Season of Leaves and Chick Pea Soup

'Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness?'  Not if you are one of the many men now sweeping leaves up from pathways, car parks, various buildings, or just clearing them from the gutter of a great many houses.  I was considering this as I watched these leaves fly off the tree opposite, aided by the 16 mph wind, according to the BBC weather site.  As the afternoon sun glints on the leaves, both in the tree and scattered on the ground all around, it looks marvellous.  For those slipping on them on the pavement a different emotion might be coming into view.

I recall at the hospital in Maida Vale the three or four trees we had the privilege of watching.  This was not considered a privilege as we swept up between parked cars day after day.  Of course it does not last, but if you were on the early shift you had most of the work to do.  How come I was on the early shift when leaves were falling I ask?  Tsk!  

This seasonal thing makes me wonder.  Why seasons?  Why not just have one season where things grow all year round and leaves fall, er, compactly?  Why cold and heat, why not just nice temperatures to suit?  There again some seasons are well worth having.  The sunsets and autumn colours can be magnificent.  The darkness less so.  Imagine darkness before electric light?  No wonder the ancients went home and locked themselves in at night, that is nightfall, none of this midnight day ending rubbish, I think that began with the Romans.  I suppose many societies had forms of lighting at night but only when gas and electric arrived could we pollute the night sky as well as we do now.  

Snow of course produces wonderful scenes, though it left me and my neighbour flat on our backs at different times.  Summer speaks of long days, joy and happiness, Spring however, in my humble view, and you realise how humble this view is, can be the best of seasons.  Looking into the bright fullness to come, the new life all around, lambs gambolling, buds opening, birds flocking in from Africa, and a happiness seen amongst people, even in big cities.

We now approach a proper winter.  The leaves fall, the weather gets colder, winds come from the north, and the gas and electric take a great leap upwards in January, the busiest time for these crooks!  Do we have a Tory government?  Do Ofgem represent the public?  Is the Pope a Catholic?  

Bah!

Once again I attempted Chick Pea soup.  This is usually OK, and today I added, amongst other ingredients, Turmeric Powder obtained from Sainsburys.  To this I added a wee bit of Cayenne Pepper, and other things.  Unlike the fish in the oven that I forgot while scouring Twitter the soup did not burn.  This surprises me however, for when I attempted to eat some tonight I realised I had been somewhat overeager with the ingredients.  Cayenne and Turmeric go together quite well but possibly not in the amounts that fell into the pot today.  That pint glass of water has come in handy tonight, and I may not require to put the heating on for a day or two, no matter how low the temperature drops.

Still, I suppose this is healthy...

Meanderings

A surprise this week, the new Prime Minister is still in office!

Not only that, but few have made serious claims about his mental health.  I suspect this will not continue.  Naturally, his cabinet are lying bare-faced to the world, but that is what we have become used to.  Not much else will change in the near future.

The leaves are falling fast from the trees, the fields and pavements are overflowing.  Only the driver of the town cleansing truck, the one used to run along pavements clearing them away will be happy, all that overtime from 7 am tomorrow!  The colours are good, but it is always sad to see the branches revealed once again, and the occasional birds nest high up on many.  

The clocks also go back one hour on Sunday, thus giving one more hour to ponder breakfast.  Unless you have a cat, a dog or a child of course.  I may take the opportunity to rise early and stumble down to church.  Though rain is once again returning the minute I leave the door.

I am ploughing through three books at the moment, one has 700 pages of small font, and lots of big words.  It is not easy to keep track.  The other two are easier but football fills the air and reading is slow.

How did people live before books?

Writing only arrived around 3500 years BC in southern Iraq, a place called Sumar.  Not much later it arrived in China and South America also.  Was this because of rising populations?  Trade opening up? Before that there were no books, but I suppose story tellers filled the gap.  An evenings entertainment listening to the history or folk tales of the locale.  Hero's and giants, and some right old rubbish also.  A little bit like the UK's free press I think. 

How could we live without books today?

Saturday Filler

Before the rain and in between the football I scurried across the road on a dreich day looking for inspiration.  All I found were leaves and a few twigs blown from the trees by what the weather man called a "Strong Breeze."  I would like to know his definition of 'Storm!'

Rust coloured leaves are appearing everywhere, plants, trees and bushes are shedding heavily those that would compost make.  Rust coloured trees, rain clouds, dark skies, this is what a poet called a season of 'Mist and mellow fruitfulness' or some such.  This proves that Victorian poets were slightly off their heads just like today's poets are!  John Keats was it?  He lived in a big house in Hampstead just of the Heath, he could I suppose, always send the servants out to see what the weather was like over the road...

The shop on the corner was offering these gourds to passing trade.  I am not sure if any sold.  What on earth are they? What would you do with them anyway?   The Pumpkin has become important at this time of year as the nation falls for yet another commercial money grab.  When we were young, us poor people did not know about pumpkins, they were some foreign thing found in the USA, and when we went 'guising,' and not very successfully at that, we would use turnips, the inside scooped out and a face cut on the front.  The candle was easy to find, we always kept spares just in case, and when lit we cheered.
Why?  Who knows?  For kids it's all fun.
The church even had a 'Halloween party,' I remember ducking for apples and attempting to eat a treacle tart hanging from a rope with hands behind my back.  We were so hungry we were happy with that.
Now I see what is behind it I avoid it but would like to see the church offer an 'All Hallows eve' instead.  What me heretical...?

Disruptive Monday

My routine was severely disrupted this Monday as the new mattress arrived.  
Before seven thirty I had stripped the bed and manhandled the old mattress downstairs, though to be fair it fell down by itself mostly.  Then when dumped by the bins, breathing heavily and using the bins to stay upright, the shopkeeper next door came over with grumbles re folks using his bin (which costs him money) and parking their van thoughtlessly where others park.  It looks like the new folks (from Newcastle way) next door might be trouble.
Having spent money almost immediately afterwards in Sainsburys (I went there specifically to collect the 'Lego' cards some kids are collecting just to be told it ends today!) I then returned to make space for the new mattress coming up the stairs.
The call from Cornells came about ten thirty and the man and his female assistant, a friendly pair, brought the heavy mattress upstairs.  Being gentlemen and understanding the modern woman's views of equality we let her take the heavy end.  Apart from the awkward turnings, the table I thought would not be in the way being in the way and the heavy breathing and beating hearts from at least two of us it was quick and successful. One mistake possibly was my glib remark to her after the beast was settled in place regarding lying on it, I suddenly thought that could be out of place...
His advice to turn the mattress every so often was highly amusing I thought as three of us had struggled with it, anyway that will not be for a year or two said I...
Anyway they left happily enough and drove back to the store.  A good store with a good reputation, since 1981, beds and chairs and friendly service.  No obvious pressure and helpful also.  Bought Saturday delivered Monday as one was in stock, not bad.  I can tell you that it works well as I happened to try it out not long after preparing it, a test that I required also.

Sometimes I wonder how I cope with the banality of daily life!  Today I brought excitement into my life, but not to anyone else's by obtaining my first cheap Christmas present and three cards!  By the end of the month not only will I have finished my shop I will also be begging on the streets for a piece of bread.  Still it will do my figure good...
Christmas shopping in October, my sister, now long passed on, used to buy most of hers in the January sales.  Everything was ready by February in her house.  My list is made up, already someone forgotten, and I am looking at the shops, now swamped with Christmas goods even if the plastic snowmen, fairies and assorted unchristmaslike dross is not yet on show.  

  
While waiting for the van this morning a couple passed by, he pushing a pram she struggling behind, possibly recovering from the child or working on another one.  His face, as well as the disposition on show during our brief meeting, reminded me of those face seen regularly on the Essex Police Twitter feed.  'Have you seen?' accompanied by a photo of one who would not succeed at the eleven plus but has managed to pass off ten thousand pounds worth of white powder somewhere on behalf of another brighter individual.  The faces who appear always seem to me to be of those from a less well educated level of society.  A friend who once served as magistrate and has had many dealings with such confirms this, they also tend to come from families of similar types.  Crime begins in the home.  This left me pondering how long that couple would remain together, what about the child, and what could be done for them, if anything could be done or they would allow things to help them.  Not everyone wishes to be out of the lifestyle they know.  

Autumn

From my window, as I glance out through the dingy glass, I see the colours of Autumn resplendent in the park across the road.   After the rain began with night crashing down the streets were covered once again with golden rusting leaves.  I doubt many amongst those hobbling along the pavement or slowly driving through rush hour really considered the leaves, tiredness, stress and hunger being higher priorities for the work slave.  
When I first left work I took time to wander through the Public Gardens then run by an aged gardener.  It surprised me somewhat as I had not in previous lives had such time to dwell on the foliage around me and much less time to take it in.  Early morn as the sun had risen I sat in the hidden Bowery reading a worthy book and listening to the birds above me learning how to fly by bouncing of the branches nearby.  I suspect reading such books today, elsewhere as vandals destroyed the seating, such reading would be devoid of young birds and leave me with a touch of frostbite.  How I long for Spring already!  

 As one who never complains i will not mention the Mozilla Firefox update which has changed things once again to no-ones advantage as far as I can see.  'The fastest yet' they claim but not on my laptop mate!  Either no difference or actually slower as they have added so much.  I think I may have to go through all the 'apps' added by both updates and remove much to speed up the machine.  
Just imagine, me wishing to speed up?  I have been slowing down for the last ten years in everything bar laptop speed, waiting a millisecond longer than I wish gets me annoyed, yet someone wishing me to speed up on the pavement means I just stand aside and let them pass, I will be along soon enough.

 
Brexit, Mugabe, earthquakes, cold, heat, ...

life goes on but I am ignoring it tonight, as long as football is available I'm happy.

Autumn Mists

Autumn, the season of 'Mists and mellow fruitfulness' said he poet, I'm not sure about the mellow fruitfulness but last night there was plenty of mist.  This contrasted sharply with the warmth found in the middle of the day today where people walked about shirt sleeved, they must be mad!  

  
The aged bandstand in the gardens has been in attendance at almost 140 such seasons.  The trees around have cheerfully deposited their leaves for someone else to gather over a similar time.  The gardens once were the sole property of one of the Courtauld's, George I think, who had the big hoose over the road.  He also had a huge area of fields there also which now form the park l and in a spirit of generosity donated the gardens to the town.  This was received with much pomp and display.  The townspeople marched through the town in celebration and a picnic in a local field was held at the end with a bonfire and carousing no doubt at night.  People made their own fun in the late 19th century.  The gardens are now run by a trust and a Courtauld is one of the leading men attempting to keep the gardens running.

        
Apparently the Labour party have been having a conference this week, only listening to the news headlines means I miss out many tales and yet miss out nothing important.  It appears Jeremy Corbyn thinks he could win an election but there are two problems here: we are not having one and stopping Brexit is more important.  The election one is fun as this is three years away I guess and the Tories will have gone through about three Prime Ministers by then and while it is possible Jeremy might be acceptable to many by then I suspect he also may have followed them into the abyss.
If however Brexit is not stopped, and Jeremy is all for it, then in three years time Scotland will be independent, England broke taking Wales and Northern Ireland with them and the world will be a different place.  In the meantime we struggle on with the worst government we have ever had, sometimes I wish David Cameron would come back at least you knew where you were with the ignorant toff.

        
There has been much cheering in the realms of the easily led by the radical news from Saudi Arabia that from next June women will be allowed to drive cars in that country.  Cue much cheering from feminists, media women and others with little intellect.  Women being allowed to drive gets a round of applause yet not one word is asked re stopping the crucifixion of 16 year olds, the decapitation of offenders nor the chopping off of hands and other bits and the stoning for adultery, these are less important than a woman driving!
Questions must be asked why this decision has been made?  Could this reflect the new young rulers intention to 'modernise' his nation?  Could it be a lessening of the influence of the Wahhabi imams? Or could it be a distraction taking our minds of the proxy wars on Yemen and Syria?  Or is this to hide something else we are not being informed off?  We wait and see.

The Autumn sun peeked out between the large misty cloud formations time and again today indicating that more such weather awaits us.  Rain clouds form as we speak, the residue from those US hurricanes make their way east and affect our nation, typical Yankees!  Not only do their money loving Boeing attempt to kill of 4000 jobs in Northern Ireland they dump their old storms on us also.  We can hit back concerning the aero companies but sending our weather to them is not so easy.
I expect Mrs May, when not taking the knives out of her back, will call that nice Donal Trump and inform him handbag style what she thinks of it all.  He can attempt to hold her hand but I suspect this will not work again.  Not sure it worked last time right enough.  
Mrs May is still PM but there are rumours of a coup approaching.  However all rumours are just that, rumours.  Who plants them?  The Russians, The Tories, a Tory bigwig unsettling other bigwigs, the CIA or 77 Brigade?  Who knows?  So many false items on Twitter and Facebook and so little truth among the whole thing.  I am cutting down on both social media and lessening my search for information to more reliable informants, who are possible lying I must admit.  
Just imagine, a British government with a divided cabinet, backstabbing ministers and no opposition, no matter what Jeremy says, is this possible? 

Monday Murmuring

I have even less to say today than I had yesterday having spent the day indoors doing the occasional things that required doing weeks ago.  Now after several weeks I have cleared the stuff of the couch and found proper places for it, and begun to fill it again with other stuff.  I have as yet to clear the dust from it however.  
I did however manage to clear up one or two items on my 'to do' list of dead people to research.  This gives great satisfaction despite the fact that this information will never be used in any way whatsoever as far as I can see!  Still you never know and it is interesting.  

The other day I checked the names on those wee crosses left at the memorial and much to my consternation and indeed amusement I could find no details of those mentioned.  It could be memory has led to people putting the wrong name, date, regiment on the cross or it could be all of the said men have been missed off but I doubt that somehow.  Mistakes have been made but something is wrong here I say.  At least Ingram has had the decency to die at the Somme as advertised but most of the others appear to have been misinforming the locals.  I however know little of Ingram and it is too late tonight to look into him.

You will of course have noticed that Fidel Castro has died.  For many years the bad boy in US eyes and a man they attempted to kill with exploding cigars amongst other things survived until he saw the end of the United States, that is he saw Trump arriving and decided his job was done.
Castro was another little rich boy turned revolutionary, his friend Che Guevara was revolutionary also but only good for knocking things down, he failed in the work of building up, Castro built up his nation, decent education, hospitals and other things with one bad side effect, a lack of trust.
In the beginning, and I suppose as long as the CIA kept trying to kill him, he imposed a tyranny on Cuba, understandable at the time but clearly going too far as time past.  
With the right wing nutters in the White House attempting to kill him because rich Cuban exiles in Florida told them to it is clear he had enemies aplenty.  However having rid the previous tyrant is no excuse for imposing your own Communist style tyranny.  This is a shame as Cuba could have been an example for many nearby states to follow.  It is said Castro had 600 attempts on his life, clearly not very good ones as he died in his 90's, and we are left wondering if the US really wanted rid of him?
The best way to deal with Castro was not to stop trading with Cuba but to encourage it.  This would create wealth in Cuba, allow the US 'soft war' to reach the people and encourage them to demand that sort of life rather than the one offered them.  I reckon this would have changed Cuba by the 70's if not the 80's had it been tried.  Once Communism fell then the doors were open but the dafties in the US could not see it.
I was not a fan of Castro, remove a tyrant yes, replace him with an ideology that fails the people, no!

Wednesday Mix

Today was a do little day except when wandering in the park to catch some of the late sunshine.  I was tempted by these yellow leaves hanging in the said sunshine, they brightened up the whole area and reflected the sun well.  Warm sun in November?  Trump fails to recognise Global Warming yet here it is in Essex!  There again he fails to recognise anything that does not lead to money.  The more I think about him I wonder what is inside his head?   Is he a weak man who needs to make money to fulfill himself?  Is power what matters, power that gives him position and plenty so he can feel secure?  Whatever he will not be as important to me as that leaf shining in the sunshine and lasting only a short time. 

Computers are marvellous things however they can be a bit of a bother.  I had several local war memorials on a link, memorials I had investigated.  I printed them of and found a copy in the museum yesterday in the correct folder.  I cannot however find the links!  This means that I simply have to investigate all of them once again!!!  Nothing better than a trawl through the CWGC site then through Ancestry for family info.  I spent two or more hours on one man today, very interesting and all that, but over two hours when I could have done something useful like clean the sinks!
Maybe I will do four hours tomorrow....

In case you did not realise it CHRISTMAS is almost here!  On Saturday the museum is having it's Christmas Shop and we are dressing up as Victorians.  Quite why we feel the need to make every Christmas a Victorian thing I fail to understand, Charles Dickens I suppose but it leaves me wondering if I should develop Ricketts or get myself transported to Botany Bay?  
So tomorrow if I can get the energy I will finish my Christmas shop, do the rest of the cards, check who I have missed and then gloat while everyone else runs about daft worrying about their shopping.  I am convinced you lot have done all your shopping already and are happily sitting around drinking red wine and laughing at the rest, am I right?  

I came across a blogger that those who like really good photographs must investigate. Suza Is based in Germany and takes the most fantastic pictures with her mobile!  You must investigate this site as it is brilliant!

Armistice Day

Being the eleventh of the eleventh this Friday saw a commemorating two minutes silence in the town.  I wandered across to see if the memorial had been dressed up as it usually is but nothing was done this year, so far.  The town had the Legion standing in the centre, ex WW2 men and some from later 'end of empire' wars, no less dangerous for those involved.  There are no memorials for such as they who fell in Israel, Korea, Malaya and the like and few seem interested in those who fell in Northern Ireland, Iraq or Afghanistan, maybe it is time we remembered them also?

The first of what is usually a dozen crosses appeared today at least.  This one was there last year also and you note it commemorates a member of the Canadian Forces.  He was one of three thousand casualties, out of five thousand who participated in the 'Dieppe Raid' in 1942.  This was a foolish project, badly organised and badly led, which in part was to show to the inexperienced US generals the impossibility of making a landing in the Continent during 1942.  The rather daft idea was put in its place when this shocking event occurred.  It has yet to be explained where the Americans were going to get the boats to take their 'green' troops over the channel but the idea was dropped when they realised, eventually, just how badly the Canadians had been cut up.  Those who headed up this event were put on to work more suitable.

Wandering around the damp and rather dreich Gardens I found these Fungi growing happily.  Quite what they are and whether they are edible I know not, someone will know, and they just intrigued me for some reason as they were the brightest thing outside apart from the Autumn leaves.  

I must confess I had a lot of the Great War today, more to come on Sunday.  I have just asked for a three day pass...

Friday Frippery

I thought of this when watching Donal Trump slag off Hillary tonight.  I say watching but I was looking and not listening at the time, I was waiting for the news to start.  The US elections of course differ from ours in that they speak only to their hearers, that is those who support them.  There are no awkward people asking awkward questions like there ought to be, no one disagrees, all merely attend, scream and shout and wave their placards when the moment arrives and like sheep speak the words offered by the great leader. 
Interestingly the Soviet Unio...sorry, president Trump has all Russia rooting for Trump and he has had contact with him before, this is just what we need, an all American guy obeying the Ruskies!  peace on earth at last - unless you are in Ukraine of course.
Not long to go now to discover which lying good for nothing has bought their way into the White house.  I was reading in an Alistair Cook book a broadcast  he gave during Regan's second election victory.  This man was considered unstable by the population of the world at the time, and they were proved right, yet vast numbers of Americans voted for him!  This makes clear to me that the people of the US, especially in the backwoods, will vote for Trump and I suspect he will gain a huge victory!
Now I will not sleep tonight!

Now for something relaxing....


That's better...

Nothing Happened Today

Nothing happened today so I just sat here and 

watched the leaves fall off the trees.

 

A Boring Picture...

That, says you, is a boring picture.  Aye, agrees me, but I like it.  I like it because the sky in the background looked good, the autumnal trees show their colours and it shows that I was once again wandering across the park.  It has been almost three weeks since I done this.  Three weeks since what some women call a 'wee chill,' and all men agree is a serious bout of 'Man-Flu,'  laid me low and ruined my life.  It's ridiculous that something that used to come and go in three days takes almost three weeks now.  Can it be the virus is changing, or is it my health failing?  The muck that fills the skies unseen cannot be doing us any good, it also may well be changing the way virii adapt.  What a great difference a day makes.  Yesterday I attended the museum but was far from awake.  I sat there staring into space rather than doing anything, disturbed only when a few stragglers entered.   I was glad it was quiet, but the museum needs visitors.  Today however I was almost alive and raced out slowly to peruse the market and keep my cash in my pocket.  I did however notice a lass drop a bit paper.  As I arrived on the spot it turned into a £5 note, this meant running at least seven steps to catch up with her. I still have not recovered!  

In an attempt to find a prettier picture I ventured out this afternoon, eyes peeled for enticing sights.  Sadly few appeared under this ever darkening gray sky.  However the falling leaves can produce interesting pictures, however whether this is one is debatable.  

As luck would have it the foto opportunities enlarged as a poor soul required aid from the first response unit.  This has parked in the bay as he ought but the following ambulance just stopped in the centre of the road.  Probably a woman driver I would conclude myself.  The traffic behind may grumble as it is impossible to pass, but most will accept this.  Hopefully the patient will survive, the trip to the nearest hospital is fifteen miles away!  However in spite of the Tories desperate attempts to sell the NHS to their friends it exists still and the cut down ambulance service still manages to save lives in spite of them. Sometimes we forget just how lucky we are to have an ambulance at the other end of a phone.  We take such benefits for granted, benefits not always available, nor so efficient, elsewhere. 

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Autumn Leaves

The sight of a park bench covered and surrounded by a mass of bright fallen leaves brings to mind the days past when such a sight annoyed me.  That was at the Maida Vale Hospital where several trees lay at the front of the building, and a couple more in the rear.  This meant muggins and mates would have to sweep the blessed things up day after day.  However as I passed this lot I could not resist a picture, which is not as bright as in real life, and chortled at the man who has to sweep this up.  I'd love to help but.....

I bet this great man refers to Autumn with the rather direct term 'fall.'  No doubt with people like Max & Jerry in mind the American language long ago chose an unsophisticated route (pronounced 'root') rather than the more complicated English language.  By 'English'  I refer to what is called 'The Queens English,' that is the language as spoke proper like by Liz.  As you know I personally speak ''Lallans,' which while similar to 'English' English developed amongst the lowlands of Scotland many years ago, and is not English in any manner whatsoever, it also sounds better when spoke than that found over the border.  "Know whit ah mean pal?'  For some reason this crossed my mind while watching QPR play Everton on a dismal Sunday afternoon, although the cause of this now escapes me.  Language is merely communication, yet for some exactness is imperative, but who really knows what is right here?  Language is a flowing changing thing and what is correct today is not correct tomorrow.  At school we were told never begin a sentence with 'And.'  Today this is acceptable.  But is it right?  Football has its own language, terms used there may sneak into everyday use, and all society is similar.  Business, sport, politics, churches all have words that belong to them alone, and people use them, often like sheep.  This helps those involved understand what is meant but can be a barrier to those outside the 'in people.' The language I speak (the correct one, as Mike will agree) is very different spoken by Max and Jerry (Unintelligible I suspect in real life).  RDG & Soub must spend time translating one another before they begin to argue, and those with experience of Australia would understand that out there the only clear word is 'Beer!'  I think I might attempt to learn Latin (again).

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Saturday

The golden leaves look fabulous while hanging on the trees that created them. This morning I once again saw them strewn across the pathway, bright and golden, yet almost impossible to capture on camera.  Here they look somewhat sodden and dull yet at the time the whole area is brightened by the light, such as it is with rain clouds above, bouncing from them.  The rain has been crashing through the trees in the last 24 hours and the wee man in the shopping centre brushing them up was murmuring curses towards the small tree as he worked.  A non stop job this until the tree has lost the last leaf, I used to suffer this in times past and do not wish it again. 

   Wiki

The Greeks are still at it today.  With the whole world economy finely balanced on their shoulders the PM, Papadopolous, has been playing 'cat and mouse' with the Germans and French leaders. With the cameras not available both took him aside and bounced his head off a wall a couple of times, Hoplite like, and encouraged him to see things their way.  Now, with Saturday evening upon us, nothing is really much clearer  among the Hellenes.  It does appear that a new government will appear in Greece but the umpteen billion debt remains.  Maybe this time they might ask all those millionaires that live there to pay their taxes?  What sort of nation allows the rich to avoid paying tax.....hmmmm now I think about it.....

  Daily Mail

In the south west of England a major road accident.  Several vehicles were involved in a smash.  At least seven are dead and 43 injured.  The cause as yet unknown.  Whatever the cause, drive safely where ever you are!

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