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Simon Higgins

@simonhiggins60.bsky.social
237 followers 176 following 877 posts

Emeritus Chemistry Prof., University of Liverpool. Still dabbling in molecular electronics. The rest of the time, I'm usually riding a bike, cooking (and eating) or reading. Volunteer at Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital.

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Simon Higgins @simonhiggins60.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
Mrs H’s latest target practice is not very impressive as far as dispersion is concerned.
Soggy tissues badly aimed at a plastic bin.
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Simon Higgins @simonhiggins60.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
ResearchGate emails to say I've been cited by a team from the University of Gondar. Not surprising that I misinterpreted this.
Alan Lee's picture of Minas Tirith
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Simon Higgins @simonhiggins60.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
We’re in our local Nepalese restaurant Sano Nepal Gateacre. It’s really phenomenal. Food is delicious, prices are reasonable and they’ve a decent wine list .
Mrs H enjoyed her appetiser in Sano Nepal Gateacre Liverpool.
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Simon Higgins @simonhiggins60.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Glut of homegrown tomatoes turned into tomato and roasted red pepper sauce for the freezer.
A pan of homemade tomato sauce
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Simon Higgins @simonhiggins60.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Our pricy pub is opposite this fine building which is the HQ of the National Union of Teachers.
The National Union of Teachers HQ building
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Simon Higgins @simonhiggins60.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Sur le pont d’Avignon.
The bridge at Avignon- the one the song’s about
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Simon Higgins @simonhiggins60.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Holiday going pretty well so far. Went to Gordes among other pretty Provençal villages today.
View of the mountain village of Gordes
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Simon Higgins @simonhiggins60.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Unusual veterinary service being offered on the route of yesterday’s bike ride.
Sign saying’cats eyes removed’
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Simon Higgins @simonhiggins60.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Quite a threatening sky this morning- better take the waterproofs today.
Red sky over Gateacre this morning
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Simon Higgins @simonhiggins60.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
My glamorous location for the next 4 hours.
Crjudgington roundabout
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Simon Higgins @simonhiggins60.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
Apparently, it's 15 years since my first 50-mile time trial (thanks, FB- I think). I didn't much enjoy it, as the picture indicates; 2nd hand elderly aluminium TT bike, dubious position, not very aero. Think my time was 2:10:something.
The poster, riding a yellow aluminium Corrado TT bike. And grimacing, although this picture was taken about 10 miles into a 50 mile TT.
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Simon Higgins @simonhiggins60.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
Return to traditional Summer weather here.
A rainbow over some modern houses in Gateacre
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Simon Higgins @simonhiggins60.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
Our view of the totality (nearly) is somewhat compromised by the first cloud of the day. Pinhole camera worked well before though.
The eclipse with clouds
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Simon Higgins @simonhiggins60.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
Pinhole camera for the daughters foster kids to fight over!
Pinhole camera
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Simon Higgins @simonhiggins60.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
Hey , you’ve made my effort look good! And I was always crap at art and design too.
Pinhole camera from Shreddies box.
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Simon Higgins @simonhiggins60.bsky.social · 08/08/2026
Pretty decent yield of bottled plums in the end. Quite a satisfying afternoon’s work.
Four bottles of stewed plums
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Simon Higgins @simonhiggins60.bsky.social · 08/08/2026
Inadvertently sharing the plum harvest. There are quite a few of these little critters.
Small worm in plum
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Simon Higgins @simonhiggins60.bsky.social · 08/08/2026
Since Bluesky is obsessed with garden produce at present, here’s our plum harvest. About 1/3 of last year’s- the tree has mostly grown leaves!
Plums picked from the tree
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Simon Higgins @simonhiggins60.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
So, I noted this book on the ‘help yourself to these’ table at Broadgreen Hospital main entrance last week; today, I saw a middle-aged lady look and then take it!
A book called ‘Practical Fracture Treatment’
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Simon Higgins @simonhiggins60.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
Broadgreen Hospital encourages DIY with the limited choice of secondhand books now available in the main entrance?
An unlikely second hand book: practical fracture treatment!
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Simon Higgins @simonhiggins60.bsky.social · 06/07/2026
Rail infrastructure in NW England in one image.
Big yellow barriers in front of the one public toilet at Huyton station.
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Simon Higgins @simonhiggins60.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
Private Eye also has a jaundiced view of overhyped World Cup coverage, this time in newspapers:
Mock tabloid story from Private Eye; 'MAN KICKS BALL' 'The entire world held its breath last night as a man kicked a ball...' etc
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Simon Higgins @simonhiggins60.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
Great little trains of France; hard working 080 tank engine.
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Simon Higgins @simonhiggins60.bsky.social · 29/05/2026
In a 12the C church in Les Ezies, Dordogne. The parish here was probably 2, 2.5 thousand at most. 50-odd names on the WW1 memorial.
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Simon Higgins @simonhiggins60.bsky.social · 24/05/2026
If my wife has to perform a domestic task, she optimises the conditions as much as possible. In winter, she irons in front of the TV.
A lady ironing in the garden in the sunshine.
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Simon Higgins @simonhiggins60.bsky.social · 12/04/2026
A small celebration of Wout’s victory!
A bottle of Leffe and its contents in a glass.
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Simon Higgins @simonhiggins60.bsky.social · 01/03/2026
Visiting the Hockney galleries at Saltaire today, after finding ourselves dining at the Woolpack (Emmerdale) yesterday evening.
Hockney flowers paintingHockney paper making printHockney chair
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Simon Higgins @simonhiggins60.bsky.social · 23/01/2026
I'm not normally a fan of graphical abstracts (always hated having to make them), but as a wrinkly Pink Floyd fan I can't resist a shout-out for this one, from David Suárez-García, Darío Coto and Rubén Vicente's review of cyclopropenes in photochemical reactions; Chem. Eur. J. 2026, e03281.
Picture based on the famous triangular prism splitting light, from the album cover of 'Dark Side of the Moon', with the prism replaced by a cyclopropene ring.
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Simon Higgins @simonhiggins60.bsky.social · 22/01/2026
Merseyside Police setting a great example at LHCH this morning. Double yellows outside the main entrance.
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Simon Higgins @simonhiggins60.bsky.social · 16/01/2026
Tour de France Stage 2 2027 is going to finish in Liverpool. This will be epic! I'll probably go and watch it on Belmont though- a favourite local training ride.
Map of Britain showing first three stages of Tour de France 2027
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Simon Higgins @simonhiggins60.bsky.social · 24/12/2025
One of Mrs H’s Xmas presents from colleagues. Someone has the right idea about my wife!
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Simon Higgins @simonhiggins60.bsky.social · 29/11/2025
Hopefully, off to find some more of this at Byrne’s of Clitheroe. Or an equivalent.
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Simon Higgins @simonhiggins60.bsky.social · 23/11/2025
Mrs H's cousin's lad Ben, who was running for Scotland in the Senior race.
Runner in the Senior race; Liverpool Cross Challenge 2025
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Simon Higgins @simonhiggins60.bsky.social · 23/11/2025
And this was the park at dusk after the racing. Lovely evening.
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Simon Higgins @simonhiggins60.bsky.social · 23/11/2025
First two U23 runners in yesterday’s Liverpool Cross Challenge race, approaching the end of the first of two laps in Sefton Park. After a dreich morning it was a decent afternoon.
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Simon Higgins @simonhiggins60.bsky.social · 15/11/2025
The only thing to do when the weather is this horrible is bake; Scottish batch loaves from J Morton’s bread book.
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Simon Higgins @simonhiggins60.bsky.social · 06/10/2025
Storm Amy blew over the tomato plants. So far we’ve made green tomato soup and four jars of tomato chutney. Any ideas for the remaining crop??!
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Simon Higgins @simonhiggins60.bsky.social · 05/10/2025
Today, we’ve made green tomato soup and used 2 kg of green tomatoes to make chutney, and this is what’s left. Storm Amy blew over the plants.
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Simon Higgins @simonhiggins60.bsky.social · 03/10/2025
Son has reached Bourge on his way to Paris. This suburb he found amusing for some reason.
The town of Pisse-Vieille near Bourge.
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Simon Higgins @simonhiggins60.bsky.social · 01/10/2025
This is the fifth successive apple crumble I have made with the cooking apples from our tree, after filling 8 3 litre Kilner jars with stewed apples too. And there are still loads of eating apples as well.
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Simon Higgins @simonhiggins60.bsky.social · 17/09/2025
Son is on his way home from Lisbon. By bicycle. Here’s a little owl he saw at last night’s halt.
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Simon Higgins @simonhiggins60.bsky.social · 14/09/2025
I didn’t buy this because of the name, honestly. It’s delicious. From the soon-to-be-lamented Wine Time (the proprietor is retiring).
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Simon Higgins @simonhiggins60.bsky.social · 12/07/2025
Mrs H insists on a paddle.
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Simon Higgins @simonhiggins60.bsky.social · 12/07/2025
To Port Erin by the Isle of Man Steam Railway courtesy of Beyer Peacock of Manchester.
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Simon Higgins @simonhiggins60.bsky.social · 11/07/2025
The view from our hotel room. A bit different from my last visit to Douglas, Easter Sports Festival 1986 with Leeds Uni AC running 3 races in 3 days, drinking far too much and sharing 3 to a room in a scummy guest house!
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Simon Higgins @simonhiggins60.bsky.social · 11/07/2025
The leaving of Liverpool (temporarily); off to the Isle of Man for a long weekend, and incidentally dodging the 30+ C temperatures. It’s forecast to be just 23-24 in Douglas.
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Simon Higgins @simonhiggins60.bsky.social · 26/05/2025
Early start- my venue for the next few hours marshalling the venerable Anfield 100. Luckily it’s a decent day.
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Simon Higgins @simonhiggins60.bsky.social · 10/05/2025
Mrs H has done some knitting for our daughter who is quite pleased with the result of the Premier League this season.
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Simon Higgins @simonhiggins60.bsky.social · 07/05/2025
Birthday treat- off to see Stewart Lee later.
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Simon Higgins @simonhiggins60.bsky.social · 07/05/2025
Parkin synthesis turned out well again. Something good did come out of Yorkshire!
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