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eclectech

@[email protected]

I make silly animations & pictures.

Interested in all thing visual (#Animation #Photography #sillyScribbles) & many things relating to #Politics, #HumanRights & the world around us.

Sometimes meticulously edit photos to create something fantastical, but usually just scribble on stuff.

Everything I post is made by me, unless clearly stated, & no AI (all nonsense here is human generated).

Leans to the left. Full of woke nonsense & happy about it. She/her.

This is my main social media account.

This profile is from a federated server and may be incomplete. View on remote instance

@eclectech@things.uk avatar eclectech , to random

The sun came out today and we had blue skies for the first time in an age and the world was a lovely place, even in the midst of, you know, everything. The patch of flowers braving a Scottish February looked even better in the sunshine.

A close up photo of a patch or purple crocus flowers in green grass, focused on three flowers, starting to open their petals. They are shimmering slightly in the bright sunshine. The background is blurred green and purple.
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Friend found an open one for some chill time with a book too 😁

@eclectech@things.uk avatar eclectech , to random

This was not going to be this. Yesterday I was just going to do a little test with a walk cycle, but some of my usual tricks were bringing out bugs, & I got very cross & shut it all down in a strop. Opened it back up in a slightly better frame of mind this evening & made it into a THING.

I know you can't see the Tooters in this one, but that's because they're hiding. Very wise, the Tooters...

A looping illustrated silhouette animation. The ground is black, and rough but flat. Behind is a burning orange sky, lighter near the ground, patches of almost black across the top. In the centre, in profile facing right, is a walking humanoid but wolfesque creature. It has a spiky body, simple arms and legs, and an angular head with a pointy ear, 3 points of fur out the back, and long open jaws with white pointy teeth. Its eye is a narrow white triangle. A short thin tail has a white diamond shape at the end. The creature stomps and moves through the landscape in a mildly troubling manner.

@eclectech@things.uk avatar eclectech , to random

A landscape photograph of Ullapool, a village and small port in the Scottish Highlands taken on a sunny summer day. The photo is taken on a ferry that has just left the jetty, which is on the right of the image, looking back towards a row of small mainly white cottages that run along the sea front. The bottom 2 thirds of the photo are the lightly rippled and deep blue water, the top third blue sky with a few fluffy white clouds. Splitting the two is the line of houses and hills rising behind on both the left and the right. The ferry will head out through a small gap visible on the left, between the end of the houses and the hill on the left. It looks unfeasible from this angle.
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@eclectech@things.uk avatar eclectech , to random

Evening! (or morning! or afternoon!) I hope you've had a lovely Saturday.

My day has been spent working out how to draw & animate the Tooters in the new software. It has been quite enjoyable, occasionally frustrating, but mainly sloooooooooow 😆

They will very likely to change as I play around more, but for now, The Tooter Moves. I mean... not a LOT, but the potential is there.

Illustrated silhouette animated loop. The background is orange, a mottled stormy sunset with some twinkling stars in the dark at the top. The ground is rough but flat, with a strange shrub with large round fruit at the end of each branch. In the centre is a figure, tooting on a horn so a spiral appears and fades away. The figure has a round head with bright white eyes and thick waving hair. Their body is almost triangular, with circular holes down the back, and lines cut out in the bottom left point. They have small wings, lightly flapping, also with holes cut through. There are four small legs poking out the bottom, and a long stripey tail with a white ball surrounding by black points at the end. They are floating off the ground, lightly bobbing and very gently swaying their tail.

@eclectech@things.uk avatar eclectech , to random

As promised, have some words on moving away from Animate, & why I'm trying out Friction as an alternative in the first instance. Skip this thread if you have no interest in animation software.

First up, big thanks to everyone with suggestions, & I am absolutely not dissing any of the other apps people mentioned. I had very specific requirements & they changed within a few days of the original post asking for help due to Adobe's actions.

1 /n

@eclectech@things.uk avatar eclectech , to random

A landscape photo of a beach on the isle of Harris in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. It is a photo of two halves; the bottom half is golden sunlit sand with some small sand dunes towards the centre, the top half is a strip of dark sea, a strip of distant land and a dark sky. It's a pictorial weather report - sun now, rain later.
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@eclectech@things.uk avatar eclectech , to random

Pfft! I knew this one was going to be a challenge, but I couldn't resist giving it a bash. Apologies as usual to the original artist, in this case Arnold Böcklin. I think I need to apologise to Myfanwy too. Not her best look.

An edited version of Plague, a painting Arnold Böcklin. The original shows Death riding on a bat-like winged creature who travels through a street in a medieval European town with people dying in the street. In this version the bat-like winged creature is now a slightly deformed knitted emotional support chicken called Myfanwy, and she is ridden by Friend, a simple drawn figure, wielding Death's scythe.
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@eclectech@things.uk avatar eclectech , to random

toooooooot

A square digital silhouette illustration. The background is a blend of oranges; bright in the centre and getting darker round the edges. At the bottom a black arm-like platform stretches across, and on it stands a four legged figure with a long stripey tail that flares out at the end, a tall triangular body with spikes on its back, and two thin arms holding a horn up to its round head. Their head has bright white eyes and thick strands of wavy hair. A series of spirals is being expelled from the horn, covering the left hand side of the image.
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@eclectech@things.uk avatar eclectech , to random

The friends found an excellent spot to chill out in the trees.

A photo with a scribbled drawing on top. The photo is a close up of a couple of tree branches covered in a variety of different lichen, including a pale grey beard lichen that looks a little like a mini tree. Three wee simple figures are on the branch. On the right are two sitting next to each other reading a book together. On the left another lies back against the mini lichen tree.
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@eclectech@things.uk avatar eclectech , to random

And definitely time for bed now, so I'm shamelessly reposting one of my old ones with a night time vibe.

Sleep well all, when night arrives for you 💤

A photo of a large, leafless tree with the moon in the distance. A simple drawn figure sits on the branch in front of the moon. Both tree and figure are silhouetted against the light of the moon.
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@eclectech@things.uk avatar eclectech , to random

"Myfanwy with Friend Playing the Fiddle"
With appropriate apologies to Arnold Böcklin

An edited version of Self-Portrait with Death Playing the Fiddle by Arnold Böcklin. The original depicts a bearded Böcklin stalked by a skeleton personification of death playing a single-stringed violin. In this version Böcklin has been replaced with Myfanwy, a teal knitted emotional support chicken, and death has been replaced with Friend, a very simple black and white figure with a round white head and black eyes (no visible nose or mouth), and black scribbled limbs.
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@eclectech@things.uk avatar eclectech , to random

Mood.

An edited photo of a very mossy log. The base photo is a log with a gaping hole in the centre. The log fills the bottom half of the frame with a brown / green blur above and behind it. I have added large googly eyes on top of the hole, which now looks like a gaping mouth. Two upturned mossy 3 fingered claws have been added either side.
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@eclectech@things.uk avatar eclectech , to random

Time for bed here.
Sleep well all, when night reaches you 💤

@eclectech@things.uk avatar eclectech , to random

Me: Oooh, I haven't done a Myfanwy & Friend for a while. That would be a nice change. I could put the call out on Mastodon for suggested artworks, book covers or posters to parody.

Also me: I need to post a picture if I'm asking for suggestions for pictures.

I am aware this makes NO SENSE, however when I had a quick look for new films I found this monstrosity so, that's a thing.

Anyway, taking suggestions for new pics below. Thanks!

A parody of the billboard poster for the Melania documentary film that's released in a few days, with matching font & monochrome styling. Copy changes: - A NEW FILM has been changed to A NEW BIT OF NONSENSE. - MELANIA has been changed to MYFANWY (I've left the TWENTY DAYS TO HISTORY sub below that) - EXCLUSIVELY IN THEATERS has been changed to EXCLUSIVELY ONLINE - The date has been changed from JANUARY 30 (when the film is released) to JANUARY 26 (today). Image changes: - The image of Melania sitting in the chair has been changed to a striped knitted chicken sitting in the chair.
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@eclectech@things.uk avatar eclectech , to random

Back to the woods to see if the snowdrops are out yet.

They are not.

Found a new feather folk, although tricky to get a good photo as it was already too dark, despite only being mid-afternoon.

Photo of a mossy tree trunk with a smooth pale grey feather lodged in it. The majority of the photo is soft focus, with just a few strands of moss and the feather in focus, although the photo is very grainy as the light was so low. The feather lies across the screen, and its spine has been highlighted in the centre to present it as a mouth. Eyes have been drawn above, and arms have been added with big three fingers hands resting in front, blurred like the moss they rest on.
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@eclectech@things.uk avatar eclectech , to random

There are times when you don't have much to say, but it's nice to be quiet with someone else
nods wisely

Photo of a branch with some lichen and a couple of light green moss balls on it against a blurred mottled grey backdrop. Two simple figures have been scribbled one, both leaning back on the central moss ball, looking away from each other.
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@eclectech@things.uk avatar eclectech , to random

An important lesson for a young mossling is how it tastes.

A photo of a single small clump of bright green moss on a bare branch against a flat, dark, blurred backdrop. The moss has big eyes drawn on, and an open mouth with a tongue sticking out, looking like it's trying to lick itself.
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@eclectech@things.uk avatar eclectech , to random

Distracting myself by trying to work out if the tooters are humanoids wearing unusual clothing or if they all have oddly shaped bodies 🤔

Digital drawing of a silhouette creature against a orange and yellowy-green mottled backdrop. It has a round head with white eyes and thick strands of wavy hair sticking out. The body is broadly triangular, with three smaller triangle shapes on the top, and wide slits along the bottom. It has two arms and legs and is tooting on a simple horn. From the horn is a mass of black spiral shapes. On the black sloped ground there is a bare tree on the left, and a small plant with two leaves and a spiral on top on the right.
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@eclectech@things.uk avatar eclectech , to random

Went back to check on the tree with the gelatinous blobs. Definitely only on a couple of small branches (on a very big tree) so based on information from the Tree People of Mastodon I am hopeful for its survival.

Took some more photos while I was there. I really need to go when there's some proper daylight, but that might be a couple of months away 😆

Should probably also stop posting things that are too small to make out on phones, but not to worry.

Composite photo and drawing. Mainly a close up photo of a branch with a jelly fungus of some kind on it, against a dark blurred background. The photo is a little grainy. The fungus is orange and cream, almost kind of clam shaped, but with a translucent dome on top. In the top segment there are three main sections. A light cream area (I have decided this is a beach), an orange band (I have decided this is an ocean) and then a white semi-circle (I have designated this the setting sun). On the horizon of the sea I have added the silhouette of a sail boat. On the beach the silhouette of four people, two adults, two children, watching the sunset.
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@eclectech@things.uk avatar eclectech , to random

flump

Is it time for bed?
Aye, time for bed.

Sleep well when night reaches you.

A slightly grainy photo of a chunk of moss on top of a wooden post, against a blurred backdrop. The moss is a flattened oval, slightly narrower near the camera, and has the appearance of a flumped down body and head. Sort of. I have added 2 legs on each side, splayed out flat on the wood, eyes at the front, and nostils at the end of the snout. It looks like it's had a long day.
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@eclectech@things.uk avatar eclectech , to random

Evening

Close up photo of a bracket fungus on a dark mossy tree stump. It has three horizontal layers, the top a dark brown, the middle and lower ones lighter. I have added eyes to the central section, and the dark line separating that from the bottom section has been interpreted as a mouth, with a small pink tongue added, sticking out in a blep. The photo is a little grainy, as the light was dropping and it was hidden away in the undergrowth.
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@eclectech@things.uk avatar eclectech , to random

A bit aimless again this evening, but I'm enjoying messing about with my weird wee tooters so this will have to do to say goodnight and wish you all sweet dreams 💤

Digital drawing of two silhouette creatures against a blue and white mottled backdrop (light at the bottom, dark at the top). The creature on the right is vaguely humanoid with wings. The one on the left has 4 legs and a longer almost dinosaur-like body. They both have round heads with bright white eyes and long thick strands of wavy hair sticking out, and both hold a horn to their heads. These are blowing out red and orange beams of light & heat onto a dark patch on the ground. In the top left are three simple black birds flying, also with round white eyes.
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@eclectech@things.uk avatar eclectech , to random

A square photo. Against a blurred grey backdrop is a single branch with rag lichen covering a lot of the bark and a sprig of very pale beard lichen in the centre, most of which is slightly blurred, just a few strands in focus along with the branch itself.
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@eclectech@things.uk avatar eclectech , to random

I have achieved nothing today. Oh well. Not to worry. Time doing nothing is important too.

A photo with a scribbled drawing on top. The photo shows a branch crossing the frame horizontally. It is covered with different lichens and moss, with one larger beard lichen the focal point in the centre. The background is more branches, very blurred. There are three simple figures drawn on the branch. One sits on the left, gazing thoughtfully into space, leaning against a sprig of a rag lichen. The other two are on a smaller clear branch mirroring the path of the main branch. One sits reading, nestled into the space where the small and larger branch meet. The other is lying flumped on the branch, arms and legs dangling down.
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@eclectech@things.uk avatar eclectech , to random
@eclectech@things.uk avatar eclectech , to random

It's my FIRST BOOP OF 2026!

As the wee robin posed so well for me today they were the obvious recipient.

Let the booping commence! :HumphStomp:

A photo that has been scribbled on. The photo is a Eurasian robin perched on a branch with its head turned to our left. The small bird has a bright red front, with almost white feathers below on its rotund body, and brown on the top of its head and back. There is a simple scribbled figure standing where it is looking. The figure is leaning in to boop it on the beak. The word BOOP! is scribbled above.
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@eclectech@things.uk avatar eclectech , to random

After moaning about how I hadn't been able to take any photos recently the rain stopped long enough for a walk today. Found a tired and flumpy lichen.

A photo with a scribbled drawing on top. The photo is of a branch, pointing to the camera, covered in rag lichen with a big burst of pale beard lichen.The focus is tight on the beard lichen, which has eyes and pointy teeth added, the teeth resting on the branch, and arms dangling down. It looks a bit tired with. Me too lichen, me too.
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@eclectech@things.uk avatar eclectech , to random

A bit aimless atm. Couldn't decide what to do so resorted to splatting colours in a blank file until something appeared. Ended up with a noble beast posing in the glow of the setting sun. Or something like that anyhow :dustSprite:

Drawing of a dachshund dog in profile, looking left, long nose aloft. It stands on a dark hillside behind which the sun is setting, with an orange sky getting darker at the top. On the left there is the silhouette of a couple walking, on the right a leafless tree. It's all a bit rough and scribbly but I finished it at least.
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@eclectech@things.uk avatar eclectech , to random

Photo of a lichen covered branch stretching horizontally across the frame, with one short upright offshoot in the centre. It has a very tight focus on the centre, with both extremes of the branch blurring, and the background is a very soft focus mottled pale green & brown blur. The branch is totally covered with a rag lichen with bursts of a pale beard lichen.
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@eclectech@things.uk avatar eclectech , to random

It's Friday, and I'll be honest, whenever I pop online at the moment I am not really feeling the Friday Dancers spirit in the air, but the good thing about a routine is that it can help pull you up. A bit at least. Enough for a remix.

As ever have a good weekend if you can possibly can. Onwards.

Animated loop. The background is red at the bottom, with some flicking flames, moving up to purples, very dark at the top. There are stars twinkling on the purple. Poking out of the red mist at the bottom is the word RESIST, also in red, with a faint rainbow between the two esses. On top of each letter is a dancing Portland Frog. On the left is Friend, a simple black and white figure doing the same dance as the frogs but holding a lit candle that bobs up and down with the dance. Lighting a candle in the darkness and all that.

@eclectech@things.uk avatar eclectech , to random

The elusive omnomnom lichen

A photo with a drawing on top. The photo is a pale green beard lichen on a thin red-brown branch stretching across the frame of the photo. The background is blurred, but shows more branches, lichen and glimpses of blue sky. The lichen has been turned into a creature chomping on the branch, with eyes, pointy teeth, arms holding on to the branch, and wee feet kicking up. I'm not sure if it's trying to eat the branch, or just using its mouth to hold on. Either way it's a bit cute.
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@eclectech@things.uk avatar eclectech , to random
eclectech OP ,
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I was asked if I had a higher res still of this, which at the time I didn't, but now I have. If it's of interest the different variations are all linked here:

https://eclectech.co.uk/nonsense/2026-01-04misttreestill

@eclectech@things.uk avatar eclectech , to random

A short thread of nice things before I go offline for a bit.

First up, the sunlit woodlands we went for a wander in earlier today.

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Landscape photo of a wooded hillside. A dirt path with steps heads up on the left hand side. There are specks of snow on the grass. The trees are leafless, tall, and lit by a low afternoon golden sun. The sky beyond is blue. It is a tranquil scene.
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eclectech OP ,
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Next, this cloud looking across to the woods in toothy excitement (have decided excitement can be toothy now nods wisely)

2 /n

eclectech OP ,
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Also met an old & wise lichen

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eclectech OP ,
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And we meet the first feather folk of 2026. Huzzah!

4 /n

Photo of a white fluffy feather caught on the stem of a long grass just visible at the top of the frame. The feather is centre stage on a mottled black and blue blurred backdrop (a snow speckled ground). The spine of the feather has been darkened and turned into a smiling mouth, and two eyes added above.
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    • eclectech OP ,
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    Hmm. Definitely running out of suitable photos from the walk, but one last bit of nonsense for the moment.

    HAPPY LEAF!

    Later lovelies 😁

    5 /n

    A square photo of a golden leaf attached to a branch with a bright blue sky behind (with darker shades of very blurred distant branches). The leaf is attached to the branch at the bottom, and has a round bottom and pointed top, which is darker due to a shadow. The leaf is has a happy face drawn on. I had to turn the photo upside down because the veins on the leaf looked like a very sad face when it was the right way up.
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    • eclectech OP ,
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    Popping back with one last bit of niceness for the day, because the feather looked comfy. Sleep well all, when night reaches you 💤

    6 /n

    Composite photo with a scribble on top. The main photo is a fluffy white feather attached to a grass stem that is poking in from the right hand side. The background is blurred blue and black. I've scribbled two simple figures snuggled up on the feather as if it's a fluffy hammock. In the top left is the moon, added from another recent photo. A small smattering of faint stars has also been added.
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    @eclectech@things.uk avatar eclectech , to random

    FFS 2026, you had one job. I can't even...

    Scribbled illustration of bright colourful OMG letters in square boxes, upon which lies a simple figure, one arm resting on their stomach, the other over their eyes.
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    @eclectech@things.uk avatar eclectech , to random

    Me leaving the house for the first time in 2026, full of optimism, cheerfulness, & with a slightly fuzzy head.

    A square photo of some rooftops against a backdrop of a wooded hillside. There is a chimney on the rooftop with a cloud of smoke billowing out. The smoke cloud has a smiling face drawn on.
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    @eclectech@things.uk avatar eclectech , to random
    @eclectech@things.uk avatar eclectech , to random

    Contemplating the upcoming New Year.

    I am, in general, both an optimistic & peaceful sort, but I think it might be time to smash it with a mallet & build the next one better.

    An edited photo. The main source image is lichen covered rock on a headland, with a strip of deep blue sea behind and a blue sky above, with a few fluffy white clouds. A 2025 made of rock has been added, standing on the far edge of the visible boulder. A simple figure has been scribbled on the right hand side, holding an oversized metal mallet with red wood handle above their head, ready to smash the numbers and, metaphorically, the year.
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    @eclectech@things.uk avatar eclectech , to random

    And here's the final collection for this year. Thanks for joining in 😁

    My overview image of the 2025 Xmas Hatting project. A grid of mainly square photos of animals in festive hats (mainly red and white Santa hats). There are over 70 in total. Mainly cats and dogs, but it also includes some birds & rabbits, a frog, a fish, a guinea pig, and one particularly round ball of moss with googly eyes. At the bottom is says #xmasHatting @eclectech@things.uk 2025 edition.
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    @eclectech@things.uk avatar eclectech , to random

    It is time. Welcome to the Silly Scribbles Advent Thread. I have no overarching plan this year, other than I might try & add an additional Friend for each day, because I think that might be funny by Christmas Eve.

    Anyhow, starting with one based on my Christmas Card design for this year (mainly because I am very behind with everything & it was the only festive image I have done).

    I give you... FESTIVE BORB!

    1 /n

    A photo of a round fluffed up Eurasian robin on a glistening snowy surface. It has a red face and breast, grey-white lower down, and brown on its head and back. The brown on its head is covered by a fluffy Santa hat, with a dangling fluffy bobble. The robin looks to camera, slightly unimpressed. On the right is Friend, a simple black and white drawn figure, holding a placard with the number one on it.
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    eclectech OP ,
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    Day 22 & if I'm interpreting my internal narrative correctly they're now on their way home from their Last Christmas Supper via a foggy, sloping, Scottish street.

    In my head at least one of them is singing 🎶 "show me the way to go home,
    I'm tired & I want to go to bed,
    I had a little drink about an hour ago
    & it went right to my head..." 🎶

    A photo of a dark street, with a stone wall sloping down to the right of the image where it meets a fir tree, now decorated with lights and a star on the top. There are glowing street lamps at intervals. The photo is taken from a lower level, looking up to the black wall. There are 22 of my Friends (simple drawn figures in a variety of festive hats) scribbled on. Most are on the road, peering over the wall. One is sitting at the top of the lampost holding a placard with the number 22 on it. Another is near the bottom, starting to climb up. Another has climbed the tree and is peering over. There is one in the foreground. They got confused and went down the wrong darker path. They shine a torch up illuminating themselves. It would probably be more sensible for them to use it to illuminate the path, but they'll get there...
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    • eclectech OP ,
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    Day 23, Christmas Eve eve, and the Friends are all heading somewhere for their final advent gathering. You might need to watch a while to see all 23 😁

    A short video loop of the chairlift at Glencoe Mountain Resort, with a snowy hillside in the foreground and a snowless Rannoch Moor below. The sky is blue with small fluffy white clouds dotted across. Each of the downward benches is empty. The upwards ones each have one of the Friends, simple drawn figures wearing Santa hats, standing on it, holding on to the top of the chair and waving at you (this is not the approved way of traveling on the chairlift). In the foreground is another Friend, in a tall knitted Christmas tree hat with a glowing star on top and holding a placard with the number 23 on it. Next to them is a scribbled sheep wearing reindeer antlers and a Santa hat.

    eclectech OP ,
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    Day 24 &, although we have a secular festive celebration in House Eclectech, when I was wee day 24 on the advent calendar* was a double sized window with a nativity scene behind, so this is the natural end point for me.

    Tbf the nativity wasn't knitted & the stable wasn't up a snowy Scottish mountain, but you have to put your own twist on things.

    • Old school. No chocs or mini figs or cheese, just festive pics as you count down to the Big Day.

    A composite photo with drawing on top. The scene is up a mountain in the Highlands, with patches of snow on the ground and sun dappled moorland in the distance. There is a large boulder on the right hand side. To its left has been placed a wooden stable filled with a knitted nativity scene with the usual stuff; a baby, Mary & Joseph, wise men, shepherds, a lamb and a donkey. Drawn on top, and making a rather crowded scene, are 24 of my Friend folk. Simple black and white figures wearing a wide variety of festive headgear (Santa hats, reindeer antlers, Christmas tree hats). One on the right holds a placard with the number 24 on it. One sits on a sleigh with a knitted chicken in the distance behind the stable. One lies on top, the bobble of their hat dangling down. The others stand to the sides of the stable, and inside at the back, with some sitting on the rock and the front edge of the stable. It's all quite busy, but they all hope you have a lovely few days, whether or not you celebrate, and whatever you are doing. And so do I.
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