Maybe because it gets dark so early these days this 17thC tile from Safavid Persia is appealing to me a lot (Rijksmuseum)

Went for a walk in the chilly sunshine yesterday and husband spotted a lot of Siskins feasting on seeds in the plane trees. I got a photo through my binoculars, at least 3 birds in this pic. I love that they're yellow and black, on sunlit yellow branches against a blue sky.

The most British moment in all of Barthes:

Today’s poem is for all the parents back on the school run for the first time after the holidays. Dawn Watson’s collection ‘We Play Here’ is an incredible piece of work and highly recommended. Very excited to see new work from her in 2026. #poetry #poemoftheday

The pomegranates are popping on the #tree in Grange Road, #Lewes!

Pleasantly surprised by remembering Grice's conversational maxims. I learned this 20+ years ago when I did a term of linguistics at Uni. Essentially: we assume people will communicate efficiently & effectively; when strictly unnecessary info/context/style is included, we infer meaning from it

Difficult to get oatcakes (as in biscuits for cheese) in Portugal, especially the thicker ones I prefer. So I made some, rescued them from being oversalted, and all week I've been quietly revelling in the beauty of these wot I made myself.

We want more

Oh my. Even in silence we rebel.

Rejoice! Today marks one of the most important celebrations of the festive period - the first post-Christmas bin collection! As is the custom, on this day, we have duly updated Bearwood Council's nativity display to include figures of the bin men.

Went swimming in a local spring fed pool this morning - glorious. This is one of the river beaches in central Portugal - they're fab! Grateful to friend Neil for suggesting the walk & the dip, I'd not have done it on my own. We then sat around chatting and eating at his. Perfect twixmas day.

#JoinIn doesn’t usually end on Christmas Day. People often keep chatting right through to New Year's Day! For anyone who needs a bit of company over the next few days. Join in whenever you feel like it. #JoinIn #NotAloneChat #DYK #Christmas #NewYear

The Best of Neon 2025: Pink milk.

I was saving the most unusual Portuguese Christmas sweet for last ... then fell asleep. Oops! I present the Lampreia de Ovos (Lamprey of eggs) Pic isn't great, as this sea monster is contained in the pastelaria's glass cabinet, with other party cakes. Recipes say ~ 1kg of sugar to 20 egg yolks.

And Tiny Tim, who did knot dye

Another example of Fritos Natal #JoinIn Sonhos (translation: dreams) One of my favourites! They're little fried doughnuts and hollow like profiteroles. I think you make the dough like a choux pasty too, and it's flavoured with lemon zest. Once fried they're drenched in sugar and cinnamon.

A lovely Christmas thing: husband & I just had a nice phone chat with his daughters. Divorce & creating new families is hard, especially for the kids, and there were times I never thought they would ever casually chat on the phone with us. Treasuring that 30 mins of normal conversation :)

I have a vital seasonal life hack, regarding roasties. There is no point making roasties for one, so you may as well make them for two. And the only foolproof way to make enough roasties for two, is to make them for three. I will be taking no questions at this time.

My Portuguese sweets odyssey continues with Fritos Natal ... so many of the Christmas sweets here are deep fried. These are coscorões, a sweet flour dough that's fried and flavoured with orange and aguardente (a Portuguese spirit). They're fried, then coated with sugar and cinnamon. #JoinIn

Obviously, I've been carrying out a comprehensive (or entirely haphazard and partisan) survey of traditional Christmas treats in Portugal. First up is Bolo de Rei (King's Cake) traditionally for 6th Jan, now a Christmas Day treat ordered from the local pastelaria.

Happy Christmas to all. May you all have a collection of exotic & lovely creatures clustered round your Christmas tree.

Good morning #JoinIn folks. I hope everyone is doing ok. Cold one here, wrapped up in my biggest jumper. Don't forget to post with #JoinIn and say if you would like someone to chat to today, it can be a tough one for many reasons. Also, let me know what time is acceptable to start eating pickles...

Twas the night before Christmas, and throughout the land The sleeping arrangements were carefully planned Down in the kitchen, a picturesque scene A mattress, a pillow, a washing machine

Second anniversary of our Apple TV’s spectacular attempt to understand me asking for “Hercule Poirot’s Christmas”

🎄

#Advent treat for today: Husband & I made mince pies, with home made mincemeat (made by me a month ago) and home made pastry. They are BLOODY GOOD!

Looks like this is happening on Monday on 6Music then! How exciting. #IntoTheGroove

@emmachaplin.bsky.social reading this poem by Edna St Vincent Millay and thinking of the granny annexe you mentioned earlier ...

As we move into the season of excess, I love Millay’s quiet and smiling refusal at restraint. At first glance, the poem seems almost flippant but beneath the surface is provocative tone. Much like Jack London’s thought ‘I would rather be ashes than dust…’ #poetry #poemoftheday

Rye Harbour Nature Reserve is a very special place for wildlife & this biobead spill is a nightmare. Please sign the petition to ban them www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Today's #advent treat: all you can eat sushi buffet for lunch with a friend. Nice food and excellent conversation.

New Home Office impact assessment finds that cutting skilled and social care visas will cost the UK up to £10 billion with a central estimate of -£5.4 billion. It would be good if this got even a fraction of the coverage devoted to the endless debate about boats, flags and Turkish barber shops

Today's #advent treat? I've saved opening a letter from a friend until I could sit and really enjoy reading it, undisturbed and with a cup of tea. Nice Christmas stamp on it too. Some people are okay at letter writing. Some are excellent at it. Fiona is one of the excellent ones!

Today's #advent treat was a meia de leite (coffee with milk) in one of my favourite cafes. Back home after nearly a week in the UK and glad to have no more trips planned for a while!

Today is a bank holiday in Portugal, and we had one last Monday. I approve of having a couple more bank holidays in December :)

"Loneliness does not come from having no people about one, but from being unable to communicate the things that seem important to oneself, or from holding certain views which others find inadmissible." Carl Jung, “Memories, Dreams, Reflections”

There really is no such thing as "the perfect green" linktr.ee/boldpolitics

Reform accepted £9 million from a former Boris Johnson backer & crypto-multimillionaire. Today, Nigel Farage postures as a righteous defender of the same democracy he actively undermines. Democracy should never be for sale. It's time for a cap on political donations.

Today's #advent treat: taking a friend I've known for almost 20 years out for lunch :) Very lovely to catch up and I smuggled 2 pastel de nata out of Portugal for us to have with a coffee afterwards.

Today's other win: told lovely, lively and completely-oblivious-to my-exhaustion-levels husband & adult step-children I needed to go home as they contemplated pudding at 10:15pm in a restaurant. I didn't sit there smiling, pretending I wasn't seething, for another hour. New ground for me.

Today's #adventtreat - a cotton square scarf from Tizz's in Lewes, to wear landgirl style in my hair. Brightened my day no end, and had a lovely chat with the peeps in the shop.

Today's small advent treat - um pastel de nata com um cafe, on my way to the airport for a family visit. Big kisses to the fabulous @emmachaplin.bsky.social for the idea of advent treats :) I was a bit rubbish and forgot yesterday, made sure I did it today.

I love this mural in Tomar, on the side of the fire station. I walk past often and usually stop to look up. Turns out it depicts Molly Williams, America's first Black, female firefighter, in 1818. The mural was part of an art project in the town in 2019. www.atlasobscura.com/places/molly...

"at the old pond snow falls on Mandarin ducks in twilight" Basho Matsuo (image: Jakuchu Ito)

I see some book piracy discourse, and, to make a positive argument in favor of buying books, your marginal ability to influence what books get published and support the careers of writers you like is massive compared to most other forms of media.

Some moments of trying a new language are exhilarating! This morning I went to the Mercado and asked for: duzentos grammes de arandos (200g of cranberries) and managed to tell the stallholder [pointing at Xmas lights] é muito lindo it is very pretty Not perfect grammar but he appreciated it :)