And did those feet in ancient times

Glastonbury Tor

Glastonbury Tor









March 2015


Burton Bradstock

With the infamous Ides of March fast approaching, the past week has proved far from any ominous omens, quite the reverse. The last few days have regularly alternated between wet and welcome warm days as Winter starts to give way to Spring. The warm days are almost like the tendrils of a yet unborn Summer stretching backwards in time to act as an advance messenger of leisurely outdoor days that lie ahead.

Our daffodils have now started to appear and grass that has been lying dormant for months has begun to stir. It is almost like a slumbering giant has awoken as the emergent Spring shakes off the remnants of Winter.

We took the opportunity last week on the first really sunny day to go to Burton Bradstock in Dorset. This is part of the Jurassic Coast which provides a good vista of that huge bight of the South Coast known as Lyme Bay. From Burton Bradstock it is possible on a clear day to see all the way from Portland Bill to Exmouth and even Torquay. This view always conjures up in my mind that just a few miles beyond that distant coast likes both the mysteries and beauty of Dartmoor.


A distant Golden Cap

Nor far beyond nearby Bridport lies Golden Cap, the flat topped hill that dominates this part of the coast. Golden Cap like much of this coast belongs to the National Trust which should help preserve the beauty of this area for future generations.






Lou Lou digging holes in the sand

Lou Lou digging holes in the sand

It was also the opportunity for our new puppy Lou Lou now some five months old to see the sea for the first time. One never quite knows how a dog will react to this new environment for the first time. As it turned out, Lou Lou appeared quite indifferent apart from when an incoming wave suddenly took her by surprise as it swirled around her paws. Finding she could rapidly dig holes in the wet sand appeared to be more enjoyable to her.

I also took the opportunity to drive to West Bay on the way home as I had not seen it for some time. West Bay might be better known as the location of the TV series “Harbour Lights” that was screened some years ago. It is a location I have always liked for its unspoilt  non-commercialised appearance but I found a new monolithic block of residential apartments built directly alongside the harbour does little for myself in enhancing the ambience of this small seaside town.

Shades of Grey

Dress 01Recently a global debate ensued on social media when two people were viewing a chance picture taken of a person wearing a particular dress. One viewer happened to comment on the gold and white dress while the other viewer said the dress was a blue and black colour. Both viewers new neither of them suffered from any form of colour blindness and both were emphatic at what they could see. Seeking advise from others they got mixed responses as to the colour variation which led to the social debate that went viral.

Dress 01aIn the end the original dress was located and found to be blue and black but what the debate did show is different people do not always see the same thing and we assume by default that others are seeing what we see.

Apparently it turns out that everyone has different combinations of the genes that create the sense of colour for red, green and blue and because these genes are on the X chromosome, women tend to have more variations.

This tends to give women a more dynamic range of colours they see than men normally do.



This difference in the sense of colour by the following two examples.

Illusion 2aillusion 02










It can be seen from the two images above that to many the image on the left appears to have a white tile and a black tile. However by drawing a horizontal grey line between the two it can be seen that they are actually both the same colour.

A similar effect was produced by Edward H Adelson  in the following two images.


Illusion 01

Once again in the left image, to many people square A will appear grey and square B will appear white. If however two vertical grey bands are placed so the intersect both tiles, it can be see that both tiles are in fact grey. The effect of the colour illusion is so strong however that even when looking at the right image, if one tries to block out the two vertical grey lines in ones mind, square B can appear to alternate between white and grey.

This might help to explain why disputes sometimes arise when deciding on things like a colour scheme for a room in ones home. Two people may be unaware that their partner is not seeing the colour scheme that they are.

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