Howell Harris
@trefeca.bsky.social
Retired (US, business & technology) historian. Twitter escapee. Hope this doesn't go the same way. Welsh & European. Durham resident. Gardener & cyclist.
Thought so! Rode there on my 24th birthday in November 1975, when I was teaching at Lampeter, on my old road bike. It was bitterly cold and the road was icy in places. Would love to do it on my 74th in a week or so on my hybrid/gravel bike, but it’s a LONG way away.
November 9, 2025 at 9:45 AM
Thought so! Rode there on my 24th birthday in November 1975, when I was teaching at Lampeter, on my old road bike. It was bitterly cold and the road was icy in places. Would love to do it on my 74th in a week or so on my hybrid/gravel bike, but it’s a LONG way away.
Here she is, the Taliesin — built in the 1880s for the River Dee, so shallow draft and twin screws, but ALSO built to carry passengers, so moonlighted taking tourists on summer cruises along the N. Wales coast. Acquired by my family in 1930 for not much more than the cost of a new car then.
November 5, 2025 at 12:01 PM
Here she is, the Taliesin — built in the 1880s for the River Dee, so shallow draft and twin screws, but ALSO built to carry passengers, so moonlighted taking tourists on summer cruises along the N. Wales coast. Acquired by my family in 1930 for not much more than the cost of a new car then.
The view from our balcony tonight, before it went completely dark.
November 1, 2025 at 6:27 PM
The view from our balcony tonight, before it went completely dark.
No regrets anyway, just decided that we liked the idea of owning a small nuclear power station (solar energy is nuclear, after all). Ditto adding 10 KwH of batteries to maximise using our energy at home. This chart is home consumption [blue], grid export [green], & bought in [red]. 5+ months no red
October 16, 2025 at 5:31 PM
No regrets anyway, just decided that we liked the idea of owning a small nuclear power station (solar energy is nuclear, after all). Ditto adding 10 KwH of batteries to maximise using our energy at home. This chart is home consumption [blue], grid export [green], & bought in [red]. 5+ months no red
This might interest somebody -- @johnspringford.bsky.social are you the guy who's recently(ish) had a heat pump fitted? Well, we haven't, but we do have 4 Kw of solar panels. So I've checked the "energy balance" of our house this year. What you see is our gas & grid elec consumption minus PV output
October 15, 2025 at 1:13 PM
This might interest somebody -- @johnspringford.bsky.social are you the guy who's recently(ish) had a heat pump fitted? Well, we haven't, but we do have 4 Kw of solar panels. So I've checked the "energy balance" of our house this year. What you see is our gas & grid elec consumption minus PV output
Congrats & good luck! You may find this interesting — earliest surviving photo (that I know of) of the Grassholm gannet colony, back in July 1910 when it was less than 1% of its current size — stable but not growing for a generation. Then came WW1 & four yrs of VERY effective protection vs visitors.
October 11, 2025 at 12:02 PM
Congrats & good luck! You may find this interesting — earliest surviving photo (that I know of) of the Grassholm gannet colony, back in July 1910 when it was less than 1% of its current size — stable but not growing for a generation. Then came WW1 & four yrs of VERY effective protection vs visitors.
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October 1, 2025 at 6:54 PM
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You should try Colman’s Seafood Temple in South Shields — a northern fish & chip shop if ever there was one, with decent middle-class prices. I take my southern friends to treat them.
September 29, 2025 at 5:02 PM
You should try Colman’s Seafood Temple in South Shields — a northern fish & chip shop if ever there was one, with decent middle-class prices. I take my southern friends to treat them.
Pano in Pembrokeshire.
September 23, 2025 at 11:34 AM
Pano in Pembrokeshire.
One of the nice things about old-time bike racing was that it was done on machines that looked very little different from the ones that ordinary punters rode, except for the lack of mudguards & bells. Milk Race, Great Orme, May 1965. Don’t know the rider, but he’s got a pump just like my old one.
September 15, 2025 at 8:30 PM
One of the nice things about old-time bike racing was that it was done on machines that looked very little different from the ones that ordinary punters rode, except for the lack of mudguards & bells. Milk Race, Great Orme, May 1965. Don’t know the rider, but he’s got a pump just like my old one.
No punctuation, no capitalisation, loser!
September 2, 2025 at 1:46 PM
No punctuation, no capitalisation, loser!
Great example this morning of How to Park on a Bike Path -- smack in the middle, so that nobody can ride past on either side. Not sure whether this car was just parked or perhaps abandoned after a bit of a thunk -- some bodywork damage in front.
September 1, 2025 at 4:34 PM
Great example this morning of How to Park on a Bike Path -- smack in the middle, so that nobody can ride past on either side. Not sure whether this car was just parked or perhaps abandoned after a bit of a thunk -- some bodywork damage in front.
What a fine bunch of rams on the South Tyne, just north of Alston, yesterday! @herdyshepherd.bsky.social
August 29, 2025 at 9:08 PM
What a fine bunch of rams on the South Tyne, just north of Alston, yesterday! @herdyshepherd.bsky.social
A bit obvious, I'm afraid. Big day for me, fitting a new pair of Schwalbe Marathon Pluses to my hybrid/gravel bike. Had 8+ years, plenty of 100+ mile weeks out of these but tho there's still a bit of tread left I think there's less puncture resistance as well as grip, so time for a change. Too soon?
August 24, 2025 at 10:48 AM
A bit obvious, I'm afraid. Big day for me, fitting a new pair of Schwalbe Marathon Pluses to my hybrid/gravel bike. Had 8+ years, plenty of 100+ mile weeks out of these but tho there's still a bit of tread left I think there's less puncture resistance as well as grip, so time for a change. Too soon?
My older brother has been scanning old negatives & found some of the first & for some years only foreign holiday (Paris, Easter 1961) that we ever took as a family. I wonder what the top of the Eiffel Tower looks like now? Bristling with aerials then. Streets look empty of cars, but what cars!
August 21, 2025 at 7:33 AM
My older brother has been scanning old negatives & found some of the first & for some years only foreign holiday (Paris, Easter 1961) that we ever took as a family. I wonder what the top of the Eiffel Tower looks like now? Bristling with aerials then. Streets look empty of cars, but what cars!
@gilesmacdonogh.bsky.social -- you may well know about this already, given that WLSC's dependence on generous benefactors is the subject of a good book, but this list of birthday presents to him in the late 1940s (from Chartwell) is quite impressive. Looks as if he could have stocked a decent shop.
August 17, 2025 at 8:08 PM
@gilesmacdonogh.bsky.social -- you may well know about this already, given that WLSC's dependence on generous benefactors is the subject of a good book, but this list of birthday presents to him in the late 1940s (from Chartwell) is quite impressive. Looks as if he could have stocked a decent shop.
This morning at an outdoor cafe on Roker prom, one of the best bits of the Sunderland Riviera. Did not notice any foreign, i.e. non-Wearside, accents. Swimmers, paddle boarders, yachties, sea anglers, dog walkers, cyclists, runners. Tourists might spoil it for us locals.
August 17, 2025 at 2:30 PM
This morning at an outdoor cafe on Roker prom, one of the best bits of the Sunderland Riviera. Did not notice any foreign, i.e. non-Wearside, accents. Swimmers, paddle boarders, yachties, sea anglers, dog walkers, cyclists, runners. Tourists might spoil it for us locals.
“Because you’re mine, I’ll walk the line.” Except that the clueless old b***** can’t even do that.
August 16, 2025 at 8:51 AM
“Because you’re mine, I’ll walk the line.” Except that the clueless old b***** can’t even do that.
Yes, plenty, mostly from my mother — they used to take family & friends with them for a jaunt — my great-uncle would wander the decks in the worst weather eating green bacon sandwiches & recommending them to vomiting passengers as a certain cure for sea-sickness. Delivered building materials too.
August 8, 2025 at 6:38 AM
Yes, plenty, mostly from my mother — they used to take family & friends with them for a jaunt — my great-uncle would wander the decks in the worst weather eating green bacon sandwiches & recommending them to vomiting passengers as a certain cure for sea-sickness. Delivered building materials too.
Data for data: a couple of graphics of (1) the way a battery system time-shifts PV production to cover day-long usage, and (2) how it copes with output variability, so far -- i.e. only exporting electricity when it is surplus to local immediate consumption & the need to top up the battery.
August 7, 2025 at 8:25 AM
Data for data: a couple of graphics of (1) the way a battery system time-shifts PV production to cover day-long usage, and (2) how it copes with output variability, so far -- i.e. only exporting electricity when it is surplus to local immediate consumption & the need to top up the battery.
Having a solar PV system can turn into a new way of counting the cups of tea you have in a day, except when your ouotput is higher than the kettle's demand.
August 7, 2025 at 8:10 AM
Having a solar PV system can turn into a new way of counting the cups of tea you have in a day, except when your ouotput is higher than the kettle's demand.
I’ve still got (& still ride, occasionally) the Viking Aerospace Sport that I bought with my first-year lecturer’s salary in 1976, as soon as I cleared my D.Phil. debts. My everyday bike is the hybrid, rebuilt a few years ago by a local social enterprise. Just acquired an Airnimal Chameleon too.
July 27, 2025 at 8:08 PM
I’ve still got (& still ride, occasionally) the Viking Aerospace Sport that I bought with my first-year lecturer’s salary in 1976, as soon as I cleared my D.Phil. debts. My everyday bike is the hybrid, rebuilt a few years ago by a local social enterprise. Just acquired an Airnimal Chameleon too.
A complementary chart (from the SMMT). We have become SO marginal!
July 24, 2025 at 7:17 AM
A complementary chart (from the SMMT). We have become SO marginal!
This morning’s allotment haul (plus more raspberries and redcurrants): chard, green & yellow courgettes, artichokes, the last few broad beans. New potatoes already harvested. No way we can go on holiday in July. Would waste the best time of year for an allotmenteer.
July 19, 2025 at 12:32 PM
This morning’s allotment haul (plus more raspberries and redcurrants): chard, green & yellow courgettes, artichokes, the last few broad beans. New potatoes already harvested. No way we can go on holiday in July. Would waste the best time of year for an allotmenteer.
And this morning another Old Lady, according to Google Lens at least:
July 19, 2025 at 5:51 AM
And this morning another Old Lady, according to Google Lens at least: