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Coming soon....

I've been working on a little project with some very fine people and it's now almost ready to launch on the BBC's Planet Planners area of Bitesize. It involves Roblox. A sneak preview of something I’ve made a small contribution to, working with some very fine people who’ve done most of the hard work and which is coming soon to BBC Bitesize…. if you were at the Festival of Education last week, you may have seen one of the flyers for this new addition to the Planet Planners section of the website.   Planet Planners will be accessible via Roblox for added interactivity. I’ve had an input in the teacher materials that accompany the varied geography scenarios.
Recent posts

Lava Show podcast

A cross-posting from my Fieldnotes from Iceland blog. If you haven't checked this out, there are over 600 Iceland related posts, which are particularly added when I visit Iceland with Rayburn Tours as a field tutor. The popular Lava Show now has a podcast, called Lava Academy. JĆŗlĆ­us and Ragnhildur founded the Lava Show. Hosted by Ian McKinnon and Heiưar Ragnheiưarson.  Each monthly episode dives into the explosive world of volcanoes.  From Iceland’s fiery fissures to famous eruptions around the globe, we explore how volcanoes form, why they erupt, and what they mean for the people who live near them.  With expert guests like geologists and volcanologists, Lava Academy blends science, storytelling, and first-hand experience. Whether you’re a curious traveler, a student of earth science, or just fascinated by molten rock, this show brings the power and mystery of volcanic activity straight to your ears.  Get ready for lava facts, eruption myths, behind-the-scenes sto...

Take part in the GeoARTBlitz 2025 during July

  Why not take part in the Global GeoARTBlitz 2025 Imagine a worldwide celebration where art meets science in a frenzy of creativity and exploration. GeoARTBlitz is not just any event, it's a dynamic fusion of geography and art, inspired by the exhilarating concept of bioblitzes. These events ignite a passion for nature as people across the globe come together to observe and document their natural surroundings using the iNaturalist app. From 19-27 July, unleash your creativity in the great outdoors. Capture your experiences through journal entries, paintings, poems, music, or any other form of artistic expression that nature inspires in you. Don't forget to capture detailed metadata, longitude, latitude, time, date, elevation, and even weather conditions, to enrich your artistic contributions. Share your masterpieces with the world by uploading them to the GeoARTBlitz event on iNaturalist. Watch as your creations come alive on the map, creating a tapestry of artistic expression...

Fantasy Tour de France 2025

Every year I take part in the Fantasy Tour de France game sponsored by Tissot. It's a fun additional way to engage with the race. Here's my team for this year's race, which starts in Lille tomorrow. They're called the CRANK CALLERS. If you'd like to join the Parky Peloton League and race against me. Join me in the league now no.8080 : PARKY PELOTON Password : UGXDJ By clicking on this link : https://fantasybytissot.letour.fr/#welcome/register?sponsor_player_code=w2d6zfr&league_id=8080&league_password=UGXDJ Remember, keep up the cadence!

28 Years Later

A cross posting from my Geography in/on Film  blog. Last weekend I headed for Norwich to catch an opening weekend screening of '28 Years Later' - the third in the series of films by Danny Boyle (and others) which started with the classic '28 Days Later'. It explores Britain 28 years after the release of monkeys that have been infected with a 'Rage' virus. This turns people into 'zombies' but not the slow moving ones in the usual films.... 28 Days later (the best in my son's opinion, released in 2002) and 28 Weeks later (released in 2007). 28 years later takes place in a community living on Holy Island, which is partially protected by the causeway which is covered over at high tide. There are quite a few scenes on Holy Island and there have already been people visiting it as it was a location in the film, so this will do the tourist industry on the island some good. They have apparently launched a 'Visit if you Dare' campaign - thought I co...

How big is Glastonbury?

Always good to have little map 'experiments' / projects like this appearing. Glastonbury's gates opened yesterday. Glastonbury is big. Fifteen years ago today, I was there... in the heat, working with the Geography Collective in the Greek Kids Zone. I've blogged about it before - search the blog for 'Glastonbury'. This map shows you how big, although from my experience it felt quite a lot larger than it is shown here. I think there are other areas still beyond what is shown here - whether car parking or additional camping and the security zone. It's made by Geoffrey Prytherch. Here's Ely compared to the site. And here's one of my images from up near the letters... at night, it looks pretty awesome too. This was sunset on the 24th of June. Image: Alan Parkinson - shared on Flickr under CC license

Psycho Killer at 50

A new video for the classic Talking Heads track 'Psycho Killer'. Looking forward to seeing David Byrne play live once again in 2026....