2020 July – Sweet Peas, Impossible to Puncture?, Bees, Two Dogs Lemon Brew, Flowery
Sweet Peas
Here are some sweet peas that Mum and I grew together.
But here’s the real sweet pea.
Impossible to puncture..??
This is a picture of an extra large tennis ball which offspring #3 reckons will defeat me.
It didn’t.
Defeat me that is.
Although it did take me about 10 minutes to puncture. Which is a long time by my standards.
Watch this.
Then I needed a very long rest.
I am a little ball of Saffron.
Bees
Mum is a bit obsessed with bees.
She is trying to grow insect friendly stuff to help them.
Slightly not so fun facts: About a third of British wild bees and hoverflies are in rapid decline. If current trends continue some species could be lost from the UK forever. Some species are faring better than others, but loss of species means loss of biodiversity and that isn’t good. Reductions in essential pollinators might affect the ability of the UK to grow some food crops in the future.
Two Dogs
Dog 1: Here is a picture of lovely me being useful on garden guard duty.
Dog 2: Here is a picture of lovely Kobe after a walk and a wash. He doesn’t seem too impressed does he?
Fun Facts: Two Dogs was actually the world’s first brewed lemonade brand (named after the punchline of a joke – unrepeatable here). Made in Australia after a neighbour to a small brewer told him they didn’t know what to do with all the undersized lemons in this years crop. So matey boy said he’d have a go at brewing them, and Two Dogs Lemon Brew was the result. Commissioned in ’93, it could well be the daddy of alcopops.
Flowery
This is a picture of me having a relax in the shade.
It is still boiling hot and I’m running out of shade.
The garden is all flowery at the moment which seems to please Mum. Her approach to gardening is entirely random so nothing really goes together. It’s pretty much all grown though, so something seems to be going right I guess.
The birds and the insects seem happy enough.
Mum seems happy enough.
I’m happy enough.
Saffron’s recommendations this month:
Music: Haven’t heard this for ages, so how about some Kate Bush. She started songwriting aged 11 and has produced some fab tracks: Have a go with these.
Wuthering Heights
Running up that Hill
Cloudbusting (Taking inspiration from the 1973 Peter Reich memoir A Book of Dreams, this song is about psychiatrist and philosopher Wilhelms Reich and his young son, Peter, told from the point of view of the mature Peter. Maybe take a look at the video that goes with this?)
The Man with the Child in his Eyes
Babooshka
Breathing
This Woman’s Work
Reading: Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy by John le Carre, published by Hodder and Stoughton in the early 70’s. Part of a trilogy including The Honourable Schoolboy and Smiley’s People. If you like JleC then you’re bound to like this. It has a suspenseful cold war spy plot.
Film: Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy – a 2011 film with an incredible cast headed up by Gary Oldman. It won a BAFTA. It’s a great film. If you like spy, action thriller stuff then you should watch it – if you haven’t already, of course.
In the news:
The isolation period for those with COVID-19 symptoms is extended from seven to 10 days, in line with guidance from the World Health Organisation
The government signs a deal with GSK and Sanofi to provide 60 million doses of Covid-19 Vaccine. This, together with 3 other deals (AZ, Pfizer, Moderna), takes the UK’s potential vaccine availability to 250 million doses.
A major easing of the lockdown in England – subject to modified physical distancing conditions – allows the reopening of bingo halls, cinemas, galleries, hairdressers, hotels, pubs, restaurants and theme parks
Face coverings in shops and supermarkets become mandatory in England
BA retires its fleet of 31 Boeing 747 aircraft
The UK experiences its hottest day of the year so far, with temperatures of 37.8 °C