I Had Some Shopping To Do,

so in the afternoon I accompanied Diana to the bus stop,

when Diana had to leave for work,

it was a nice sunny day as we walked trough the park,

as Diana was on her way to work I popped into Lidl.

some lilac plants for sale, 

and a few bunches of flowers by the entrance, I was getting low on spiced rum, also as Diana would be working on Saturday evening and I would be eating alone I treated myself to a Thai red and green curry, 

walking back it was quite warm, after my evening meal I watched a Simpsons and a Outback Opel Hunters, then a real treat, a Hornby: A Model World, tonight the company tasks itself with developing a new gauge to its line up, the TT (Table Top) gauge, for myself absolutely fascinating, I followed that with a Lewis during which Diana returned home from work, so a coffee, a chat and one from A Touch of Frost before we were off to bed.

What An Amazing Video,

the work that must have gone into it staggering, 

and over such mundane objects, 

anything in fact that you might find in any drawer at home, from tools that you may use, to odd old items that are only fit to be thrown away,

but you keep them, 

"just in case" you might need them,

as the video starts Alain Biet painstakingly draws each object, from light bulbs to pencils and everything else in between, and puts them into an animation, titled “Grands Canons,” which translates from French to “Big Guns,” I do not know how many thousands of drawings were needed to complete the animation, but it was lots! So grab a coffee and try to count how many of the objects that flash before your eyes you have tucked away somewhere, for the full video have a look here, and for more of the artist’s work have a look at his website and Instagram, what an amazing piece of work.

Eat One, Or Even A Half Of One Of These,

and you will probably die,

photograph George Chernilevsky/Wikimedia Commons, they are the the ‘death cap’ mushroom (Amanita phalloides), according to the Guinness Book of Records are the most deadly mushroom in the world, and unlike their European cousins that spread slowly, this poisonous mushroom is quickly spreading across California, from the Bay Area further up the coast, eventually becoming more abundant than in its native Europe, but why the sudden spread in the USA? apparently according to a new study published on January 31 to the preprint server biorXiv, death cap samples collected from all over California are perfect copies of each other, clones produced asexually, without needing to mate to spread their spores in new, unconquered regions. This reproductive capability surprised researchers, as DNA samples from European death caps clearly showed that it reproduces sexually. The same goes for mushrooms collected from New Jersey and New York, scientists theorize that Amanita phalloides is capable of switching on asexual reproduction to help it rapidly spread across new regions, and then switch back to sexual reproduction once the colonization is complete, so when you go down to the woods today be very careful which mushrooms you pick,

photograph AYArktos/Wikimedia Commons, and now for the gruesome bit, there is currently no known cure for death cap poisoning. Fluids can help alleviate the symptoms, and a few specific treatments have been shown to improve survivability, but poisoning is often times fatal, the symptoms are from six to seventy-two hours after consumption, the amatoxins in the death cap mushroom enter the liver through the intestinal tract and then bind to protein-producing enzymes, preventing them from doing their job. With no protein production, the liver begins to die, causing nausea and diarrhoea, which is often followed by other organ failures, coma, and death, the amatoxins produced by Amanita phalloides are thermostable, which means they resist changes due to heat, so the effects of the toxins are not at all reduced through cooking. It is estimated that half of a death cap mushroom is enough to kill an adult human, so unless you have someone like my Nan with you who knows what is safe and unsafe to eat in the mushroom department, be very, very carful!

Blog Posted,

and I was on my way,

to visit Duncan, a bit of a chilly day as I walked to the bus stop,

which was on time, but the windows a bit steamed up,

I was soon hurtling past Peter Pan's Pool,

it must have ben cold, no early morning drinkers outside the pub in Lewisham!

the market already open,

with plenty of produce,

arriving in Blackheath the florists next to the station open,

with a nice show of flowers,

like these carnations,

plus lots of bulbs in pots,

the cyclamen with their bright colours,

a new poster, crikey a £100 fine!, good job I always buy my tickets, though it has been a surprise on occasions the number of travellers that have been on the train that have not,

now why can it not be like this every week? the bus arriving in plenty of time for the 09.31 to Gravesend, that means I only need one train and do not have to change at Dartford,

grey skies over Blackheath station as I waited for the train,

50 minuets or so later arriving at Gravesend a 10 minuet wait for the 483 to the nursing home,

off of the bus and a walk,

it is surprising how much difference a couple of weeks makes, I missed last week as I was working, but in the time this tree,

has become a mass of flowers, spring is here! Duncan was in his usual jovial mood, we chatted about times past and the latest news, although to be fair neither of us understand the ongoing trading problem with the Irish border, but there it is, as it was approaching lunch time we said our goodbyes,

out of the nursing home to the bus and then the station, where by good luck I caught a train that I did not have to change at Dartford, a perfect trip there and back! at Blackheath on to the number 54 bus,

I mentioned how things changed in 2 weeks previously, well here is something that has not, I am sure not a thing has moved in the Taco Bell outlet since 2 weeks ago, 

off of the bus and into the park for the walk home,

in the evening a read and a sherry, 'Cheers!',

for tonight a few pieces of cold chicken to tuck into followed by strawberries, then feet up until Diana returned home from work, after which a coffee and a chat followed by a Lewis that we had not watched before until we were off to bed.

Whilst At Work Last Week,

out of my shirts pocket,

all images © Hiroko Kubota, I kept my reading glasses and pen, but how much nicer it would have been to have a pocket with a one of these,

they are the work of artist Hiroko Kubota,

who embroiders these delightful cats, peering over the pocket top,

this spring, Kubota is participating in an Osaka cat event with photographers and other handcraft artists and is planning a solo exhibition this fall. She’s paused international commissions for now, but you can stay updated on her work on Instagram,

I like this one, it reminds me of the photograph, 'black cat in a black room',

if this theme looks familiar many years ago way back in August 2016, we featured the artist's work, and it is nice that the artist has continued with her work, so much nicer than my reading glasses and pens!

Many Years Ago Certainly In The UK,

a garage forecourt attendant would fill you car with petrol,

photograph Autofuel/Facebook, but now it is a 'help yourself' service, but all of that might soon come to an end, a Neste fuel station in Finland is currently the only place in the world where you can have your car refuelled by a robot. It’s the pilot site chosen by Autofuel to test its futuristic refuelling system, a robotic arm that can locate a car’s fuel tank door, select the right type of fuel, and operate the pump without any kind of human assistance, and it also can deal with all electric vehicles, “Our technology intends to provide the customers with maximum comfort and safety at gas stations,” Jonas Thor Olsen, CEO of Autofuel, said. “Manual refueling demands the driver’s attention or direct involvement for at least as long as the car is refueled. The Autofuel system requires no human involvement. It allows them to go to the shop for a coffee or take a short break while the car is refueled.”

there are a few small problems, as you might expect, in order for the entire process to work, one needs to have their vehicle registered with Autofuel, this means the the system recognises your car, delivers the correct fuel and takes payment, at this stage a lot of people are not willing to give card details, so will the idea catch on? I have to say it seems like a lot of work designing all of this for what now motorists accept as the norm, but with all eclectic cars the machine will plug itself in whist you can sit inside your car, but for myself I guess I would rather leave the car and grab a coffee, so I would have had to get out of the car anyway!

Oh Dear!

another day of just one post,

as Graham is back to work I will be out to visit Duncan as soon as I post this, back to Tuesday, the first spring flowers have started to appear in the grass verges where car divers have not driven over or trampled them,

3 or 4 stands of daffodils have made it,

and one small patch of crocus,

it was a tad chilly on the walk to the bus stop,

arriving at Kingfisheries I dropped off lots of printing, and had a chat with Graham, next back home, I had to change the shops special offer page for March, 

from March 1st. to March 31st. if you purchase a Ciano 60 Aquarium, which is an ideal starter aquarium, and available in white or black you will receive free gravel, I should point out the offer is for in store collection only, 

stands are also available in white,

 and black, web page updated I watched a couple of quiz shows, Diana had already left for work, after my evening meal it was a Simpsons, a Outback Opal Hunters before a Midsomer Murder after which Diana arrived home, so a couple from A Touch of Frost before we were off to bed.