iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

I feel it's a brand that needs to be reclaimed by its original owners :)

Thanks Martin. So glad you liked it! There are three other threads featuring, respectively Yealand Conyers, Kendal and the Lancaster Canal and a fourth one in preparation. They are, collectively, an eccentric exploration of the lost textile cultures of the Bay Area.

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Paul McGhee @pmcghee.bsky.social · 12h

A banger from the aero smithy

A Blacksmith by Thomas Rowlandson, the illustrator of the Dr Syntax books.

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Paul McGhee @pmcghee.bsky.social · 13h

Greag idea I could use Jacquard cards to stencil a pattern on it.

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Paul McGhee @pmcghee.bsky.social · 13h

Hi Grunk! Glad you like it.

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Paul McGhee @pmcghee.bsky.social · 13h

ELI5: Weave canvas Size with "kivver" Oil, filler, drying agent Make paint Oil, earth pigments Paint pattern Varnish Walk on it for 200 years

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Paul McGhee @pmcghee.bsky.social · 14h

I'm going for this look. Practical, elegant, hard wearing.

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Paul McGhee @pmcghee.bsky.social · 14h

Tell me about it! #oilcloth bsky.app/profile/djin...

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Paul McGhee @pmcghee.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

His true calling was as an auctioneer of something that might or might not have had enormous value - like a rare carpet :)

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Paul McGhee @pmcghee.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Watching a movie of Morecambe from 1898 I was surprised to see that Vladimir Lenin had chosen it as a holiday destination that year. I thought he was in Shushenskoye. they must have let him out for his honeymoon. replay.bfi.org.uk/video/8d5c1c...

Part of a frame from early tech adopter, the draper and amateur photpgrapher William Henry Youdale of Cockermouth, Cumberland of the promenade of Morecambe in 1898. Happily preserved by the BFI (see link) it appears to feature the revolutionary leader Vladimir Illych Ulanvov (Lenin) sitting on a railing. An alternative explanation is that the revolutionary leader may have adopted as his chosen style of dress, the look of stylish holidaymakers in the North West of England.

No, that isn't Karl Marx passing by. He was dead by then.

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Paul McGhee @pmcghee.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Michael Caine once auditioned to be a Teletubby. Not a lot of people know that.

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Paul McGhee @pmcghee.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Shoes like this? Here's my only circular rug. It sat for years in an antique orint shop in Cambridge where the moth did corrupt. I repaired a lot of holes on it.

Scuba diving flippers suitable for Koh Tao.

A small Peking mat hung on a wall on a frame of canes.

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Paul McGhee @pmcghee.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Rug of the Day Needlepoint mat in the servants' area in Anglesey Abbey. Colour and texture.

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Paul McGhee @pmcghee.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

OK. Will go with the brown ones and dump the green to start with.

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Paul McGhee @pmcghee.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Last question. How thick is ideal? I'm guessing your scholars made them into charcoal sticks for drawing - so the thicker end of the vine stalks?

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Paul McGhee @pmcghee.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Thanks. I'll try the foil wrap idea in my log burning stove!

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Paul McGhee @pmcghee.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

I'm finding that book helpful in so many ways. Just looked up stuff about making different blacks. I have some vine cuttings I need to charcoalise. Any tips from the Golden Age?

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Paul McGhee @pmcghee.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

If, like mine, none of your applications are latency sensitive, you should be able to send requests on sealed parchments and get a cheap response a couple of days later when the Oracle isn't busy.

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Paul McGhee @pmcghee.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

"if ships don't need sails, Mr Waithman, what will you do with your canvas?" "Oilcloth, Sir" replied the magnate "Oilcloth is the future!" "Our own future seems uncertain. We have now missed our canal boat to Lancaster." "Never fear. Step aboard the Duke of Lancaster. We will steam there!" (TBC)

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Paul McGhee @pmcghee.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

BTW, you will recall that J M W Turner painted the scene "Lancaster Sands" from near this point in 1826, so maybe he also saw the paddle steamer in a storm - a recurring theme in his later paintings.

Turner's painting "Steam Boat off a Harbour's Mouth" from 1842. The location of the painting and interpretation of Turner's own descriptions of his painting it are much disputed, so I'm gong to randomly suggest that he was remembering the scene at Hest Bank from 16 years earlier.

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Paul McGhee @pmcghee.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Oh, you may not have seen that bit yet.

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Paul McGhee @pmcghee.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

I agree that the introduction of tactical paddle steamers into the mix now makes the production of a Bay Area Textiles battle game much more fun. Wait till we start building piers everywhere.

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Paul McGhee @pmcghee.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

"I imagine you had envisaged a schooner" said Mr Waithman. "But, if one's fortune is entailed in the use of flax to make sailcloth, one must catch the tides of technology! I am one of the venturers of the Lancaster and Liverpool Steam Navigation Company!" www.liverpool.ac.uk/~cmi/books/e...

liverpool.ac.uk

Early North West England Steam Vessels

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Paul McGhee @pmcghee.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Alighting by the Slyne Bridge, the gentlemen strolled down to the shore where Dr Syntax was astonished to see a ship without sails but with rotating wheels on its sides like a floating mill. "Now your ridde is clear!" he exclaimed

An imaginative reconstruction by Google Gemini of the scene at Hest Bank in about 1823 when it was visited by the first paddle steamer built for service on Morecambe Bay. This is what Peter de Wint might have painted.

Details from Liverpool University: Wooden paddle steamer Duke of Lancaster, built 1822 by Mottershead & Hayes, Liverpool. 91 grt, 103 x 17 x 9.5 ft, engines 50hp by Fawcett & Littledale. Initial service Liverpool - Morecambe Bay.

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Paul McGhee @pmcghee.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

"The dock is not the innovation, sir!" said the mill-owner, "The future is in what sails from it, or rather, what doesn't sail." He let out a guffaw. "Your riddle is opaque to me Mr. Waithman" replied Dr Syntax. Alight with me at Hest Bank and I will introduce you to The Duke of Lancaster then.

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Paul McGhee @pmcghee.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Either will do, though textile folks like to use the former to appear more special :)

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Paul McGhee @pmcghee.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

"A new port? That must be a mighty innovation indeed!" exclaimed the doctor. "It is a rapid enhancement of our business infrastructure. The flax business needs shipping and is expanding quickly. (Our motto is 'Move fast and brake things.)" We will soon be passing its location at Hest Bank."

A view of the port at Hest Bank, which existed briefly in the 1820s-30s as a transit point between coastal shipping and canal haulage. Owing to the unpredictable nature of the Bay, it was never successful and disappeared under the sands until it re-appeared unexpectedly in 2004.

Sadly, no artist (as far as I know) thought to record its existence in its heyday, so, once again, I have been obliged to seek help from a digital friend. They have created for me this view, after the manner of the early 19th Century watercolourist Peter de Wint. It's the kind of place he would have liked and expect he'd have painted it if anyone had pointed out its importance to the flax industry.

For more about this odd place, see this YouTube video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2STM6tvdrQ

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Paul McGhee @pmcghee.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

"Mr Waithman" cried the Dr. "Are you on your way home?" "No, Sir, I am engaged on innovation of the highest importance and taking the boat from my mill, where I have installed the latest flax braking equipment, to inspect the new port of the Lancaster Canal Company. www.tiktok.com/@osaberfazer...

tiktok.com

This flax break is probably the most fascinating machine used for flax processing. This type of break was used in the north of our country only, but nowadays there are less of a handful still in work...

TikTok video by Saber Fazer

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Paul McGhee @pmcghee.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Through the tunnel the boat swept over meadows with glimpses of the Kent estuary and the looming screes of Farleton until it halted at Holme to take on a passenger. Dr Syntax was delighted to greet his dinner acquaintance of Yealand Conyers, Mr Waithman www.cumbria-industries.org.uk/a-z-of-indus...

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Paul McGhee @pmcghee.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

I like the detail of the special path for the towing horses over the hill and the (very British) decision to make that a scheduled monument.

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Paul McGhee @pmcghee.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Ms Tutty turned to berate the men for their endless talk of mills, but at that moment, with shrieks of alarm from the more sensitive passengers, the barge entered the Stygian gloom of the Hincaster Tunnel. Dr Syntax stared in awe at this engineering marvel. canalrivertrust.org.uk/things-to-do...

canalrivertrust.org.uk

Canal history | Hincaster Tunnel on the Lancaster Canal

Our heritage advisor, Bill Froggatt talks about the history of the Hincaster Tunnel on the Lancaster Canal.

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Paul McGhee @pmcghee.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

A soldier in the bow observed that the gunpowder produced in a nearby mill at Sedgwick was more valuable. "The wars are over, sir" said another gentleman, "My Halfpenny Flax Mill makes products for peaceful homes." co-curate.ncl.ac.uk/halfpenny-cu...

co-curate.ncl.ac.uk

Halfpenny, Cumbria | Co-Curate

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Paul McGhee @pmcghee.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

An elegant lady, Ms Tutty, an admirer of Dr Syntax and his travelogues, exclaimed "Are we to spend this delightful journey in dreary talk of mills and cloth when you have such fine scenery to admire?" Unfortunately they were passing just such a mill. www.cumbria-industries.org.uk/helsington-s...

cumbria-industries.org.uk

Helsington Snuff Mill | Industrial History of Cumbria

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Paul McGhee @pmcghee.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

So much of our language comes from weaving. Fustian has two kinds of weft. One laid flat as base fanric and the other long and cut as pile. That's the long and the short of it :)

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Paul McGhee @pmcghee.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

This week's car boot sale treasure. Food for thought.

Two books:

R H Mottram describes the appeal of 18th and early 19th Century pictures in "Old England" to a pre-WW2 audience in 1937.

Derek Patmore tells the post WW2 reconstructors how to cheer up their prefabs in 1945 in "Colour Schemes and Modern Furnishing"

Both published by the Studio Press.

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Paul McGhee @pmcghee.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

"What, pray, is the difference between those two?" "Why, bayes is fulled and smooth with a nap. You will know it from gaming tables. Fustian has a cut pile as in courderoys and velvets. Both fabrics my be distinguished in the clothing of our fellow passengers" www.themeister.co.uk/birchall/fus...

A Georgian gaming table covered in green baize. Cards, a tankard, a candlestick and glasses are seen on the table.

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Paul McGhee @pmcghee.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Aa the boat passed Kendal Castle, Dr Syntax enquired "What do you make in your fine manufactory, Mr Braithwaite?" "We make fustians and bayes, Sir, and have done since the days of good Queen Catherine" replied the mill owner. tudorqueen6.com/2013/03/11/k...

tudorqueen6.com

Kendal Castle and Katherine Parr

Many books and local legends of Cumbria place the birth of Queen Katherine Parr at Kendal Castle in 1512. Is this true? No. It’s false of course. By the time of her birth — her father, …

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Paul McGhee @pmcghee.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

I hope she's going to spin that goat hair!

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Paul McGhee @pmcghee.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

Imagine the surprise of Dr Syntax to find a merry company of citizens gathered on a barge. Mr Braithwaite conducted him aboard and assured him that he would accompany him on part of the "voyage" to Lancaster.

Unfortunately, no artist (as far as I am aware) thought to depict the packet boats leaving Kendal in the 1820s, consequently I have been obliged to ask a digital friend to imagine the scene in the style of Rowlandson. It's not quite right and slightly reminiscent of GasTown, but will have to do for now so we can proceed with the narrative.

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Paul McGhee @pmcghee.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

Mr Braithwaite (Shearsman Dyer of Stramondgate) piped up. "Dear Doctor, there is no need to risk life and limb on the turnpike. A man of your eminence should travel in comfort. Come with me to my new woollen manufactory and dye-house at the Canal Head where you shall see the future."

A map of the centre of Kendal showing the terminus of the Lancaster Canal surrounded by mills, factories and warehouses.

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Paul McGhee @pmcghee.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

I'm looking for "kivver" but they haven't stocked it for a couple of centuries. Have to start from scratch.

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Paul McGhee @pmcghee.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

DIY store. The clue's in the name. It's where you buy the things to make your own tarps :)

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Paul McGhee @pmcghee.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

There is then the problem of the siccative. It takes ages for the linseed oil to dry unless you speed it up with white lead, which tends to kill your workers. I'm off to the DIY store for a modern substitute.

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Paul McGhee @pmcghee.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

He has a better option which will shortly be revealed.

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Paul McGhee @pmcghee.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

But made with the wrong kind of oil. Linseed on linen rather than petroleum plastic is the preferred option for the ecologically sound future of tarps. Grow the key ingredients in one field.

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Paul McGhee @pmcghee.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

That comes later, when they've settled in their cabins. Oilcloth is for the pioneers and tents for the gold rush

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Paul McGhee @pmcghee.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

Please note, without oilcloth to cover wagons, drivers, horses and luggage there would simply have been no wild west and no USA. It's that important!

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