Pathway across the sea

The Corona Beach Garbage Hotel is made of recycled waste collected from European beaches

A NEW hotel has opened in the heart of Madrid proudly declaring that it's completely rubbish.

More of a wooden shack than a five-star establishment, the walls of the Beach Garbage Hotel are strewn with detritus dragged up by the tide, recovered from landfills or snapped up at flea markets.

Read more: http://www.news.com.au/travel/world/rubbish-hotel-opens-in-heart-of-madrid/story-e6frfqai-1225991806719#ixzz1Bgki8Aax

Photo full of memories - Alex

Short Sharp Science: Speeding star creates bird-like space sculpture - check photo in article

Wow! This brings it all back, what a great feeling. But oh,Karaghiozi, where are you now? (This > is my photo from my Facebook page, if you want to be my friend!)

Runes

So There! [Alex again]

Betelgeuse 'not likely to explode in 2012'

Cold water poured on twin sun dreams
"...................

That story is helping fuel internet rumors and doomsday theories by confounding the impending supernova with the Mayan calendar's conclusion in 2012 - which some believe is a prediction of the end of the world.

But there's no reason to think Betelgeuse will blow in 2012, Mr Plait explained, or even this millennium................"

Read more: http://www.news.com.au/technology/sci-tech/betelgeuse-not-likely-to-explode-in-2012/story-fn5fsgyc-1225992757166#ixzz1BzUtBpQz

Flotsam & jetsam!

There's a simple mnemonic that helps distinguish flotsam from jetsam. Flotsam (or floatsome) are those items which are floating as a consequence of the action of the sea. Jetsam are those which have been jettisoned by a ship's crew (although that may float too of course).

http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/flotsam-and-jetsam.html

Pier remains

Hi, this is Alex! (Excuse me Lexie, while I post to MY blog!)

The English newspaper The Telegraph today has a report I first read four days ago, I thought about blogging it then because it is within my sphere of interest - but first I checked it out on the web. I could find nothing of substance that validated it, so left it, Is The Telegraph guilty of sloppy reporting? Even if the journalist is a better researcher than me, he hasn't cited any validating sources, so is still being irresponsible in my opinion.

It will be interesting to see if this story escalates.

"'Second sun' on its way
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/space/827553

The Earth could find itself with a 'second sun' for a period of weeks later this year when one of the night sky's most luminous stars explodes, scientists have claimed."

Trawler coming into harbour!

A baby 'Scream'

See here for the orginal

apparently Andy Warhol did his own version too

and you can see Little Scream's big brother from our competition - here.

Just sitting there!

View through a 'brick'!

Hollow sort of brick (lots of them around) presumably from the pier and I used it to take the photo of the pier, putting the camera lens up to the hole (with some difficulty, trying to juggle camera and brick)

My favourite!

This is the pinky grey stone I mentioned earlier, I have seen much bigger bits than this.

Stone

It looks like a parcel wrapped around with string.

(I've found the rocks always look better in situ when they are still wet form the sea; often when they dry out what attracted me is lost.

Beachcombing rewards

Went down to the beach today despite the bitterly cold wind; not another soul in sight and what did I espy, unbelievably, just alying on the pebbles, but a £5 note!

It was far too cold to take a photo ( and anyway, the note might have blown away by the time I had extracted my camera from my pocket.) I honestly looked around for an owner, but as before, no one else was braving the biting wind.

I am just hoping that I don't now get a lot of claimants, as Alex did when he found the koumboloi. See Judgement of Solomon

Still a lot of this all over the beach; the first piece I saw was like a large brick, with a runnel in it, and the pinky streak you can see in the ones above. At first I didn't know what it was, well I still don't really, but I think it must come from the pier, because there's so mcuh of it. It is a creamy yellow, with a pink streak, and very light.

Smiley Face!

See other examples at HERE.

Treasure?

I found this stone, or half stone on the beach and it seemed obvious that it had had a crystalline structure of some sort in the cavity. You may be able to see the glitter from remaining glitter.

I assumed the sea had broken it, and spent some time looking around for the other half. Then I looked for similar stones - I found one easily enough, and cracked it open easily - but alas, there was no treasure inside.

I was telling a friend's father about it later, and he suggested that there had been human intervention. I hope to spend more time looking and seeing if I can find my own treasure.

New Year Resolution

Well, yes - obviously I know it isn't New Year yet, but I feel bad about letting Alex and all you others down - so am going to try and do better!

These are more pier finds, as well as shells and a stone. There is hardly a day on the beach when I don't come back with a stone or pebble that has fascinated me. There's grey quartzy type of stone, with pink in it (okay, I never claimed to be a geologist) and stones with lovely brown, black and orange colours, they look abit like some Australian Aborigine painings I have seen - but the colurs are best before the stones dry out.

I have acouple of its of charred timber, one of them has a bolt in it, and two bits of metal lacework in the second picture are bits of melted metal.

Oh, and I hope you all had a Very Happy Christmas - Καλά Χριστούγεννα

I know - it's been ages!

Yes, I do have my camera back, and I will try to find time to document my earlier finds, but for the last few days it has been a bit difficult to beachcomb! See above, taken today.

And for those of a romantic turn of mind: (Very Dickensian, which is quite appropriate, as he had two aunts in Hastings, and spent some time staying with them.