but she's a girl...

Needless Alley 2, originally uploaded by bsag. "Continuing the story of death and disillusionment in a dystopian urban future. Did you see 'Needless Alley 1'?" "No." "Pity - it's much better than the sequel."

I'm having another go to see if I can get the title working.

Snowy tree, originally uploaded by bsag. I'm trying out flickr to see if I can post images from my Treo's camera again.

I've got a bit of a soft spot for pigeons having worked with them for several years. Their ability to notice a new food source within seconds of it appearing is quite impressive. [Trafalgar Square, London]

The snow has suddenly started coming down, and has covered everything within a couple of minutes. It is hitting our bedroom window horizontally and coming in, despite the fact that the window is closed. There's something to be said for UPVC double glazing.

After days of rain, it's really nice to see the sun and some blue sky. It makes the stone look really warm and golden. After what must be years of walking past this Chapel, I noticed St. George slaying the dragon on top of it. It's amazing what a bit of sun can do.

I chickened out of cycling in today because of the frost, so I got the bus. The company that runs our route has finally splashed out on some new buses. When I got on, I commented to the driver that I liked the shiny new vehicle. She grimaced and said "I don't - I'm scared of breaking it!". When we passed another driver on the route, he gave a 'Royal wave' (index finger loosely extended, rotating the wrist) to say, "

It's a bit early for proper Wassailing (toasting the apple trees with cider in January to wish them good health for the season to come), but never mind. I love cider, and there's nothing nicer on a cold dark evening than a crisp, dry strong cider. A note for North Americans: I'm talking about the stuff with alcohol in, not glorified apple juice. Boy, was I disappointed when I discovered that little cultural difference.

A rather literate graffti artist has been making his or her presence felt around Oxford recently. In case you can't read it, this says, "Sois réaliste demande l'impossible". I get the gist, but if any Fracophones have a decent translation, let me know. It's written in chalk, not paint, so the person responsible has some respect for the buildings.

This is one of my offices - the much nicer one. The ceiling is ridiculously high, but the windows are lovely. The photo was taken at the end of a long, hard day.