One of those gloomy newspapers, the ones that always seem to think that the end of the world is nigh, the ones you don’t read if you have a glass-half-full sort of outlook, reckons that Bonfire Night is on its last legs.

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Just in case lack of daylight hours, extreme weather, worldwide recession, war in the Middle East, the march of government intrusion and Windows Vista’s impasse with your printer are making life hard to bear this grim Monday morning, here’s a bit of steampunk magic.

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Found this today while out geocaching, caught in the hedgerow in a farmer’s field just south of Cottered in Hertfordshire. The balloon (which had been yellow) was in shreds but still attached.

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An inspirational interview in Salon that has me eyeing the disused planters at the end of a neighbouring street. Here’s an excerpt but reading the whole thing, which includes a Q&A with ‘guerilla gardener’ Richard Reynolds, is very much recommended.

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Bournemouth has decided that it would like to be a surf resort, according to The Guardian, and attract all those surfing tourists for who Cornwall is just too inconveniently western. What a distance to travel! To that end it is building an artificial reef out of specially-designed sandbags in Poole Bay in order to take the area’s natural swell and turn it into breaking waves.

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Ever had an urge to visit Svalbard? Perhaps after reading Philip Pullman, or seeing pictures of its beautiful location? Just make sure you’re in good health when you go.

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Whoever wrote this article on the nude climbing craze isn’t taking account of the British climate. Or, as anyone engaged in outdoor activities at this time of year knows but too well, the British stinging nettle. Ouch…

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Incredible pictures from the New York Times this morning show the city’s unwanted Redbird subway cars being towed off the coast of Delaware where they will be dumped into the Atlantic Ocean to form an artificial reef.

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Intriguing story from today’s Telegraph about an Iranian asylum-seeker running the world’s most northerly kebab-shop.

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