Saturday, May 19, 2007
Queen Lizzy
To the QEH yesterday to hear the Takacs quartet. Dvorak, Shostokovitch and Brahms. The pianist for the latter distinguished himself by wearing pink shoes and flaunting a small bright green towel with which to wipe his sweating fingers. A good crew and pleased to see that there is quite a bit of chamber music coming up over the next year - the Brahms piano quintet being about as noisy as I like my music.
Driven out of the foyer beforehand by some dreadful band - Jazz I presume - and audience drawn in by freebies. Bit of a sauce that one is paying serious money for tickets without anywhere civilised to wait. Waiting for Beethoven one does not really want to hear the Beatles. Hopefully this particular bit of noise pollution will vanish when they reopen the Festival Hall - but maybe the popularisers and accessabilityerisers will insist.
While outside observed a lady locking up what I assume was a rather posh bike. The most elaborate lock I have ever seen with extensions to wrap around the front wheel, linking to the main lock around the back wheel frame and bicycle rack. The lock must have cost as much as the average bicycle. A drag that we have to go to such lengths to keep the scum bags at bay.
While waiting for a train at Wimbledon later, where previously we have fed the mice living under one of the advertising hoardings with bits of discarded Macdonalds, observed another lady, interesting in herself rather than because of what she was doing. A fifty something, of jaunty appearance. Flat cap, knee length black leather coat (not new), interesting mid calf length flouncy pink trousers and the ensemble finished off with white trainers. Who was she; where had she been and what was she up to?
The slugs had a bit of a field day the night before last. 8 of the 10 incubator pumpkin plants have now been attacked. 2 dead and 4 more or less seriously injured. Stuck some Dobies Gold Nugget squash (6 seeds to the £1 or so packet. Good money if you can get it) and some anonymous Big Max pumpkin seeds in to fill the gaps. In previous years I have done well with putting seeds straight in the ground: one is a bit late but the germination rate is good and one seems to have less bother with slugs with plants that start off outside.
Weeded the first row of onions. Pots of small slugs and some slug damage. Fortunately, they seem to leave onions alone if one keeps them weeded. They seem to need the damp and shelter of weeds to bother with onions.
Runner beans starting to show. We will see how many of them survive birth by more than a few days.
The rhubarb suddenly starting to look a bit sad after coming up really strongly. Did I pull it too hard?
Look to have a good set on the apple trees in the deer exclosure. Will probably need to thin them a bit in due course. And must get around to tidying up the Victoria plum which is invading the space of the Early Rivers plum. Maybe only fair as it is a lot more prolific.
Driven out of the foyer beforehand by some dreadful band - Jazz I presume - and audience drawn in by freebies. Bit of a sauce that one is paying serious money for tickets without anywhere civilised to wait. Waiting for Beethoven one does not really want to hear the Beatles. Hopefully this particular bit of noise pollution will vanish when they reopen the Festival Hall - but maybe the popularisers and accessabilityerisers will insist.
While outside observed a lady locking up what I assume was a rather posh bike. The most elaborate lock I have ever seen with extensions to wrap around the front wheel, linking to the main lock around the back wheel frame and bicycle rack. The lock must have cost as much as the average bicycle. A drag that we have to go to such lengths to keep the scum bags at bay.
While waiting for a train at Wimbledon later, where previously we have fed the mice living under one of the advertising hoardings with bits of discarded Macdonalds, observed another lady, interesting in herself rather than because of what she was doing. A fifty something, of jaunty appearance. Flat cap, knee length black leather coat (not new), interesting mid calf length flouncy pink trousers and the ensemble finished off with white trainers. Who was she; where had she been and what was she up to?
The slugs had a bit of a field day the night before last. 8 of the 10 incubator pumpkin plants have now been attacked. 2 dead and 4 more or less seriously injured. Stuck some Dobies Gold Nugget squash (6 seeds to the £1 or so packet. Good money if you can get it) and some anonymous Big Max pumpkin seeds in to fill the gaps. In previous years I have done well with putting seeds straight in the ground: one is a bit late but the germination rate is good and one seems to have less bother with slugs with plants that start off outside.
Weeded the first row of onions. Pots of small slugs and some slug damage. Fortunately, they seem to leave onions alone if one keeps them weeded. They seem to need the damp and shelter of weeds to bother with onions.
Runner beans starting to show. We will see how many of them survive birth by more than a few days.
The rhubarb suddenly starting to look a bit sad after coming up really strongly. Did I pull it too hard?
Look to have a good set on the apple trees in the deer exclosure. Will probably need to thin them a bit in due course. And must get around to tidying up the Victoria plum which is invading the space of the Early Rivers plum. Maybe only fair as it is a lot more prolific.
# posted by Jim @ 2:04 AM 
