Category Archives: Grey Britain

Canadian Rockies in winter

Posted on February 8, 2025 by BarryH

Where to begin. The contrast between the Greek islands in summer and the Canadian Rockies in the middle of winter couldn’t be more stark. Truth is, I love extremes of weather, can’t be doing with never-ending greyness. True, the latest … Continue reading →

Posted in Canada, Grey Britain, Hiking, Landscape, Mountains, Nature, Photography, Reflections, Weather, Wildlife, Winter | Tagged alberta, Banff, Bow Falls, Bow River, Canada, canadian rockies, climate change, hoar frost, ice, thermal springs, travel, warming winters, winter | 1 Comment

Symi: Summertime blues …. and getting it wrong again.

Posted on June 25, 2024 by BarryH

I began this post at the end of May Written in 1935 for Porgy and Bess, George Gerswin’s ‘Summertime’ is the most covered song in the world, probably in excess of 25,000 times. Eddie Cochran wrote and sang ‘Summertime Blues’ … Continue reading →

Posted in Greece, Grey Britain, Grumpy Old Men, Health and humour, Hiking, Mountains, Reflections | Tagged accidents, adventure, age, Dr Michael Mosely, Extreme heat, google maps, Greece, heatwave, hiking, mountains, Symi, travel, trekking | 7 Comments

Wales, Canada, Greece – Looking back, looking forward.

Posted on April 22, 2023 by BarryH

A few weeks ago, we had snow at home. First time in 2 years. They had snow on Symi since we had any!! I woke up with 2 inches on the ground and still snowing heavily. I checked the forecast … Continue reading →

Posted in Canada, Greece, Grey Britain, Hiking, History, Landscape, Mountains, Nature, Photography, Pontypool, Wales, Weather, Wildlife, Winter | Tagged Banff, Bow Falls, Bow River, canadian rockies, Hoodoos, Mandraki, Nikia, Nisyros, Pontypool Folly Tower, ravens, snow, Spray River, Sundance Canyon, Symi, Vermillion Lakes, Volcano | 2 Comments

Symi, Stockport: Then, now and soon-to-be

Posted on March 13, 2022 by BarryH

The Brexit Bonus has nowhere-near met cynically manipulated expectations. Quite the opposite. It has fallen far short and a realistic assessment is that it will continue to do so, despite the Ress-Mogg Magic Wand. One of the negative impacts, which … Continue reading →

Posted in Greece, Grey Britain, Nature, Photography, Spring, Wildlife | Tagged Abney Hall Park, Brexit, Flora, Greece, Heaton Mersey Common, Red Elf Cups, spring flowers, Stockport, Symi, trees, Ukriane, uncertainty | 1 Comment

Christmas Greetings

Posted on December 22, 2021 by BarryH

Because of the continuing and growing uncertainties of travel during the pandemic, I’m not going to Canada again this winter, stuck in Grey Britain, so harking back to Christmases Past for a greetings photo. This one, taken high-up at the … Continue reading →

Posted in Canada, Grey Britain, Landscape, Mountains, Nature, Photography, Weather, Winter | Tagged Banff, Christmas Greetings, Lake Louise, pandemic, skiing, sun dog, sun pillar | 5 Comments

Symi: Autumn life

Posted on November 24, 2021 by BarryH

Back home in Grey Britain now. Warmer than average for this time of year, cloud acting as insulating blanket kept temperatures up through much of November – but spirits down. Mostly between what mountaineers call ‘claggy’ and ‘very claggy’ – … Continue reading →

Posted in Autumn, Greece, Grey Britain, Hiking, Landscape, Mountains, Nature, Photography, Wildlife | Tagged Autumn Crocuses, biarum marmarisense, Colchicum Autumnale, Greece, Symi, tortoise | 1 Comment

The Year of the Parsnip

Posted on April 25, 2021 by BarryH

This is the Year of the Ox, to be precise, the Year of the Metal Ox. It began on 12 February and replaced the Year of the Rat. At least for the Chinese. For me, 1 March marked the end … Continue reading →

Posted in Grey Britain, Health and humour, Nature, Photography, Reflections, Spring, Wales, Weather | Tagged cancelled flights, Covid-19, flowers, gardening, Greece, parsnips, psychology, Purple Sprouting Broccoli, spring, vegetables | Leave a comment

Rambling through the grey and rising above it …… occasionally

Posted on February 8, 2021 by BarryH

I’ve written before on the psychology of time, about which I read initially in Thomas Mann’s book ‘The Magic Mountain’ when I was in the 6th form and more recently in Claudia Hammond’s ‘Time Warped’, published 2012, exactly 100 years … Continue reading →

Posted in Grey Britain, Hiking, Landscape, Mountains, Nature, Photography, Pontypool, Reflections, Wales, Weather, Wildlife, Winter | Tagged brecon beacons national park, Covid Pandemic, Gwent, Holiday Paradox, Jackdaws, Magic Mountain, mist, Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal, philosophy of time, Pontypool, Pontypool Folly Tower, snow, Thomas Mann | 2 Comments

Rising above the grey

Posted on December 5, 2020 by BarryH

Rather than ushering in the Mediterranean to the UK, climate change is bringing increasing greyness interspersed with ‘extreme weather events’. Gradual descent into winter in November used to be marked by a week of hard frosts, sometimes with temperatures lower … Continue reading →

Posted in Grey Britain, Health and humour, Hiking, Landscape, Monmouthshire, Mountains, Nature, Photography, Pontypool, Reflections, Wales, Weather, Winter | Tagged brecon beacons national park, frost, Gwent, mist, Pontypool, Pontypool Folly Tower, Sunshine, Wales | 2 Comments

Locked-down in Wales

Posted on November 4, 2020 by BarryH

Since I arrived home from Greece in early September there have been various shades of lockdown. It would be more pleasant and safer to have stayed on Symi but unfortunately not to be. I would have been tempted to stay … Continue reading →

Posted in Autumn, Grey Britain, Grumpy Old Men, Health and humour, Hiking, Landscape, Monmouthshire, Mountains, Nature, Photography, Pontypool, Reflections, Wales, Weather | Tagged acers, autumn, books, Brugmantsia, Covid-19, fruit and veg, gardens, Wales | 3 Comments