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.8: Smoo Caves

2022: A glimpse inside Smoo caves near Durness in the far north-west of Scotland

  • Brain Activity?

    No.97, Friday, 13th. March 2026

    My strategy for keeping my mind in good working order seems in general to result in greater activity in the morning in comparison with other periods during the day. Writing this is one example. Another morning task is to update my energy spreadsheet, which involves transferring data from my energy company app and checking that it seems okay.

    Later in the day I hope to read my weekly newspaper, an actual physical paper delivered every Thursday (or Friday at the latest) since 1982. I might even attempt the crossword. Today I also need to tidy up my website; I changed the colour scheme yesterday as well as quite a few other design attributes, but had to leave it looking untidy late last night. I will also check my 1976 diary to see if there is anything of interest that will form either a ‘note’ or an ‘article’ on Substack. That will inevitably involve a certain amount of research.

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  • Mike Absalom, The Listener & Infra-red Mapping

    A day in the life of a student: Thursday, 11th. March 1976

    Despite the student grant providing for necessities only I found myself buying two weekly papers. I always remember the NME – New Musical Express – essential reading for many years to keep up with everything on the music scene. I often managed to complete the crossword – the only crossword I remember having a go at in those days.

    I had almost forgotten the other weekly – The Listener. I have fond memories of that paper and I wish it was still around today. A BBC weekly that focussed mainly on politics, history and the arts, with writers like George Orwell, Sylvia Plath, Bertrand Russell, T.S.Eliot and George Bernard Shaw. It was like reading Radio 4, my constant companion now but not in the 1970’s. My wireless listening was almost exclusively Radio 1 and John Peel.

    The Listener was 15p and for context a pint of beer was 20p. I also occasionally bought HiFi for Pleasure – 30p – The Geographical (magazine, not be confused with the National Geographic) at 45p and now and again a Guardian at 10p.

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Recent posts

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…

USA 2016 travelogue

Scotland 2022 travelogue