Vagueness and the Aftermath - A sporadic diary

[TightEnd]

www.pipopotamus.blogspot.com/2012/02/open-letter-to-chanel-4.htm

from www.pipopotamus.blogspot.com/2012/01/romany-boy-in-roma-world.html

[RED-DOG]

www.pipopotamus.blogspot.com/2012/02/open-letter-to-chanel-4.htm

from www.pipopotamus.blogspot.com/2012/01/romany-boy-in-roma-world.html

Cheers Rich.

[mondatoo]

Hello Tom, how are you ?

I'm very well Ray.

You?

Good good, glad the diary is back in full swing. Some of the pics are very impressive, nice work.

[tikay]

Hello Tom, how are you ?

I'm very well Ray.

You?

Good good, glad the diary is back in full swing. Some of the pics are very impressive, nice work.

Hello Ray.

[RED-DOG]

Hello Tom, how are you ?

I'm very well Ray.

You?

Good good, glad the diary is back in full swing. Some of the pics are very impressive, nice work.

Hello Ray.

Ignore him Ray. He doesn't post on your diary.

[RED-DOG]

So I had to go and buy a new sunflower seed heart feeder today because ole 'Dead squirrel walking' vandalised and pilfered my last one.

While I was chatting to the lady on the bird-food stall on the market, I noticed that the niger seed was now called 'nyjer' seed. I asked about the change and apparently calling it niger seed is now considered to be politically incorrect.

You haver to pronounce it differently too. sounding the hard 'J' as you would the 'G' in Nigel. Capiche?

Click to see full-size image.

Click to see full-size image.

[david3103]

I think Gatsoi may have words on the re-spelling of  N i/y J/g er seed.

But I see they still sell seeds for Blackbirds...

[RED-DOG]

But I see they still sell seeds for Blackbirds...

I suspect I'm teaching my granny to suck eggs here, but actually,  no Dave, they don't.

Blackbirds are 'softbills' Which loosely means that they are not seed eaters.

A softbill's diet will include insects, road-kill, small mamals, the young of other birds (and their eggs), fruits and other plant material. In fact, almost anything except seeds.

The Blackbird food in the picture consists of dried fruit and meal-worms.

 

[RED-DOG]

I think Gatsoi may have words on the re-spelling of  N i/y J/g er seed.

But I see they still sell seeds for Blackbirds...

....And the penny has just dropped.   

I'll get my coat.   

[RED-DOG]

I'm a big fan of old commercial vehicles. I'm also also a big fan of old caravans so I was much taken with this beautifully preserved / restored example.

The caravan part looks as if it is modelled on the 'Carlight' design. (Witness the little bulge on the roof with the 'molycroft' windows). I don't know why they called em 'Carlight'. They were the heaviest bloody caravans in God's creation.

The base vehicle is an old Bedford CF, or 'Frog' as we affectionately nicknamed them. We called them Frogs because the combination of a keen clutch and an inability to run at tick-over speed when cold caused them to leap away from the traffic lights like drag-racer, only to stop dead ten seconds later, leaving you stranded in the middle of the intersection.

The whole thing was beautifully finished in gunmetal over cream, which reminded me of another Bedford, a 'J' type, that my mam and I used to go scrap collecting with.

Ahhh! Happy days....


I'll have to go and knock on the owner's door one of these days. I'm sure we'll have something in common.

Click to see full-size image.

[Laxie]

This seemed so out of place amongst the other trees along the lane we were walking yesterday.  Almost like it belonged near a beach somewhere.  Any clue what it is?

Click to see full-size image.

Click to see full-size image.

Click to see full-size image.

[RED-DOG]

Eucalyptus. It looks out of place because it is. They were imported.

I'll google the details and get back to you.

Great pic's BTW. Not easy against that sky. Wanna join our camera club?

[RED-DOG]

Eucalyptus history in the UK

The first Eucalypt introduced into the British Isles was the Stringy Bark (E. obliqua) in 1774 at Kew from seed collected by Tobias Furneaux at Adventure Bay on Captain Cooks second voyage of 1773.  On Cook's third voyage of 1777 a number of specimens were collected and it was from this that the genus was described by L'Heritier in 1778.  The name Eucalyptus is derived from the Greek eu - well, calyptos - covered, which refers to the cap on the flower bud.

For a long time the only species collected were coastal and they naturally had a low frost tolerance and did not survive long.  From 1836 until 1847 some of the hardier species from inland Tasmania were sent to the British Isles and interest increased into the late 19th century with the establishment of private collections on certain estates.  There was interest in establishing Eucalypts as plantation trees but there were many problems due to growth stresses of splitting of the bases at felling, cupping, twisting and collapsing.

After World War II interest increased for uses for the cut foliage trade and ornamental planting.

 

Barnards of Bovey Tracy, Devon and Taudevins of Willaston, Cheshire specialised in Eucalypts and were largely responsible for developing propagation in the UK. Particularly the importance of avoiding root restriction, the use of small plants and cutting back after planting to promote a better root/shoot balance. By 1980 the understanding of Eucalypt physiology and genetics had advanced greatly. Their extreme variability within a species, the frequency of hybridisation and the importance of provenance was known and began to be applied to the problems of establishment in cold climates.

In 1981 the then Forestry Commission under Dr Julian Evans commenced trials of 102 species, provenances and seed origins on nine sites.  The hardiest provenances that survived the winter of 1981/2 were planted out in 1983 but further commercial forestry use has not resulted.  Their work, however, has been extremely valuable for the selection of suitable species and provenances for ornamental and cut foliage planting.

There are more than 700 species of Eucalyptus but only a few will thrive in this country.

[Laxie]

Eucalyptus. It looks out of place because it is. They were imported.

I'll google the details and get back to you.

Great picks BTW. Not easy against that sky. Wanna join our camera club?

We both snap said Eucalyptus at first, but I put us off the idea once we got closer.  The leaves seemed too long compared to one I'd growing in Ireland.  Had no idea there were so many species, but that explains the difference in the leaves.

[tikay]

I think Gatsoi may have words on the re-spelling of  N i/y J/g er seed.

But I see they still sell seeds for Blackbirds...

....And the penny has just dropped.   

I'll get my coat.   

Can't believe you missed that, Tom! It'd have never have got through next door, obv.