Remember the Advent calendar? Remember opening up the little doors and windows and it being a bit of a ho hum kind of a thing? Now you can go on line each day as a grown up person and revisit the concept of Christmas, all over again. Today's story, 3rd December, is worth reading.

CowI was talking to a Sangha friend last evening and was wondering aloud how to fit in this photograph he took in South West Cornwall, which I like very much. Both because of the personality plus cows and because of the wonderful views over Cornwall to the sea. 'Well, mention that they are on a diet' he suggested. Yeeess, I guess I could say that...

Here they are, cows on a diet.

These beauties have been herded, by my friend, onto higher pasture where they have to walk further and work harder to find their food.

After our celebratory lunch today following the Ceremony of the Buddha's Enlightenment I'd liked to have walked further and worked harder. However the rain, and now high winds, have me sitting writing this. With contentment, and gratitude.

You can tell they are not real by the small bird hanging on a string slightly right of center.

While in Hexham this morning I popped into the shop mentioned yesterday. I felt I owed it to those snakes and the shop to cross the threshold to take a closer look at the walls. It was a reptilian wonder world and no mistake. There were a couple of good looking Buddha statues from Indonesia in the shop too. Well worth the visit.

And just up the road is Cogito Books, an independent book shop. One can order by telephone, e-mail and via their web site. Their flyer says, we will deliver free to you in Hexham, Faster than the internet, Easier than Newcastle, KEEP HEXHAM ALIVE. This enterprise is certainly going a long way towards keeping people shopping in the centre of town. Mind, there isn't much outside of town, at the moment.

These days I rarely have a chance to loiter in book shops let alone buy one of those new, sleek, beauties. Here's somebody, in London, who does support his local book shop.

Beware the Logogryph, a mythical creature that lives in books. It reached out and got me in Edmonton, and hasn't let go. Spend more than a few brief moments reading this blog and you will be become a captive! Sorry Tom, that's not an anti add just a friendly warning to the innocent abroad.