Sunday, 19 April 2026
Friday, 17 April 2026
Wednesday, 15 April 2026
Updated ABeFree Publishing page and international links
If you see a problem on the page or link not working - please let me know in the comments section below
ABeFree Publishing
'There is a problem': Facebook and Instagram users complain of account bans - BBC news story
3 July 2025 BBC
Graham Fraser & Imran Rahman-Jones
Technology reporters
Facebook and Instagram users have been contacting the BBC complaining about having their accounts arbitrarily banned, and struggling to get them reinstated.
Last week Meta - which owns the platforms - acknowledged a "technical error" which it said was causing the wrongful suspension of some Facebook Groups.
Since then, people who use what is the world's biggest social media company have been getting in touch with the BBC to describe the impact it is having on them - and say the problem goes much wider than Meta has indicated.
Some say they have been shut out of pages that are key to their working lives, while others highlight the digital connections to loved ones that have been cut.
There is also frustration that - despite Meta saying it is fixing the problem - there is often no human to speak to about an issue they suspect is caused by moderation decisions powered by artificial intelligence (AI).
They have also described how Instagram accounts have been affected, despite Meta saying it does not have evidence of a problem on its platforms more widely.
More than 25,000 people have signed a petition in the last few weeks which says the problem is being experienced across Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.
Thousands of people are in Reddit forums dedicated to the subject, many users are posting on social media about being banned by Meta, and some say they plan on taking a class action lawsuit against the social media giant.
Here's what people have told the BBC about what it means to them to be locked out of their social media accounts.
'More than just an app'
The online petition about this issue was started by Brittany Watson, a 32-year-old from Ontario, in Canada.
She decided to act after her Facebook account was disabled for nine days in May before it was reinstated. She claims her page was cancelled over "account integrity, external", and Meta has not provided her with any answers as to why.
"Facebook wasn't just an app for me," she told BBC News. "It was where I kept years of memories, connected with family and friends, followed pages that brought me joy, and found support communities for mental health."
'There is no customer service'
Another user who recently lost access to his Facebook account is John Dale, a former journalist who runs a local news group in west London with over 5,000 members.
His account was first suspended on 30 May for breaking communityty standards, and the page he administers has briefly come back twice since then.
He has no idea why.
As he was the only administrator of the group, he currently cannot approve new posts. Additionally, his own posts have been removed from the group.
"It's frozen in time, [while] quite a lot of material has been deleted," he told BBC News.
Mr Dale is appealing his suspension, but if he loses his appeal his account will be permanently deleted. He says he has received limited information on why he was banned.
"There is no customer service," he said.
'My income has taken a huge hit'
Michelle DeMelo, who is also from Canada, says she has suffered financially since her Facebook and Instagram accounts were suspended in the middle of June.
They were reinstated on Wednesday, a day after the BBC contacted Meta about her case.
She runs several pages, with some associated with her businesses in digital marketing, and also uses Facebook Marketplace to buy and sell goods.
All her accounts are linked, so when her personal Instagram page was suspended for "violating the terms" of a Meta policy, it triggered all of her pages to be suspended.
"My income's taken a huge hit in the past couple of weeks," she told BBC News from her home in Niagara Falls.
"People think I blocked them or think something happened to me."
Michelle can't think of anything which triggered the suspension, and is worried about the reputational hit as some of her clients were left unable to contact her.
She told the BBC she was relieved that after "weeks of complete confusion and uncertainty" her accounts had now been abruptly restored.
But she said the episode had been very badly handled.
"It's insulting that a company as powerful as Meta, built by its users, offers no real human support or clear pathways for resolution in these situations."
AI suspicions
Another person left frustrated at Meta's moderation policies and its appeal process is Sam Tall, a 21-year-old from Bournemouth.
He told BBC News that he discovered his Instagram page was suspended last week for breaching "community standards".
He decided to appeal, and it was rejected two minutes later - making Sam suspect the process was entirely handled by AI.
"There is absolutely no way that was seen by a human," he told BBC News.
"All the memories, all my friends who I can no longer talk to because I don't have them on any other platform - gone".
As his Facebook account was linked, that was removed too.
"No explanation. I'm a bit baffled, to be honest."
Sam says it is time for some serious action from Meta - and not just for his sake.
"If I know it is quite a few people, then there is a chance of Meta waking up and realising 'oh, this actually is an issue - let's reinstate them all.'"
The Unspelling of Words by Alun Buffry - new book
Hoping to have this up for sale on Amazon next week - a collection of poems and thoughts over the decades.
Thursday, 9 April 2026
Wednesday, 8 April 2026
Tuesday, 7 April 2026
Today in the sunny garden (Norfolk UK)
Pheasants, partridge, robin, wood pigeons necking, magpie bathing, baby blackbird, crows, quirrel, muntjac deer and hare.all in about 20 minutes.
Sunday, 5 April 2026
Time for Cannabis: The Prison Years 1991 to 1995 - excerpt HMP Whitemoor
Taken from Time for Cannabis, The Prison Years, available on Amazon in paperback and on Kindle
HMP Whitemoor
During my time on remand in Norwich I had somehow managed to give up smoking cigarettes. This had been on New Year's Eve; not exactly a resolution but a definite conscious decision. I had passed through the time of bail and the tremendous stress involved with the court case and awaiting sentence without starting again. Even the months of boredom awaiting transfer had not driven me back to that particular demon and deadly weed!
On the day of transfer to Whitemoor Maximum Security prison my resolve came very close to breaking. After a journey which seemed to take hours (it actually took just over an hour), with myself and another convict P handcuffed together in the prison bus, we arrived at Whitemoor only to be whisked through and placed in a waiting cell in reception. Although from the outside the building looked remarkably new and clean, situated out in the Moors, the most striking feature was the heavy repressive "vibe" I felt as we entered. As P made himself a thin roll-up I suddenly wanted my first cigarette in eleven months. I can only be grateful to P for offering me one when I'd mentioned it! If he had not done so my cravings would have increased to the point where I would have happily begged, but it was his very offer which hardened my resolve. I decided to turn away from the demon and await a nice cup of tea on the wing instead.
F or a maximum security prison, the search of our possessions, all in prison transit boxes, was remarkably light and brief. My disposable gas lighter was disposed of, as they were not allowed here. We were then taken through the endless locked gates, down the long camera-filled corridors, and put onto C wing.
Whitemoor consisted of four wings, A, B, C, and D. Wings A and B were reserved for the nonces and beasts. Sex offenders and the worst type of serial killers, being under constant (and maybe understandable) threat from the rest of the prison community, are considered vulnerable by the authorities, and in Whitemoor there are two wings to themselves. In theory at least they are never allowed to mix with other prisoners, for their own sakes. In fact this seriously disrupts the system, since it results in the necessity of constantly monitoring the flowing of prisoners to ensure that they do not cross, which slows down movements. They have their separate library evenings, separate gym. sessions, separate work and separate exercise times on the Astroturf.
What is not separated, believe it or not, is visits! This is probably due to the more or less correct assumption that nobody will attack anybody else whilst on the way to, or during, a family visit. Although the two types of prisoner are taken to the visiting hall, under escort, at different times, the time spent waiting for the movements from these "vulnerable" wings for visits to cease, before the rest of us can move, and the fact that the nonces are sitting down one end of the hall and us at the other, only adds to the general resentments and hatred. At our end we are constantly concerned lest our small children stray down the other end of the hall. The hatred we feel for most of those men is often shared by many of the screws.
Personally, I can only think that such a system of trying to run two maximum security prisons in one was devised by a crazy man!
Each of the four wings at Whitemoor houses three spurs, labelled blue, red and green. It would come as no surprise to anyone experienced in the prison system, that although the floors of the spurs are coloured orange, green and blue, this bears absolutely no relationship to the spurs' names! Each spur houses approximately 42 inmates on three landings.
During my stay there was free flow between spurs but not between wings, although C wing (my wing) and D wing did mix on education, exercise, at work, and in the gymasium.
Being a new prison the cells were equipped with flush toilets and wash basins. The windows were heavily barred; the view out of mine was of a small patch of grass separating us from another wing. I could not see the sky, day or night. At night the area was floodlit. Day and night it was observed through cameras. All the cells were singles. The noise factor was quite high, even at night. Outside the cell door was the landing, and on the ground floor ("the Ones") some men had put tables and chairs so that they could sit and play cards, talk, or eat together. Also on this ground floor there was a pool table and table tennis table but one had to find one's own table tennis ball.
The three spurs joined together and led into an area which was originally meant as a dining area, where the serving hatch was; situated. Meal times were at 8.15 am, noon and 4.45 pm, when we would go along and collect our slops on plastic plates and eat it with plastic knives and forks.
The quality of the food, out of kindness, can only be described as very poor. The ingredients were fine, but mostly ruined during cooking or standing round for literally hours before being brought from the main kitchens to the wings for serving.
Most of my meals were binned. The prison service needs severe criticism for the quality of food in most prisons. One wonders if the fact that most prisoners are fed at a cost less than the dogs who patrol the grounds, reflects the true feelings of the authorities towards convicts.
Do they regard us as animals? If they treat people like animals then the chances are that animals is what will eventually be released back into society.
We had access to small but reasonably well-equipped inmate kitchens where we could cook whatever we wanted, which could be ordered via the canteen once a week, and those who had money mostly did this.
We were allowed to spent up to £5 per week on top of the wage, which was about £6 depending on occupation.
There was also a water boiler so we could make our own tea. Each week we were provided with tea bags, sugar and powdered milk for this purpose. There was a great deal of pilfering from the main kitchen, a necessary part of life in this nick, everything from milk to chickens.
The other facilities around the wing consisted of a video and TV room, communal showers, and, later on, washing machines. There were three monitored telephones per wing, operated by special HMP phone cards bought from the canteen.
Outside and between the spurs was a small fenced-in and filthy yard (made filthy by the inmates throwing rubbish and scraps from their overlooking windows, and seldom cleaned); this yard was about 30 feet square; this was where some 240 inmates were allowed for 40 minutes twice daily for exercise, or, in the summer, to sit in a clean area in the sun.
The general attitudes of the inmates, I believe largely caused by their treatment, manifests in their attitude to their environment and the few facilities. Everything from the TV's to the pool tables are subject to the vandalism that reflects the tension and the lack of self esteem felt by the men. During my stay at Whitemoor there were a number of incidents of release of tension in this way. One case involved a man, quite intoxicated on the local brew, Hooch, pissing on to the pool table from the third floor!
There was a considerable amount of Hooch on the wings, and a lot of hard drugs. The drugs somehow kept the lid on the place, most of the time. Each wing contained some 15 to 20 lifers, many with recommendations of long sentences, as well as a lot of guys doing over twenty years. Almost everyone was doing over eight years.
My ten-year sentence was small compared to most. In a situation like this most men have little to lose, and the atmosphere is one of constant tension and frustration, like you would expect from caged animals. Once a place like this "goes off" there can be untold damage, violence, and even loss of life. Hence the screws, affectionately known as "kanga's" are just as tense and wary as the inmates. (Kanga = kangaroo = screw = prison officer). During my stay of ten months at Whitemoor there were not many occurrences of trouble calling for the presence of outside "mufti's" or riot squads. I lived there in quiet times.
The first time I witnessed such an occasion was three days after my arrival, but I will come to that shortly.
The day after our arrival we were taken down to the stores to collect our clothes and kit. I must say that it was a surprise to find that most of the clothes were in reasonable condition. We were given two pairs of jeans, three striped blue shirts, underwear and socks, tee-shirts, a jumper and a denim jacket.
Of course we would not really need cold weather clothes since we were hardly likely to be going out much. These items were all put into a transit box which we carried back, via about eight sets of locked gates, to our cells.
Upon arrival at HMP Whitemoor, in theory, each inmate was to undergo a period of induction in a separate building known, for some reason, as the "spud unit" . This is where one would be told how the place was run, what was offered to you and what was required of you. Unfortunately, when we arrived this unit was full up with overflow from the block. The block, a segregation punishment unit, and the spud unit were full during my whole stay at Whitemoor, although I myself never visited either. Some guys spent their whole time at Whitemoor down there, and never came onto the wing. Every prisoner in the block, though, had to have a cell reserved for him on the wing, which meant quite a few empty cells, some of which were never occupied. This was something of a joke against the authorities.
Very few men seemed to regard a trip to the block as any sort of threat, despite the stories of beatings by the officers down there, and the resulting "shit protests", a situation where inmates would cover themselves and their cells with their own excrement, a practice which originated in the prisons to stop such beatings, the assumption being that no officer would want to enter such a cell or touch such a person; mostly true!
But for us new arrivals, the running of Whitemoor was to remain a mystery which we had to unravel ourselves, as we were not able to go on induction. Hence we were put straight on the wing, a different wing to our mates from the time of remand in Norwich.
For the first two days it was the height of boredom, confusion, and tension. On the third day the situation changed. There was a contained riot and lock down, although in fact it was the other way round; the riot and smash up resulted from the lock down!
Apparently some men had been discovered with weapons and files, trying to file through the bars of a cell window. This was only natural of course. But the result was that the inexperienced and out-of-touch Governor, whom I never even saw at any stage during my sentence (he was probably justifiably too frightened to show his face), ordered that the whole prison be "spun" (searched) and any "excess kit" removed.
The doors were not unlocked that morning. The screws, being well trained fascists who follow orders to the letter and without question, proceeded to search each cell in turn. As the officers moved through the wing, coming closer and closer to my cell, I could hear more and more shouting and banging and smashing.
Eventually it was my turn.
Three screws came into the cell and ordered me to strip for a search. They then searched the cell. The items that I had and which were confiscated were: a plastic chair which had been in the cell when I arrived but which technically belonged in the video room ( all the chairs were actually in cells), a metal tea spoon I had brought from Norwich, a plastic shaving mirror, a second blue plastic bowl I had also brought with me, and a second white plastic plate!
Dangerous stuff, particularly the mirror which, if waved in an officer's face, could send him into serious shock!
After they left my cell the situation outside worsened. It was now well past lunch time and the spins were continuing; we were not being given lunch! Then shouting started and rumour spread that a man on the ones had refused them entry to his cell, by barricading his door.
Of course, there are procedures for this, and entry was forced, and, so the shouts claimed, the man had been grabbed, had his arm broken, and received a serious kicking. Then the place "went off". I could hear sinks and toilets being smashed everywhere.
From my small window I could see flaming papers descending into the yard outside. Individuals were being dragged off to the block, some being quite badly kicked and punched. The long-timers were shouting threats at the screws. I heard one prisoner shout "I'm doing a long time you bastards, just wait til I get my chance." The civilian "mufti" squad was called in. Unknown to us the whole outside of the prison was surrounded by coach loads of police and army, and helicopters filled the skies. Safely inside my cell I must admit to being quite amused and entertained; it certainly broke the monotony!
At about 6 PM. my cell door was opened and I was told to go and collect my dinner. We were being let out two at a time, and about thirty or so officers were standing around the wing. I was escorted down to the serving hatch and back by no less than four padded and visored "mufties" who never uttered a word and neither did I; it just seemed so funny to me! I collected a dinner, stone cold, and after one taste, back in my cell, flushed it away. I had been allowed to fill my Thermos flask, so at least had a nice cuppa. This procedure took several hours, and was repeated as soon as it was over, so we could have an equally bad evening meal. The day ended quite quietly and I went to sleep, wondering what the hell was going to happen next.
The following day we were still locked in our cells, all work and education and association being cancelled, whilst various inmates were taken away for instant transfer throughout the national prison dispersal system. Altogether I think some 40 to 50 inmates were moved out.
It didn't make a lot of difference to me, since I did not know anyone anyway, but it was certainly an experience, and a demonstration of the trouble that can be caused by an ill-worded command from an out-of-touch Governor. Apparently this same Governor had caused a riot several years earlier, in Norwich prison!
The following day we were still left locked up. This was known as a "lock-down", and let out a few at a time for a late and cold breakfast. We all stayed in our cells until after lunch, when letters from the Governor were pushed under our doors, saying that if things remained quiet we would be returning to normal routines soon. As it happened, that was on the following day.
Well, what an introduction to Whitemoor for me!
It was like a lesson on in-cell smash-ups and "ship-outs", mostly involving men I did not know but with whom I had considerable sympathy, both because we were all locked up and because the removal of such petty yet helpful everyday items from our possessions was nonsensical and inhumane. Why these men were in prison in the first place, was irrelevant to me.
This is a question which remains unasked until one gets to know someone better. For me the reality was that whoever they were or whatever they had done, the system was almost certainly as bias against them as it had been against me. A heck of a lot of men in places like Whitemoor were awaiting appeals on both conviction and sentence.
I feel pretty certain that some of these men were innocent, and many may eventually have won their appeals.
Of course the facts that innocent men can get convicted by their so-called peers, and that on the other hand guilty men can have convictions quashed due to technicalities or misbehaviour by the police, forensic scientists or prosecution service (CPS), makes quite a mockery of the legal system. Who knows whether it is preferable to bang up a few innocent in order to keep the guilty off the streets, or to free a few guilty in order that miscarriages of justice on the innocent cease.
Whatever conclusions one reaches, whatever one's feelings about how prisoners should be treated, prisons like Whitemoor seem devised to remove individuality (at which they are unsuccessful), induce fear and even paranoia, and produce a very angry, bitter, twisted, warped personality on release.
surnames
I was just thinking of surnames with meanings, such as colours, emotions, occupations, creatures, utensils, slang!! Can you think of any more - please add in comments.
White, Black, Green, Brown, Gray
Bliss, Hope, Love
Abbott, Archer, Baker, Barber, Bishop, Brewer, Butcher, Butler, Clark, Cooper, Cook, Deacon, Driver, Earl, Farmer, Fisher, Fletcher, Fowler, Gardener, Marshall, Mason, King, Pope, Potter, Priest, Prince, Sheriff, Smith, Taylor, Tinker, Weaver,
Bird, Bull, Crow, Fox, Lamb, Partridge, Peacock, Squirrel
Bucket, Kettle
Johnson, Trump
Saturday, 4 April 2026
Wednesday, 1 April 2026
Updated with video links: Towns, cities, villages,rivers and places that I have visited over the years
You can see some of my travel videos below: please : likes and comments appreciated, thanks:
Norwich (World Heritage Site, Castle, Two Cathedrals, River Wensum, River Yare, River Tas), Great Yarmouth (Rivers Yare, Waveney and Bure, seaport, beach), Lowestoft, Watton, Acle, Cromer, Wells, Sheringham, Wells-Next-Sea, Blakeney, Holt, Potter Heigham, Marsham, Aylsham, Horning, Swaffham (Howard Carter house), Dereham, Fakenham, Kings Lynn, Stalham, Salhouse, Little Plumstead, Great Plumstead, Wymondham, Wicklewood, Great Ryburgh, Holme Hale, Coltishall, North Walsham, Walsingham, Ling, Attleborough, New Buckenham, Long Stratton, Newmarket (Racecourse), Ipswich (River Orwell), Colchester, Witham, Braintree, Chelmsford, Harwich, Bury St Edmunds, Watford, London (River Thames, London Bridge, House of Parliament, Trafalgar Square, Big Ben, Madame Tussauds, / Planetarium, Markets, British Museum, London Bridge, Tower of London (World Heritage Site,), Buckingham Palace, Hyde Park, Kensington Gardens, Kew Gardens, Hamstead Heath, metro "The Tube"), Dover (White Cliffs), Goudburst, Cranbrook, Tunbridge Wells, Leeds Castle, Exeter, Exmouth, Southampton, St Helens Guernsey, Isle of Wight, Glastonbury (Tor), Stonehenge (World Heritage Site,), Canterbury (Cathedral - World Heritage Site,, Hastings (beach, fishing port, Castle - the "whispering Dungeons"), Battle, Brighton, Hove, Worthing, Horley, Guildford, Taunton, Salisbury (River Avon, Cathedral), Romsey, Oxford (River Thames), Cambridge (River Cam, Bottisham airfield museum), Ely (Cathedral), Peterborough, Reading (River Thames), Winnersh, Slough, Swindon, Bath (River Avon, City Center - World Heritage Site, Roman Baths), Bristol (River Avon, Clifton Suspension Bridge, Zoo), Cheddar Gorge (caves), “Bloody Tight” cave, Weston-Super-Mare, Newport (River Usk), Cardiff (River Taff, River Rumney, Tiger Bay, Castle, St Davids Cathedral), Bridgend (Afon Ogwr / River Ogmore), Nelson, Rumney (River Rumney), Barry (beach, castle), Porthcawl (beach), Swansea (River Neath), Neath, Brecon (Bannau Brycheiniog Brecon Beacons National Park), Lampeter, Aberystwyth, Rhyll, Chester, Stoke-on-Trent (River Trent), Ironbridge (World Heritage Site), (River Severn), York (Clifford’s Tower), Sheffield (Rivers Don, Sheaf, Rivelin, Loxley and Porter Brook), Blackwood (River Sirhowy), Argoed, Llandudno, Manchster (trams, canal), Mount Snowdon (Highest Mountain in Wales), Forest of Dean, Coleford, Rye, Bourton-on-the Water, Cheltenham, Gloucester, Birmingham (Spaghetti Junction, Bourneville village and chocolate factory), Telford, Nuneaton, Coventry, Newport Pagnell, Luton, Welwyn Garden City, Knebworth, Royston, Nottingham, Southend-on-Sea, Middlesbrough, Rosslare, Waterford, Cork, Dublin (River Liffey, Guiness Factory, Castle, Halfpenny Bridge), Liverpool (River Mersey, Cathedral), Keswick, Skafell Pike (Highest Mountain in England), Langdale (camp site), Helvellyn (mountain), Coniston (lake and Mountain: "Old Man of Coniston"), Windamere (largest lake in England), Kendall, Lancaster, Carlisle, Glencoe, Perth (River Tay), Aviemore (River Spey), Fort William (River Nevis, River Lochy), Ben Nevis (Highest Mountain in Scotland and the UK), Loch Ness, Aberdeen (River Dee), John o’Groats, Kirkwall, Thurso, Kingston upon Hull (River Hull, Humberside), Leeds (River Aire),
Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch,
EUROPE
FRANCE
Paris (Eiffel Tower, The Louvre, Champs-Élysées, Notre Dame, Montmatre Dali Museum, River Seine, metro), Doedogne - Lascaux (replica cave with ancient wall paintings), Carla-Baye, Toulouse (River Garonne, Pont Neuf), Foix (castle), Grotte de Mas-d'Avril (cave with road), Dions (vandage), Gevry Chambertin, (wine), Beaune (River Bouzaise, wine), Rennes-le-Château (Saint Mary Magdelene Church), Pont du Gard (World Heritage Site, River Gard /Gardon, Roman Aqueduct), Carcassonne (World Heritage Site, River Aude, Castle), Saint Pastour, Villeneuve sur Lot (River Lot), Avignon (River Rhone, Cathedral - World Heritage Site), Montpellier (River Lez, Cathedral, Three Graces fountain, trams), Nimes (Colloseum, River Gard /Gardon)), Cannes, Saint- Tropez, Aries (Collosseum), Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer,
CRETE and GREECE
Matala (beach and caves), Agia Gallini, Heraklion, Knossos (Palace of Minos, Fresoes), Rethymno (beach and harbour), Mystras (World Heritage Site, Byzantine ruins), Githio (Diros Caves / Caves of Vlychada), Sparta, Kalamata, Olympia (World Heritage Site), Patras (beach, flower clock), Kalavryta (rack railway to and from Diakopto with 49 bridges), Corinth Canal (4 miles long, 80 feet wide, 300 feet high), Athens (Acropolis - World Heritage Site, Parthenon), Thessaloniki,
TENERIFE
Puerto de la Cruz, (black sand beach), El Draco - Dragon Tree, Mesa del Mare, Mount Teide, Las Caletillas, Candelaria (Basilica of St Mary, statues of Guanche kings), Los Cristianos (market, beach, "Yellow Submarine"), Los Gigantes, Las Americas (beach), Valle Gran Rey La Gomera,
PORTUGAL
Albufeira (beach), Lagos (Portugal), Lisbon (River Tagos /Rio Tejo, Sao Jorge Castle, Tram rides, Belem Tower - World Heritage Site, Monument of the Discoveries, Praça do Comércio, Museu de Carveja - Beer Museum), Oporto / Porto (River Duoro, Port Tastings, Igreja da Lapa Cathedral, Lapa Church Bell Clock Tower, Liberty Square, Dom Luis I Bridge, Palacio da Bolsa, Church of Saint Ifdefonson, Ribeira World Heritage site, Sao Bento Train Station, Majestic Café, Funicular dos Guindais), Braga (Bom Jesus do Monte - World Heritage Site, Cathedral)), Viana do Castelo (River Lima, funicular), Povoa de Varzim, Ponte de Lima (River Lima, statues "Alegoria as Feiras e ao Folclore", "Memoria do Campo"), Arcos de Valdevez, Barcellos (Rooster of Carcellos, Thursday market), Povoa de Verzim, Penede-Geres National Park, Ponte de Barca,
SPAIN
Santiago de Compostella (World Heritage Site, Rivers Sar and Sarela, Cathedral "Portico of Glory", Monastery of San Martino Pinerio, World Heritage site Old Town, reputed burial site of St James), A Caruna (Torre de Hercules - World Heritage Site, lighthouse, Plaze de Maria Pita, Castle of San Anton), Sada, Bilbao (River Nervión, Guggenheim Museum), Vitoria, Cadaques, Figueres (River Muga, Dalhi Museum), Valencia (River Turia), Vitoria, Barcelona (Boqueria market, Las Ramblas, Cathedral, Sagrada Familia, Gaudi architecture: Casa Batilo, Casa mila - La Pedrera, Cannabis Clubs– Weed You, Doctor Dou, The Resin Club, Dragon Club, Green Paradise, ,ACE, Cannabis Hemp Museum, Encants Market, beach, port, trams), Cordoba (World Heritage Site, River Guadalquivir, Mezquita-Catedral: Cathedral-Mosque), Alora (Castillo Arabe), Malaga, Benalmádena, Torremolinos, Fuengirola (beach, Castle Shail), La Carla de Mijas (beach), Calahonda (beach), Sierra Gibralgalia, Alhaurin el Grande, Coin, Mijas (Miniatures Museum - Carromato de Mijas, donkey rides), Marbella (marina, beach), Ronda (River Guadalevin, Puente Nuevo bridge), Estepona, La Linea, Gibraltar ("The Rock", St Michaels caves, Barbary macaques monkeys), Algeciras, Ibiza (Ibiza Town), Formentera (beaches),
BELGIUM
Brussels (World Heritage Sites, Mannekin Pis statue, Heritage Site Grand-Place, Grote Markt, Atomnium, Mini-Europe, Cathedral of Saints Michel and Gudule, Museum of Natural Sciences with diosaurs) Bruges /Brugge (World Heritage Site, “Venice of the North”, River Reie, Dalhi Museum, De Halve Maan Brewery, Market Square, Belfry Tower, Cathedral chocolate, canals), Ghent (trams), Antwerp (Cathedral, port, trams),
Den Haag, Rotterdam, Amsterdam (River Amstel, Coffeeshops, Cannabis Hemp Museum, Cannabis College, Red Light District, trams, canals), Haarlem (River Spaarne, Coffeeshops, Grote Kerk, Bavo's Church, canals, Windmill), Ijmuiden, Groningen (Coffeeshop), Zwolle (Coffeeshop), Leiden (Egyptian Museum),
FINLAND
Helsinki (Cathedral, cave church, port, trams),
DENMARK
Copenhagen,
GERMANY
Hamburg, Berlin (Brandenburg Gate, Egyptian Museum, metro), Munich, Frankfurt am Rhein, Boppard, Rudesheim,Cochem, Heidelberg, Cologne / Coln (River Rhine, Christmas Markets, Cathedral), Berne,
SWITZERLAND
Geneva (River Rhone, River Arve, Lake Geneva, Jet d’Eau, Flower Clock, Egyptian Museum, trams), Lucerne (River Reuss, Swiss Transport Museum, Natural Museum, Chapel Bridge, Kapelbrüke, Lake Lucerne, the Dying Lion), Gruyere (Fondue Restaurants), Lausanne, Zurich (River Limmat),
ITALY
Rome (World Heritage Sites, River Tiber, Colosseum, Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, Pyramide, Panteon, Roman Forum, metro), Vatican City (Cathedral St Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Museum), Pisa (Leaning Tower), Genova / Genoa (Old Port, Nervi, funicular, Christopher Columbus house, Oriental Museum, Aquarium), Alessandria (Rivers Tanaro and Bormida), Lu Monferrato (Church of Santa Maria Nueva), Sacomonde di Crea (Roman Catholic Sanctuary built on a hill, World Heritage site, chapels containing life-size terracotta statues and frescoes), Vignale Monferrato (Wine, World Heritage site), San Salvatore Monferrato, Mirabello Monferrato, Occimiano, Conzano, Casale (River Po), Vercelli (River Sesia), Isole del Pescatore (Lake island), Baveno (lake), Orta (lake), Verbano (lake), Mombella-Laveno (lake), Turin (River Po, Egyptian Museum), Verona (World Heritage Site, River Adige), Bergamo (Rivers Serio and Brembo, funicular), Lucca (River Serchio, Duomo di San Martino Cathedral, Piazza dell'Anfiteatro, San Michele in Foro, Guinigi Tower, city walls), Monterosso al Mare (beach), Comogli, Levanto (beach), Florence (World Heritage Centre, River Arno, Duomo Cathedral, Palazzo Vecchio, Ponte Vecchio), Venice (World Heritage Site, Venetian lagoon, St Marks Basiica, Piazza San Marco, Doge's Palace, Ponte di Rialto, Grand Canal, Bridge of Sighs),
SICILY
Palermo (Cathedral, Royal Palace and Palatine Chapel, Fontana Pretoria, Square of Shame / Piazza della Vergogna), Cefalu (Cathedral),
YUGOSLAVIA / SERBIA
Belgrade (River Danube),
Prague (River Vitava, Castle, Wensleslas Square, Castle, Charles Bridge, Synagogue, Old Town Square / StaromÄ›stské námÄ›stÃ, Astrological Clock, Mucha Gallery, trams), Kutna Hora (Sedlec Ossuary /Bone Church, Cathehdral), ÄŒeskýKrumlov (World Heritage Site), ÄŒeské BudÄ›jovice (Beer Factory), Brno (World Heritage Site, Cathedral of St Peter and Paul, trams),
HUNGARY
Budapest – “Pearl of the Danube”, (River Danube, Wine Festival, Childrens Railway, Buda Castle, Parliament Buildings, Fishermans Bastion, Chain Bridge funicular, trams),
ROMANIA
Bucharest (River Dambovita), Sibiu, Brasov (Council Square) , Sighișoara (Supposed birthplace of Vlad the Impaler / Dracula), BranCastle- supposed Castle of Vlad the Impaler), Bratislava (River Danbue),
AFRICA
MOROCCO
Ceuta, Tetouan, Fez (River Fes / Oued Fes, medina - World Heritage Site, Blue Gate / Bab Bouijloud), Marrakesh (market, snake charmers), Mirhleft (fishing village near Tiznit), Essaouira,
TUNISIA
Hammanet (Tunisia, medina),
Cairo (River Nile, Cairo Museum, Tower), Giza Pyramids (Khufu, Khafre, Menkaure), Saqqara (Step Pyramid, Unas), Luxor, (River Nile, Luxor Temple, Karnak Temple (Sound and Light Show, Sacred Lake), Valley of the Kings, Valley of the Queens, Valley of the Nobles, Ramasseum, Deir el_Bahari and The Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut, Medinet Habu, Deir el Medina, Colossi of Memnon) Fayoum, Edfu (River Nile, Temple), Edna (River Nile, Temple), Aswan (River Nile, Dam),
ASIA
TURKEY
Istanbul (Pudding Shop, Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque, Bosphorus), Pamukkale (Thermal Pools), Afyonkarahisar, Antalya, Efes, Antakya, Antioch,
SYRIA
Aleppos, Deir el Zur,
IRAQ
Al Q’im village, Baghdad (River Tigris),
IRAN
Tehran, Mashhad,
AFGHANISTAN
Herat, Khandahar, Kabul (ChickenStreet, Kabul River, Blue Mosque, Chicken Street),
PAKISTAN
Khyber Pass, Peshawar (River Kabul), Islamabad, Rawalpindi (River Soan), Lahore (River Ravi), Wagar,
INDIA
Amritsar, (Golden Temple), New Delhi (Red Fort, Delhi Gate, Jantar Mantar, Mahatma Ghandi Museum, Old Delhi, Chandni Chowk, Connaught Circus), Jodpur, Jaiselmer (Fort, Camel Trek), Agra (River Yamuna, Taj Mahal - World Heritage Site, Agra Fort - World Heritage Site), Fatepur Sikri, (World Heritage site, abandoned city, Buland Darwazar / The "Gate of Victory, Tomb of Salim Chishti, Diqan-i-Khas / Hall of Private Audience, Jodha Bai's Palace) Khajuraho (World Heritage Site, Hindu and Digambara Jain temples), Varanasi (River Ganges, Holy city pilgrimage site and cremations), Haridwar (River Ganges, Holy city, slept at railway station), Rishikesh(River Ganges, Holy city, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi complex now closed, Lakshman Jhula. Bridge, Buddhist Temples), Sarnath (World Heritage Site, Buddhist Stupas, said to be the site that Gautama Buddha chose for his first teaching after he attained enlightenment in Bodh Gaya., Bodhi Tree / Sacred Fig),
Jammu (River Tawi), Srinagar (River Jhelum / Vyath or Vetesta, Lake Dal, houseboats, Lake Nageen, Nishat Bagh gardens, Pony Treks), Gulmarg, Aru (River Aru / Lidder),
NEPAL
Kathmandu (Kathmandu Valley - World Heritage SiteDurbar Square, Monkey Temple, Freak Street), Patan (Durbar Square), Pokhara,
UNITED STATES
Miami (Metrorail, Science Museum, Arena).
Monday, 30 March 2026
Sunday, 29 March 2026
Richard Large art exhibition in Norwich
WATCH ON YOUTUBE
Richard will be exibing some of his artwork at Anteros Foundation Magdalen Street Norwich 21st April to 3 May, all welcome
POP POP presents a vibrant collection of assemblages and collages by Richard K. Large, created entirely by hand on a kitchen worktop — without the use of computers. Using resin to construct his assemblages and traditional cut-and-paste techniques for his collages, Large embraces a tactile, direct approach to making that foregrounds materiality and transformation.
The exhibition reflects an evolving engagement with Pop Art. Large works with objets trouvés — objects that already carry their own histories and identities — reconfiguring them into new forms through layering, juxtaposition, and intervention. By adding unexpected elements, he creates fresh narratives and playful visual tensions, inviting viewers to reconsider the familiar.
Born in 1952, Large developed an early passion for sailing and travel, often combining the two. His artistic sensibility has been shaped by a long-standing admiration for Surrealist artists and their exploration of dreamlike associations and altered realities. Formative experiences working at Heal’s in London during the 1970s, alongside encounters with Middle Eastern and African art and design in Morocco and Egypt, further informed his visual language and sensitivity to pattern, form, and object.
Encouraged by positive responses from friends and peers, POP POP marks the culmination of years of experimentation and creative exploration — a celebration of reinvention, memory, and the transformative potential of everyday materials.
Friday, 27 March 2026
Sand Through the Hand, a song by Alun Buffry , words written in 1982
Sand through the Hand
by
Alun Buffry
(1982)
Life flows so quick like golden sand
Each grain a day passed through God’s hand
Each moment precious as a jewel
And Yet I waste it like a fool.
You looked at me my heart to sway
But blind I was and looked away
Back to desires and lust and greed
From which You begged me to be freed.
I never ceased to grab and hoard,
Always forgetting my sweet Lord,
That Love lives on within inside
From whom no soul would wish to hide.
I pray to you Lord, to be so kind
And give me strength to ignore my mind,
So from your path I’ll never stray
And at your feet my life will stay.
Those things for which once I craved
You showed inside and I was saved,
Life’s flow became a flow of bliss.
Each grain a chance Your feet to kiss.
And if ever off I stray again,
Please call me back to Holy Name
That Light inside me, make it glow,
Your endless love, please let me know.
Tuesday, 24 March 2026
Thank You song dedicated to Prem Rawat, written in 1982 but still true today
Please give it a like and leave a comment on YouTube
Monday, 23 March 2026
Life: An Invitation, Prem Rawat
If you would like more posts like this please make a comment
Love and Blessings to you all
Sunday, 22 March 2026
ASKING FOR COMMENTS
How can I encourage people to leave comments on my blog posts and YouTube videos?
To leave a comment on a Blog post simply click on the post title and when it takes you to the post simply scroll to the bottom - although you can leave comments anonymously it would be great if you could leave your name or initials, city etc.
To leave a comment on a video on YouTube and I would particularly like your comment on the songs in the "My Music Creations" playlist, just write in "Add and Comment" below the video.
Youtube Channel Playlists
Many thanks, comments are well appreciated and encouraging
Friday, 20 March 2026
Cannabis Campaigners Guide (CCGUIDE) New Database
Cannabis Campaigners Guide (CCGUIDE) New Database
with worldwide news and published letters from 1991 to the present day.
Thursday, 19 March 2026
5 songs on YouTube
I hope that you will enjoy these songs, the words were written by me (Alun Buffry) and the vocals and music by ai.
I hope that you will tick the LIKE button and maybe even leave a comment below and onon YouTube
POSITIVITY https://youtu.be/su2E_XgKxSw?si=MkgvaF27LuYvt9kj
I CAN SEE YOU & RIVER OF LIFE (2 songs) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYBP5fPdeJo
PUT IT RIGHT YOURSELF https://youtu.be/WoQJ4ES9ci8?si=lznt1FNsBDcijBXn
HIDDEN BY THE SMOKE https://youtu.be/V081TFEwAv0?si=wfisgpmyeU84Ql25
Also I am still looking for a HUMAN BEING to play and sing the songs!!
Tuesday, 17 March 2026
Archaeologists Unearth 43,000 Ancient Egyptian Notes and Receipts
Archaeologists Unearth 43,000 Ancient Egyptian Notes and Receipts
17 March 2026
A vast archive of everyday writing from ancient Egypt is reshaping how historians understand life beyond temples, tombs, and royal courts. At the Upper Egyptian site of Athribis, archaeologists have now documented more than 43,000 inscribed pottery fragments, or ostraca, many of them containing receipts, short notes, name lists, school exercises, and practical reminders that resemble ancient “to do” lists. The discovery, announced in March 2026, offers an unusually detailed record of administration, education, religion, and daily routines across multiple eras of Egyptian history.
A Record-Breaking Discovery at Athribis
The headline development behind “Archaeologists Unearth 43,000 Ancient Egyptian Receipts, Notes, and ‘To Do’ Lists” centers on Athribis, an archaeological site near Sohag in Upper Egypt. A joint Egyptian-German mission working at the site has recovered roughly 13,000 additional ostraca in the latest phase of excavation, bringing the total documented there to more than 43,000. According to coverage citing the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, the cache is considered one of the largest collections of inscribed pottery fragments ever found at a single Egyptian site.
Ostraca are broken pieces of pottery or limestone reused as inexpensive writing surfaces. In the ancient world, they often served the same function as scrap paper: quick notes, tax records, receipts, labels, accounts, and drafts. Britannica describes ostraca as fragments commonly used to jot down business matters, a definition that helps explain why the Athribis material is so valuable to historians of ordinary life.
The Athribis project itself has been active for years. The University of Tübingen has said its team has worked in Athribis since 2003, and excavations have produced a steadily growing body of inscribed material. A 2022 university release reported more than 18,000 ostraca from the site at that stage; by October 2024, a papyrology conference abstract placed the total at almost 34,000; and the March 2026 announcement pushed the figure above 43,000. That sequence shows how quickly the archive has expanded and why the latest milestone has drawn international attention.
Archaeologists Unearth 43,000 Ancient Egyptian Receipts, Notes, and ‘To Do’ Lists
What makes this discovery especially compelling is not only the number of texts, but their content. Reports on the Athribis finds describe inscriptions in Demotic, Hieratic, Coptic, Greek, and Arabic, indicating that the site remained active across a long historical span and under changing political and cultural conditions. The texts range from administrative records to personal and educational writing, creating a layered archive of life over more than a millennium.
Many of the fragments are mundane by design. They include receipts, accounts, lists of names, and short memoranda. Earlier reporting from the University of Tübingen on the same excavation highlighted examples such as billing records and receipts, while other summaries of the Athribis corpus point to school texts and routine written exercises. These are the kinds of documents that rarely survive in large numbers, yet they are often the most revealing for social history because they show how people worked, learned, paid, counted, and organized their days.
The phrase “to do lists” captures public imagination because it makes the ancient material feel instantly familiar. Although the exact wording of each ostracon varies, the broader category includes practical reminders and short working notes rather than literary compositions. In effect, the Athribis archive preserves the paperwork of ordinary existence: the ancient equivalent of receipts in a drawer, a note on a wall, or a list left on a table. That is why the discovery resonates far beyond specialist archaeology circles.
Why pottery fragments were used for writing
Papyrus was available in ancient Egypt, but it was not always the cheapest or most practical material for quick writing. Broken pottery was abundant, durable, and easy to reuse. For temporary records, calculations, and short messages, ostraca were a practical solution. The survival of so many examples at Athribis gives researchers a rare chance to study not just formal documents, but the disposable writing habits of the ancient world.
What the Texts Reveal About Daily Life
The importance of the Athribis ostraca lies in their ability to illuminate people who usually remain invisible in monumental history. Royal inscriptions tell historians how rulers wanted to be remembered. Receipts and notes, by contrast, show how communities actually functioned. They can reveal who paid taxes, how goods moved, which languages were used, and what kinds of institutions shaped local life.
Based on published descriptions of the finds, the Athribis texts touch on several areas of daily activity:
- Administration: accounts, receipts, and official notations tied to local management.
- Education: writing exercises and school-related texts that show how literacy was taught.
- Religion: material linked to temple life and later Christian occupation in the region.
- Language change: inscriptions in several scripts and languages that track cultural transitions over centuries.
This breadth matters because Athribis was not a single-period site frozen in time. The material spans the Ptolemaic period, the Roman era, the Coptic period, and into the Islamic era, according to Egyptian press coverage of the excavations. That long chronology allows scholars to compare how administration, literacy, and local society evolved.
According to the University of Tübingen’s earlier statement on the excavation, the ostraca provide “diverse insights” into everyday life in the ancient settlement. That assessment is consistent with the latest reporting: the value of the discovery is cumulative. One receipt may seem minor, but tens of thousands of such fragments can reveal patterns in economy, language, and social organization that no single monumental inscription could provide.
Why the Discovery Matters to Archaeology
For archaeologists and historians, the Athribis archive is significant because it broadens the evidence base for ancient Egypt. Popular attention often focuses on gold, statues, tombs, and elite burials. Yet written fragments from ordinary settings can be just as important. They help scholars reconstruct the mechanics of daily life, from taxation and trade to schooling and household management.
The discovery also matters methodologically. Large groups of ostraca can be studied statistically as well as philologically. Researchers can sort them by language, date, handwriting, content type, and archaeological context. That makes it possible to ask larger questions: When did one script overtake another? How did local bureaucracy function? What kinds of texts were common in temple or settlement areas? The Athribis material is especially useful because of its scale and chronological range.
There is also a preservation story here. Ostraca survive where more fragile materials may not. Because they are ceramic fragments, they can endure harsh conditions and remain legible long after papyrus has decayed. In that sense, the Athribis finds preserve a documentary record that might otherwise have vanished.
For Egypt, the discovery adds to a broader pattern of archaeological announcements that support heritage research and cultural tourism. While the scholarly value comes first, major finds also reinforce international interest in Egypt’s archaeological landscape and in long-running collaborations between Egyptian authorities and foreign research institutions.
Challenges of Interpreting 43,000 Ancient Texts
The scale of the discovery is also its challenge. Recovering more than 43,000 inscribed fragments is only the beginning. Each piece must be cleaned, cataloged, photographed, read, translated where possible, and placed in context. Some texts are complete, but many are fragmentary. Others may be difficult to date precisely or may preserve only names and numbers.
That means the public headline — Archaeologists Unearth 43,000 Ancient Egyptian Receipts, Notes, and ‘To Do’ Lists — captures only the first stage of a much longer research process. Specialists in Demotic, Greek, Coptic, Arabic, and other scripts will continue working through the material for years. New interpretations are likely as more fragments are joined, compared, and published.
There is also a caution against oversimplification. Describing some texts as “to do lists” is useful shorthand, but not every short list or memorandum has the same function. Some may be inventories, some school exercises, some administrative notes, and some personal reminders. A careful scholarly approach requires distinguishing among those categories rather than treating all brief texts as identical. That nuance is part of what makes the archive so valuable.
What Comes Next
The next phase is likely to focus on documentation and publication. The Oxyrhynchus papyri project in Oxford shows how long-term publication efforts can transform fragmentary finds into major historical resources over decades. Athribis may follow a similarly extended path, with specialists gradually editing and publishing groups of texts.
As more of the Athribis ostraca are studied, researchers may be able to map local networks of officials, workers, students, and religious communities with greater precision. They may also identify shifts in language use and administration across centuries. Some fragments will remain obscure, but others could become key evidence for understanding regional life in Upper Egypt. That is a major reason the discovery has drawn such strong interest from both archaeologists and the wider public.
Conclusion
The discovery at Athribis shows why small objects can produce big historical insights. More than 43,000 inscribed pottery fragments, including receipts, notes, and practical lists, now offer one of the richest documentary windows into everyday life in ancient Egypt. Rather than focusing on kings and monuments alone, the archive captures the routines of administration, education, religion, and ordinary communication across many centuries.
For readers in the US and beyond, the significance is clear: this is not simply another archaeological headline about a spectacular artifact. It is a record of how ancient people organized work, tracked payments, learned to write, and managed daily obligations. In that sense, the story behind “Archaeologists Unearth 43,000 Ancient Egyptian Receipts, Notes, and ‘To Do’ Lists” is both academically important and deeply human.
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