The “Your Tree on Battersea” campaign encourages participants to “express their creativity on ‌iPad‌” by drawing and submitting original Christmas tree designs. Hosted by British comedian and presenter Munya Chawawa, the project will culminate with 24 winning public entries being displayed on Battersea Power Station’s river-facing chimneys and wash towers, alongside digital artwork from artists and public figures, including Sir Stephen Fry and David Shrigley OBE.

Oh this is going to be good. I hope more than a few of the “24 winning public entries” make a nod to Algie, the inflatable pig Pink Floyd flew over Battersea back in the day.

tags: britain art apple pinkfloyd

posted by matt in Monday, November 3, 2025

“Many Canadians are feeling anxious and worried about the drastically changing world around them. Fundamental change is always unsettling. Yet this moment is also an incredible opportunity. An opportunity for renewal. An opportunity to think big and to act bigger.

Strangely, those words from King Charles work for me, too.

Drastically changing world. Opportunity. Renewal. Think Big. Act Bigger.

He’s basically making the case for optimism despite all the doom and gloom.

We’ll get there, eventually.

tags: canada usa britain

posted by matt in Wednesday, May 28, 2025

I love seeing the stickers reminding people that a car’s electrical system is negative grounded. British cars were positive ground until the late 1960’s (I think the conversion happened in 1968 but I’m not entirely sure). They must have been required by law to put these “reminder” stickers under the hood for some time afterward. Sort of funny.

tags: cars britain

photo posted by matt in Sunday, June 2, 2024

When the chair was originally commissioned by King Edward I in the early 1300s, its primary purpose was to house the monarch’s newly acquired Stone of Scone (pronounced “skoon”). The 300-pound rock had previously been in Scotland’s possession, whose monarchy had used it as a throne for hundreds of years — though some legends date it as far back as Biblical times.

Of course there’s a centuries-old special chair. And a stone. And of course they pronounce “Stone of Scone” as “Stone of Skoon.”

tags: kingcharles coronation uk britain

posted by matt in Monday, May 1, 2023