Chris Swan
@chrisswan.bsky.social
Teacher of teachers, geek, computer scientist, family historian, traveller of trains. Cat lady. Views are entirely personal and not those of my employers. Blog link: https://awfulrigourswretchedpay.com/
I'm in the Netherlands currently, and visited beautiful Delft yesterday. I'll write about it in a future blog post. This photo was taken between the rain showers, which were pretty relentless.
October 26, 2025 at 6:01 AM
I'm in the Netherlands currently, and visited beautiful Delft yesterday. I'll write about it in a future blog post. This photo was taken between the rain showers, which were pretty relentless.
@eurostarjustin.bsky.social Was looking for our Amsterdam flag yesterday would you believe, but found this instead - the menu from our first family trip to Avignon. I think it was the inaugural year, and when the train went to Avignon Centre. Can't remember the year but a long time ago.
September 2, 2025 at 6:48 AM
@eurostarjustin.bsky.social Was looking for our Amsterdam flag yesterday would you believe, but found this instead - the menu from our first family trip to Avignon. I think it was the inaugural year, and when the train went to Avignon Centre. Can't remember the year but a long time ago.
@seatsixtyone.bsky.social I'm the woman in seat 61 again! I didn't choose this seat and my original train was cancelled. I am allocated this one a lot!!
August 9, 2025 at 4:51 PM
@seatsixtyone.bsky.social I'm the woman in seat 61 again! I didn't choose this seat and my original train was cancelled. I am allocated this one a lot!!
I haven't found any southern French ancestry yet - all of mine seems to be from the North East, Belgian border so far as my research has gone....but, you never know 😉 This is Menton again, the Hotel de Ville and fabulous gardens.
August 9, 2025 at 4:41 PM
I haven't found any southern French ancestry yet - all of mine seems to be from the North East, Belgian border so far as my research has gone....but, you never know 😉 This is Menton again, the Hotel de Ville and fabulous gardens.
No filter! The sea is like glass. We seem to have endless scandals about sewage being released into the sea. When did we stop aspiring to this? This is France, our nearest European neighbour - I'm proud of their exacting standards, good for them.
August 9, 2025 at 4:37 PM
No filter! The sea is like glass. We seem to have endless scandals about sewage being released into the sea. When did we stop aspiring to this? This is France, our nearest European neighbour - I'm proud of their exacting standards, good for them.
The landscape is stunning - this was taken from the train at Eze. No wonder this is one of the most beautiful train journeys in the world - quite right too!
August 9, 2025 at 4:34 PM
The landscape is stunning - this was taken from the train at Eze. No wonder this is one of the most beautiful train journeys in the world - quite right too!
This is such a southern French scene. It's late afternoon in Menton. The restaurant has finished serving lunch but it's not yet dinner time. There must be hundreds of squares like this- all beautiful with real character. They come alive when the sun sets.
August 9, 2025 at 4:32 PM
This is such a southern French scene. It's late afternoon in Menton. The restaurant has finished serving lunch but it's not yet dinner time. There must be hundreds of squares like this- all beautiful with real character. They come alive when the sun sets.
Sunsets in the South of France are amazing. The sun sets quite quickly but, because you can see a lot of sky, they are always impressive. I've been visiting Saint Raphael for many years, frequently on my own. It's a lovely place full of families and older people. I care about this place a great deal
August 9, 2025 at 4:28 PM
Sunsets in the South of France are amazing. The sun sets quite quickly but, because you can see a lot of sky, they are always impressive. I've been visiting Saint Raphael for many years, frequently on my own. It's a lovely place full of families and older people. I care about this place a great deal
Apart from the fact this is too short a glass, I adore pastis. This is the drink of the South. Sit, cool down, and take your time. Enjoy all that Vieux Nice has to offer-swallows swooping overhead, a hilltop waterfall, bustling market and beautiful terracotta, sand and sage buildings - santé!
August 9, 2025 at 4:22 PM
Apart from the fact this is too short a glass, I adore pastis. This is the drink of the South. Sit, cool down, and take your time. Enjoy all that Vieux Nice has to offer-swallows swooping overhead, a hilltop waterfall, bustling market and beautiful terracotta, sand and sage buildings - santé!
Just as I left the corridor, I snapped this photo of my elongated shadow and the painted gold star at the end. For these pastors, this was their final journey. I hadn't known about the Fort's Huguenot connection and I don't remember this exhibition when I last visited. I found it very moving.
August 9, 2025 at 4:15 PM
Just as I left the corridor, I snapped this photo of my elongated shadow and the painted gold star at the end. For these pastors, this was their final journey. I hadn't known about the Fort's Huguenot connection and I don't remember this exhibition when I last visited. I found it very moving.
The pewter dish came from Leiden, Netherlands - where I visited last October. All Protestant religious artefacts were hidden and used in secret, risking death if discovered. In the UK, the same was happening for worshippers of the Catholic faith - quite incredible to think about.
August 9, 2025 at 4:11 PM
The pewter dish came from Leiden, Netherlands - where I visited last October. All Protestant religious artefacts were hidden and used in secret, risking death if discovered. In the UK, the same was happening for worshippers of the Catholic faith - quite incredible to think about.
A heavy chain, a prison door and a memorial plaque. I posted the last photo on the Huguenot Genealogy Facebook page and, amazingly, some members were descendants of the named pastors, knew their stories and their tragic fate in this grim place.
August 9, 2025 at 4:07 PM
A heavy chain, a prison door and a memorial plaque. I posted the last photo on the Huguenot Genealogy Facebook page and, amazingly, some members were descendants of the named pastors, knew their stories and their tragic fate in this grim place.
I have a loooong wait for my Eurostar to London, so have been looking through my holiday photos to select the best,most impactful for me. Number 1 comes from L'île Sainte Marguerite, just off the coast of Cannes. Fort Royal housed prisoners detained at the King's pleasure, including Huguenot pastors
August 9, 2025 at 4:04 PM
I have a loooong wait for my Eurostar to London, so have been looking through my holiday photos to select the best,most impactful for me. Number 1 comes from L'île Sainte Marguerite, just off the coast of Cannes. Fort Royal housed prisoners detained at the King's pleasure, including Huguenot pastors
Enjoying a well-earned Ricard in Ma Nolan's, Nice, after a hard day's shopping. Mission accomplished!
August 7, 2025 at 1:59 PM
Enjoying a well-earned Ricard in Ma Nolan's, Nice, after a hard day's shopping. Mission accomplished!
I haven't kept up posting on here but here's what I have been up to:
August 7, 2025 at 5:32 AM
I haven't kept up posting on here but here's what I have been up to:
Les vues de Grasse. The white hanging things are "testers" of different perfumes. They waft in the breeze to release their scent.
August 3, 2025 at 1:30 PM
Les vues de Grasse. The white hanging things are "testers" of different perfumes. They waft in the breeze to release their scent.
First one of the holiday
August 3, 2025 at 1:28 PM
First one of the holiday
Merci. Current view..... 🙂
August 2, 2025 at 10:13 AM
Merci. Current view..... 🙂
@eurostarjustin.bsky.social there you go!
August 2, 2025 at 6:19 AM
@eurostarjustin.bsky.social there you go!
Wearing my "I really haven't had enough sleep" look - off to St Raphael again. Morning again @eurostarjustin.bsky.social I've just checked, it was October 2019 when me and the lad were off to Munich. Unfortunately, as teachers, we missed Oktoberfest by two weeks 🥺
August 2, 2025 at 6:18 AM
Wearing my "I really haven't had enough sleep" look - off to St Raphael again. Morning again @eurostarjustin.bsky.social I've just checked, it was October 2019 when me and the lad were off to Munich. Unfortunately, as teachers, we missed Oktoberfest by two weeks 🥺
It's been a long old academic year. Out of Office replies on. Enjoying a cold one ....
August 1, 2025 at 5:28 PM
It's been a long old academic year. Out of Office replies on. Enjoying a cold one ....
These look very similar to pots we have - were they from B+Q? We have snapdragons in ours. Past their best now though. This is one narrow side on.
July 26, 2025 at 6:50 PM
These look very similar to pots we have - were they from B+Q? We have snapdragons in ours. Past their best now though. This is one narrow side on.
So, I moved everything, removed the shelf, photograph the heater thing. Then decide that I can't take any action until Monday so I could at least sort out the junk.
July 19, 2025 at 2:31 PM
So, I moved everything, removed the shelf, photograph the heater thing. Then decide that I can't take any action until Monday so I could at least sort out the junk.
Today I visited London Zoo. Zoos are contentious places but I do feel that the habitats have been dramatically improved since my last visit eons ago.
July 12, 2025 at 1:38 PM
Today I visited London Zoo. Zoos are contentious places but I do feel that the habitats have been dramatically improved since my last visit eons ago.