@chrisbolton-wtp.bsky.social
Still doing https://whatsthepont.blog stuff. Into Coops, Cynefin and Tin Sheds. From Old South Wales. Also. Listing things that interest me under #TIL (Today I Learned)
Sun behind clouds at Dunraven Bay, South Wales
Sun behind clouds looking along coastline towards Barry from Southerndown, South Wales.
Is there a name for the hour after #sunrise ?
Just asking for a friend who may have got up late and just missed it.
Dunraven Bay and the coast path from Southerndown to Barry are well worth it any time of day though.
Its #FerrousFriday
They do love a rusty iron artwork in Northern Spain.
Here’s an example that appeals to me.
Remembering an ancient digging tool, the Laya, made from Bilbao Steel.
No longer used but celebrated in (rusty iron) artwork and a race around town, using the Layas.
is.gd/1HWfJq
always thought L/R was a bit of nonsense.
But I tend to comply.
Been walking on the Camino de Santiago where everyone obsesses about feet, socks and shoes.
So the slightest things like L / R sock compliance becomes a thing.
Embarrassed to say I wore silk socks
#posh
Did the job though
Q. When does Sancho Panzer become more like Don Quixote and vice versa?
A. After spending a lot of time together.
Been pondering this after days together plodding along the Camino de Santiago.
Are we becoming each other?
Also,
What does ‘tilting at windmills’ mean?
is.gd/QQL8Dq
I find it hard to part with them too,
Even when they are obviously ruined.
Enjoyed looking at these as much as wearing them.
Print on a sock giving well-being instructions like turn off your phone and get lost of sleep.
Bought some new socks yesterday.
Probably paid more than I needed to.
But
A clever bit of marketing drew me in.
Am I a sucker?
Also, I had worn them to test the fit of new daps.
PS. Get lots of sleep.
A small mushroom growing out of the top of a fence post
I love seeing these little mushrooms that pop up and disappear from the top of a gate post on the dog walk.
The perfect illustration of Ephemeral.
‘Here for a day when the conditions are right’
#fungi
Not seen a drop of rain for 11 days.
Seems to be mostly down the South.
They could do with some here though.
Some of the grapes in Rioja looking a bit parched.
Back home today
Until the next time
Absolutely
#AllShedsEveryDay
Anywhere else and those Oil Drums would be on the walls of a trendy Bar.
Or indeed on the walls of a Shed Bar in someone’s garden.
Am I too early for #TinShedTuesday ?
Just very eager to share this.
A shed constructed using old 45 Gallon Oil Drums.
A lovely bit of recycling.
On the Camino de Santiago on the outskirts of Najare in the Rioja region.
Absolutely does the job!
@readersheds.co.uk
is.gd/6V9eG2
Logrono to Navarrete in Rioja today on the Camino de Santiago.
A short day with a dodgy heel.
Full of Sunday cyclists and joggers leaving Logrono.
And then the Osborne Bull and THIS!
What a swish Camino walking outfit.
How come nobody sells them?
A blog ⬇️
is.gd/XjJ5Zk
More Camino de Santiago
Estella to Villamayor de Monjardin
There’s a free wine fountain on this stretch of the Camino.
It’s part of the tradition for Preregrinos to have a swig.
Who am I to go against tradition?
Even if it was only 9.30am
A ‘short’ days walk for good reasons
⬇️
is.gd/8uWx4D
I do love a modified digging tool.
This is a beauty from the Basque Country - The Laya
- older than ploughs
- recorded in church carvings
- lost to mechanisation
But
- kept alive via Spade Racing at Puente La Reina
An amazing Camino de Santiago bonus ⬇️
is.gd/1HWfJq
Camino de Santiago update.
Puente La Reina to Estella.
A longer and much hotter day in the gorgeous Spanish countryside than planned.
And why are the towns always on top of hills?
is.gd/9P1wLn
Back on the Camino de Santiago.
Was asked ‘why?’ last week.
This is a good reason
“The Camino breeds community: community that greets each other, that takes interest in how the walk is going for the other, that talks and shares with the other.”
Found it in my rucksack
is.gd/YsMlGx
Wooden box with Scythe Sharpening Kit written on it. A small axe is in the background.
Guess what I’ve been doing today?
A. Chilling out with the Grim Squeaker (aka Death of Rats).
B. On a traditional grass cutting skills course.
C. Listening to poetry in the woods?
It’s C.
But stumbling across the ‘Scythe Sharpening Kit’ convinced me that A or B were also possibilities.
I’ve been hanging around with sewer repair people today.
I’m particularly impressed by a handmade tool they have for breaking through hard ground in confined spaces.
Neither spade, shovel, pry-bar or chisel.
Something unique
Handmade
And beautiful…
whatsthepont.blog/2025/08/26/i...
I turned a few old trampolines into a polytunnel
whatsthepont.blog/2024/04/07/b...
A row of large bulk builders bags full of compost
It was never my intention…*
But I seem to have collected many building material bulk bags over recent years.
At last put to good use.
Storing compost for an upcoming project.
(*was always my intention, just not admitting to it)
Yellow colour bricks with GADLYS and ABERDARE manufacturers names on them
Bricks with manufacturers names. STAR NEWPORT. CWMBRAN BRICK Co and TILLEY
Some nice brick finds yesterday.
GADLYS and ABERDARE yellows
And some from the Gwent Valleys
CWMBRAN BRICK Co
Ubiquitous STAR NEWPORTs and
Yellow & red(ish) TILLERY
All from nowhere near to where they were manufactured.
A cracking day out at reclamation yards.
Can a Crane Fly alter the spin of a Cricket Ball?
Unlikely.
I was hoping this might be Cricket’s Butterfly Effect story.
Unfortunately not.
It’s their Leatherjacket grub stage causing ‘bald spots on the wicket’
For which they were incinerated.
A cautionary tale ⬇️
whatsthepont.blog/2025/07/25/t...
Horses wearing rainbow pattern sun protection coats
They don’t half dress up the race horses in Japan.
Haru Urara in a jaunty Pretty Kitty headgear.
Mind you, given the right weather in South Wales and the local horses go for a rainbow number.
/4
Haru Urara even got a mention in the Japanese Parliament.
During the 2004 recession
Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said.
“I’d like to see Haru Urara win, even just once. The horse is a good example of not giving up in the face of defeat”
/3
Haru Urara
Was hugely popular during her racing ‘career’
Betting slips with her name and a guaranteed loss became a charm or symbol of good luck,
Particularly against traffic accidents or being made redundant.
/2
Picture of a horse on a pink background, Haru Urara, the shining star of losers everywhere.
Haru Urara
A Japanese racehorse that won zero out of 113 races and is loved for it…
‘the shining star of losers everywhere’
🧵 1/
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haru_Ur...
A well worn John Deere hat.
Threadbare holes worn through in a John Deere hat.
I think my John Deere hat is finished.
Happy to waive my ‘right to repair’ on this particular product.
At least there’s no tricky ‘dealer approved’ software on a hat.
However, when it comes to tractors it’s a different matter.
Explained here⬇️
whatsthepont.blog/2025/01/25/i...
Worker ownership is fostering inclusive prosperity.
Companies (like ESOPs) where workers own shares paid out over $150 billion to millions of workers in 2022.
More worker ownership means more equality in wealth and power, which is mandatory for genuine democracy.
Blimey, it’s all going on at LinkedIn
I posted this about Cooperatives and I’m having lots of good conversations about
-why UK Uni Business Schools don’t do more around Coops
- Why more Unis aren’t coops
- and the role of Coops in ‘Care’
We can talk too
A prompt ⬇️
whatsthepont.blog/2025/07/10/c...
Silly Rules
There’s an initiative in the Heath Sector about staff and patients identifying ‘Silly Rules’.
So ‘someone’ can get around to fixing them.
All well and good, but,
I can’t help thinking…
How did we get to this place?
Here’s some detail ⬇️
whatsthepont.blog/2025/07/05/s...
For context, I wrote a blog from around 2006-2012 and then some occasional posts since. It’s all here if anyone wants a time capsule to early 00s Cardiff food culture cardiffbites.blogspot.com?m=1
03.07.2025 11:22 — 👍 6 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0
