I’ve always wanted to visit the Giant’s Causeway in County Antrim, Northern Island. It is a mysterious place, full of myths and legends about Finn McCool an Irish giant who was at war with a Scottish giant called Benandonner. Some quick thinking by Finn McCool’s wife saved the day and the Scottish giant retreated back to Scotland. Here is a video showing the story of the two giants.

Giants Causeway Visitors Centre – The Myth of Finn McCool from The Pond Studio on Vimeo.

While I adored the legend about giants, the truth is more scientific with the hexagonal stones formed after a volcanic eruption millions of years ago. Scientists say there were three distinct eruptions, which formed the Lower, Middle and Upper Basalts.

It is a fascinating place to explore and I enjoyed exploring the rock formations.

A fascinating place to visit, especially if you pick a quiet time without many tourists.

When I wrote the first book in my Dragon Investigators series, the subject of the moon came up—at least for the hero. The moon plays a part in the hero’s life that creates huge problems. A blue moon doubles the stress. It seemed obvious, then, for me to use the moon in the title, and I named my book BLUE MOON DRAGON.

So what exactly is a blue moon?

There are several definitions.

1. When the moon is blue in color, which is very rare, it is often due to dust or smoke in the sky.

2. If there are two full moons in a particular month, this is called a blue moon. The next one is due on Jan 31 2018.

3. Each season has three full moons, but when there is an additional fourth moon, the third of the full moons is known as a blue moon.

Definition 2 is the one that most people refer to when they speak of a blue moon.

Source: EarthSky

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I felt like stepping back in time and scrolled through some of my photos from previous trips. Rome caught my eye, so my photos today are of the coliseum.

Although we’d visited Rome before, we’d only seen the coliseum as we drove past. On this visit I was determined to venture inside.

The thing that fascinated me was the huge scale of the place. You’ll see in some of the following photos that vehicles and the people (both inside and out) appear so small in comparison.

Building on the coliseum began in AD 72 and finished in AD 80. Of course, successive rulers decided to put their stamp on the coliseum and additions were made after this date.

The coliseum held between 50,000 to 80,000 spectators with an average crowd of around 65,000. That is a lot of people. It was used for gladiator battles and during other public occasions. Both animal hunts and executions took place at the coliseum, so the Romans loved their blood sports.

See how the people and vehicles are dwarfed by the arched coliseum?

A shot of the interior.

We toured through the areas where animals and slaves were kept, and it was all too easy to imagine the cheers of the crowd and their excitement.

These days the coliseum is surrounded by modern life with busy traffic and countless tourists plus pollution. During the ages, parts have been reused and repurposed but it is still a magnificent sight and well worth a visit if you’re ever in Rome.

The moon is fascinating—at least I find it interesting. There is nothing more romantic than a walk under a cloudless sky with a full moon.

Facts about the moon:

1. The moon is the Earth’s only natural satellite.
2. The moon is 384,403 kilometers from the Earth.
3. It takes the moon 27.3 days to orbit the Earth.
4. Neil Armstrong was the first person to step on the moon. He is one of 12 people who have walked on the moon.
5. The surface of the moon is covered with craters from collisions with comets and asteroids.
6. The Earth’s tides are caused mainly by the gravitational pull of the moon.
7. A lunar eclipse causes when the Earth is between the moon and the sun.
8. The moon is shaped like an egg. The larger end points toward Earth.
9. A survey was conducted in 1988, and 13% of those questioned believed the moon was made from cheese.
10. The moon has no atmosphere.

Sometimes the moon is visible during the day, which was when this photo was taken.

There moon is the subject of many superstitions.

Here are a few:

1. A full moon is when men transform into wolves.
2. A full moon is a good time to start a new job or finish old business.
3. A full moon can make you crazy. Police and hospitals will confirm that there are more problems around a full moon.

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One of the things I enjoyed during the Art Deco Festival in Napier, New Zealand, was the huge number of vintage cars. The vintage cars always draw my eye. The muted colors – hunter green, burgundy and cream. The gleaming paintwork and proud owners. They are reminders of an earlier age, and with my love of history, I like that.

Some facts about Vintage Cars:

1. The serious collector or enthusiast considers any car from the period 1919 – 1930 to be a vintage car.
2. The Ford Model T was the first mass-produced automobile and dates back to 1913. The Model T was the first affordable car for the average man.
3. Vehicles from the pre-vintage period are often referred to as Horseless carriages.
4. Francois Isaac de Rivaz designed the first car in 1807. It was powered by an internal combustion engine and ran on fuel gas.
5. Automobile trips were normally short, but in August 1888, Carl Benz’s wife, Bertha Benz, became the first person to drive a car over a long distance. She set off with her sons without telling her husband. Girl power!

Here is a selection of vintage cars photographed during the 2017 Art Deco Festival in Napier.

And this is the car we went for a ride in around Napier.

Are you a fan of vintage cars?