Bob Fry
@bobfry.bsky.social
Overly fond of oolite, stars, folklore, photography, beetroot, fossils & other old things (& The Fall). All photographs my own, unless stated or reposted.
Long exposure, splooshy water sort-of-thing.
River Frome, Capel’s Mill, Stroud.
River Frome, Capel’s Mill, Stroud.
November 29, 2025 at 8:38 AM
Long exposure, splooshy water sort-of-thing.
River Frome, Capel’s Mill, Stroud.
River Frome, Capel’s Mill, Stroud.
#Folklore
The Bulla.
No 32 from
Lucky Charms,a series of 50 Wills’s Cigarette Cards (from 1923)
The information on the reverse of this card seems rather inarticulate and perhaps inaccurate. I believe that the Bulla was a medallion or locket given to Roman boys.
The Bulla.
No 32 from
Lucky Charms,a series of 50 Wills’s Cigarette Cards (from 1923)
The information on the reverse of this card seems rather inarticulate and perhaps inaccurate. I believe that the Bulla was a medallion or locket given to Roman boys.
November 28, 2025 at 11:32 PM
#Folklore
The Bulla.
No 32 from
Lucky Charms,a series of 50 Wills’s Cigarette Cards (from 1923)
The information on the reverse of this card seems rather inarticulate and perhaps inaccurate. I believe that the Bulla was a medallion or locket given to Roman boys.
The Bulla.
No 32 from
Lucky Charms,a series of 50 Wills’s Cigarette Cards (from 1923)
The information on the reverse of this card seems rather inarticulate and perhaps inaccurate. I believe that the Bulla was a medallion or locket given to Roman boys.
#Folklore
The Necklace of Charms.
No 31 from
Lucky Charms,a series of 50 Wills’s Cigarette Cards (from 1923). Yet again Egyptian charms feature in this series. Some of the later cards look at charms with other origins.
The Necklace of Charms.
No 31 from
Lucky Charms,a series of 50 Wills’s Cigarette Cards (from 1923). Yet again Egyptian charms feature in this series. Some of the later cards look at charms with other origins.
November 28, 2025 at 9:20 AM
#Folklore
The Necklace of Charms.
No 31 from
Lucky Charms,a series of 50 Wills’s Cigarette Cards (from 1923). Yet again Egyptian charms feature in this series. Some of the later cards look at charms with other origins.
The Necklace of Charms.
No 31 from
Lucky Charms,a series of 50 Wills’s Cigarette Cards (from 1923). Yet again Egyptian charms feature in this series. Some of the later cards look at charms with other origins.
If you are near Stroud in Gloucestershire, make sure you visit the Earth Magic exhibition. If you don’t know the superb work of Dougal Kirkland you really should www.dougalkirkland.co.uk
November 26, 2025 at 11:40 PM
If you are near Stroud in Gloucestershire, make sure you visit the Earth Magic exhibition. If you don’t know the superb work of Dougal Kirkland you really should www.dougalkirkland.co.uk
@tomsbrown.bsky.social
Got your number on it
Got your number on it
November 26, 2025 at 5:24 PM
@tomsbrown.bsky.social
Got your number on it
Got your number on it
In last night’s dream I was dressed up just like Jack Nicholson in The Last Detail (even the moustache. I used to have one just like it). I was queueing on a gangplank trying to get a job on the USS Saratoga.
November 26, 2025 at 11:02 AM
In last night’s dream I was dressed up just like Jack Nicholson in The Last Detail (even the moustache. I used to have one just like it). I was queueing on a gangplank trying to get a job on the USS Saratoga.
#Folklore
The Buckle of Isis.
No 29 from
Lucky Charms,a series of 50 Wills’s Cigarette Cards (from 1923). Yet another Egyptian charm. Was the discovery of Tutankhamen’s tomb in 1922 an influence on these cards?
The Buckle of Isis.
No 29 from
Lucky Charms,a series of 50 Wills’s Cigarette Cards (from 1923). Yet another Egyptian charm. Was the discovery of Tutankhamen’s tomb in 1922 an influence on these cards?
November 25, 2025 at 4:35 AM
#Folklore
The Buckle of Isis.
No 29 from
Lucky Charms,a series of 50 Wills’s Cigarette Cards (from 1923). Yet another Egyptian charm. Was the discovery of Tutankhamen’s tomb in 1922 an influence on these cards?
The Buckle of Isis.
No 29 from
Lucky Charms,a series of 50 Wills’s Cigarette Cards (from 1923). Yet another Egyptian charm. Was the discovery of Tutankhamen’s tomb in 1922 an influence on these cards?
Oh yes! George Sewell.
November 24, 2025 at 6:20 PM
Oh yes! George Sewell.
A movie* that takes place where you are from.
*Play For Today
*Play For Today
November 24, 2025 at 4:50 PM
A movie* that takes place where you are from.
*Play For Today
*Play For Today
#OwlishMonday
Illustration by C. F. Tunnicliffe (For Plowman’s Clocks by Alison Uttley)
Illustration by C. F. Tunnicliffe (For Plowman’s Clocks by Alison Uttley)
November 24, 2025 at 11:22 AM
#OwlishMonday
Illustration by C. F. Tunnicliffe (For Plowman’s Clocks by Alison Uttley)
Illustration by C. F. Tunnicliffe (For Plowman’s Clocks by Alison Uttley)
#Folklore
The Utchat No 28 from
Lucky Charms,a series of 50 Wills’s Cigarette Cards (from 1923). I notice that many of the lucky charms in this series of cigarette cards seem to be Egyptian. I wonder if this is related to the Tutankhamun tomb discovery in 1922.
The Utchat No 28 from
Lucky Charms,a series of 50 Wills’s Cigarette Cards (from 1923). I notice that many of the lucky charms in this series of cigarette cards seem to be Egyptian. I wonder if this is related to the Tutankhamun tomb discovery in 1922.
November 24, 2025 at 2:22 AM
#Folklore
The Utchat No 28 from
Lucky Charms,a series of 50 Wills’s Cigarette Cards (from 1923). I notice that many of the lucky charms in this series of cigarette cards seem to be Egyptian. I wonder if this is related to the Tutankhamun tomb discovery in 1922.
The Utchat No 28 from
Lucky Charms,a series of 50 Wills’s Cigarette Cards (from 1923). I notice that many of the lucky charms in this series of cigarette cards seem to be Egyptian. I wonder if this is related to the Tutankhamun tomb discovery in 1922.
November 23, 2025 at 8:16 AM
Time for another traditional apple. A Newton Wonder. The original Newton Wonder tree was reportedly found as a seedling growing out of the thatched roof of a pub in King's Newton, Derbyshire, in the 1870s. Blimey!
Good for cooking eating & cider.
Good for cooking eating & cider.
November 22, 2025 at 2:14 PM
Time for another traditional apple. A Newton Wonder. The original Newton Wonder tree was reportedly found as a seedling growing out of the thatched roof of a pub in King's Newton, Derbyshire, in the 1870s. Blimey!
Good for cooking eating & cider.
Good for cooking eating & cider.
Yes Bob (I hear you say),it’s all very well you going on about traditional apple varieties,but what about that other splendid fruit,the pear.
Well, here you are then-A Worcester Black Pear. Reputedly introduced by the Romans. NOT a dessert pear. Takes a fair bit of cooking to make it palatable.
Well, here you are then-A Worcester Black Pear. Reputedly introduced by the Romans. NOT a dessert pear. Takes a fair bit of cooking to make it palatable.
November 22, 2025 at 2:07 PM
Yes Bob (I hear you say),it’s all very well you going on about traditional apple varieties,but what about that other splendid fruit,the pear.
Well, here you are then-A Worcester Black Pear. Reputedly introduced by the Romans. NOT a dessert pear. Takes a fair bit of cooking to make it palatable.
Well, here you are then-A Worcester Black Pear. Reputedly introduced by the Romans. NOT a dessert pear. Takes a fair bit of cooking to make it palatable.
#Folklore
The Tet.
No 26 from
Lucky Charms,a series of 50 Wills’s Cigarette Cards (from 1923). I am not sure how reliable the text is on the reverse of these cards. When looking up the tet amulet on line, none of the illustrations or information agrees closely with that on the card.
The Tet.
No 26 from
Lucky Charms,a series of 50 Wills’s Cigarette Cards (from 1923). I am not sure how reliable the text is on the reverse of these cards. When looking up the tet amulet on line, none of the illustrations or information agrees closely with that on the card.
November 22, 2025 at 11:19 AM
#Folklore
The Tet.
No 26 from
Lucky Charms,a series of 50 Wills’s Cigarette Cards (from 1923). I am not sure how reliable the text is on the reverse of these cards. When looking up the tet amulet on line, none of the illustrations or information agrees closely with that on the card.
The Tet.
No 26 from
Lucky Charms,a series of 50 Wills’s Cigarette Cards (from 1923). I am not sure how reliable the text is on the reverse of these cards. When looking up the tet amulet on line, none of the illustrations or information agrees closely with that on the card.
#PostboxSaturday a discrete wall-mounted GVIR, London Road, Stroud.
November 22, 2025 at 10:18 AM
#PostboxSaturday a discrete wall-mounted GVIR, London Road, Stroud.
#PostboxSaturday
A pedestal ER, Slad, Gloucestershire.
A pedestal ER, Slad, Gloucestershire.
November 22, 2025 at 10:09 AM
#PostboxSaturday
A pedestal ER, Slad, Gloucestershire.
A pedestal ER, Slad, Gloucestershire.
I wearing my woolly hat and gloveless fingers* today
*sort-of-thing
*sort-of-thing
November 21, 2025 at 1:38 PM
I wearing my woolly hat and gloveless fingers* today
*sort-of-thing
*sort-of-thing
#Folklore
The Swastika.
The Swastika. No 24 from
Lucky Charms,a series of 50 Wills’s Cigarette Cards (from 1923)
PLEASE NOTE that this card was published before the swastika became associated with Nazi Germany and thus only considers the ancient origins of the symbol
The Swastika.
The Swastika. No 24 from
Lucky Charms,a series of 50 Wills’s Cigarette Cards (from 1923)
PLEASE NOTE that this card was published before the swastika became associated with Nazi Germany and thus only considers the ancient origins of the symbol
November 20, 2025 at 6:48 AM
#Folklore
The Swastika.
The Swastika. No 24 from
Lucky Charms,a series of 50 Wills’s Cigarette Cards (from 1923)
PLEASE NOTE that this card was published before the swastika became associated with Nazi Germany and thus only considers the ancient origins of the symbol
The Swastika.
The Swastika. No 24 from
Lucky Charms,a series of 50 Wills’s Cigarette Cards (from 1923)
PLEASE NOTE that this card was published before the swastika became associated with Nazi Germany and thus only considers the ancient origins of the symbol
#WyrdWednesday
#Hookland
Novembre noir
The trees mostly sang to me
The ash rang like a lyre
The oak hummed a dirge, deep, sad and slow.
Birches chanted a soaring polyphonic chorus.
But the blackthorn uttered dark, bitter oaths about the hard times still to come
#Hookland
Novembre noir
The trees mostly sang to me
The ash rang like a lyre
The oak hummed a dirge, deep, sad and slow.
Birches chanted a soaring polyphonic chorus.
But the blackthorn uttered dark, bitter oaths about the hard times still to come
November 19, 2025 at 3:43 PM
#WyrdWednesday
#Hookland
Novembre noir
The trees mostly sang to me
The ash rang like a lyre
The oak hummed a dirge, deep, sad and slow.
Birches chanted a soaring polyphonic chorus.
But the blackthorn uttered dark, bitter oaths about the hard times still to come
#Hookland
Novembre noir
The trees mostly sang to me
The ash rang like a lyre
The oak hummed a dirge, deep, sad and slow.
Birches chanted a soaring polyphonic chorus.
But the blackthorn uttered dark, bitter oaths about the hard times still to come