Tag Archive | London

Rings that remind me of things: Part 18

Jan16

Part 18 of an occasional series about rings in my Etsy shop that remind me of things.

Ring:

1970 amethyst modernist sterling silver ring, hallmarked in London. For sale in my Etsy shop: click on photo for details.

Thing:

1:60 scale wooden model of a screw propeller of the SS ‘Great Britain’, the magnificent and innovative ship designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, and built in 1843. The ship is now a museum exhibit at Bristol; this model is in the Science Museum in London.

So far I have had rings that remind me of an Iron Age hillfort, an alien spaceship, a cream horn, a radio telescope, Noah’s Ark, an octopus tentacle, spider eyes, Pluto and its moon Charon, the rings of Saturn, The Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh, some lichen, the stepped Pyramid of Djoser at Saqqara in Egypt, the Quality Street lady, a herb knife, a sea anemone, an Iron Age miniature votive shield and the Mayan Temple of Kukulkan at Chichén Itzá, Mexico.

Tour de France: Stage 3

Jul7

Yesterday’s Stage 2 from York to Sheffield was an exciting watch, through more gorgeous countryside: and the rain held off too, which was a wonderful bonus. I thought the route designers were rather mean putting the Jenkin Road climb right at the very end of the race, but of course the riders were up to it. Vincenzo Nibali put on a great sprint at the end to leave the others behind and take his first ever yellow jersey.

So after two glorious days in God’s Own County, the Tour moves south today to Cambridge, Essex and London.

The start of today’s Stage 3 in my old student stomping ground of Cambridge will provide scenic photo opportunities a-plenty, though the flat ground of the route won’t prove too taxing compared to yesterday’s hilly climbs. The Tour will pass through the picturesque town of Saffron Walden, named after the saffron industry that used to dominate there in the 16th and 17th centuries—fields were full of the pretty purple saffron crocus (Crocus sativus) produced the expensive spice (each crocus has three stigmas, which have to be collected by hand and dried to produce the spice).

Church Street, Saffron Walden. Photo by Stuart Logan.

Church Street, Saffron Walden. Photo by Stuart Logan.

Saffron crocus (Crocus sativus), with the three long orange visible.

Saffron crocus (Crocus sativus), with the three long orange stigmas visible. Photo by Kenpei.

On its way into London the Tour will pass the Olympic Park, scene of both the fantastic 2012 London Olympics and Paralympics. Then it’s on into the City, ending on The Mall. The Mall is becoming quite a venue for important cycle races: the London 2012 men’s road race started and ended there.

And that will mark the end of the Tour’s three days in England: then it’s back across the Channel for tomorrow’s stage start at Le Touquet.