John Alex Taylor

Plip-plop....

Hey, they’ve invested a lot in faragism, you don’t just expect them to give up?

The Black Mountains from the towpath between Gilwern and Govilon. With oncoming storm clouds – and yes, I got home in the dry.

Out before the wind and rain (which is now battering our windows).

Leonard and Hungry Paul review – this Julia Roberts-narrated comedy is the perfect antidote to modern life Alex Lawther and Jamie-Lee O’Donnell star in this adaptation of Rónán Hession’s understated 2019 novel. Its quiet celebration of the gentle life is the opposite of today’s frantic TV – even if it does...

If you can't read @ronanhession.bsky.social's wonderful novel, watch the series... and relax.
www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio...

Autumn colours in the Usk Valley.

Beech tree in full finery.

Day by day, nature's palette grows. Even under grey skies.

"Follow me for more..."

Me, wearing a label saying 'silence please.'

A present from daughter, courtesy of the Bodleian Library. Yes, I do prefer to write in silence.

House sparrows enjoying our bird bath.

Rush hour at the public baths.

Full moon rising.

Moonrise over Gilwern.

Tony felted shrew sitting on a mossy wall. They have a tiny pencil and sketchbook and a cushion

Nature notes: shrews are very fond of sketching their surroundings and can often be seen carrying a small cushion with them to sit on whilst drawing.

(And yes I did make a teeny tiny sketch book and teeny tiny pencil with actual lead in it - come and see at GNCCF Manchester 16-19Oct )

Ooh, I still have Mum and Dad's copy.

A random page from Birds of the World by Oliver Austin illustrated by Arthur Singer.

When I was 7, Mum and Dad gave me a book so big, I could only read it on the floor. I was sad that it wasn't Lego for about a minute, then opened it. Birds of the World has beautiful paintings, and I spent hours dreaming into distant jungles and ice-scapes. I still have it.

the post office is a public service. it doesn’t need to make money. public transit doesn’t need to make money. the library doesn’t need to make money. some things exist for the public good and we desperately need lawmakers to stop thinking about them in terms of capitalism. these are not businesses.

I haven't heard this version, Rob, but I've heard numerous others. Bellowhead did a fun version live, but I can't remember whether they recorded it.

Now I'm singing Johnny Todd as well!

Small fungi colonising a tree stump. They weren't visble yesterday.

'Overnight, very
Whitely, discreetly,
Very quietly...'
from Mushrooms by Sylvia Plath.

It's a bit distracting – the rainbow has been appearing and disappearing for the last hour!

Rainbow over the Usk Valley.

View from my writing desk as I write Apples in the Dark 3: Shouting at Angels.

1000 fewer casualties in Wales after 2 years of 20mph default speed limit Two years on from the roll out of Wales’ controversial 20mph default speed limit, new data has revealed that policy has resulted in over 1000 fewer casualties. Collision data is now available for the ...

Two years on from the roll out of Wales' controversial 20mph default speed limit, new data has revealed that policy has resulted in over 1000 fewer casualties

Rainbow outside my window.

Almost the end of the rainbow...

Arrested for malicious communications? Really? I’d like to see this one in court…

Engine built for the London, Brighton & South Coast Railway in 1872, lovingly restored with gleaming brass and happily pulling passengers today.

I went to see the choo choos at Blaenavon steam gala. Sunshine and cloudbursts added to the drama. Amazing to see a locomotive built in 1872 happily pulling passengers. Imagine if your mobile phone could still operate in the year 2178!

Book cover and blurb, Apples in the Dark

I keep forgetting that Bluesky has expanded massively since my first novel arrived last year. Apples in the Dark is about love and loyalty, and tackles the effects of #HiddenDisability. The sequel, Angels and Blackbirds is available, and I'm writing the third in the series. #Disability #Epilepsy

Storm clouds and sun over the lake.

Stormy at Parc Bryn Bach, my favourite place to write nowadays.

Poster for the two books, Apples in the Dark and Angels and Blackbirds, with their lovely cover paintings by Louise Ryder.

TOMORROW I'll be at the Ross-on-Wye Book Fair at the Larrupertz Centre, with my two (so far) novels in the Apples in the Dark series. See you there?

Hawthorn tree full of berries in the Usk Valley.

Another early walk, and the Hawthorn thinks it's autumn already (so does our apple tree). Poor nature is in a muddle. #climatechange

Kath in her bookshop, holding my two novels, Apples in the Dark and Angels and Blackbirds.

Kath in her gem of a bookshop in Llantwit Major, Bardic Books. Kath has stocks of both my novels, but so much more. Bardic Books is my dream of a bookshop: everything from vintage books and second-hand paperbacks to current local authors. And not a ghost-written celebrity title in sight!

Accompanied by a perfect email?

Leonard and Hungry Paul should be issued on prescription – it would save the NHS a fortune ❤️