Rocaille 'Scallops' Water Sculpture

'Scallops' water sculpture designed, reimagined and fabricated by George Roberts in May 2026. Key elements : concrete slabs, ceramic globe, broken tiles, sea glass, 3d printed water flow regulator, electric pump and hand acrylic painted scallop shells.

Macedoine - cooked root and green vegetables served cold in a mayonnaise sauce.

 

A very attractive starter or an accompaniment to a main dish. This french recipe is a colourful vegetarian treet. In my opinion it goes very nicely as a 'side' to accompany pasta.

Eric Hains artist and architect.

Eric Hains

(1913 — 2005)

Eric Hains was a painter in oil, watercolour and acrylic. He exhibited at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, The Society of Architect Artists, London and Stuttgart and other Art Societies. His work has been purchased by the National Westminster Bank, Schroders Bank and Save and Prosper. Pictures may be seen in the permanent collection of Maidstone Art Gallery, Kent.

 

Hains was a Life Member of the Society of Architect Artists, London and Vice President of Maidstone Art Society.

What this little internet snap shot of Eric Hains doesn't say is that he was a kind and decent man, who when I was a school boy in Maidstone in  the 1960s, went out of his way to encourage me, a complete  stranger, to draw, paint, sculpt and become an architect because he recognised something in me worth developing and helping.  He gave me holiday work as an architectural assistant helping me to fund my degree course at Manchester and even appreciated my humour. Most of us,  if we are honest, owe some of our success in life to the kindness of others. This is my small public thank you to and celebration of Eric Hains a decent human being, architect and  artist. RIP.

Scones

 

A scone, butter and jam: a perfect union between Britain, Denmark and France. At no point were my taste buds 'overrun' or my scone values compromised by foreigners.🤣

'Get tanked up' with Syd Carp No 6

 

"It has been some time since my last aquarium post. Sadly I have had a number of deaths amongst the older fish in the tank. 

When you add additional fish to an aquarium this stresses the existing fish stock. This is a fact however good the filtration system you employ or how well established is the tank.

Now, I guess all you tank enthusiasts have just got out your cylinder filters and are comparing sizes and performance?

A top tip from your old pal Syd Carp - ' when you carry out the weekly partial water change clean out the hose from the aquarium to the cylinder filter inlet using a bottle brush. You will be astonished at the amount of plant debris and general crud  that builds up in this pipe. By cleaning this pipe, water flow, filtration and oxygenation of the water is significantly improved which in turn reduces stress for the fish."👍

Something worth celebrating - a pub lunch!

Don't think much to Nationalism, flag waving and other ways of expressing exceptionalism based upon geographic location, religion and ethnicity. Very proud of talented local people, excellent local businesses, wonderful locally sourced products and last but not least the unique 'pub lunch'.

Every shed should have one

 

The Nurse Diesel Memorial Fountain

The pump in the garden fountain was in need of an adjustable pressure reducing valve to prevent the water splashing everywhere. Unable to find just what I required on-line, I decided to design and manufacture my own. 

I used the parametric SolidCAD freeware for designing the valve and my recently acquired 'Bargain' 3d printer sourced from China for less than £130.

Two hours shed time from a standing start and all was done and printed.

Nowadays we have access to sophisticated technology at knock down prices. When I was a child, Alan Turing had just left Bletchley Park for Manchester. In those times, TV had just started and was in black and white, phones were attached to wires and transistors were still to be invented. Now we have AI self programming and directly challenging our intellectual supremacy on the planet. Whatever next?