arm of chair and front paw gripping armrest. Behind cat is black cushion with a serpent design (partly visible at upper left).

Tortie cat lying on red armchair with head resting on arm of chair. Behind cat is black cushion with a serpent design (partly visible at upper left). Cat's eyes are shining brilliantly, reflecting camera's flash.

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Chris King @chrisfk.bsky.social · 05/08/2025

Post a castle if you see this.

The pic is focused on the inner part of a (non-ruined) chateau, built of pale grey stone with four towers visible, each with a point roof covered in dark skate. Red brick chimneys are also visible. Part of a very wide moat is also visible in front of the chateau and to the left is a stone-walled bridge across the moat connecting the main part of the chateau to a gate house (partly visible on the far left). The chateau is set against a back-drop of green trees, and in the foreground between the photographer and the moat is a low stone wall. The scene is illuminated by brilliant sunshine. The sky above is a deep cloudless blue.

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Chris King @chrisfk.bsky.social · 25/06/2025

In honour of Ystradgynlais and of Josef Herman, a Polish Jewish emigre artist who came to Ystradgynlais for a short sketching trip and loved it so much he stayed for years.

Monochrome sketch showing (outlined in black ink) a cluster of houses in the foreground. Behind them rises a squat black conical slag heap, with fields and trees on rising ground beyond.

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Chris King @chrisfk.bsky.social · 17/06/2025

This is what's going through their heads.

$On left, diagram showing light refraction through water and on right, associated mathematical formula: n = c/v. n[subscript 1]sin0[subscript 1] = n[subscript2]sin0[subscript 2]$

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