Stephen Bickers

Bo-Peep up the hill,
I spy Jack & Jill

Sunset over Lake Victoria as seen from Kisumu. As Uganda is mostly on the western shore of the lake, I normally only see sunrises.

Tea plantation near Kericho. Tea as far as the eye can see.

Thomson’s Falls in Nyahururu (which is the highest town in Kenya).

Buffalo Springs National Reserve, and on the other side of the river, Samburu National Reserve. The landscape here reminds me of Kafue National Park in Zambia.

Midway through a holiday around Kenya. So far I’ve been to Kisumu (on Lake Victoria), Kericho, Nakuru National Park and Samburu/Buffalo Springs National Reserve.

The cover of My Life as a Foreign Country by Brian Turner.

#Booksof2025 58 - My Life as a Foreign Country by Brian Turner.
Vaguely poetic reflections on war and being a soldier.
I wasn't particularly keen.
#BookSky

#Booksof2025 57 - A Corner of a Foreign Field by Ramachandra Guha. This summer seemed an appropriate time to read this fascinating history of Indian cricket.

A Scanner Darkly by PK Dick features disguises heavily (in the form of "scramble suits")
The Richard Linklater film takes the metaphor one step further by rotoscaping the film into animation.

#Booksof2025 56 - Nathaniel's Nutmeg by Giles Milton
I felt there were two books here; one looking at the overall competition between the British and the Dutch for the global nutmeg market, and a tighter one looking at the history of the island of Run.
#BookSky

A demo killing sword made out of 12 chopsticks and packing tape. Suspect it will fall apart the first time it is waved in anger, which is probably a good thing.

It's very popular in my household. This morning, the youngest (after watching it again) used old chopsticks and packing tape to make a demon killing sword.

The paperback edition. The cover shows a woman in a car looking away from the viewer.

#Booksof2025 55 - Woman Enters Left by @jbrockmole.bsky.social
1950s Hollywood actress Louise Wilde makes a trip east, in the 1920s her mother travels west with her best friend. Two interlinked stories about love, acceptance (yourself and others) and family.
#BookSky

Terry Pratchett and Douglas Adams
Tom Holt
Jasper Fforde
Harry Harrison (esp. the Bill The Galactic Hero series - a satire on the Vietnam war)
Diana Wynne Jones (esp The Tough Guide to Fantasyland)

The hardback cover of Morgan is my Name by Sophie Keetch.

#Booksof2025 54 - Morgan is my Name by @sophiekeetchauthor.bsky.social
The life of Morgana le Fey as told through her eyes, rather than by King Arthur.
Definitely brings out the creepiness of Merlin. An interesting approach to an old story.
#BookSky

"Well, if it happened...if it did...would you do what Vimes did? Carrot? Would it be you who picked up a weapon and came after me? I know you won't lie. I've got to know. Would it be you?" A little snow slid down from the trees. The wolves watched. Carrot looked up for a moment at the grey sky and then nodded. "Yes." She signed. "Promise?" she said.

Possibly my favourite aspect is the exploration of the relationship between Carrot and Angua. It would have broken my heart if it had happened, but I do wonder about the non-existent book where Carrot has to attempt to fulfil his promise.

The original hardback edition of The Fifth Elephant. In typical style, the cover picture doesn't show something that happens in the book. Unless you consider the Fifth Elephant to be a metaphor for truth, crashing down on the dwarves, werewolves and vampires.

#Booksof2025 53 - The Fifth Elephant by @terryandrob.bsky.social Took the opportunity to re-read my favourite Discworld books whilst I could. It has politics, relationships, truth, identity. It is the best evidence that Terry Pratchett was "Guilty of Literature"

The cover of Pyramids by Terry Pratchett. This is the Corgi paperback edition with the Josh Kirby cover showing Teppic and Ptraci on a camel.

Pyramids is one of my signed Terry Pratchett books. He wrote "Hi" in a pyramid.

#Booksof2025 52 - Pyramids by @terryandrob.bsky.social When I visited Egypt in April, I was struck by a melancholy that my Discworld books were on another continent, 000s of miles from where I live.
So I took the chance to re read this one whilst I was briefly reunited with my collection.
#BookSky

#Booksof2025 51 - Do Polar Bears Get Lonely by @newscientist.com A selection of science questions and answers. The best ones are those that make you think a bit further. An easy summer book; read each entry in between the balls at a cricket match.
#BookSky

The cover of Queen Macbeth by Val McDermid

#Booksof2025 50 - Queen Macbeth by @valmcdermid.bsky.social The true (or at least truer) story of Lady Macbeth, including the details of her life before and after the play. I enjoyed it, a short sharp historical thriller.
#BookSky

The Bedside Guardian 24. Even if the subtitle didn't say it was from 1974/75, the yellow, black and white design would help you date the book.

#Booksof2025 49 - The Bedside Guardian 24. Another surprising find in a Kampala market. It was fun reading this collection of @theguardian.com articles from 1974 and 75 and thinking which journalists I would read today, and which I wouldn't.
#BookSky

Triplanetary by EE Doc Smith The Zombie Survival Guide by Max Brooks Bearmouth by Liz Hyder Late Cuts by Vic Marks The Perfect Golden Circle by Benjamin Myers Civilisations by Laurent Binet The Men by Sandra Newman Notes From The Burning Age by Claire North Boswell's Grand Tour: France, Italy and Corsica from the journals of James Boswell.

#BookSky A favourite thing to do when visiting the UK is find good reads in charity shops to take back to Uganda.
Today's haul was very successful. I look forward to reading them over the next few weeks.

The book cover of The Winter Spirits. White holly leaves on a black background.

#Booksof2025 48 - The Winter Spirits. A collection of ghost stories set in winter (so I read this completely out of season). I particularly enjoyed The Salt Miracles by @natashapulley.bsky.social & The Old Play by Andrew Michael Hurley.
#BookSky

A big chunky cat absolutely loving sitting on a Sainsbury's Bag for Life.

#NotMyCat My sister-in-law's cat has decided that his new favourite toy is a Sainsbury's Bag for Life. Loves sitting on it and dragging it around the kitchen.
#ProofOfCat

Night time boarding of the Uganda Airlines A380 to London Gatwick at Entebbe Airport

Early on Friday morning, I took my first flight on Uganda Airlines. Direct to London Gatwick, it was fairly good.

#Booksof2025 47 - The Last Day by @andrewhunterm.bsky.social An entertaining science fiction dystopia set on an Earth which has stopped turning. I liked how the main character was portrayed and the overall premise of the book, but felt the plot tailed off towards the end.
#BookSky

Port Royal: Just One More Contract... Gunners, vice admirals and contracts will help you in your mission.

Played Port Royal: Just One More Contract... 2 times today boardgamegeek.com/boardgameexp... #bggplay via @boardgamegeek.com

Wingspan Attract a beautiful and diverse collection of birds to your wildlife preserve.

Played Wingspan on 2025-06-14 boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/26... #bggplay via @boardgamegeek.com

#Booksof2025 46 - Starvation Heights by Gregg Olsen. Crime history about Linda Hazzard, an early 20th cen. "doctor" who claimed fasting as the cure for all ills, and her eventual conviction for manslaughter.
I enjoyed it, but would have appreciated an epilogue, footnotes and a bibliography
#BookSky

It's one of my favourite board games. You are largely in control of your actions, but you still need to pay attention to opponents. I generally don't enjoy games with a fixed number of turns (e.g. Agricola), but I think Wingspan has enough flexibility. I recommend it.

Ticket to Ride Map Collection 5: United Kingdom & Pennsylvania Develop tech in the UK or buy stock in historic Pennsylvania rail companies.

Played Ticket to Ride Map Collection 5: United Kingdom & Pennsylvania today boardgamegeek.com/boardgameexp... #bggplay via @boardgamegeek.com

Wingspan Attract a beautiful and diverse collection of birds to your wildlife preserve.

Played Wingspan today boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/26... #bggplay via @boardgamegeek.com

A friend and I queue for a pop-up art exhibition in Trafalgar Square.
We reach the front.
Emma Thompson appears and asks if she can queue jump.
I'm too stunned by the fact that Emma Thompson is talking to me to respond.
My friend says Yes.
She thanks us and goes in.

Emma Thompson is a legend.

#Booksof2025 45 - Hot Milk by Deborah Levy. A relatively short novel about the strained relationship between a young women and her mother. It's got a mysterious illness, jellyfish and an odd love affair. I delayed checking in for a flight as I was enjoying it so much.
#BookSky

The plot is very different, apart from some names and Eddie Valient as PI, the film is very different.
The human/toon relationship as an allegory for racism is much more overt (esp as I'm not 8yrs old) and makes the book deeper.