John Martyn RIP

I have just found out that the British singer-songwriter John Martyn died of pneumonia during his sleep this morning at the age of sixty.

As a tribute I present the following video of him singing the excellent "May You Never" on the BBC's Old Grey Whistle Test back in 1973.

Wednesday wallpaper: William Hogarth - Chairing the Member

This week's selection of wallpaper images are taken from the final painting in the Humours of an Election series by the satirical painter and engraver William Hogarth. The four paintings depict the election of a Member of Parliament for Oxfordshire in 1754. In the first three pictures Hogarth illustrates the endemic corruption associated with politics at this time as well as some of the issues of the day. This image, called Chairing a Member shows the successful candidate being carried through town by his supporters.

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Wednesday wallpaper: Canaletto`s London

Today's set of wallpapers are various details of Canaletto's painting of the Thames and the City of London from Richmond House (1747). As ever the wallpapers are available in a selection of sizes to suit the most common screen resolutions.

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First Articles on Helium

I have been a member of Helium for some time, but had not published an article there until yesterday. Helium provides a medium for budding writers to publish their own work and rate the work of others while sharing in the advertising earnings of the site. They also offer other ways to earn money including subject-based competitions and a marketplace where various organisations commission articles on a variety of subjects.

My first published article is about The raid of Medway, when Dutch forces attacked the British Navy while it was moored at Chatham Docks on 9th June 1667. The article that I submitted is an edited version of one I had published on my Modern Historian blog some time ago. After rating a few articles - a requirement of contributors who wish to earn money there - I also wrote an article for one of the many debates raging on Helium: Capitalism vs. Socialism: Which do you prefer? Regular readers of this blog may be able to guess which of these I chose.

If I see any income from this site I will be sure to write a post here to let you all know.

Wednesday wallpaper: Netbook extravaganza

I recently acquired an Acer Aspire One netbook. Its 8.9" screen supports a screen resolution of 1024 x 600 pixels. Other netbooks, such as the Asus EEE PC 701, have a screen resolution of 800 x 480. As a result of the increasing popularity of these wee laptops I have decided to create some images to be used as wallpapers/backdrops on them to match the others that have already appeared on this blog: Bee, Sunset and Wells Cathedral.

Here are the 1024 x 600 versions:




800 x 480 resolution versions: