Diana Was Already At Work,

as I left for town, 

I had a few things to do, replace the battery in my watch, exchange our CO2 cylinder, and pick up some beetroot juice and garibaldi biscuits, the road works, I should say water main repairs that were due to take 3 days, were today, day 4, still blocking the High Street,

 

the High Street, 

with one way traffic, I called into the watch repair shop, which is also a general store and received the message from the assistant, "the battery guy decided not to come in today", so that was that, into Sainsbury's only one checkout open, so self checkout it was, I mentioned that I was exchanging a CO2 cylinder the helper said it was fine, scan the new one then scan the old one, which I did, I was charged for £26.00 each for 2 new ones! I called the helper over, she said let me try, she did, my bill went up from £52.00 for 2 new ones to £78.00 for 3 new ones! she used her staff button and managed to charge £13.00 for one, (less the old exchange) and also managed to remove one of the unwanted ones, but could not remove the second one, "go to the cigarette counter and they will refund the £26.00", and this was supposed to be the quick self check area! after looking at my receipt at the cigarette counter, the assistant informed me a refund could not be given until someone from upstairs came down to authorise it, I waited, and waited, the assistant kept trying to ignore me standing there, but could not as there was no one else at the counter, 10 minutes later, (I timed it), someone came down refund given, what should have been a quick in and out took way more time than it should have done, but there it is, 

i was soon walking past the Foxgrove lodge and home, where no sooner than I sat down with a coffee Diana arrived home, so she was off for a few ZZZZ's as she had a early start this morning, for myself a couple of quiz shows until it was time for our evening meal, which we followed with a Deadliest Catch and a Tuna Wars, we then settled down to go back in time to the 1970s with Life on Mars, after which we were off to bed.

If You Want To Live In The UK

and want somewhere different, one of these 2 property's might suit you, 

all photographs Savills, the first is No Man’s Fort, located between the Isle of Wight and Portsmouth,

 two miles south of the city’s Harbour, and spans a huge 99,000 sq. ft. across four storeys,

it was converted into a 23-suite hotel with crew quarters, a restaurant and bar for up to 200 guests, a pub and a nightclub, the second is similar,

Spitbank Fort, again a former island fort transformed into self-contained private accommodation, 

also in the waters of Portsmouth Harbour,

having approximately 33,000 sq. ft. of space, the fort's historic charm harmonizes with modern amenities, 

a little history about the forts, Palmerston Forts that encircle Portsmouth were built in response to the 1859 Royal Commission dealing with the perceived threat of a French invasion. The forts were intended to defend the Dockyard in Portsmouth. Construction was carried out by the Royal Engineers and civilian contractors (under Royal Engineer supervision). In addition to the newly constructed forts, extensive work was carried out on existing fortifications, both are for sale though Savills, and both have a guide price of £1,000,000 each here and here, well they are certainly somewhere different to live!

A Update On The Loneliest Pine In The World,

that need a mate, 

all images University of Southampton, we first mentioned Encephalartos woodii, back in 2015, we also made an update in July 2020, it is a cycad which are a very old order of tree and it turns out this one, which is still there in London, may be the very last tree of its kind on our planet and this is why, these trees cannot fertilise themselves, some plants contain male and female parts on the same individual, well the sad news is that a mate has still not been found, but here is exciting news AI is now being employed!

Dr Laura Cinti, research fellow at the University of Southampton, is leading the first project to use drones and AI to search for a female E. woodii, She said: “I was very inspired by the story of the E. woodii, it mirrors a classic tale of unrequited love, "I’m hopeful there is a female out there somewhere, after all there must have been at one time. It would be amazing to bring this plant so close to extinction back through natural reproduction.” Drone imaging of the forest is being analysed by AI - with less than 2% of the 10,000 acre area having been covered so far, the only known E. woodii was discovered in the Ngoye Forest in 1895, many botanical gardens do have clones as they can be made from this one plant, but only male clones, researchers have wandered the Ngoya forest and other woods of Africa, looking for an E. woodii that could pair with the one in London, they haven't found a single other specimen, so unless a female exists somewhere, E. woodii will never mate with one of its own, the one and only last of it's kind, you can read more about the lonesome palm in Oliver Sacks book, The Island of the Colorblind, here's hoping for success!

Blog Posted,

I was off, 

to visit Duncan, into a cold day as it happens, I got quite chilly waiting for the bus, 

I was soon onboard a number 54, passing Peter Pan's Pool,

heading towards Catford and making good time, until,

a driver change at the garage,

the huge wisteria in Catford now finished flowering, 

the market in Lewisham in full swing, 

but the florists in Blackheath next to the station not yet open,

as usual a change of trains at Dartford, 

in Gravesend as it happens I did not have to wait long for a number 483 bus, 

and was soon walking in a sunny day up the hill to the nursing home where Duncan lives, 

outside the roses has come to a early end, 

although a few were in flower, 

like these, 

most of the flowers had been blown away in the last weeks high winds, 

only this one had a nice show of blooms,

all of the others had literally just one bloom left, 

inside Duncan was in fine sprits, today was his birthday, we had bought him a shirt and some cherries as well as the usual crisps, chocolates etc I bring him every week, whilst there a squirrel called by, luckily I had some peanuts on me, so he joined in the birthday calibrations! when Duncan's lunch arrived we said our farewells, 

out into a warm day, so warm in fact I took off my waterproof top and fleece, 

I was in luck with the 483 bus and train, no stopping at Dartford, so straight through to Blackheath where the florists was open, first I had a look at the potted plants, 

these pots of bellflowers, (campanula), looking nice,

as were the cut flowers, 

on the other side of the door, 

I was soon walking into the park, in the garden of Foxgrove Lodge,

 

a few peonies,

looking nice, all pink,

and with a white middle,

it had turned into a warm day, Diana had beaten me home, after a few quiz shows, 

it was time for a read and a sherry,

a 'Cheers!', 

as we started with Parma wrapped melon on a bed of salad drizzled with plum sauce, 

for our main course chicken and noodles for Diana,

a 30 day aged steak for myself with all of the trimmings,

eyes down and tuck in, 

and what better to round off our meal?

profiteroles with cream and ice cream, delicious! it was then feet up for a BattleBots before a couple more from Life on Mars, then as Diana has a early shift tomorrow, we were off to bed.

Do Not Mess With Fish 291,

and you thought fish were fun!

to be fair this aquarium might not be much fun for the fish, it is a advertising screen that spans 80.1 x 20.1 meters, it is huge, it is not a real aquarium of course, it is a Anamorphic Illusion,

designed by District, the deceptive aquarium looms over the outdoor area and splashes repeatedly into the sides, for more of District’s illusory works, check out Vimeo and Instagram, what a neat way to gain interest in a advertising board.

If You Are A Phillumenist,

this might be of interest to you, 

although matches are now hardly used in the UK matchbox collecting still is enjoyed by many, this set features the 12 signs in the western astrological system, drawn in the style of Medieval woodblock prints. Artist Ravi Zupa was inspired by Stephan Fry's book Mythos, a review of the book is here, which retells the Greek myths in modern language, if you are interested in ordering them they are available here, but please note that the seller cannot ship flammable material across borders, so international customers will not receive matchsticks in the boxes. The correct-sized matchsticks for these boxes can be found at most ordinary grocery stores/supermarkets, also available and I like these, 

matchboxes featuring Drunken Cats! all available at £20.00 per set.