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Diary – 2016 October
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All my diary pages going back to 2009
DRAWING & PAINTING:
3 October
After the shopping, we had time to go in Danson Park in Welling. This huge tree
has been cut down some time ago but obviously that is not the end of it at all,
just what I like to see!
The English Garden has some pergola walks and I found this hop plant
growing over one of the pillars. The hops look almost like flowers or maybe pale
green pine cones.
I think this cover on the bin is to keep animals and crows out of the
bin, so the contents are not scattered. This crow is eating the pieces of bread
that I threw for him.
Once one crow comes down, it is not long before there are lots more.
They stand around and get as close as they dare, but sometimes the bread not
near enough to them, and they have to wait until we walk off. Then they rush in
to clear up.
At the far end is my favourite secret pond, covered in duckweed. There
were several piles of weed at the side where the park gardener has raked it out.
8 October
I just love riding on trains and seeing the countryside whizzing past.
There is still a lot of work going on at London Bridge station, where they are
rebuilding everything.
We went to Hyde Park where some Anglo Saxon re-enactors have gathered.
They have walked from York and are on their way to Hastings on the south
coast, to celebrate 950 years since the Battle of Hastings. they are
going to re-enact the actual battle next week.
The weapons tent was very popular, with children trying on the clothing,
armour and shields.
This food tent looked really delicious, even though the cooking
equipment was very primitive.
This man is making small pots and was known as a crocker. He said a
potter was the person who sold pots, and the crocker made them. This stall is
making shoes and items out of leather.
Here is some basket weaving using fresh willow branches. This lady was
making dipped candles and the visitors were allowed to dip the wick, taking
turns, until they had a thick candle. That is how they made candles without a
mould.
This is the medical table to treat soldiers who had battle wounds. It
was not very pleasant listening at all! This man standing on the map went
through all the events that led up to the Battle of Hastings, using apples and
onions to represent the armies. It was very interesting and we stayed all the
way to the end to hear the exciting happenings.
10 October
We went to see some Fire Brigade exhibits in Islington Museum. This
section of hollow tree trunk was part of the water pipe system that
brought water into the city.
There was a very old fashioned kitchen showing all the old appliances
and pots and pans.
Then we went to All Hallows By The Tower Church, to see a photographic
display of London's buildings. This fish is under the window of John Fisher,
Bishop of Rochester who died in 1535. I always look for little animals and this
crow is looking very pleased that he has found an anchor to play with.
This lovely stained glass window shows the church, the Tower of London,
and a boat with the English flag. On the seats were some beautiful tapestry
cushions, the River, Tower of London and Tower Bridge.
We went down into the crypt where we saw this Roman mosaic, and then a
model of how London looked at the time. It was really a very small town compared
with today and all marshes to the south.
This is the front of the crypt. I had a close look at the handwriting in
this old book, it is very neat but a bit difficult to read. It is a list of
Christenings from hundreds of years ago.
Brown Teddy did not know what this stone was but agreed it was very
dramatic lighting! The stairs back up are narrow and quite steep.
To get back to Charing Cross Station, we got on an old Routemaster bus
which has been kept going on one particular route for the tourists. It was
rather bumpy as the suspension was not very good, compared with the smooth buses
that we have now. But we still enjoyed the ride.
11 October
I saw this robin singing in the park, I think he must be making sure
that patch belongs to him for the winter, when food will be scarce. The pigeons
were having a soak and bath in the shallows and the water surface was quite
quite powdery with bits of feather when they finished.
Someone scattered some bread for the birds, so bird baths were forgotten
for the moment.
The magpies and crows are satisfied with worms from the grass.
13 October
I was amazed to see this Great Spotted Woodpecker in my garden. He had a
go at the top of the tree stake and then moved on to the hawthorn tree. I hope
he comes back again and makes regular visits.
15 October
Today we are going back to Kempton Steam Museum to see the engines in
action! I like this name, Bear Road Flyover. The pedestrian bridge curls around
at both ends, and we thought it would be very interesting if it was snowy and
icy, but not if you are in a hurry to get somewhere!
I like this road name and finding out its origin would be interesting.
These are the old chimneys from the days when the engines were run from coal
fired boilers. You can see them from a long way off.
This is the starter engine. The cogs are engaged to the flywheel and
start it all turning slowly, then after a few minutes the steam power comes on
and takes over. These engineers know exactly what they are doing, although it
was all a mystery to me and Brown Teddy.
This is the crankshaft, of which there are three on this engine. It is
absolutely huge and weighs 3 tons. There is a lot of oil dripping off it.
Also in the engine house that weekend was a Marvels of Meccano
exhibition and this one is a working model of the Kempton Engine. There were
lots of different models, most of them working on motors.
In this glass case is a chocolate train full of chocolate buttons (Smarties)
which someone won in the raffle. I wonder how long they kept it before starting
to eat it!
More Meccano tables in the basement. I really like the Concorde and the
red car.
We went over to the non-working side (Engine No.7) and walked around the
plungers that are under the main engine. They are the part that pumped the
millions of gallons of water. I think this is a water gauge, inside a long thin
glass to protect it.
Brown Teddy gave up guessing what all the taps and levers were for. I
like this handle, it is decorative as well as useful, and I am sure the flower
shape made it easy to turn round.
We went home via Vauxhall Station, and these tiles are in the
underground station part. The brick pattern tiles are in Brixton, which someone
has turned into "Bricks Ton"!
The stairs to the station have this wonderful mural, the left is the top
and the right is the bottom part.
Another wall painting in the same place, of market food, but easier to
get in one picture. The real market is just as colourful.
I like this road name and I am sure it must have an interesting story
behind it.
17 October
This looks like it is going to be a fine day. I picked some apples from
the garden, which are all quite small, and made up a plateful to go with our
breakfast porridge.
We went back to Hall Place, to get some sunnier photos. The crab apples
are looking ready to make into jelly, but I think they will probably leave them
for visitors to admire and the birds to eat.
Inside the visitor centre is this barrow of colourful gourds in all
different shapes and patterns. The rose beds still had a reasonable amount of
flowers in them.
This rose is is called Britannia, yellow and pinkish at the same time.
This amazing scene is where they are making a new daffodil bed. I shall go back
and see it all smoothed off, and then again next spring to see the daffodils
coming up. It will be wonderful.
I like little gaps to go through and discover things. Through here is
more lawn, with the man collecting the leaves with his ride-on sweeper, and a
long row of autumn coloured shrubs.
Under the tree were thousands of these fallen pine catkins, it looked
like a lot of giant maggots or fat worms but I am glad it wasn't!
This weeping tree is a really good hiding place and Brown Teddy and I
went inside to see. Later on we saw school children on a day out running in and
out of it.
The sunken garden has been out of action for some time, with flooding,
and now unsafe because the walls need repairing. I think it needs turning into a
bog garden with raised stone pathways to walk on, as it is never going to be dry
all the time. It will be interesting to see what they decide to do with it.
Another tree that you can hide under. The wisteria is climbing around
the metal palings of the bridge, so it definitely does not need tying in!
This tangle of roots by the willow tree might have been the inspiration
for this artwork made of reeds, that flows from the wall and curves down to the
river.
18 October
Our first visit this year to the garden centre skating rink. There were
not many people as it was early afternoon. The snowy-looking surface
means the skates are doing a bit more scraping than usual!
I really like the pop-up cards but they are expensive. I
will have to make my own.
I always look forward to the model village in the big glass
case. My favourite item is this man shovelling snow. He will have to do it all
again after the next snowfall.
23 October
We went to the October Plenty celebration in Borough Market
which is under London Bridge Station. Here is the Berry Man dancing to the music
of pipes and drums. The "Corn Queene" is on the left.
Even his face was green! I like this notice on the cheese
stall.
Lots of Plenty everywhere. This fresh juice stall looks
very inviting.
We stayed to watch a play called Reynard The Fox, with
three actors doing all the parts. Reynard play tricks on the forest animals but
justice is done in the end. The acting troupe is called Fabularium.
Afterwards we went on to the Foundling Hospital in
Brunswick Square. This is Thomas Coram who started the Hospital. These are the
books of names and details of children. The pink ribbon is a token from the
mother.
These are displays of the tokens that the mothers left, so
the child could be identified if she was able to return for it. It was sealed in
an envelope and the person collecting had to describe it. This was so that
anyone else would not be able to pretend to be the mother. It was a very sad
sight to see so many tokens.
This painting is of a mother handing over her baby because
she is too poor to feed it. The second picture is a child eating the special
Christmas dinner.
27 October
Normally this means a good day ahead but this time of year the sun can
soon disappear again behind grey clouds.
Not spider webs at the garden centre, but nets over the Christmas trees.
These toys are Snomes, which means snow gnomes. Their hats look like
snowy Christmas trees.
28 October
This is a stand at Waterloo Station with a screen showing
mountains and a ski lift seat, so people can have their photo taken as if they
are on a skiing holiday. They are hoping people will then book a holiday for
real.
Waterloo Station is big and wide. Brown Teddy likes the
fold down tables for people to work on, except he had nothing to put on it.
Never mind, Brown Teddy, it's more interesting to look out of the window.
We went to New Malden and then on to Cheam where we saw
this very old building, which was rebuilt in this position. Then we went on to
Sutton. Their emblem is an apple tree and of course I greatly approve of that!
This is near the top of the hill. I like these cloud
clipped topiary and the brilliant creeper on the wall. One or two pigeons
thought they spotted a crumb, and within a few seconds all the pigeons came down
and went pecking mad, even though there was nothing there. Peck first, think
later!
29 October
We found this shop window in Welling, which has a
Remembrance display of memorabilia from wartime last century. Then in
Bexleyheath we saw this Remembrance display outside the church.
30 October
Just a few soggy flowers hanging on now. The holly tree in the tub is
doing very well and I think I will plant it in the garden when the
weather is a bit drier, so it can grow faster.
This is one of my new apple trees, Royal Gala. The fruits
are quite small, but they look big against me. These pear tree leaves will all
have to be collected up and disposed of in the garden waste bin, as they have
orange spot disease on them.
31 October
A very wet and foggy morning and the garden is covered in
these misty webs. But the forecast is for the fog to clear and then sunny.
We went to Sydenham and this is the beginning of the
mile-long tunnel under Sydenham Hill.
We went though Sydenham Hill Wood. The paths are lined with
the fallen and cut logs and branches from these woods, which are used for the
fences and hurdles as well. This tree is safe I think as it is leaning on a big
strong tree.
We saw bird boxes on some of the trees, and sometimes when
there is no hole at the front it is a bat box. The ring-necked parakeets were
very noisy and difficult to see but I am pleased with this good photo of one who
was sitting just over the path, very high up.
Dino says the dinosaurs in the woods have been pushing the
dangerous old trees down, in order to keep it all safe for walkers, and this
slimy pond is where they go to drink. It is not really possible to check up on
that story as the woods are so big and the dinosaurs could be moving around and
hiding as we went through. We must listen out for crackles and breaking twigs
though!
This panorama shot is of the middle bit where it is all
wider and more open, all green above and all brown below.
We came to Cox's Walk Footbridge and Brown Teddy likes to
know the history. These notice boards also tell you what wildlife to look out
for. Blue Parrot said he doesn't need a bridge as he can fly across, but he
decided to stay with us so we all keep together, which is very important if you
are in a wood.
Then we went on to Dulwich Park which is big and open.
We had our snack on a bench in the sunshine. By the side
was this self-filling water container, so that horses using the sand track can
always get a drink. Further on there are several of these metal sculptures
representing musical sounds. They are as high as a person.
There is a lake with an island in the middle and a boat
hose and boats which I think must be available in the summer, but not today.
All these pigeons were sitting lazily on the dead tree,
with a good view all round. Later on we found out why they like this perch, as
they all fluttered down when someone came along with some food, which I think
was the proper grain that is on sale in the café, rather than bread.
There is a walkway over the end of the lake through the
reeds. We had a few oatcake biscuits and this bold wood pigeon had quite a few
bits. That second pigeon was even bolder and he kept scaring the wood pigeon
away. But they both had some, and the other birds got the tiny crumbs left in
the packet.
These reeds would make good dusters! We saw a blackbird
having a bath at the muddy edge, it made me feel a bit chilly, I like a warm
bathroom for showers.
You can use the space on your 404 page to help find missing people by embedding info from notfound.org See Yellow Teddy's 404 page
Where to report a lost or found teddy or
toy in
the UK:
https://www.facebook.com/LostboxTeddyBears
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