Monthly Archives: October 2014

November is NaNoWriMo month

Posted on October 28, 2014 by Stephen Liddell

November is the month that can bring whoops of delight and shudders of fear amongst writers around the globe. It is of course NaNoWrimo or National Novel Writing Month for those not in the know. It is an event that … Continue reading →

Posted in Life, writing | Tagged books, Life, Nanowrimo, National Novel Writing Month, novels, writing | 10 Comments

The tragic genius of Alan Turing and The Imitation Game

Posted on October 25, 2014 by Stephen Liddell

If you’re not familiar with the name Alan Turing, the chances are that you soon will be with the release of the new film, The Imitation Game, starring Benedict Cumberbatch in the starring role. Alan Turing holds a unique … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Movies and Films, Popular Culture, Science and Engineering, WW2 | Tagged Alan Turing, Apple, Benedict Cumberbatch, Bletchley Park, history, Life, movies, Science, The Enigma Machine, The Imitation Game, U571, WW2 | 23 Comments

The Lochnagar Crater and a relic of war

Posted on October 21, 2014 by Stephen Liddell

At the end of September I visited some of the WW1 battlefields in northern France and Belgium and thought in the lead up to Armistice Day on 11th November I would dedicate some of my posts to what I saw. … Continue reading →

Posted in history, writing, WW1, Ye Olde England Tours | Tagged Bayonet, France, history, holiday, Lest We Forget, Life, Lochnagar Crater, Sunken Road, The Somme, vacation, war, WW1, Ye Olde England Tours | 5 Comments

Edward Jenner – The greatest man you might never have heard of

Posted on October 18, 2014 by Stephen Liddell

This morning I received my free Flu vaccination and a time when nearly all of us are fortunate enough to receive vaccinations and inoculations for many illnesses from the winter flu upwards it is well worth remembering that there was … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Science and Engineering | Tagged County of Gloucestershire, Edward Jenner, history, Life, London, Medicine, Science, Smallpox, The Walking Dead, vaccination, WHO | 6 Comments

An unapologetic guide to saying Sorry

Posted on October 14, 2014 by Stephen Liddell

When was the last time you said Sorry to someone? It’s not something that any of us like to do and it is something that many of us don’t do. Often it is the people who should say Sorry the … Continue reading →

Posted in Life, Religion and Faith | Tagged Friends, Introverts, Life, morals, Relationships, religion, Sorry, wrong | 8 Comments

Dick Turpin Highwayman – Stand and Deliver

Posted on October 11, 2014 by Stephen Liddell

For millennia, travelling by land across the British Isles was a dangerous and slow business. Most people when they could travelled by boat on rivers and along the sea-coast and later by canals. Travelling by land was a slow and … Continue reading →

Posted in Cool Britannia, history, Popular Culture | Tagged Adam Ant, Crime, Dick Turpin, Epping Forest, Highwaymen, history, Life, London, Murders, Muskets, UK, Whitechapel, York | 4 Comments

Apple or Microsoft – The big dilemma

Posted on October 7, 2014 by Stephen Liddell

All these years of blogging I have been working on a 10 year old + PC, sometimes a first generation iPod and in the last year just occasionally an iPad Air. Writing out a long blog on an iPod is … Continue reading →

Posted in Popular Culture, Science and Engineering | Tagged Amiga, Apple, Apple v PC, iMac, iPad, iPod, Laptop, Macbook, Microsoft, Mobile Phone, PC, smartphone, Windows | 14 Comments

The death of the Aral Sea

Posted on October 4, 2014 by Stephen Liddell

Once the fourth largest inland body of water in the world and half the size of England has over the last few decades almost totally disappeared. The Aral Sea sits in the middle of the Kyzylkum Desert fed by the … Continue reading →