Ron Manton

@ronmanton.bsky.social

263 Followers 189 Following

Unit of capitalist production. Never TPFP. Aspiring musician. Keeper of wolves.

A Stamford globe showing North America. The oceans are in deep black; the land (mainly) a sort of cream colour. Around the globe is a brushed silver meridian ring.
A human face, turned purple by stage lighting, staring back into the camera.
A St. Catharine's College, Cambridge meal book 10 pence voucher. I used to buy books of these containing vouchers of various (small) denominations which could be exchanged in college for tucker. The voucher features "10p" in bold green text alongside the College emblem, a shield with catharine wheel. Underneath is "St. Catharine's College" and "Meal Book", in green block capitals.
Dark golden, foamy double espresso. Musetti collection art motif cup, white saucer and silver teaspoon (unused). All resplendent on a granite counter top. Ominous jug lurking behind.
Dany Villarreal of "The Warning" playing a fab. green shark pattern Paul Reed Smith guitar. Black boots, denim? short culottes and a black cut-off top. Stage rigging in the background and a patch of blue sky above.
A David Hockney landscape painting depicting a canopy of trees lining a rural road in the centre (apparently Rudston Road near Burton Agnes); Hockney referred to this as "The Tunnel" because the branches form an overhead arch. The piece has immense scale and vivid colours - including bright greens and pinks.
A grim-faced character, made of a triangle of Swiss cheese. It holds a knife, spear-like, in the right hand. Night has fallen, and in the background is a sinister forest; a bright moon, probably also made of cheese, shines above, and clouds scud across the starlit sky.
Signage for the Capital Brewing Company, a craft beer brewery based in Canberra, ACT. The sign features a distinctive Art Deco stylised design using slim, fresh red letters and hatching on an enamel white background. The word, "CAPITAL" appears in the centre, inside a triangular border; the height of the lettering increases and decreases either side of an axis of symmetry formed by the capital I. Below the base of the triangular design is "BREWING Co.", enclosed in its own red rectangle. Above the triangle, red line hatching fans out, left and right, to the top of the design. This beauty is to be found at the Australian Hotel Sydney, NSW.
Cover of my LP "The Sound of Sonny" by the legendary jazz saxophonist and innovator, Sonny Rollins (1930-2026). Sonny is pictured playing tenor sax close up to a studio microphone. He stares in front, taking a breath, a study in concentration, fingers poised over the keys. White cravat with polka dots and a very groovy mauve/lilac and white checked shirt complete the scene. My personal favourite from the record is a version of Cole Porter's "Every Time We Say Goodbye".
Black, sinister cover of my edition of Borchert's masterpiece, "Draussen vor der Tür" (Outside at the Door). A grainy, black and white image of the character Beckmann (played by Hans Quest), angst-ridden, bespectacled, dressed in black, light catching one side of his slightly tilted face - from the original theatre production, Hamburg, 1947.
Cover of Katya Hoyer's 2026 work, "Weimar, Life on the Edge of Catastrophe." Cover photograph M-Verlag Berlin, A. Schulze/Alamy stock photo. A figure of a man, dark-suited, with hat and cane, strides in front of the parliament (?). Nazi flags hang down from the front of the edifice. The book's title, "Weimar", is in large red text. The photo is monochrome. Sinister.
Panorama of Barangaroo skyline and waterfront on a grey Spring day. Scanning from the IMAX around to One Barangaroo Tower (from the Convention Centre side). Tall buildings; steel grey sky and dark clouds; limpid harbour water.
Blaue Glockenblumen und grüne Blätter im Hintergrund hinter einem Strang grauen Stacheldrahts. Bluebells and green leaves in the background behind a strand of grey barbed wire.
Night scene. George St., Sydney, NSW. In the centre, tram tracks and a light rail service approaching, headlights on. Either side, lampposts rise from the pavements. Shop fronts, tall buildings. In the foreground, coloured paving stones (red, purple, black, blue) and small, concrete cubes (seats or some sort of urban art installation?).
Page from my BBC Proms Programme booklet (season 121, 31st August 2015, Royal Albert Hall, London). On the menu that night: Charles Ives "Symphony New England Holidays - Decoration Day" Béla Bartók Piano Concerto No.2 (soloist, Yuja Wang) Beethoven Symphony No.3 ("Eroica") San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, conductor Michael Tilson Thomas Brahms Hungarian Dance No.10 Best "Eroica" I have ever heard.
Front cover of "Prophecy" (21/4/2026) by Carissa Véliz, Associate Professor in Philosophy, Oxon. Cover illustration and design by Oliver Munday. The front cover has an image of what looks like a surveillance camera, a spherical white ball with a circular glass lens and a red LED (denoting recording is active). The camera is mounted on a black cylindrical base. The cover theme colours start from lemon yellow at the top, graduating through greens to mid-blue at the bottom. The title is rendered in bold, black block capital letters. Beneath it, the subtitle, in hand written black script, reads: "Prediction Power, and The Fight for the Future, from Ancient Oracles to AI".
A stone Celtic cross on a plinth in a country churchyard. Dappled sunlight falls on what looks like yellowish York stone. All around it flows a sea foam of purple bluebells. A few yards behind, in the near distance, stand other gravestones, stone crosses and memorials. The Celtic cross has an ornate, "twisted rope" (knotwork) motif carved into the circle, left and right arm, and the upper part of the main upright limb. The overall colour palette is purple, warm yellow stone, sunlight and shade, and green foliage and grass.
A black Wednesday evening. Panning around Circular Quay, Sydney, Australia. Brightly illuminated skyscrapers, ferries sliding across the slack water, low lit trees on the Opera House concourse, rippling reflections. In the background, lights on the Sydney Harbour bridge. An energising cityscape.
A glass jar with a black screw top, containing yellow, red and orange coloured olives in oil. The jar is resting on the counter of my local coffee shop, along with a food and drink menu. Behind is another jar of green olives. The counter is made of some sort of beige coloured, polished stone; the stone contains veins of black, grey and ochre. Light reflects off the neck of the jar.
Groove Tubes valve array at the back of my Fender Twin Reverb guitar power amplifier. You can see the hot red glow of thermionic emission inside the glass valve casings. The GT logo is printed on the glass in white. The amplifier case is coverd with black, slightly textured, Tolex.
A Laughing Kookaburra perched patiently on the toughened glass safety wall of a first floor walkway. Behind and below is a grey, corrugated tin roof soaking up the gentle, early afternoon sunlight. A verdant panoply frames the far edge of the roof. The Kookaburra has a whitish breast and head, and mid-brown wings mottled with striking sky blue patches. A watchful eye and rapier sharp, kingfisher-like beak points towards an invisible serving hatch in the expectation of fish scraps.
Cover of the LP of Kyung-Wha Chung 정경화 (1948-) and The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Rudolf Kempe, playing Max Bruch's (1838-1920) Violin Concerto No.1 in G minor, op.26 (1866-7). The magnificent S.Korean violinist's face is shown in side profile; beautiful, and man, oh man, she can play. In no small way was this recording responsible for me getting into classical music. It was, I think, originally released by Decca in 1972, and I wore a groove in it whilst at Cambridge. Bloody love this.
Front of my BlueSpot multimeter. An orange plastic case with green LCD display (top), a rotating selector switch in the centre (for DC/AC voltage V, current A resistance Ω, etc. measurement), black lettering and two connector leads (red +ive, black -ive COMmon or ground...in simple terms). Always consult a qualified person. Yeah, right.
Vibrant mauve petals of my magnolia tree, planted in memory of my Father. Behind is the greenery of the back garden.
Disintegrating cover of my copy of the Len Deighton spy thriller, "Funeral in Berlin" (1964). The cover's background is plain white. At the top is the author's name in black block capitals; underneath it, the title in blue capitals. The cover image shows a silver-barrelled automatic revolver ("I prefer my automatic", "The Ipcress File"), over which lies a funeral wreath of blood-red flowers. A plaudit from the "New York Times" reads, "A ferociously cool fable. Even better than 'The Spy Who Came in from the Cold'". I've loved the "Harry Palmer" spy novels and films starring Michael Caine. When you get up there, Len, hopefully you have the right security clearance. Len Deighton 1929-2026.
Part of my wall map of The World, focusing on the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman. On the eastern side, Iran (purple) has a long coastline, stretching from Abadan almost to Gwadar (Pakistan). To the west lies Saudi Arabia (orange), the Gulf States, and Oman (green). Yet again, we see the power of geography and oil.
Supergrass walking out to Sweet's "Blockbuster" at the 02 Academy, last year. Behind the stage is a giant picture of the "I Should Coco" album cover. Lots of the crowd are holding up camera phones. Mick is checking out his bass. Gaz rips into the first track: "I'd Like to Know". The overall colour palette is blues and purples in the darkness.
Dark grey steel of an electricity pylon rising into the mist; insulators crackling and fizzing in the cold, damp air. A few yards away an ancient tree stands in silence - watching. Triangular versus dendritic.
Front cover of "A Modern History of Iran" (2012, Cambridge University Press) by the neo-Marxist modern historian Ervan Abrahamian (1940-). The cover shows an illustration of everyday life in the capital city, Tehran. We see a multi-lane highway, gridlocked with traffic which is stopped at overhead red lights. Silver street lights and trees flank the thoroughfare. In the background, modern buildings rise: a tower under construction and a high-rise building with light grey squares of cladding and two huge portraits of (I think) Reza Shah Pahlavi and Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
A small discount voucher, the size of an old-fashioned business card, promising 10% off grub at "The Porterhouse" Irish bar in Surry Hills, NSW. It is predominantly dark green and light green (in two horizontal, wavy stripes). The bar logo is in the top left hand corner. On the right hand side there is a picture of the pub in a red-framed inset. At the bottom of the card are the address and telephone number details.
Cover of Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971), "Le Sacre du Printemps" (The Rite of Spring), recorded on Deutsche Grammophon by the London Symphony Orchestra, conductor Claudio Abbado. Original recording, Polydor, 1976. The scene depicts mythical, balletic, muse-like figures dancing around a central fantastical being which represents the welling up of Spring's new growth and vigour. The colour palette is of bright pinks and purples, above a sandy yellow and brown terra firma. Above, the sky fades from light blue to indigo. The central figure rises out of dendritic roots to a lime green, flame like, headdress (or is it actually a surreal head itself?) Artwork by Peter Wandrey, Hamburg.
Closeup of the tortured (but resigned?) face of Harold Shand as he is captured and driven away at the end of the film "The Long Good Friday" (1980, dir. John Mackenzie). Shand is played superbly by the actor Bob Hoskins. We see Hoskins darting a wry smile, or a grimace, through the darkness. Behind him, in the rear windscreen, the blurred lights (blue, white, green) of a Central London street. Atmospheric. Cue the music...
The superb Brian Blessed in his finest ever role as the Emperor Augustus in Robert Graves's "I, Claudius". In this scene he is interrogating a group of the great and the good from Rome, who, intelligence suggests, have all slept with his daughter Julia. Blessed faces the camera, smiling ominously, as he questions one nobleman. Eventually his patience fails. He shouts, "Is there anyone in Rome who has not slept with my daughter?"
Plate glass at the front of the Queen's Head, Piccadilly. The pub name is clear etched into the smoked glass. Some sort of forlorn potted plant leans to the left of the window. Lights from the interior are reflected. The overall palette is of warm, low-lit shades. Perfect drinking backdrop.
The City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra on stage at Symphony Hall, Birmingham, England. We see a packed audience in the concert hall. The members of the orchestra are dressed in black. In the centre of the stage is the conductor's podium, constructed of shiny steel tubing on a purple base. Above is a high-tech ceiling, designed for optimum acoustic performance. Behind the stage are the pipes of a large organ, illuminated in blue light. The overall colour palette is of warm oranges and reds.
A packet of Ernie Ball "Super Slinky" electric guitar nickel wound steel guitar strings. Made in the USA. The square, transparent plastic packet has a dayglo pink coloured card insert with a pink/maroon border. The insert has a large eagle logo in black at the top, above the text "Super Slinky" in a psychedelic font (also printed in black). Beside the brand name, to the left, is the string set sizing; these strings are "9s", or 9 gauge, which start at 0.009 of an inch in diameter for the high E (in standard tuning) (or first, or bottom) string. B=0.011, G=0.017, D=0.024, A=0.032, low E (sixth, top)=0.042. At the bottom of the packet, in black block capitals letters is "CUSTOM GAUGE NICKEL WOUND GUITAR STRINGS MADE IN THE USA". To the right of the origin of manufacture is a depiction of a basketball.
My Paul Reed Smith 1991 CE24 electric guitar friend. Holding it upright in my trusty left hand, and just about to murder some Supergrass as a New Year's Eve treat (for me, not Supergrass). Navy coloured, tiger stripe pattern body; black, uncovered humbuckers with cream-coloured surrounds; dark brown rosewood fretboard; silver-coloured fret wires; silver-coloured bridge mechanism. The attached shoulder strap is my indie favourite, featuring an ancient sun motif which offers a sort of festival vibe.
Publicity poster for the 1969 British sci-fi film, "Moon Zero Two", directed by Roy Ward Baker. We see the lunar surface, with Earth on the horizon (à la "Earthrise"). Ironically, the whole scene is tinted in red tones - it's the Moon, not Mars. Anyway. Astronauts work in the foreground, and another drifts above the surface behind a propulsion device (reminiscent of a deep sea diver). The tag line for the film is "The first Moon western."
The cover of the 5th studio album by Supegrass, released in the UK in August 2005. Its title, "Road to Rouen", refers to the location in Northern France where the album was recorded. The cover artwork depicts a bridge over the (a16) autoroute (Boulogne to Rouen). Taken at night, a long exposure shot captures lines of red and yellow from the lights of distant but barely visible passing traffic (a lorry ?), streaking above the semi-lit surface and white lines of the carriageway. The overall colour palette is dark blue sky, dark (shadowed) and light grey tarmac, yellows, reds and oranges. I'm not sure what the cover expresses. To me it symbolises a journey towards something deeper, and it suggests change, a change of direction.
The cover of "The Call of Cthulhu and other Weird Tales", collected stories by the great Sci-Fi horror writer, J.P. Lovecraft (1890-1937). Published by Vintage Books, London, 2011. The cover design shows what looks like a mariner at the wheel, steering a coffin on a swirling "sea". Above him is a giant creature with octopus-like tentacles and two giant claws. This illustration is designed to be viewed with 3D glasses (supplied with the book), and has a slightly out of focus appearance, composed mainly of 3 distinct colours (black, red and cyan). The book title, in the centre of the illustration, likewise out of focus, is rendered in yellow block capitals edged with orange and cyan. Artwork by Vladimir Zimakov.
A Paul Reed Smith electric guitar on a stand, pointing skyward. In the foreground the brown wood of the fret board, and the silver stings and fret wires. On the floor behind is a blue, metal guitar electronics box with orange numbering on the pedals. A black guitar lead snakes across golden oak flooring.
A crystal chandelier, with a ring of candle bulbs, hanging from a public house ceiling. One bulb has failed. The chandelier is probably around a yard in length (drop). The overall colour palette is of shadowy browns, along with light brown and cream on a square column behind the chandelier. The bulbs are warm white. Small red (Christmas) decorations adorn the ring to which the candle bulb holders are attached.
Cover of "Skin in the Game" (2018), by the trader-risk mathematician-philosopher, Nassim Nicholas Taleb; the 5th volume in his "Incerto" treatise. The book is subtitled, "Hidden Asymmetries in Life". The artwork for the Penguin Books (2019) imprint is by Fabio Amargo, with cover design by Richard Green. It depicts, I suspect, chance, risk and uncertainty as a chess player, sitting in front of the pieces which are laid out on an octagonal table. There is one player, whose head is rendered as the top of the King piece. I think the symbolism might mean that the chess pieces (of real life) are moved by those who have little to lose whatever the outcome of the game.
Peter O'Toole in David Lean's (1962) masterpiece, "Lawrence of Arabia". In this scene he is doing the "match trick". You know the one. You hold a lit match between fingers and thumb, letting it burn down to the skin, snuffing out the flame. Onlookers think extinguishing the flame is some sort of trick, but it's simply "mind over matter". William Potter, one of the soldiers in the map room in Cairo, tries, and burns himself. He asks Lawrence, "Ouch, what's the trick?" Lawrence, ever the philosopher, replies: "The trick, William Potter, is not minding that it hurts". Here we see O'Toole holding up the burning match, gazing at the flame.
Deutsche Grammophon recording from 1972 of the piano works of Leoš Janáček (1854-1928). This 2D set features the great Czech pianist and pupil of the composer, Rudolf Firkušný (1912-1994). Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks (BRSO), my favourite ensemble now, is conducted here by, of course, the immense Rafael Kubelik (1914-1996). The cover has a colour, line drawn portrait of Janáček, dressed in jacket and tie, in front of a window open to the fields and mountains. The classic Deutsche Grammophon bright yellow scrolled logo is atop the artwork, but at a slight angle. The colour palette of the.portrait is predominately orange and ochre. The composer has silver grey, brushed-back hair, and matching colour moustache. Light falls on his late middle-age visage. His expression is of steadfast calm; an almost probing stare. Cover illustration by Jürgen Gesang.
The front cover of Graham Greene's masterpiece, "The Heart of the Matter" (1948). The cover is a grainy, black and white photograph of (possibly) a West African village. It is framed by the dark trunks of tropical trees. A dirt track with a rough building on the right leads to another structure in the near distance; this is presumably a school house. It has a pitched roof, and there are the vague outlines of children sitting outside the front. The author's name in black capitals, and the title in black mixed type appear inside a white, black-bordered rectangle towards the foot of the cover. Graham Greene 1904-1991. Cover photograph: W. Eugene Smith/Magnum. Penguin Twentieth-Classics Edition, 1978.
The cloth cover of Thomas Mann's (1875-1955) novel, "Buddenbrooks" first (published in 1901). 1909 edition. The fabric of the cover is light grey and finely mottled brown. It has the rough texture of an old wallpaper. Woven into the fabric in thin, red cotton is the depiction of the front aspect of what appears to be a fine town house. Beneath this drawing, also in red, is the title. The spine is of brown leather with gold lettering.
A small pile of books on a table, stacked on their side. From bottom to top: "Fowler's (English Usage)", Roget's Thesaurus, a Collins (Compact) English dictionary, "The Approach to Latin (Part I)", "My Grammar and I" and "i before e".
Cover for the Penguin (1982?) edition of David Storey's gritty, "working class novel", "This Sporting Life" (1960). It shows an illustration of a street in a northern English industrial town, with red brick terraced houses on each side of a cobbled road, and a solitary figure walking along the pavement. At the back of the houses we see the top of rugby posts and a glimpse of green pitch. Above, the sky is uniformly light grey. The author's name appears in large purple capitals over a blue break in the sky. The book title is in black text under the street scene. Cover picture by Peter Melnyczuk.
Image of the cover of Jennifer Mills' book "Salvage", published by Picador (2025). The scene is a rough dirt road, meandering into the distance. Predominately on one side, the right, is dark undergrowth and a tree silhouetted against the sky. The sky is a cosmic backdrop of plasma, stars, galaxies and nebulae; it resembles a Hubble Telescope deep space image. At the top of the cover, overlaid onto the artwork is the title, in bold, off-white type; at the bottom is the author's name. Printed vertically on the left edge of the cover in small text is: "A novel of great imagination and prescience" HANNAH KENT.
Looking down on a CD sitting patiently in its black CD player tray, just waiting for me to hit Open/Close and then Play. The disc is white and the Denon CD player is made of black plastic. Symphony No. 1 and Violin Concerto by Sir William Turner Walton (1902-1983), BBC Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Edward Gardner; violin soloist Tasmin Little. Recorded on Chandos (2014).
The dark wood fretboard of my Paul Reed Smith electric guitar, pointing skywards and blurring as it reaches down to the blue body and cream-edged pick ups. On the floor behind the guitar is a blue metal BOSS GT5 guitar effects processor, connected to the instrument with a black lead, and to a sound system via a shocking pink lead.
Cover of booklet for a programme of music by Richard Strauss at the Sydney Opera House on September 3rd 2025. Simone Young (principal conductor) is shown conducting the Sydney.Symphony Orchestra. She faces the players with baton raised in the right hand. Her left hand curls expressively. We see a very small section of the orchestra's strings from behind, bows slanted.
View from the Sydney YHA roof terrace, looking northwards. In the foreground are the slate rooftops and chimney stacks of the terraced houses in the adjacent street. Beyond is a clock tower. In the background the south pylons and superstructure of the Harbour bridge. Overhead is an almost flawless blue sky with just two solitary white cotton clouds.
A tired marathon runner holding his shiny, metallic finisher's medal for the Sydney 2025 42k event. He is wearing his trademark England cricket cap (white, no nationalism, it was just given to me by Mom) along with a favourite blue Venice (2018) Marathon running top; over the top of the shirt is a black "RunSmart" running harness. The sky in Sydney is a perfect azure. 31/9...what a fabulous day.
A small stone statue of the Buddha on a cylindrical plinth, backlit in sky blue and sandy yellow. The installation rests inside an alcove with a semi-circular arch. Outside the archway is darkness.
A Poke bowl along with wooden chopsticks. The bowl contains salmon sashimi, kale, beets, edamame, red onion, roasted sesame dressing, seaweed salad, tobiko, crispy shallots, wasabi peas, tofu and a brown rice base.
Cover of "Anti-fragile" by Nassim Nicholas Taleb. A red background with the black tentacles of an octopus overlaid. The book rests on my leg, as I sit in a long haul aircraft.
LCD display on the back of a seat in an Emirates Airways A380, en route to Sydney. A search for "Supergrass" in the in-flight entertainment interface returns nothing. How can that be?
Cover art for Chloe Hooper's (2008) non-fiction work, "The Tall Man. Death and Life on Palm Island". The book title is in large capital letters, the colour of which resembles the ochres and oranges of aboriginal rock painting, against a dark, almost black, background.