John Gilbey
@johngilbey.bsky.social
Science and SF writer, Photographer, Guardian Country Diary, SciFoo, TEDx, Geek-without-Porfolio, LaunchPadAstro, Professional survivor, FBCS, FRSA, Grandfather...
Pinned
John Gilbey
@johngilbey.bsky.social
· Aug 4
Well, it looks like I've reached 3500 followers here so maybe I'd better reintroduce myself.
Welcome! I'm a writer and photographer based in Wales. I write SF and science pieces as well as specialist technical articles - and the Guardian Country Diary.
I have a book out - which looks like this:
Welcome! I'm a writer and photographer based in Wales. I write SF and science pieces as well as specialist technical articles - and the Guardian Country Diary.
I have a book out - which looks like this:
I really must go back to Norwich...
I miss the old place...
I miss the old place...
February 14, 2026 at 8:13 PM
I really must go back to Norwich...
I miss the old place...
I miss the old place...
Something I have to remind myself of with increasing frequency....
February 14, 2026 at 6:18 PM
Something I have to remind myself of with increasing frequency....
Winter in Aberaeron, Ceredigion. High tide and blue sky...
February 12, 2026 at 7:01 PM
Winter in Aberaeron, Ceredigion. High tide and blue sky...
Greetings...
If you are running a conference or workshop this year, and are looking for an event photographer to document it for you, I'd be happy to talk. Get in quick though...
Have Nikons, will travel...
If you are running a conference or workshop this year, and are looking for an event photographer to document it for you, I'd be happy to talk. Get in quick though...
Have Nikons, will travel...
February 11, 2026 at 9:41 PM
Greetings...
If you are running a conference or workshop this year, and are looking for an event photographer to document it for you, I'd be happy to talk. Get in quick though...
Have Nikons, will travel...
If you are running a conference or workshop this year, and are looking for an event photographer to document it for you, I'd be happy to talk. Get in quick though...
Have Nikons, will travel...
Book cliffs beneath a blue sky in June, mirrored by a forage crop in the foreground. Taken from the Amtrak California Zephyr...
February 8, 2026 at 9:42 PM
Book cliffs beneath a blue sky in June, mirrored by a forage crop in the foreground. Taken from the Amtrak California Zephyr...
A blast from the past...
Two Intercity 125 trains at the agreeably grimy Paddington Station in the early 1980s.
Captured on Kodak Ektachrome 200 high speed film.
Two Intercity 125 trains at the agreeably grimy Paddington Station in the early 1980s.
Captured on Kodak Ektachrome 200 high speed film.
February 8, 2026 at 7:54 PM
A blast from the past...
Two Intercity 125 trains at the agreeably grimy Paddington Station in the early 1980s.
Captured on Kodak Ektachrome 200 high speed film.
Two Intercity 125 trains at the agreeably grimy Paddington Station in the early 1980s.
Captured on Kodak Ektachrome 200 high speed film.
February twilight over Cardigan Bay, seen from Aberystwyth...
February 5, 2026 at 5:14 PM
February twilight over Cardigan Bay, seen from Aberystwyth...
Well, this is awkward...
It seems that some incoming mail isn't reaching my account.
So, if you are expecting to hear from me but haven't, please try again - preferably by a different route...
It seems that some incoming mail isn't reaching my account.
So, if you are expecting to hear from me but haven't, please try again - preferably by a different route...
February 5, 2026 at 12:02 PM
Well, this is awkward...
It seems that some incoming mail isn't reaching my account.
So, if you are expecting to hear from me but haven't, please try again - preferably by a different route...
It seems that some incoming mail isn't reaching my account.
So, if you are expecting to hear from me but haven't, please try again - preferably by a different route...
Hope we get some more skies like this one soon...
February 1, 2026 at 1:48 PM
Hope we get some more skies like this one soon...
It's only February, and I already have three funerals to attend this year...
This is the stuff nobody tells you about getting old...
This is the stuff nobody tells you about getting old...
February 1, 2026 at 11:47 AM
It's only February, and I already have three funerals to attend this year...
This is the stuff nobody tells you about getting old...
This is the stuff nobody tells you about getting old...
It's always a good feeling when a line of writing work you really enjoy gets renewed for another year!
January 12, 2026 at 4:22 PM
It's always a good feeling when a line of writing work you really enjoy gets renewed for another year!
If, like me, you are snowed in you might like to take a virtual walk with my Country Diary - which is in the @theguardian.com today...
You can find it here... www.theguardian.com/environment/...
You can find it here... www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Country diary: The calm after the storm | John Gilbey
Comins Coch, Ceredigion: The winds have died down, so I head out on an eerily still morning among frozen fallen leaves and emerging catkins
www.theguardian.com
January 5, 2026 at 9:29 AM
If, like me, you are snowed in you might like to take a virtual walk with my Country Diary - which is in the @theguardian.com today...
You can find it here... www.theguardian.com/environment/...
You can find it here... www.theguardian.com/environment/...
It isn't even New Year yet, but the phoney conference invitations for 2026 have already started rolling in...
AAARRGGHHH!!!
AAARRGGHHH!!!
December 30, 2025 at 11:11 AM
It isn't even New Year yet, but the phoney conference invitations for 2026 have already started rolling in...
AAARRGGHHH!!!
AAARRGGHHH!!!
My final print deadline of 2025 has been met!
Now all that remains is to find the 2026 diary that I have put somewhere "safe"...
Oh, and perhaps allow myself a sip of single malt.
Now all that remains is to find the 2026 diary that I have put somewhere "safe"...
Oh, and perhaps allow myself a sip of single malt.
December 28, 2025 at 3:27 PM
My final print deadline of 2025 has been met!
Now all that remains is to find the 2026 diary that I have put somewhere "safe"...
Oh, and perhaps allow myself a sip of single malt.
Now all that remains is to find the 2026 diary that I have put somewhere "safe"...
Oh, and perhaps allow myself a sip of single malt.
Reposted by John Gilbey
It is Christmas morning in west Wales.
Whoever and wherever you are, of any faith or none, I hope you find a moment of peace today.
Whoever and wherever you are, of any faith or none, I hope you find a moment of peace today.
December 25, 2025 at 10:01 AM
It is Christmas morning in west Wales.
Whoever and wherever you are, of any faith or none, I hope you find a moment of peace today.
Whoever and wherever you are, of any faith or none, I hope you find a moment of peace today.
It is Christmas morning in west Wales.
Whoever and wherever you are, of any faith or none, I hope you find a moment of peace today.
Whoever and wherever you are, of any faith or none, I hope you find a moment of peace today.
December 25, 2025 at 10:01 AM
It is Christmas morning in west Wales.
Whoever and wherever you are, of any faith or none, I hope you find a moment of peace today.
Whoever and wherever you are, of any faith or none, I hope you find a moment of peace today.
One from the archives...
Ah! memories, memories...
Ah! memories, memories...
With the University of Rural England’s hopes of survival resting on a bailout from a disgruntled tech bro alumnus, its embattled vice-chancellor heads back to the future in Silicon Valley. A seasonal tale from the THE archives (2024) by John Gilbey.
Answering the call: the university’s early Christmas present
With the University of Rural England’s hopes of survival resting on a bailout from a disgruntled tech bro alumnus, John Gilbey’s seasonal tale sees its embattled vice-chancellor go back to the future in Silicon Valley
www.timeshighereducation.com
December 23, 2025 at 5:06 PM
One from the archives...
Ah! memories, memories...
Ah! memories, memories...
Time for my Freelance Writer Office Christmas Party...
Don't judge me, I've got another print deadline before the end of December... :-)
Don't judge me, I've got another print deadline before the end of December... :-)
December 19, 2025 at 5:05 PM
Time for my Freelance Writer Office Christmas Party...
Don't judge me, I've got another print deadline before the end of December... :-)
Don't judge me, I've got another print deadline before the end of December... :-)
Well, that's nice... Someone has paid me a welcome amount of money to use a photo I took as a news image back in June 2012...
Stock images: the gift that keeps on giving...
Stock images: the gift that keeps on giving...
December 19, 2025 at 10:20 AM
Well, that's nice... Someone has paid me a welcome amount of money to use a photo I took as a news image back in June 2012...
Stock images: the gift that keeps on giving...
Stock images: the gift that keeps on giving...
If, like me, you find yourself needing to step back for a moment and let the current fury of the world roll past, consider the architecture and workmanship of an English cathedral - Norwich, in this case. A sanctuary for 900 years...
December 16, 2025 at 11:38 AM
If, like me, you find yourself needing to step back for a moment and let the current fury of the world roll past, consider the architecture and workmanship of an English cathedral - Norwich, in this case. A sanctuary for 900 years...
Looking for gift ideas? For those who enjoy country walks, my book Country Diary Wales might go down well...
It collects 50 of my Guardian Country Diary columns and over 100 original colour images...
And it is easy to wrap!
Published by the nice folk of @graffegbooks.bsky.social
It collects 50 of my Guardian Country Diary columns and over 100 original colour images...
And it is easy to wrap!
Published by the nice folk of @graffegbooks.bsky.social
December 15, 2025 at 12:53 PM
Looking for gift ideas? For those who enjoy country walks, my book Country Diary Wales might go down well...
It collects 50 of my Guardian Country Diary columns and over 100 original colour images...
And it is easy to wrap!
Published by the nice folk of @graffegbooks.bsky.social
It collects 50 of my Guardian Country Diary columns and over 100 original colour images...
And it is easy to wrap!
Published by the nice folk of @graffegbooks.bsky.social
A winter view of the University Broad, UEA, Norwich.
Yes, it was very cold...
@uniofeastanglia.bsky.social @ueaenv.bsky.social
Yes, it was very cold...
@uniofeastanglia.bsky.social @ueaenv.bsky.social
December 11, 2025 at 5:08 PM
A winter view of the University Broad, UEA, Norwich.
Yes, it was very cold...
@uniofeastanglia.bsky.social @ueaenv.bsky.social
Yes, it was very cold...
@uniofeastanglia.bsky.social @ueaenv.bsky.social
The bare bones of a landscape...
Geology at the mouth of Isfjord, Svalbard in the late evening light...
Captued on film, many years ago...
Geology at the mouth of Isfjord, Svalbard in the late evening light...
Captued on film, many years ago...
December 7, 2025 at 11:47 PM
The bare bones of a landscape...
Geology at the mouth of Isfjord, Svalbard in the late evening light...
Captued on film, many years ago...
Geology at the mouth of Isfjord, Svalbard in the late evening light...
Captued on film, many years ago...
Evening sunshine in Funchal, Madeira...
Somewhere I would be happy to be again right now...
Somewhere I would be happy to be again right now...
December 3, 2025 at 9:41 PM
Evening sunshine in Funchal, Madeira...
Somewhere I would be happy to be again right now...
Somewhere I would be happy to be again right now...
Crepuscular rays - looking south from Aberystwyth across Cardigan Bay, Wales, UK.
November 30, 2025 at 10:19 PM
Crepuscular rays - looking south from Aberystwyth across Cardigan Bay, Wales, UK.