Bog plants!

Hello again,

I have just returned from an excellent weekend in Yorkshire.

A group of friends stayed in the delightful Hebden Bridge and spent a day walking before returning to try out the local hostelries. It made for interesting walking along the rivers that had the textile mills from the 19th Century. Apparently, the fast flowing rivers were not used to generate power but in the processing of the wool; coal was in fact burned for power.

I then met up with my family to visit friends in Barnsley which was fab - lovely people, great hospitality. My thoughts were that a) we don't visit often enough and b) quality of life is a topic that I need to take more seriously.

Whilst out, I took this shot of an unusual planting container. I alone was privy to the sight and happy to have flushed out the opportunity. I panned around and was bowled over to see the strawberry plants in the porcelain. Without delay I managed to get the photo in the can. Taking my rightful place on the throne I became the king of the pun.

Enough nonsense, until next time...

Recycling or re-houseing or re-sitting?

Hello again,

I am currently in the process of re-fitting my kitchen, you know the whole thing; sub floor, floor, cabinets, tiling etc.

Part of the process included buying and installing a 1000mm wide cooker hood which arrived in a huge box. Having installed it we were left with surprisingly little packaging; a big box and some polystyrene.

What do you do with this sort of packaging? Firstly, the big cardboard box has been turned into an indoor playhouse for my daughters with opening doors, windows and a chimney and after some thought, I adapted the polystyrene into the world's lightest chair. Eventually the cardboard will end up on my compost heap but I don't know what I can do with the polystyrene - any suggestions would be welcome.

Like I said, it is recycling at its best or should I say re-housing & re-sitting

Until next time...

Brace yourselves!!

Hello again,

Another useless/useful fact for you.

I didn't know until today that vertigo is not the fear of heights, the fear of heights is actually, acrophobia.

Acrophobia is an irrational fear of heights whereas vertigo actually describes the spinning sensation when you are not actually spinning. That said, vertigo can be brought on by heights but can also be brought on by many other, not height related, triggers.

Either way, this picture tests your metal.

Until next time...

Plane crazy

Hello again,

I took this shot out of the window of a car (from the passenger seat) whilst travelling down the A4, beside Heathrow, at 50mph.

Heathrow is an extraordinary place. In 1946 it literally consisted of a surplus army tent in a field that constituted an air field. Now it caters for an extraordinary 68 million passengers and 1.3 million tonnes of cargo every year.

Mind boggling...

Until next time...

Pumkins and badgers

Hello again,

It's that time of year again! Yes, it's almost Halloween (which, incidentally, is also my birthday) so it must be Pumpkin time.

Last weekend, we ie. me plus daughters, Daisy (8) and Dolly (6), have carved five Pumpkins. The girls made two each and I made one (in the close up).

They are now gathered around Brian (my stuffed badger) on the doorstep of the house, supposedly warding off evil spirits that might wander past and try and gain access to the house.

Incidentally, the carving of vegetables at this time of year was originally intended to welcome friendly spirits and the souls of deceased loved ones.

I hoping to get the prize for most demonic Pumpkin in Suburbia if there ever was such a prize.

What do you think of my effort? Comments below please.

Until next time...

100% Guarantee??

Hello again,

Just thought I'd remind you that, earlier this year Waterwell introduced the most outrageous guarantee for an irrigation system. We recognised then that the economy was (and still is) very tight and most people have sensibly got a close eye on their budgets and their costs. We also realised that people need to be sure that when they make an investment in their property, they get value for money and the support of a well run company.

With that in mind, we wanted to make an offer that our potential clients couldn't refuse. Because we are certain of our ability to install an irrigation system better that any other company and because we are certain that they will be delighted with it and the effect that it has on their gardens, we were delighted to make the following offer...

The Waterwell, 100%, Money Back Guarantee

If, once an irrigation system has been installed, the client is unhappy with it in any way then they should call us within 30 days. Then, if we can cannot solve the issue we will come and remove it and refund 100% of the money - no quibbles, no hassles, no embarrassment - this is a genuine, total-confidence, no-risk guarantee.

Why did we do this? Well, because we have led the garden irrigation and lighting market for 20 years and we have over 600 clients with maintenance contracts, we are pretty certain that we are going to make our customers happy; their gardens will thrive, their new plants will get off to the best start possible and their lawns will be lush and green. We know how many of our customers are happy with our service and we want everyone else to be too.

Check us out at http://www.waterwell.co.uk/

Until next time...

Graffiti II

Hello again,

I know I have shown graffiti before but I think it is an art form that is under-rated; thought provoking, humourous, witty and with the potential to improve our environment.

This example is from the 6emeia project in Sao Paulo, Brazil by the artists Anderson Augusto and Leonardo Delafuente.

Until next time...