Here in the Welsh Borders we’ve still got some snow hanging about. If you look carefully on this BBC WeatherWatcher photo, you’ll see a smidgen of white in the top right on the Long Mynd.
Snapper Simon Playlist on YouTube
A selection of my Snapper Simon appearances on the BBC. 😜
Pilgrimage to Plymouth
Simon Whaley enjoys a journey around this delightful Devonshire City.
‘Climb the oak tree,’ says the tourist guide, ‘but think laterally.’ She winks as she hands over a map of Plymouth city to help me explore. I have to admit, it’s been a few years since I last climbed a tree. But this wasn’t quite what I was expecting to do in Plymouth.
This Devonian city is sandwiched between two rivers – the Plym in the east and the Tamar to the west. It overlooks Plymouth Sound, a natural bay with deep water channels, perfect for commercial shipping and the Royal Navy’s warships and submarines.
Firth of Flowers
Check out the April issue of BBC Countryfile magazine for my Firth of Flowers piece in their Great Days Out section.
Coast … ing Along
Check out my feature in the April 2018 issue of Coast magazine, packed full of ideas of what to do with A Weekend in Plymouth.
Freezin’ February
Well, the Beast from the East is approaching, apparently, but that’s nothing that unusual for us here in the Welsh Borders. We get snow quite frequently here – Church Stretton isn’t nicknamed Little Switzerland for nothing, you know!
Still, I missed Shefali’s use of my photo on last night’s late evening broadcast, but thanks to the BBC iPlayer I managed to catch up on the broadcast. It seems Shefali began her broadcast with my image … peeking through her opaque introductory slide …
Understanding Your ALCS Statement
I love this time of year. March is when we get our free money from the ALCS. Free money? Oh, yes! However, from the many comments I’ve seen on social media, not everyone understands their ALCS statement. Many simply look at how much they’re getting and then file it ready for their tax return. But having a clearer understanding of what you’re receiving the money for may help ensure you claim everything to which you’re entitled.
What is ALCS?
The Authors Licensing and Collecting Society collects money generated by secondary rights from various sources and then distributes it to writers. When you sell an article or a short story to a magazine, you sell a primary right – a right to publish your work, for which you should be paid. But once a piece of your writing has been published, there are legitimate ways in which it can be scanned or photocopied. Organisations and business pay for this legitimate right to copy your work.
Outdoor Aberdyfi
Check out the March 2018 issue of Outdoor Photography magazine and inside you’ll find my photo of Aberdyfi in the Viewpoint section.
Lunchtime Snapper
Having met up with friends in Much Wenlock this morning, I decided that on my way home I would stop off somewhere along Wenlock Edge to do my daily walk.
What Wenlock Edge does well is tantalising views. New trees, mainly ash and some silver birch, are thriving, and the good paths along the edge weave their way between them, which means that the vista across west Shropshire is good, but it doesn’t quite work as a photograph (your photo looks more like a view with a barcode in front of it!)
Blackcurrant Jelly
Donald drummed his fingers against the steering wheel of his Ford Focus, his eyes fixed on the school entrance.
Any minute now, those doors would fly open and hundreds of happy kids would stream out, overjoyed at their freedom. Then he would see his Suzie emerge, alone and despondent from the challenges she’d had to cope with today.
His stomach cramped as if someone had pushed their hand inside him, wrapped their fingers around his intestines and then squeezed.
Fingers. Everything was about fingers. Ever since that day three months ago.