Colin J. Anderson

Thoughts from a Devon Sitting Room

Recording my life in diaries and photographs, from heady days as a student in London in the 1970’s to being a pensioner on a low income today. My writing is a mixture of insight – from knowledge & experience – and history. I explore my professional and personal interests – energy & climate change, history, politics, music, film, food & drink… the list goes on!

50 YEARS OF PHOTOS

No.10: Dark Clouds over Westminster

Rather apt for current events! A photo taken on iPhone 6s in 2016.

MORNING THOUGHTS FROM A DEVON SITTING ROOM

Flowers for Pain?

Substack diary no.152: Wednesday, 13th. May 2026

It is blustery outside and cold inside; two t-shirts and a jumper cold. My back-ache is quite bad this morning, to the point where I am avoiding picking anything off the floor, so if I drop a tea towel it might just have to stay there for a while.

Oddly, I felt the urge to take a colchicine tablet this morning rather than the more usual paracetamol or ibuprofen. The need to take colchicine is a marker in the second half of life that lets everyone know you have reached maturity. Throbbing big-toe syndrome strikes, you writhe in agony and your friends laugh like drains. Yes: you have gout, a crude four-letter word that suggests an unimportant and insignificant medical condition, unlike the very long and often unpronounceable names of ‘real’ medical conditions.
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50 YEARS AGO

Swansea field trip: the final days fading away into beer and a failed attempt to get home

27th-29th March 1976

After all the usual excitement of a geography field trip – touring the Gower Peninsula, measuring plant and soil types on a Valleys hillside, visiting Merthyr Tydfil and Port Talbot/Neath and a very strange remote pub – the final few days of the geography field trip just sort of fizzled out, but not without a cocktail of disappointment, amusement and beer.

Saturday 27th. March

The weekend started with a member of our group – Derek – wandering off on his own first thing. I am sorry to say that I do not remember Derek, but in my defence I certainly knew him then – and it was 50 years ago after all!.

Most of us decided to head for the University and town libraries, which seemed eminently sensible – but not me. In the end I did a Derek and went for a walk around the city and nearby villages looking for tourist attractions. I have always been a bit of an explorer – a feature of my character that has never left me. Yes, on a visit to California I would of course visit Hollywood, but I would also drive up Route 1 towards Santa Barbara and take a random dirt road east, just to see what was there.
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Recent posts

Swansea field trip: the final days fading away into beer and a failed attempt to get home

The fag-end of the geography field trip seems to have just faded away. I was wandering around trying to find potential tourist attractions – for a forthcoming essay – and failing to hitch back to London. Back at home I learned that sadly my flatmates had lost Tigger in Market Rasen.
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The Fire Brigade, clay mines & a Volkswagen Beetle: what is the connection?

I recently came across a photograph I took in 1977 of a fire appliance, which immediately triggered memories of Newton Abbot Fire Brigade, the nearby clay mines – and why my father owned a Volkswagen Beetle. There was a powerful link between these seemingly disparate elements.
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Who decides what is an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty?

Two days on the Gower Peninsula evaluating the landscape. How can you apply a score to hills, valleys, lakes and rivers? I had no idea, but that is what we had to do.
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My LSE Diary posts – reflecting life as a student in the 1970’s. I was at the Joint School of Geography – King’s College & the London School of Economics.

Not only that but also 30 years living in London – life on a south London council estate… and more!

LSE Diary

London

Recent music posts

Everything from saving energy to gardening, interior design to lighting. I love my home. Sometimes I will feature previous homes, including my 10th. floor flat in a south London council block. You will find useful tips and advice. I love my home!

Home & Garden

Recent home & garden posts

A small selection of themed photography pages

Photography

Food!

Garden flowers

Shadow & Light

So who is Colin Anderson?

A Devonian with stories to tell and a love of history, science, philosophy, environment, & entertainment.

An increasing number of people I know are either down the rabbit hole or caught in its event horizon, which I find distressing. I prefer the real world and, like a frantic sponge, I cannot help but soak up knowledge, insight & quality.

Which I like to share…

About me