People

Walking With Telephones

~ beetleypete ~ 50 Comments

This is not a repeat of my walking post the other day, it’s a different one.

Yesterday, it was a little cooler, and there was a (very) slight breeze which made walking more comfortable. I set out at 1pm, and did much the same walk I had written about previously. There were few other people around. I only saw five other adults, and two children. One young woman was walking a dog, but that was it.

That walk was different from the other day. This time, I concentrated more on the damselflies for longer, realising they have a definite pattern in their behaviour. The skimming over the river followed by the resting on a leaf takes a little over ten seconds, so they do that almost six times a minute, in the same unchanged pattern. They are not hive insects like bees, nor colony insects like ants. Yet despite being individuals, they stick together in so many ways, repeating that pattern constantly.

All except for one solitary damselfly, which remained on a nettle leaf about four feet from the bench I was sitting on. That one didn’t move at all. So I speculated that it might have hatched earlier, and now be approaching the end of its short insect life-cycle. No longer needing to exert itself unduly.

Not unlike the man sitting watching it.

The other thing that I noticed yesterday was that all the adults I saw were looking at their mobile phones as they walked along. One shirtless man on the riverbank path checked his constantly without looking around or where he was going, and the devices in his ears suggested to me that he was expecting (or hoping for) a call. Other walkers were glued to their phones, their thumbs flicking as they scrolled up and down their screens.

They didn’t notice the damselflies, or stop to appreciate the movement of the water in the river. They couldn’t hear the birdsong because of their earpieces, and whatever was on those tiny screens was more important to them than the nature surrounding them.

Call me old-fashioned, but I think they all got it wrong. Totally wrong.

They might just as well have stayed at home.

Africa: A History In Four Maps

~ beetleypete ~ 45 Comments

The vast continent of Africa still remains a mystery to many people around the world. These four maps will hopefully serve to interest and educate.

The names the countries were known by before colonisation by outsiders.

The literal meaning of the names of African countries.

The original peoples and tribes of Africa. (The captions are in French, but obvious)

Modern day Africa, its countries and capital cities.

More Photos Of People With Pets And Animals

~ beetleypete ~ 57 Comments

Because they always cheer me up.

A keeper at London Zoo with two chameleons on his hat.

A man using a hippo to pull his cart.
(Not something I approve of, but it was a long time ago.)

A little girl and her cat.

This man is proudly showing off his pet raccoon.

A small boy and his pet lamb.

Reading her book sitting on an elephant’s leg.

A happy girl with her huge dog.

This boy is riding a giant tortoise and using food to make it walk.

A child cuddling an elephant lovingly.

A very well-dressed little girl with her grumpy dog.

This homeless man lives on the streets with his faithful dog for company.

A young boy posing with his dog.

This happy boy has put his dog inside a toy train.

People And Their Pets: Historical Photos

~ beetleypete ~ 39 Comments

With the news from around the world getting worse day by day, I found some nice old photos of people with their pets to look at instead.

I like the dog’s expression in this one.

A sheep makes a good pet too.

The little girl is so sumptuously dressed.

With her loyal dog, and her favourite toys.

Taking a dog bigger than her to the Dog Show.

She obviously loves her pets.

Living rough, with his canine companion.

Two dogs accompanying cycling owners.

A soldier feeding his dog during a break in combat.

Two men very proud of their small dog.

Dressed up as a dog to play with her pet.

People And Their Dogs: Historical Photos

~ beetleypete ~ 37 Comments

Humans have long sought the company of pet dogs, as these old photos prove.

Queen Victoria, with one of her favourite dogs.

Queen Victoria’s manservant and friend, John Brown. Here pictured with her other dogs.

An Edwardian lady with her beloved Pugs.

This couple posing with their dog in the 1940s.

A man and his dog both wearing the same style of cap.

This lady’s dog is disabled, and she has created a cart for it so it can accompany her when she is roller-skating.

A milkmaid carrying a dog and puppies in milk buckets.

A small boy with his white Bulldog.

This little girl is presenting her Old English Sheepdog at a Dog Show.

A smartly-dressed boy with a Pit Bull Terrier.

Three little girls with their collection of dogs.

British People: Some Historical Photos

~ beetleypete ~ 53 Comments

On 21 October, 1966, a slag heap at Merthyr Vale colliery collapsed on to Pantglas Junior School in Aberfan village, killing 116 children and 28 adults.

Dancing The Twist, 1960s.

Student party in Belfast, hot pants and alcohol.

Riingo Starr built a replica pub in his Surrey house.

Young Mods on a night out. London, 1970s.

Heavy drinkers in a Middlesborough pub, 1984.

Northumberland, 1984. An unemployed man looking for firewood in the snow.

East London, 1990. A woman selling her possessions on the street.

Houseproud: People and houses in old photographs

~ beetleypete ~ 64 Comments

When paying for photographs became more affordable in the early 1900s, it seems that the first thing many people wanted a picture of was their own house. And they wanted to be seen standing outside it too. Some of the better off even managed to buy their own cameras, and took similar photos of their families outside the house.
On the Internet, there are literally thousands of such photos, and I have selected just a few, all taken in Britain, from 1899-1902. I think these are a fascinating part of social history, and I hope you will think so too.

I lived in a house just like this one, from 1978-1985. It was built in 1901

This couple lived in a rather sloping house, which seems to have been built on a steep hill. They were sure to get their little dog included in the photo.

The family members outside this house appear to have worn their best clothes for the occasion of the photograph.
Or perhaps they were just back from Church?

The two women look uncomfortable, posing for the photograph. But the baby doesn’t mind too much.

The man appears to be more proud of his bicycle, than his wife and children. He has ensured that the bicycle is prominent in the photo.

A large family, standing proudly outside their house. At that time, many women had a child every year!

In the countryside, we see two ladies outside a substantial country house. No doubt they were proud of the topiary that had been done on the hedges.

Another country home, with the man of the house wearing his Navy uniform for the occasion.

Perhaps we should revitalise this tradition? All have a family photo taken outside our houses.
In another 120 years, someone somewhere will be fascinated by the images, just as I was.