This, I think, is the prettiest astrophoto I've capured thus far: it's the Flaming Star Nebula (IC 405, the glowing area to the right) and a companion nebula. Created using nearly 3.5h of data (240x51s ISO1600) captured with an unmodded Nikon D5300, Askar 71F and SWSA GTi.

Articles like this used to make me angry. Now they just make me sad that such ignorance still persists. "Dyslexia doesn't exist. It's a made-up affliction that's become a multi-million pound industry around children who haven't been taught to read" dailymail.co.uk/debate/article…

With all the crap going on down here, there's something about the peace and unchanging beauty of the night sky. Last night, I tried capturing a wide field image of some open star clusters (Hyades, Pleiades) using a camera lens rather than telescope. Version with labels for info.

Today is Lynch Syndrome awareness day 🙌🏻 We are proud of the ground-breaking research that’s been done so far by the St Mark’s Centre for Familial Intestinal Cancer. 🔬 We want to say a massive thank you to 40TUDE who have collaborated with us to help find, screen,

Spring is the start of Galaxy Season, so I kicked it off with capturing the Leo Triplet last night, three spiral galaxies (Hamburger Galaxy, M66 and M65) in the constellation of Leo. We're viewing the Hamburger side-on, the other two more face-on. About 120x50s exposure time.

🚽 It’s quick. It’s easy. It could save your life. Bowel cancer is common — but screening can stop it before it starts. ✅ Just a tiny sample 🏠 Done at home 🩺 Early detection = easier treatment Don’t wait. Do the test. #BowelCancerAwareness #ScreeningSavesLives

May was a bit shit with my dog dying, June was a bit shit with my stoma prolapsing as soon as I did anything other than lie down. And it turns out my pension is worth a pittance so I need to carry on working. But hey, life carries on. "This too shall pass".

So, on the brighter side of life, wood turning is something that I've wanted to do for years. I've now got a new workshop and, ta-da, a lathe. I had my 2nd go at using it today, making a small rolling pin out of a piece of scrap oak. It's every bit as enjoyable as I hoped 😍

Exactly this.

From a branch of eucalyptus tree to a bud vase. I am absolutely loving wood turning.

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My first bowl, hence the first time using a bowl gouge 😬. Turning end grain is a different kettle of fish spindle turning, so I'm pleased it's turned out as well as it has. Made from Mahogany, from a recycled prison door (given to me by the fella I bought the lathe from).

Question for ostomates or stoma knowledgeable people: can gluten intolerance cause a stoma (and presumably the small bowel leading to it) to become swollen/engorged? Just trying to figure out why I am prolapsing big time today and if it's linked to what I ate last night.

Well, that was utterly shit. Literally. For the 1st time ever, I experienced a full blown, can't hide it (white t shirt) leak. In a restaurant. That feeling of the warm rush and immediate brown stain was my worst dream come true. No hiding. No emergency supplies. Lesson learned.

I fear for disabled employees at Lloyds Banking Group: I speak as a neurodivergent ex-employee who got 3 under-performing ratings, mainly because of peer ranking, and decided to leave because of the stress. Ironically, I got the 3rd one at the same time as my MBE 🙄 bbc.co.uk/news/articles/…

One for Supertrampers. What's missing from this list? For me, Child of Vision (the most Supertrampy track on Breakfast in America), Rudy, Hide in Your Shell (and, for that matter, the rest of Crime of the Century), Fools Overture... theguardian.com/music/2025/sep…

One of our kittens has found a new way to hide.

Today is #WorldOstomyDay, raising awareness about stomas and tackling the myths & stigma. Here's a short video about me and life with my stoma filmed last year by Hollister Incorporated. Having a stoma isn't always easy, but I still live a great life with one. youtu.be/zWjkVNumEyw