Jonathan Rothwell - jonathanis.online

Jonathan Rothwell

A corrugated wall, with vegetation, reflected into a river.

Weeknotes 2022.25: What an awful week

It hardly seems worth documenting the minor annoyances I’ve experienced this week when so much genuinely awful stuff (the US Supreme Court jeopardising the life of anyone with a uterus, an attack on a gay nightclub on Oslo, the continued wicked violence of the United Kingdom government against refugees

Weeknotes 2022.24: Some internet archaeology

I made my touring bike sad by not riding it for a full six months or so. While fixing a puncture on my other bike, I got Taran the tourer out of the bike cage today to test it—the tyres are still fine, the chain is still OK, but

Weeknotes 2022.23: The Ponds

I have swum[1] in the ponds that are in Hampstead Heath and which you have probably seen in a movie[2] Forgive me it was terrific So cheap[3] And so cold[4] 1. for the first time in my almost 11 years in London ↩︎ 2. SCENES OF A

Silhouetted lavender against a grey sky, arching upwards towards the sun.

Weeknotes 2022.22: a dispatch from Normal Island

My participation in the Platinum Jubilee celebrations has been: * getting an extra bank holiday off work * getting 15% off on the suit & shirts I needed to buy for a wedding * eating 1 cupcake and 1 dessert from a certain large supermarket that had various Union Flag-themed decorations * heading out to

Close up on a woman's eye as she holds a tiny vial of blood up to camera.

Why did I feel bad for laughing at THE DROPOUT?

⚠️Content Warning: This post briefly discusses suicide in the context of THE DROPOUT, which represents a real event where someone ended their own life. If this is likely to be triggering or upsetting for you, please do not read and seek professional help if you need it. There’s a

Close up on a small table lamp with a copper lattice circular design around a tall filament bulb in the centre.

Weeknotes 2022.21: Going about on 72 (and 2) wheels

It’s been a long time coming, but Crossrail is finally here. I took my initial trip on Tuesday. On Saturday evening, we went across to Paddington for a date night, and had another go. It was very popular with cosplayers from MCM Comic Con at Custom House, and the

Close up of Elizabeth Line moquette on a train seat, with a white, grey, and royal purple pattern, with red and gold flashes.

Crossrail impressions, day 1

Whitechapel station is practically unrecognisable from when it was one of my regular haunts. The narrow staircases and passageways are gone. The new, cavernous ticket hall makes the old one feel like a public convenience. The steepness of the escalator shaft down to the new Crossrail platforms is also a

Weeknotes 2022.20: The Southeastern Shuffle

I’ve had to get the train twice this week. Neither time went especially well. On Tuesday that was missing my train and being delayed 20 minutes because I had to explain to the gateline assistant that yes, I am allowed to take my bike on a London bound train

Weeknotes 2022.19: Back to Normality(?)

I’ve been ‘out out’ four times this week. Campaigning event and then dinner with some friends on Wednesday. A colleague’s leaving drinks on Friday. A walk around Richmond Park yesterday [https://www.jonathanis.online/richmond-park-photodump/] . I forgot how exhausting social interaction was and I genuinely don’t know

A view to the west from Richmond Park of trees, grass, buildings. An air traffic control tower is on the horizon.

Richmond Park photodump

My only previous visit to Richmond Park was that Christmas Eve (2019) I decided to cycle to my parents' place to avoid crossing a picket line on the trains. Rushing through at the golden hour in winter, in head-to-toe lycra and trying to avoid getting wiped out by oncoming cars,

An arched aisle in Winchester Cathedral made of light-coloured stone, with a flag hanging partway along.

Impressions of Winchester

We took advantage of the Rail Sale [https://www.gov.uk/government/news/over-one-million-half-price-rail-tickets-in-first-ever-great-british-rail-sale] (not to be confused with RailSail) and visited Winchester on Monday, a city I'd only ever visited once before. Here's a photo dump from the day—cathedrals, churches, and courtyards. Enjoy. Beams from St. Lawrence's Church.

Sigrid, a white cat, rides away from camera in the basket of a Lime bike, being ridden by Travis, who wears a coat and a cap.

Weeknotes 2022.18: A Rest

I’ve had the week off work, and have mostly failed to clear my to-do list, because of various dramas, but oh well. The election happened [https://www.newham.gov.uk/council/local-elections-2022]. I’m going to reserve judgment about what happened in other boroughs, but suffice it to say

Weeknotes 2022.17: Escaping to the provinces

To start a much-needed bank holiday weekend, we visited my parents in the arse-end of Surrey. The weather was nice enough to enjoy the garden, we went to a restaurant that was startlingly good, and were pleasantly surprised to see a number of new independent shops springing up. Said town’

From above, red tulips and white albums in a vase on a dinner table, with coasters scattered around it.

Weeknotes 2022.16: Life treads upon life

An early Bulb Watch for this week: against all my expectations, the tulips have flowered (along with a few alliums, enough for us to fill a vase for a dinner party.) Rather entertainingly, though, they’ve actually ejected the cyclamen that I’d put in the pot so it wasn’

An apple tree in startling pink blossom with a clear blue sky, with a bird and two jets flying overhead.

Weeknotes 2022.15: Spring will spring, no matter what

The world feels as if it is spinning apart, and it’s not doing wonders for my mental state. It is at least a comfort to know that spring is here. The world keeps turning and the trees keep blooming. I’ve visited the bluebells at Wanstead Park [https://www.

Panoramic view of a deciduous woodland with a carpet of bluebells below it on a cool day.

Bluebells in Wanstead Park

I cycled over to Wanstead Park yesterday to record a cycle route for our Newham Cyclists YouTube channel [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCULkPELLfKRz_UivZ4dUYEA/featured] to the bluebells at Chalet Wood [http://leytonstone.net/bluebells/], and it was so stunning that I went over again today with my partner

Weeknotes 2022.14: four seasons in a week

The weather has run the gamut. We’ve had rain. We’ve had thunder. We’ve had sun. The world seems like it may be spinning apart, but spring is here… at least for now. Halo Infinite remains delightful. Some of the dialogue towards the end is genuinely heartbreaking. Maybe

A silhouetted projection of a pale sphere against a shaded pink and purple background representing sunrise/sunset.

Weeknotes 2022.13: As Steve Jobs Intended

Having not got my Xbox out of its box for the past 5+ years (at least since I moved away from Forest Gate, possibly longer) I discovered that Xbox Cloud gaming exists, and works pretty well. As a result, I’ve been able to play Halo on my iMac with

Weeknotes 2022.12: The existential horror of not being listened to

Just a short one today at the end of an emotionally exhausting week. I grow tired of catastrophising, saying something is a bad idea/going to cause problems, being ignored, and then being right. I spent five hours of my own time (after having worked 7 hours of that day

The band CHVRCHES, with frontwoman Lauren covered in fake blood, performs on a turquoise-lit stage with Robert Smith

Weeknotes 2022.11: Watch as they pull me down

It was only a cold I picked up last week [https://www.jonathanis.online/weeknotes-202210-outside-and-in/], thankfully. I’d forgotten how annoying colds were. I was off sick from work on Monday, felt mostly fine on Wednesday, but by Friday was waking up with a sore throat—although maybe that was

A bright yellow flower with thin petals and black-and-yellow seed heads.

Weeknotes 2022.10: outside and in

I’ve made a point of taking a walk over my lunch break. Stepping away from the computer and getting out of the house during daylight hours has improved my mood a fair bit, and allowed me to pay more attention to things around me. I saw some voluptuous-looking muscari

An ornate blue and gold staircase in a stone building with a glass jar chandelier, with candle-style lights inside.

Paris, post-pandemic

It has been two years since we've been outside the UK, and we have had a delightful 4 nights in Paris by Eurostar (our first time back there since 2019 [www.jonathanis.online/impressions-of-paris/].) We had mostly good (if a little chilly) weather, and walked until our ankles hurt. Please

A bar graph of daily walking distance showing a peak on Weds to Sat (19.1km on Fri 4 Mar.)

Weeknotes 2022.9: Stepping back from Hell, just for now

We’ve just come back from our first post-pandemic foreign trip, 4 nights in Paris. It was chilly, the air quality wasn’t great, one of us got a cold, the hotel breakfast was a bit lacking, and we walked far enough to make our ankles ache (19.1km on

The Olympic Rings standing in the distance behind some barren tree branches.

Wandering around the Olympic Park on a sunny Saturday

We went for a nice walk in the sun yesterday. Spring is on its way, and that led to some nice photo opportunities around the Olympic Park and Hackney Marshes. We walked through the London Blossom Garden [https://www.queenelizabetholympicpark.co.uk/the-park/things-to-do/blossom-garden] , and witnessed some blossom there

An extreme close-up on a purple crocus with orange-brown stamen in a rough terracotta pot.

Weeknotes 2022.8: The £114 pizza

I accidentally paid £114 for a pizza on Friday. The cashier’s finger slipped when she was entering £14.93 on the terminal, I activated Apple Pay and paid before checking the amount on the screen, and that was that. It almost feels too easy. Thankfully the money was refunded