Vivienne Dunstan

Small Prophets The magical and the mundane unfold in a suburban shed as a lonely man stumbles into the supernatural. A weird and wonderful world from Mackenzie Crook, starring Michael Palin.

Belatedly starting to watch "Small Prophets", the new BBC sitcom from Mackenzie Crook. As a huge fan of his "Detectorists" series I'm very happy to give another TV creation by him a go. And this new one has a similar vibe. www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/epis...

YouTube video by Ruth Aisling What Happens To Olympic Curling Stones After The Games?

What Happens To Olympic Curling Stones After The Games? youtu.be/mYjNbnt3wDM

Water Pipit - a rare winter visitor to Ireland.
Ballinclamper, Co. Waterford 02/03/2026
#Birds #RareBirds ##phonescoped #BirdsSeenIn2026

Dealing with / recovering from a neurological illness flare. Alarmed to learn my chronic blood inflammation level tested on Friday is almost at a record level for me. Will decide soon if we need to raise steroids more. But still hoping I can just ride it out. I’m rubbish at lowering steroids again.

a woman is smiling with the words " i am a librarian " next to her Alt: a woman is smiling with the words " i am a librarian " next to her

Deploying my Goodreads librarian status to help a favourite author. And thinking of this GIF! I did work as a library assistant (including processing loans and returns) during my computer science studies at St Andrews University in the early 1990s. During my early postgrad I think, not my undergrad.

A ferry boat seen in profile in fairly still silvery grey water. The hull is black with white along the top edges and bright red funnels. The words "Caledonian MacBrayne" are painted in white on the side. A broken reflection of the boat is visible in the water below.

Model CalMac ferry at the Swannie Ponds in Dundee in late afternoon. A model of HMAS Armidale was also seen. 📷📸🎞️ #ModelBoat #RCBoat

A chunky brown duck with golden eyes and wide silver beak with dark tip swimming purposely towards the camera in grey water with circular swirling patterns.

Female tufted duck at the Swannie Ponds in Dundee in late afternoon. 📷📸🎞️🪶 #birds #ukwildlife

A brown rabbit is eating a mossy lawn seen in profile from above. The wind has blown their fur about exposing parts of them. They have large dark brown eyes with a large black pupil.

One of a pair of rabbits mowing the office lawn this afternoon. 📷📸🎞️ #rabbits #ukwildlife

A large black bird with powerful beak is perched on a lamp post looking down at their feet set against a blue sky. Their wing feathers are slightly shiny.

Crow wondering what they're standing on. 📷📸🎞️🪶 #birds #ukwildlife

A screenshot of a greyscale Kindle Paperwhite e-reader held in portrait mode. 6 book covers are visible, in 2 rows of 3. On the top row are "Shakespeare" by Bill Bryson (featuring a cartoon version of Shakespeare sitting on top of a Globe like theatre), then "The All Souls Complete Books 1-3" by Deborah Harkness (the "Discovery of Witches" series, and I am rereading book 3 in there, "The Book of Life"), then "The Book of English Magic" (with woodcut like illustrations on the white cover) by Philip Carr-Gomm and Richard Heygate. Then on the row below are "The Haunted Library: Tales of Cursed Books and Forbidden Shelves" edited by Tanya Kirk in the British Library "Tales of the Weird" series (the cover features a woman in old style dress looking towards disturbingly curving bookshelves and strange figures), "Echolands: A Journey in Search of Boudica" by Duncan Mackay, and a "Complete Sherlock Holmes" collection. Percentage progresses are given for most of the books. I am well through the Bill Bryson, Boudica and Holmes books. The Deborah Harkness book looks far through from the quoted 68%, but I'm rereading the 3rd book in there, and have only newly started that last night. The magic and library books are newly started too.

Current main reading, on my Kindle as usual, so I can read with the utterly gargantuan font needed now due to my progressive neurological disease. A mix of fiction and non fiction. Full details in the alt text. #Booksky #reading

SIR SHERLOCK - The Red Letter Day The beginning of a brand-new, full-cast audio series and novellas, starring Tom Baker MBE and John Leeson as Holmes and Watson.

Just backed this new audio story starring Tom Baker and John Leeson as Holmes and Watson. www.kickstarter.com/projects/152...

Browsing books in Oxfam Dundee online store listings. And agog that they've got a 1985 musical version of "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe". Sheet music book / vocal score and lyrics. There's an album version of it on Spotify. onlineshop.oxfam.org.uk/the-lion-the...

Not just anyone can grab a steak bake in Dundee you know, you have to do a whole D&D side quest first.

Lost 19th century film by Méliès discovered at the Library | Timeless Library conservators recently made a startling discovery in a batch of decaying film reels -- a long-lost 1897 film by early cinema icon George Méliès. The French magician-turned-filmmaker's

Lost 19th century film by Méliès discovered blogs.loc.gov/loc/2026/02/...

A pedestrianised street with a branch of popular heated foodlike product purveyor Greggs, and a dragon.

Sometimes when I am having difficulty with the universe I remember that in Dundee there is a dragon guarding a branch of Greggs, and this cheers me up.

Yup!

They just said beside a tributary of the Tweed. On two separate visits with Teviot footage to a fishing rod maker and Lovat Mill, both Hawick. To be fair they were only marginally better for a visit to Galashiels. I once heard an academic mangle Penicuik and had to fight hard not to correct him!

Watching Countryfile from Sunday. Given it includes two visits to manufacturers in Hawick, it’s remarkable how much they avoid saying Hawick!

I am too prone to buying more and not playing what I've already got. And some things just don't work well for me. I even found duplicate copies of Irish and Russian accordion music books! The sitting room music area is looking more trim now and manageable. And the other music will go to new homes.

Sorting a teetering pile of accordion sheet music books, as well as more elsewhere in the house. Still more to go through, but have identified those I won't be playing again and would like to pass on. Also have a bunch of piano sheet music books (but keeping loads of others). To go to charity soon.

“In the first week of March the wind blows hard, swaying the reeds and bushes and bending the big trees beyond the lake to its cold breath.”

The first page of ‘What to Look for in Spring”
Artist: CF Tunnicliffe
Writer: EL Grant Watson

Here's a selection of video clips from today of the Dippers on the Water of Leith.
#Birding #Birduk #Birdphotography #BirdsSeenIn2026 #wildlifephotography @wolct.bsky.social @birdinglothian.bsky.social @britishnatureguide.bsky.social @rspbscotland.bsky.social @naturescot.bsky.social

A close-up image of several dangling clusters of small pale pink flowers emerging from a dark stem with bright green leaves.

Wild redcurrant flowers emerging above the Dighty Burn in Monifieth. No scent yet. 📷📸🎞️ #flowers #ukwildlife

A close-up image of a red, black and white beetle crawling over a mossy pebbly path. Their red body has black spots. Their pronotum and head are black with two white spots on each.

Ladybird in our back garden. 📷📸🎞️ #beetle #insect #ukwildlife

An extremely fluffy male siskin preening in a tree with blue sky behind. It may be a younger bird, given its mix of very fluffy fluffy grey feathers on its tummy and yellow and green wings and head.

A dipper bird perched on a green mossy rock at the left of the picture, facing away from us, looking to the right over turbulent water. The bird is mostly dark brown with a white area around its neck and chest.

A blue tit feeding in a tree with white sky behind. At this moment it is roughly facing us, head bent over to the right as it concentrates on the buds it is pecking at.

A feral pigeon on a house roof with blue sky behind. It faces right with head turned back to the left. Its body is soft grey with a purple/pink area at its neck and darker grey/blue above. Its wings are a mix of light grey, dark grey, and blue flecks.

Some bonus photos from my husband's Saturday walk to the Dighty Burn wooded river valley near our home in eastern Dundee, Scotland 📷📸🎞️🪶

A dunnock perched on a branch facing left with white sky behind. It has a soft grey/brown tummy, orange/red back and wings flecked with dark brown, and a grey head.

A goldfinch perched facing this way on a branch running diagonally up right with white sky behind. The bird has a soft grey tummy with brown patches, black and yellow wings, and a vibrant red face.

A robin singing loudly in a tree. It is facing this way, with its beak open. Its orange front area is a very vibrant colour.

A male mallard duck standing facing left on a mossy green triangular rock at the bottom of the picture with water behind.

Some photos from my husband's Saturday walk to the Dighty Burn wooded river valley near our home in eastern Dundee, Scotland 📷📸🎞️🪶

An extremely fluffy male siskin preening in a tree with blue sky behind. It may be a younger bird, given its mix of very fluffy fluffy grey feathers on its tummy and yellow and green wings and head.

A dipper bird perched on a green mossy rock at the left of the picture, facing away from us, looking to the right over turbulent water. The bird is mostly dark brown with a white area around its neck and chest.

A blue tit feeding in a tree with white sky behind. At this moment it is roughly facing us, head bent over to the right as it concentrates on the buds it is pecking at.

A feral pigeon on a house roof with blue sky behind. It faces right with head turned back to the left. Its body is soft grey with a purple/pink area at its neck and darker grey/blue above. Its wings are a mix of light grey, dark grey, and blue flecks.

Some bonus photos from my husband's Saturday walk to the Dighty Burn wooded river valley near our home in eastern Dundee, Scotland 📷📸🎞️🪶

A dunnock perched on a branch facing left with white sky behind. It has a soft grey/brown tummy, orange/red back and wings flecked with dark brown, and a grey head.

A goldfinch perched facing this way on a branch running diagonally up right with white sky behind. The bird has a soft grey tummy with brown patches, black and yellow wings, and a vibrant red face.

A robin singing loudly in a tree. It is facing this way, with its beak open. Its orange front area is a very vibrant colour.

A male mallard duck standing facing left on a mossy green triangular rock at the bottom of the picture with water behind.

Some photos from my husband's Saturday walk to the Dighty Burn wooded river valley near our home in eastern Dundee, Scotland 📷📸🎞️🪶

Viv Dunstan's Story - Vasculitis UK I’ve been ill with cerebral vasculitis for a very long time. I was only 22 in 1994, had newly started a full-time funded science PhD. And I started to get ...

It’s #RareDiseaseDay today. Here’s a link to my #vasculitis story about the neurological disease I fell ill with in 1994. 1 in a million incidence and frustratingly progressive in my case, despite throwing masses of treatment at it over the years since. www.vasculitis.org.uk/living-with-...