Still life – the aquarium iguana

Iguana at Bournemouth Aquarium

Earlier this month we visited Bournemouth and this is one of my favourite images from the day. It was very difficult to take pictures in the Oceanarium with my compact camera as it was dark and the fish were all in motion.

However, I did manage some pictures of anything that didn’t move and this included the beautiful iguana above.

See more pictures in my galleries – follow the links to Bournemouth Aquarium and to Bournemouth Pier and architecture, which also features the beach…

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Wildlife through the year: August

Peacock butterfly (Inachis io) on Verbena bonariensis at Aberglasney Gardens, August 2010

Throughout 2010 I am revisiting the little green nature book that accompanied my childhood and seeing if the plants and animals featured in its monthly sketchbook pages are still around.

The book is “Wild Life Through the Year” by Richard Morse and it was published in 1942. You can read about earlier months here.

It’s all a bit annoying, as I keep on spotting things in the “wrong” month. I know the book isn’t supposed to be that prescriptive, but

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Corfe Castle, romantic ruin in the Isle of Purbeck…

Corfe Castle on its hill overlooking the village in the Isle of Purbeck

On August 11, 2010, we visited Corfe Castle in the Isle of Purbeck, East Dorset. We didn’t realise until the morning that it happened to be the birthday of children’s book writer Enid Blyton, who featured Corfe as Kirrin Castle in her Famous Five books. So it was a busier day than usual at the tourist attraction.

The castle also features in the science fiction alternative history novel Pavane by Keith Roberts – one of my favourites.

This is just

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A beauty called Queen Galadriel…

The Queen Galadriel at Poole Quay last night (August 11, 2010)

This is an unusual blog post for me, as I am not a particularly nautical person. Having said that, my brother was in the Royal Navy and I have ancestors who were fishermen.

I have been in Poole, Dorset, on holiday for the past few days, and will

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English words from Indian roots

Surely everybody has heard of the James Cameron movie Avatar - but how many know the original meaning of the word?

Avatar? Juggernaut? Who’d have thought that words from ancient Indian religion would have such currency in the English language today?

I’ve already blogged about Latin words, Celtic words and Scandinavian words in the English language, but now

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