Hugh Williamson
@hughwilliamson.bsky.social
Bath, UK. Trees. Trees in Bath. History. History of trees. History of Bath. Books. History books. Books about trees. Other random stuff.
And very brilliantly she played it, too.
November 25, 2025 at 4:30 PM
And very brilliantly she played it, too.
One of Alan Bennett's 'Talking Heads' monologues featured June Brown as an antique dealer who let Michelangelo's sketch of Adam's Sistine finger slip through her hands. In the story it sells for £10m, I think.
November 24, 2025 at 11:19 PM
One of Alan Bennett's 'Talking Heads' monologues featured June Brown as an antique dealer who let Michelangelo's sketch of Adam's Sistine finger slip through her hands. In the story it sells for £10m, I think.
or Pontius Pilate
November 20, 2025 at 4:33 PM
or Pontius Pilate
Completely perfect in a grotesquely distorted, anatomically terrifying sort of way.
November 17, 2025 at 4:11 PM
Completely perfect in a grotesquely distorted, anatomically terrifying sort of way.
Mum's the word!
November 10, 2025 at 11:29 AM
Mum's the word!
Nothing common about that.
November 9, 2025 at 3:47 PM
Nothing common about that.
Purbeck marble war memorials must have been all the more eyecatching when nearly every public building was a sooty brown-black.
November 9, 2025 at 11:18 AM
Purbeck marble war memorials must have been all the more eyecatching when nearly every public building was a sooty brown-black.
It's a wonderful photo - the bus conductor saluting, the clock showing 11:01 - where are they? what have they gathered to watch (or listen to, if you're stuck behind a bus)?
November 9, 2025 at 9:06 AM
It's a wonderful photo - the bus conductor saluting, the clock showing 11:01 - where are they? what have they gathered to watch (or listen to, if you're stuck behind a bus)?
It's like that time - about 20 years ago - when dangerous dogs started attacking people all over the country. I never did understand how they planned that.
November 6, 2025 at 2:10 PM
It's like that time - about 20 years ago - when dangerous dogs started attacking people all over the country. I never did understand how they planned that.
Valet, or 'valet'?
November 2, 2025 at 8:08 PM
Valet, or 'valet'?
It's never struck me before, but would he really be painting the hat while the model is posing? Better (cheaper) to paint it on a mannequin while she's away.
October 31, 2025 at 8:00 PM
It's never struck me before, but would he really be painting the hat while the model is posing? Better (cheaper) to paint it on a mannequin while she's away.
Taken today in Bath Botanical Gardens - Tulip tree, fern-leaf beech, and an unusual xCrataemespilus.
October 23, 2025 at 2:35 PM
Taken today in Bath Botanical Gardens - Tulip tree, fern-leaf beech, and an unusual xCrataemespilus.
In the Southwest UK, the autumn colour is exceptional after a long, dry summer. Liriodendrons in particular are vivid gold. Also Liquidambar, Acer saccharum, Parrotia persica. Poor year for Quercus palustris.
October 22, 2025 at 9:38 PM
In the Southwest UK, the autumn colour is exceptional after a long, dry summer. Liriodendrons in particular are vivid gold. Also Liquidambar, Acer saccharum, Parrotia persica. Poor year for Quercus palustris.
Their Royal Highnesses, surely? It's a royal dukedom, after all.
October 19, 2025 at 4:11 PM
Their Royal Highnesses, surely? It's a royal dukedom, after all.
Clare Bridge - lovely spot.
September 30, 2025 at 3:17 PM
Clare Bridge - lovely spot.
He wouldn't have had much use for his horse for a while anyway.
September 23, 2025 at 6:08 PM
He wouldn't have had much use for his horse for a while anyway.
Those hapless scientists always trying to get them back.
September 17, 2025 at 7:49 AM
Those hapless scientists always trying to get them back.
A complex case. HE and C20S make recommendations on architectural merit, while DCMS have to weigh up all aspects. Bath's geography is difficult vis-a-vis response times and upgrading a 90-year-old building sounds £££. I live half a mile away and will miss it - one of Mollie Taylor's best.
September 15, 2025 at 7:15 PM
A complex case. HE and C20S make recommendations on architectural merit, while DCMS have to weigh up all aspects. Bath's geography is difficult vis-a-vis response times and upgrading a 90-year-old building sounds £££. I live half a mile away and will miss it - one of Mollie Taylor's best.
Wow, nice feather in the cap for NE Somerset.
September 14, 2025 at 4:09 PM
Wow, nice feather in the cap for NE Somerset.
This is the preparatory drawing he made when the Duke was back in Madrid having just returned from campaigning.
September 13, 2025 at 7:34 PM
This is the preparatory drawing he made when the Duke was back in Madrid having just returned from campaigning.
As I'm sure you know, Oxford Ragwort was supposedly propagated around the UK from Oxford in the mid-19C via the newly-built railway lines.
September 12, 2025 at 8:47 PM
As I'm sure you know, Oxford Ragwort was supposedly propagated around the UK from Oxford in the mid-19C via the newly-built railway lines.
They care because they would much rather drowning was at #1, knocking guns off top spot.
September 2, 2025 at 4:12 PM
They care because they would much rather drowning was at #1, knocking guns off top spot.
Probably my favourite diagonal in art - arm, leg, tablecloth, bottle. Almost as dramatic as the slashing diagonal of a Guillotine blade.
August 30, 2025 at 6:26 PM
Probably my favourite diagonal in art - arm, leg, tablecloth, bottle. Almost as dramatic as the slashing diagonal of a Guillotine blade.