I’m Christian Payne, Autotelic, story gatherer, reluctant creative director and occasional writer. Thanks for joining in.
#TheAction
I’m writing this to you from a lodge-hotel-bar type thing on there Royal Welsh Showground, Builth Wells. I could tell that the guy that checked me rode a Harley as his phone was on a chain attached to his jeans. He also disliked Triumphs. So our conversation was short and here I am. Playing catch up on an email after a four hour drive. Not the quickest of trips. The cobweb hanging between my drivers side wing mirror and the car is still intact. Not sure if the occupant made it.
Another blur of a week. One highlight was record store day. Thanks to Ian from Vinyl Revival UK enjoying the good things in life, he was a little too large for the T-shirt Lost Chimes wanted to gift to him. Not wanting the perfect fan boy opportunity to slip by, I quickly interjected. “It’ll fit me”.
And here is the proof that it does indeed fit.
#ThePictures
And here is an advert. I don’t benefit anything from it other than in gleaning a little enjoyment.
“The person who follows the crowd will usually go no further than the crowd. The person who walks alone is likely to find himself in places no one has ever been before.” ~ Einstein
Ustad Noor Bakhsh in action.
Amazing musicianship. Discovered by chance and now known the world over. If you are interested in the story I have linked two podcasts below.
Me and the kids binge watched all four seasons of Bravest Warriors this week. It started strong but then kind of lamed out.
#TheWords
I love me a good quality loophole. Read this story of how a hotel guest found just that and then wouldn’t leave.
#TheSound
I came back with a few goodies from Record Store Day. I’d not intended to buy anything but got caught up in the excitement.
The howling Wolf Live in Europe 1964 is a fantastic listen, The re-release of Paranoid from Black Sabbath is my favourite of the three and the Dandy Warhols live brought back so many memories. I had no idea that they were all coloured vinyl either.
I have been dipping into the BBC podcast Lives less ordinary and recently heard Balochistan’s mystery benjo man, part 1 and Part 2. A wonderful story of one man’s search for a musical Guru and the friendship that followed. As featured in the video at the top of this dispatch.
#TheConsumed
Not my best sandwich but certainly not my worst.
This is a tuna mayo and sweetcorn sandwich with a packet of baked prawn cocktail crisps inside. What is it with this British tradition that keeps us revisiting this weird combination? Is it the texture contrast? Or perhaps nostalgia for our childhood?
Crisps (of the Smith’s variety) were first popularised in the 20’s and 30’s but we might have been adding them to sarnies for over 60 years. One of the earliest written references to crisps in sandwiches dates back to the 1967 book "The Art of Sandwich Making," British food writer and chef Robert Carrier includes a recipe for a "Crisp Sandwich," which features crisps as a topping.
The food in this hotel-bar-type place is a once in a lifetime experience. If you get me. 🤮
#TheThings
As I have have acquired a few large rechargeable lithium battery cells for radio projects I needed to upgrade my trusty mini ZTS battery tester. So I went for the MBT-1.
It really is the one tester to rule all others. The ZTS MBT-1 Multi Battery Tester will test more than 40 different battery types. Where possible we have rechargeables. Or at least that’s what I have tried to instil on the family. Nevertheless after who knows how long, our mini recycling bin for batteries has been filling up with all kinds of cells. So I emptied the lot to test.
Out of the pile pictured on the left I found a bunch that had around 80% charge. Some devices will tell you your battery is flat but the cells will work fine in other appliances like remote controls or low powered sensors. (I have had the same batteries on my Aranet 4 CO2 sensor for over 2 years.) The battery tester is not just fun to use I think it will pay for itself multiple times over.
I’m selling some of my little used Bushcraft gear so I can invest in the latest ultralight backpack. I need less of the robust-drag-it-through-the-woods and more light-enough-to-dance-up-a-mountain. Still sad to say cheerio to my Karrimor Sabre. (Notice the spelling mistake in the listing title?)
Spotted this car in a local garage.
A 1965 Volvo PV 544. It might be the only one from this year to be righthand drive as the garage converted it themselves. They also added a long range fuel tank in order to participate in (and complete) the 100th Land’s End Trial. A gruelling 236 mile 21 hour nonstop long distance trial with a lot of it off road. Sounds like an amazing endeavour.
#TheThanks
Many thanks to Charlotte of the The Stitch Society for being the latest supporting subscriber. And what an amazing looking company. They make sustainable workwear in Yorkshire. Durable and repairable clothing with locally sourced fabrics, plus should it ever be needed, a repair service. They also speak up against greenwashing, ineffective recycling, and forever textiles like Gore-Tex. Please check out their shop.
Thank you Charlotte, it’s a pleasure to have you on board. And thank you to all the paying subscribers that support my time here and keep this dispatch free for everyone. Please consider upgrading to become a paid supporter. Or if you prefer PayAsYouGo you can do that via PayPal. Either way… Thank you for reading, sharing and liking.
#TheWeb
Pretty sure our blue plaque scheme is not without faults, but it certainly sounds like the Historical Markers in the US needs an overhaul.
Are we watching the internet die?
The closest person to me right now on the Documentally community map is a Dave.P. Hi Dave!
What another incredible feat of engineering. I have little doubt Voyager one will outlive us all. Especially those amazing NASA boffins feasting on a mountain of doughnuts.
Almost every Chinese keyboard app has a security floor that potentially exposes what you’re typing.
It’s great to see Rory Cellen-Jones and his team getting up to speed with his manifesto for better Parkinson’s care (Aka the Parky Charter).
Some of my other places include Letterboxd, Discogs, GoodReads, Flickr, Strava, Untappd, LinkedIn, YouTube, Mastodon, a ham radio newsletter or search ‘Documentally’ on Wire, Birdsite, Bluesky or Daft Social.
Take a look to see if your work is in any AI training data sets.
#TheEnd
I can hear someone singing in the next room. I might find out what they have been drinking and head to the bar. Tomorrow i’ll be attending an event here called Wonderwool Wales. I’m story gathering for Baavet who are here hanging out with other folk championing wool and other natural fibres. Next week I hope to be dropping into London on Tuesday and voting on Thursday. Have a great weekend!
“Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul and sings the tune without the words and never stops at all.” ~ Emily Dickinson
Sing.
See you out there.
Over…
The battery tester is a great idea, I might get one of those for my gadget drawer in my office because I’m pretty sure we’ve not exhausted all of our batteries destined for a local recycling centre.
Our Samsung TV came with two remotes, one that is solar chargeable with the option to connect to USB-C. The other a traditional kind which takes batteries.