Meet Willie Joe, The Colnesider's resident sprite. He wanders through the seasons while keeping an eye on the latest happenings.
04 July 2026
Third sea swim of the season done! Quite nice - water temp 17 degrees but choppy. Did about 1 hr and a brush with a Moon Jelly gave a mild itch to the right arm. Few more weeks and I'll get the kayak out!
📍 Posted from SplashPoint Brightlingsea
02 July 2026
Sometime in 2025 my eldest daughter had her ears pierced! As Dad, I thought it only right 'n' proper to make Millie her first jewellery box. Anyway — finally got around to finishing it 7 months after starting it.
The girl has long since ditched the ear-piercings — I thought she would :^) but necklaces and bracelets still remain, so the box will have a use.
Check out the Workshop section if you want to see it.
📍 Posted from theManShed
29 June 2026
Pulled up first potato plant: got 10 good 'un's! Uniform size and eaten in two sittings! Yanking up potato plants always reminds me of the Smith's Crisps ad from the 80's... Go on, take a trip down memory lane!
📍 Posted from end o' the garden
25 June 2026
01:45. Too hot to sleep. Today is forecast to reach 27°C and 37°C on Friday. Apparently a 'tropical night' is where the temp is ≥ 20°C overnight...
Could do with a bit of global cooling!
📍 Posted from the kitchen table
24 June 2026
Discovered Low-tech Magazine today. Fascinating idea. Beyond being full of interesting articles about older technology, the website is served from a solar-powered server. I already have a Raspberry Pi... I wonder... Low-tech Magazine
📍 Posted from Brightlingsea
22 June 2026
Been following the RSPB's advice on summer feeding for a while now more here . Essentially: pause feeding seeds and peanuts between 1 May and 31 October to help prevent the spread of diseases like trichomonosis. I'm just providing fat balls and fresh water. The garden seems busier than ever. I wonder if many people have stopped feeding altogether in the summer. Robins, blackbirds, sparrows, blue tits, woodpigeons and recently magpies. Blue tits and sparrows have vacated the boxes with their fledglings. Good stuff.
📍 Posted from my garden, Brightlingsea
10 June 2026
Just finished refining my home made fat-shaming tracker and BF calulator... any excuse not to do any actual exercise - but I do get to play around with skin-fold calipers!
📍 Posted from Brightlingsea
31 May 2026
October 2026 will mark the start of my final two uni modules. Technically a milestone but feels like a millstone - better start planning my capstone project...
📍 Posted from Brightlingsea
27 May 2026
Almost two years after completing an MOD FOI request, I've finally got to learn about my great uncle, Grandad's brother on Mum's side who died serving in India. Fascinating stuff.
📍 Posted from Brightlingsea
12 April 2026
Started thinking properly about improving the school workshop barcode (machine safety audit) system I implemented a few years back..think it needs to be made into an app.
📍 Posted from D-Block