Alison Gibbs
@guineagibbs.bsky.social
Books, theatre, gardening, history, guinea pigs, running, yoga, comedy, folklore, wild places, South London stuff.
I have lots of lovely hazy sunset pictures from 2010 with the dust giving everything a golden glow, but by the end there was not a single green blade of grass left on the site!
June 26, 2025 at 6:18 PM
I have lots of lovely hazy sunset pictures from 2010 with the dust giving everything a golden glow, but by the end there was not a single green blade of grass left on the site!
This map tool from @levparikian.bsky.social is great fun, though my shame in admitting I’ve never been to Hull! Never seen a white phone box! (I’m a bit hazy on Scottish counties passed through en route to the bits I have been to, so I’ve guessed there). NI, only been to Belfast.
June 1, 2025 at 6:29 PM
This map tool from @levparikian.bsky.social is great fun, though my shame in admitting I’ve never been to Hull! Never seen a white phone box! (I’m a bit hazy on Scottish counties passed through en route to the bits I have been to, so I’ve guessed there). NI, only been to Belfast.
The Palace may be gone, but you can still see the Victorian dinosaurs and the remains of an enormous aquarium (biggest in the world at the time) from its second home in what’s now Crystal Palace park. The dinos are definitely worth a visit!
April 19, 2025 at 4:01 PM
The Palace may be gone, but you can still see the Victorian dinosaurs and the remains of an enormous aquarium (biggest in the world at the time) from its second home in what’s now Crystal Palace park. The dinos are definitely worth a visit!
This felt appropriate to share.
March 26, 2025 at 4:12 PM
This felt appropriate to share.
My mother-in-law is clearing out some of the kiddie books - she asked us if we wanted to take any. These were the two I had to have - both seen better days, but they are the BEST Ladybird fairytales, in my view.
March 2, 2025 at 7:15 PM
My mother-in-law is clearing out some of the kiddie books - she asked us if we wanted to take any. These were the two I had to have - both seen better days, but they are the BEST Ladybird fairytales, in my view.
Goodness it was nice to see the sun today. Here’s the view from Norwood Grove.
January 30, 2025 at 3:47 PM
Goodness it was nice to see the sun today. Here’s the view from Norwood Grove.
Hope you caught the sunset tonight, it was a good’un, even if only the one sun.
January 25, 2025 at 9:30 PM
Hope you caught the sunset tonight, it was a good’un, even if only the one sun.
We walked on an Anglesey beach today and saw barely a speck of litter - it was lovely.
December 28, 2024 at 4:24 PM
We walked on an Anglesey beach today and saw barely a speck of litter - it was lovely.
This is where I read Bring Up the Bodies, on holiday in Normandy in summer 2014. I was recovering from a miscarriage & had just found out I was pregnant again. Anne Boleyn’s fate, as told by Mantel, utterly wrecked me. Some bit of me is always there, the hammock, Normandy, Hilary, Cromwell & Boleyn.
December 15, 2024 at 10:32 PM
This is where I read Bring Up the Bodies, on holiday in Normandy in summer 2014. I was recovering from a miscarriage & had just found out I was pregnant again. Anne Boleyn’s fate, as told by Mantel, utterly wrecked me. Some bit of me is always there, the hammock, Normandy, Hilary, Cromwell & Boleyn.
It has to end. I don’t want it to end. It won’t ever end. I am so grateful for the people who brought such brilliance into my life, namely the history teacher who started it, Mike Walker, and Hilary Mantel, who made a beautiful jewel of it. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
December 15, 2024 at 9:05 PM
It has to end. I don’t want it to end. It won’t ever end. I am so grateful for the people who brought such brilliance into my life, namely the history teacher who started it, Mike Walker, and Hilary Mantel, who made a beautiful jewel of it. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Of course whether they are snub or pointy nose, they are all Good Pigs.
December 13, 2024 at 11:16 AM
Of course whether they are snub or pointy nose, they are all Good Pigs.
Published in the 1930s, this edition in the 1960s, seen on TV in the 1980s, this copy picked up by me for £1.50 in Leeds in the 1990s. This would be my desert island book. #theboxofdelights
December 8, 2024 at 12:00 AM
Published in the 1930s, this edition in the 1960s, seen on TV in the 1980s, this copy picked up by me for £1.50 in Leeds in the 1990s. This would be my desert island book. #theboxofdelights
Mistletoe is up. Lights up outside. Tree coming tomorrow. We’ve watched That Christmas and spent the afternoon on the sofa. Best of all, The Box Of Delights is about to start. #thewolvesarerunning
December 7, 2024 at 7:09 PM
Mistletoe is up. Lights up outside. Tree coming tomorrow. We’ve watched That Christmas and spent the afternoon on the sofa. Best of all, The Box Of Delights is about to start. #thewolvesarerunning
I was admiring Stolen History the other day - would you say it’s aimed at upper primary school age or start of secondary? My 9 year old is history obsessed but also dyslexic, I wondered whether to get it now or leave it a bit…(or maybe just get it for me!)
November 30, 2024 at 4:38 PM
I was admiring Stolen History the other day - would you say it’s aimed at upper primary school age or start of secondary? My 9 year old is history obsessed but also dyslexic, I wondered whether to get it now or leave it a bit…(or maybe just get it for me!)
Phone update ran this morning and the Google Photos app is ruined. Search for something and it doesn’t come up. Search for ‘Favourites’ and it misses half of them off. They’ve actually wrecked something that worked perfectly well. Way to go!
November 24, 2024 at 7:33 PM
Phone update ran this morning and the Google Photos app is ruined. Search for something and it doesn’t come up. Search for ‘Favourites’ and it misses half of them off. They’ve actually wrecked something that worked perfectly well. Way to go!
The 9 year old, obsessed with the Phoenix and @jamiesmart.bsky.social, has created Nub-Man and Bucket Boy, ‘The World’s Worst Superheroes’.
November 20, 2024 at 3:37 PM
The 9 year old, obsessed with the Phoenix and @jamiesmart.bsky.social, has created Nub-Man and Bucket Boy, ‘The World’s Worst Superheroes’.
This was -1 at 7.30. Pretty but rather dreading heading out there…🥶
November 20, 2024 at 8:30 AM
This was -1 at 7.30. Pretty but rather dreading heading out there…🥶
I would say #WolfHall is like watching straw spun into gold, but it’s actually gold being spun into….better gold? The subject matter was so good to start with, I lived & breathed it for 2 years of History A Level, and yet Mantel/Kosminsky do something magic with it.
November 17, 2024 at 10:07 PM
I would say #WolfHall is like watching straw spun into gold, but it’s actually gold being spun into….better gold? The subject matter was so good to start with, I lived & breathed it for 2 years of History A Level, and yet Mantel/Kosminsky do something magic with it.
Pumpkin is here and he says hello. #guineapig
November 16, 2024 at 8:45 PM
Pumpkin is here and he says hello. #guineapig
Beaver Super Moon.
November 15, 2024 at 7:28 PM
Beaver Super Moon.