iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

GillO @gillo.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

I misremembered - Tim Curry was Macheath in the "Threepenny Opera", not the "Beggars' Opera". (National Theatre 1986) Only a couple of centuries' difference. He was bloody good, though.

Tim Curry as Macheath/Mack the Knife, "Threepenny Opera" at the National Theatre in 1986.

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GillO @gillo.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

My late parents lived in Deganwy, up on the hill to the right of the river in the view on the postcard. We visited regularly, and went to all the castles in the area - about six within an hour's drive. Lots of rugged mountains going straight down to the sea. Their house was behind the hill here.

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GillO @gillo.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

Conwy Mountain is lovely, though it suffered from wildfires a few weeks ago. The Great Orme also has a wonderful view across to Anglesey and over most of Snowdonia. This is the view back towards Conwy from there. You don't know Wales?

The Conwy estuary and Conwy Mountain from Great Orme's Head.

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GillO @gillo.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

It absolutely is. A pretty castle at that - it almost looks like it's been made by a kid with a bucket and spade. Conwy town has a complete set of mediaeval walls and quite a few buildings over four centuries old.

Conwy Castle from the river with mountains behind it.

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GillO @gillo.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

I think you deserve something showier in the way of ruffs than that. 1628 Netherlandish From www.sophieploeg.com/blog/ten-ruf...

!628 portrait of a Netherlandish lady in a spectacularly big and many-layered ruff.

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GillO @gillo.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

It would depend on the context, I think. I have a quite helpful guide to letter forms in secretary hand - DM me an email if you'd like a copy.

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GillO @gillo.bsky.social · 12/07/2026

Found on one of Meta's many evil sites.

An image in the style of the Bayeux Tapestry. In Latin the text reads: "Ecce! Nigelus Faragus Aggreditur Ab humine Cum cisterna super capite. Crude translation: Behold! Nigel Farage being attacked by a man with a bin on his head!

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GillO @gillo.bsky.social · 11/07/2026

Indeed. ::stuffing fist in mouth to avoid typing spoilers:: Madame la Maréchale was only in her 30s, BTW. DD is a little cruel to her.

Clouet (school) sketch of the Maréchale de Saint André, 1540s or 1550s. A French noblewoman in formal dress with a small frill to her partlet.

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GillO @gillo.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

Loved this cartoon about The Count. #BinfortheWin

A cartoon strip pitting Count Binface against Farage. 1. Shows an imposing Count Binface promising to cleanse the planet of political trash. 2. His arch-nemesis, Nigel Farage, waving a pint, scoffin "Ha! Look at you, Bin Boy! You thik facts matter? The people want simple answers. I give them anger, fear and a nice pint! 3. Whenever Farage spreads misinformation, Binface is there to fact-check him into orbit! Shining the light of reality on Farage, Binface says "Not today, Garbage Goblin!" 4. Farage's evil plots are always the same... "First I blame the EU, then I blame immigrants, then I blame "The Woke", then I blame Binface. Works every time! 5. But Binface has the power of democracy, transparency and a nice wheelie bin! Standing next to a recycling bin, Binface says "I don't seek power. I seek recycling and a better future for everyone. TO THE BINMOBILE! 6. So, remember, citizens "Whenever democracy is in danger, whenever lies threated to win, COUNT BINFACE WILL RISE AGAIN! In the corner a dazed-lookig Farage sits in a bin marked "Political Rubbish". Westminster is in the background.

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GillO @gillo.bsky.social · 06/06/2026

Another good reason for abandoning the hellsite. Not one of these existed when I checked.

A screenshot of a message from Xitter claiming I had new followers, messages and notifications. A lie.

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GillO @gillo.bsky.social · 01/06/2026

Spanish ladies in chopines. The skirts stop above the level of the shoes.

Drawing from the sixteenth or seventeenth century showing Spanish ladies wearing enormous platform shoes which the caption calls pattens but are also known as chopines.

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GillO @gillo.bsky.social · 01/06/2026

A pair of chopines. Clearly someone was expected to be able to see them despite the floor length gown. They look angled like Barbie shoes, but yellow.

A pair of chopines in yellow with heavy lace decoration. These slip-on platform shoes gave the wearer six inches at least extra height.

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GillO @gillo.bsky.social · 01/06/2026

An actual chopine. Fancy but still silly.

An extant chopine, a type of exaggerated platform shoe raising the wearer about six inches above the ground. Red velvet and trimmed with what was probably gold lace.

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GillO @gillo.bsky.social · 01/06/2026

Chopines, the fashion that makes platform shoes look feeble.

A sketch of a Renaissance lady with a cutaway to show she is wearing chopines making her at least six inches taller.

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GillO @gillo.bsky.social · 11/05/2026

Just to jog your memory: "Free health care". Actually available throughout the UK. And it's not hypocrisy to vote differently. It's called democracy.

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GillO @gillo.bsky.social · 07/05/2026

Front page of a London paper today. Isn't this illegal? If not, it should be. (The buying of the page - it's not editorial content.)

The front page of the Evening Standard on Election Day, bought by Reform sympathisers. It shows the back of a man's head facing blackness. The Caption says "Vote Reform. Get Starmer out."

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GillO @gillo.bsky.social · 20/04/2026

"A surfeit of lampreys" is what I grew up being taught. Or, of course, in Sellar and Yeatman's unparalleled classic reference volume:

Henry I was famous for his handwriting and was therefore generally called Henry Beau-Geste. He was extremely fond of his son William who was, however, drowned in the White City. Henry tried to console himself by eating a surfeit of palfreys. This was a Bad Thing since he died of it and never smiled again.

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GillO @gillo.bsky.social · 20/04/2026

Some of the site I use to appease my stash cravings have had examples for a while. Here's an example at the cheaper end. Meaningless text, random (copyright violating) pattern.

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GillO @gillo.bsky.social · 13/04/2026

Anybody else see Brian Blessed flying to the rescue (of the poor, bedbound hostage) in the background. "FLASH IS ALIVE"

A crazy AI image of Trump as Jesus blessing a man in bed. The man looks oddly similar to Jeffery Epstein.

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GillO @gillo.bsky.social · 13/04/2026

In the UK, spare a (malevolent) thought for Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, who is heartbroken. Yup, it's time to celebrate.

A screenshot of a post by Tommy Robinson, mourning the defeat of Orban.

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GillO @gillo.bsky.social · 26/03/2026

A splendid time was most definitely had!

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GillO @gillo.bsky.social · 07/03/2026

Me in a different century. The past is a foreign country. The castle is Caernarfon - Edwardian. (That's Edward I, of course.)

Myself aged about twelve at Caernarfon Castle.

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GillO @gillo.bsky.social · 26/02/2026

Nice collection. But I wouldn't call it a lot. This is just one corner of the room I'm in. It's a tiny fraction of the total books we have.

A few of my bookshelves, mostly double-banked.

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GillO @gillo.bsky.social · 09/02/2026

Why AI can be dangerous.

An AI prompt asking for correct wiring of a UK 13amp plug. Diagram iswildly wrong and very unsafe.

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GillO @gillo.bsky.social · 07/02/2026

The One Ring belches forth paramilitaries? Not sure the designers fully thought this through.

The Italian team enters the opening ceremony of the winter Olympics through a huge gold ring.

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GillO @gillo.bsky.social · 01/02/2026

Farage. Yes he's a joke. Yes, Reform is a bad idea. But it's nastier and more evil than that.

A flow-chart showing Nigel Farage's connections with Putin, Trump and dark money.

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GillO @gillo.bsky.social · 22/01/2026

Played with Photoshop. As the Doctor said, "Don't you think he's looking tired?"

Photoshop image of Trump, looking miserable and exhausted. The Grim Reaper is behind him.

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GillO @gillo.bsky.social · 12/01/2026

Kim M Watt's Yorkshire mysteries with dragons?

The cover of a book, "Baking Bad" by Kim M Watt.

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GillO @gillo.bsky.social · 11/01/2026

One I have just seen wriggles round it:

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GillO @gillo.bsky.social · 11/01/2026

I see they've changed the "purpose". Ick. Double ick to the person posting as Rob Wagner.

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GillO @gillo.bsky.social · 14/12/2025

There is evidence for this. ::nods sagely::

The Child Catcher from "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang"; a bizarrely-dressed man with an accentuated nose holds lollipops to lure children.

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GillO @gillo.bsky.social · 20/11/2025

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fire_an...

The book cover of my edition of "Fire and Hemlock", by the wonderful Diana Wynne Jones. A bonfire backlights stalks of an umbellifer, with a clump of trees partially obscuring a house in the background.

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GillO @gillo.bsky.social · 18/09/2025

More evidence of how Britain made Agent Orange welcome.

An enormous balloon, a caricature of Donald Trump in a nappy/diaper, outside the British Parliament buildings.

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GillO @gillo.bsky.social · 18/09/2025

Hand up anyone who thinks Kate deserves a medal?

Donald Trump grinning at the Princess of Wales.

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GillO @gillo.bsky.social · 02/09/2025

Could something like this be an explanation?

Drusilla from "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" in vampire face - swollen forehead, lumpy and distorted, carrying a body.

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GillO @gillo.bsky.social · 01/08/2025

To be fair, the shirt was somewhat damp and clingy when he walked into Elizabeth. I'll settle for that.

Photo of Colin Firth as Mr Darcy, labelled "Wet Shirt".

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GillO @gillo.bsky.social · 22/04/2025

@abbaetha.bsky.social - evidence of what we discussed last week.

A sign erected on April 1st, warning walkers they are now entering the Loch Lomond Haggis Conservation Zone. A list of warnings include to avoid getting haggis wet, interfering with their mating activities or feeding them after midnight.

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GillO @gillo.bsky.social · 02/04/2025

There's the Rue des Papegaults in Blois... Just sayin'.

A narrow mediaeval street in Blois, France.

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GillO @gillo.bsky.social · 01/02/2025

Janey Godley, may she rest in peace, was 100% right. Google Images censors most of the well-known photos of her, but this one snuck past.

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GillO @gillo.bsky.social · 31/01/2025

He is spectacularly good in it, isn't he? Dennis Price was excellent at suave roles like Louis, though - in my head he will always be Jeeves to Ian Carmichael's Bertie Wooster.

Dennis Price as Jeeves, answering a stick-type telephone and looking very superior. (Wikipedia(

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GillO @gillo.bsky.social · 17/01/2025

The goat looks a lot like the demon D'Hoffryn. (Buffy.)

D'Hoffryn the demon and Anya, miserable, in her wedding dress, a still from "Hells Bells" from season 6 of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer".

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