Now I can't prove that this one has been altered but what do you think? The Brussels International Exposition, 1910 where a large fire ripped thorugh last parts of the site. (There's a longer account of it here: history-in-your-hands.com/432postcards...) #ModfiedPostcards #PrePhotoshop #Belgium

Two postcards from Clovelly, in Devon, showing a trio of donkeys going up the steep high street. Same donkeys and men show in each picture, but look closely at the buildings, especially the ones on the left and the New Inn. (Publisher Valentine, coloured image 1900s, B&W 1920s)

The Merry Maidens, of Cornwall. They were turned into stone for dancing on Sunday. Their pipers are in a paddock on other side of the road. #StandingStoneSunday #LandscapePhotography

Last gaming photo, for now. Gaming counters of bone, pottery and glass (L to R) and dice, from the Roman fortress baths at Isca (at the National Roman Legion Museum, Caerleon) #RomanBritain #OldGames #Museum Photos

I don't have many Iron Ages game pieces, so I hope you'll forgive the not very good photos. They're only small, about thumb-sized, and my camera's outdoor lens is not suited for inside. At Shetland Museum, Lerwick. The museum just says "Gaming pieces, Tingwall". #IronAge #OldGames #MuseumPhotos

And today, a single red light. "Is it actually red?" asked an operator, one of those who converted the computer's ramblings to coherent reports. "I've never seen red before." "It might be a very red orange." "I think orange that red is generally called red," said Eddie, the senior tech. #WIPsnips

Two Pictish gaming boards at the Orkney Museum. (Label text is in the Alt text). From Buckquoy, Birsay, on the Orkney mainland (overlooking the Brough of Birsay, where there are Viking & Pictish settlements), about 9th century. #Picts #OldGames #MuseumPhotos

Viking gaming pieces again, but these are at the Orkney Museum, Kirwall. The museum lable says "Whalebone gaming pieces. Buried in a leather or cloth pouch. The king piece is identified by an iron pin." So a tafl game then? #Vikings #OldGames #MuseumPhotos

Roman Egyptian bone dice. The museum lable says "Bone dice , from Oxyrhynchus, Roman Period, after 1st century BC" (National Museum of Ireland) #OldGames #Vikings #Dice #MuseumPhotos

Amber stopped walking. "My lord, no offense, but you don't get it. If I looked like you, I might like to dress up." "I'm not--" "Oh, go look in a mirror. You're probably drop-dead gorgeous when you first crawl out of bed in the morning. What would you know about other people?" #WIPsnips "other"

Like game pieces, the boards can also be hard to associate which a particular game, especially when they're roughly made. This board, scratched on a plank, I can't find much about. The museum label says "Wooden game board, Saint John's Lane".

A quick one tonight. A lovely little Viking-era glass gaming piece, from the same site as yesterday's board (Fishamble Street, Dublin).

Friendly people can be the worst to deal with. If she'd been on her own, Beth would now be on her way out the door, with assurances she'd come to Mari if she had any other problems and, yes, they really should get together for a drink one night. Fortunately she wasn't on her own. #WIPsnips

OK I have a confession. I love old games and I obsessively take photos when I see them in museums. That's a lot of photos, so I thought I should actually have a look at which I have examples of (and share some here as I go).

He ladled vegetables from the big central bowls onto Vern's plate, despite the latter's claim he could quite well feed himself. To be fair, Vern's objections had been half-hearted. He seemed happy being the centre of attention. An important knightly trait, after all. #WIPsnips

Former Launceston Bank for Savings* building in St Street, Launceston. For a large part of its life, this Victorian front was hidden by a large, vertical-metal facade.

On the nearby screen, two green lights pulsed, recording the electrical activity of his heart, assuring Beth that precious heart still beat. Other lights registered oxygen, blood pressure, temperature. She watched them, reading the messages in their constant activity. #WIPsnips

I have an absence of photos.

Late afternoon sunlight streamed through the windows, illuminating minuscule specks of dust suspended in the air. The canopy of storm clouds had finally broken, and patches of blue sky peeked out between the lingering clusters of gray. #WIPSnips

Men like Tomas and Cole we call dust. Discards who fall through the hole in the floorboards, unnoticed except by those tasked with sweeping them away. #WIPsnips (I wasn't going to do one tonight but it's a "thing" in WIP#2)

Three years earlier, it had been Maya standing in the yard, bag clutched in her arms. Headed to the moon, on the first leg of a working holiday that would take her to the Paradise and an eventual reunion with friends long forgotten, but she hadn't known that then. #WIPsnips "event"

Aubrey reached back, searching his desk for something to defend himself with, but it held only some pieces of paper, a comm that didn't work and a coffee mug #WIPsnips "coffee" Short one today :)

The last cats, at Ostia Antica. I think this is the necroplis or the gate (lots of long grass and sunny, low stone walls.) #RomanCats #CatsOfMastodon

#PitchDis Day 15 Favorite book with a disabled, neurodivergent, or chronically ill character? I now forget every book I've read in the last few years. ... But the Queen's Thief has always been one of favourite fantasy series, so that.

Surprisingly, considering the number of cats, I don't have any good cat photos of the Torre Argentina cat sanctuary in Rome. (On the site of the theatre were Julius Caesar is supposed to have been assinated). These are the best two. #CatsOfMastodon #RomanCats

She was cold, tired and so hungry, but her stubborn brother had agreed they should take a car so finally Amber was home. Now he stood in front of the door, hand on the lock. All he had to do was push the panel, then they'd be safe. Amber put her hand over his and opened the door. #WIPsnips "tired"

At the entrance to Villa A/Villa Poppaea, Oplantis (Torre Annunziata) #CatsOfMastodon #RomanCats

While the other roses in the garden have leaves coming up all over, the white reugosa rose is looking a bit bare. Two weeks ago I thought it was dead but it now has tiny buds along it's branches, Still, so far behind.

Beth stepped over the rope barrier. The swordsman knelt nearby, pulling apart the audio player. "Excuse me," she said, "can we talk--" Behind her, Wren coughed. "I think you're about to repeat a mistake." "What?" "Not him. Her." #WIPsnips "excuse" (Not sure it makes sense out of context)

Emperor of all he surveys, and mildly annoyed I didn't give him more attention, at Pompeii. #CatsOfMastodon #RomanCats

White & black cat enjoying the sun at Herculaneum #CatsOfMastodon #RomanCats

"We can't climb through there," Wren said. "Why? We'll fit and I can see where it comes out. "If someone comes after us, what am I supposed to do? Kick them in the nose?" Maya stared intently at the pipe to avoid looking at the emptiness around them. #WIPsnips "nose"

A friendly cat in the garden behind the Roman army museum in Caerleon. (I have a suspicion most of my cat photos are in or near Roman sites. I guess I could run with that.) #CatsOfMastodon #Caturday #RomanCats

Amber was the one who'd started the troupe and arranged their performances. She was better with the sword, but he was learning quickly. In Archie's opinion, she was too obsessed with historical accuracy. The crowds just wanted a show and wouldn't know a broadsword from a rapier. #WIPsnips "broad"

#Pitchdis Day 9 Are there any animals/pets in your story? No.

#Pitchdis Day 8 Second draft usually doubles. Third draft adds more. Than I have to cut more to get it under 120K. Except for thos that are struggling to make 70K after multiple edits. Why is this???

🙁

My photo editing software is not opening. I can either 1. close everything, reboot, reopen everything 2. not share a photo tonight. Yeah, it's not really that much of a choice. #TheInternetDoesntReallyNeedMoreCatPhotosAnyway

#Pitchdis Day 6. I like to know where I'm starting, and preferably the end, then the least plot points the better because I have to steer the story towards them and it doesn't always want to go. Anything resembling an outline leads to a tangled mess 😨

She shrugged. "We're knights. We should be out fighting maidens and rescuing dragons, not sitting around playing games." "I'm aware of this." "Are you? I gave up a perfectly good life for... for this." She waved her fork over the table. "I think I should at least be allowed to complain." #WIPsnips

I checked out the hotel suite. Peered into cupboards. Pressed buttons. It looked like a suite in any London hotel. No microgravity. No round windows or built-in furniture. Not even a steam-shower. Why come all the way to the moon and have rooms that look exactly the same as home? #WIPsnips "same"

#PitchDis Day 5 My main character is... He's a civil servant & personal assistant to a government advisor. Doesn't go anywhere without his workbook. Very efficient. Very organised. Very pragmatic. Is excited at visiting the moon city. Knows that magic is obviously not real.

This is my favourite cat photo (Scalloway, 2022). (Should I do some more cat photos? I also want to do games/gaming pieces. Will think about it.) #catsofmastodon #Shetland

Instead, I found a cosy space, with thick carpets and soft chairs in muted shades of grey and green. Across the walls gambolled a herd of unicorns, light gleaming off their polished armour, golden manes and horns flashing. And in the centre of this, stood a forlorn receptionist. #WIPsnips "horn"

Tomas grabbed me. "We're going to rest. Here. No argument, right?" I sat down, closed my eyes and wished I was anywhere else but on steps under a mausoleum. Or maybe not anywhere else. There were some recent places I'd been to that made steps under a mausoleum seem pleasant. #WIPsnips "recent"

Last railway station is Pompei #RailwayStations #TravelPhotos (New theme?)

#Pitchdis Day 3 I'm not actually sure about the genres. Maybe an older ms which is a, um, sort of humorous historical mystery/western. I think the not-fitting-neatly-into-a-box made it a harder sell (and being very Australian). And the science fantasy I'm currently rewriting if it's finished-ish

"He always does well. You know why? Because he's a sanc--sancky--" "Sanctimonious?" "That's it. He's a sanctimonious prick." "Prig." "That too. Why does he always have to shout at me?" "I have no idea." "I apologise. I try to make light of things. And all I get is shouted at." #WIPsnips "shout"

The Bastille in Paris was destroyed about 1790, but there are some remains. In the Metro station of the same name, there is part of the foundation and a line on the platform showing the outline of a moat wall. #RailwayStations #TravelPhotos #Paris

#Pitchdis Day 2. My mother once said I've been writing ever since she first met me. Although that was more making books, I think. I guess I got "serious" about the same time I found the internet and other SF&F writers to talk to. So that was the last millenium 😨😨