Shake the tree

Ice in the water trough, apples out of reach, a curled fox slumbering in sunshine. Kale ready, leeks on the way, onions started.

Pears for your heirs

"No, 'heirs' not 'hairs'," I explained to the bemused balding bloke on the checkout at Lidl, who'd just been struggling to wave a Doyenne Du Comice pear tree at a barcode reader.

Puzzled by the cosmos

"But why do you bring them to work?" she asked, delighted yet slightly suspicious of the floral display. Surprised by the question, all I could manage was a feeble, "It's what I do."

Propaganda

Turned off some nasty propaganda on Channel 4 tonight, 'What the Green Movement Got Wrong'.

Apparently, because people have been eating GM foods for ten years without any problems, GM technology is safe and necessary, a little like John Selwyn Gummer feeding his daughter beefburgers during the BSE crisis. They totally ignored the issues of cross pollination, monocultures, copyrighted seeds owned by global corporations exploiting poor farmers and famines caused by corrupt regimes not the inadequacies of nature.

The green movement also stood accused of allowing malaria to spread by encouraging the ban on DDT, even though they now wholly support its controlled use to tackle malaria. Again, greenies are maligned for opposing nuclear power, but James Lovelock came out in favour of it way back in 2004 and it's only because of the gobsmacking absence of major solar, wave and wind energy projects in the past twenty years that nuclear has to possibly be the reluctant last resort.

Had to turn it off before they said that the bicycle was wrong.

Watched Harry & Paul again instead ("'Ere mate! D'ya sell lottery tickets?") and listened to a smashing vintage album, produced by ex-Buggle, Trevor Horn.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propaganda_(band)

UPDATE

Good to see that the heavyweights like Monbiot have responded to the programme too, in a much more informed and scientific manner.
http://www.guardian.co.uk

Rootsman

Getting Chilly

Ta to Mr G for the plants ; )

Autumn Break

Chrysanths

Spot the difference

If you hadn't seen an old friend for ten months would you still recognize them? I'm not convinced that these are the same cats, although this morning I liked to think that they are. The one that disappeared in the snow last New Year used to spend a lot of time in the allotment shed, but the one I met this morning in the raspberry bushes wouldn't go near it.

Nasturtium

Tropaeolum

First & Last

Feverfew

Chrysanthemum parthenium

Oenothera

Lobsnip

Parsnip masquerading as a lobster

Repeat and fade

A lot a rent

Allotment rents up by 19% next year - that's 15.9% above the current inflation rate of 3.1%. Shurely shome mishstake!

Cortaderia selloana

Colly Flower

Daily A Flower

Equi Knocks

Office World

Badger Moon

Drinking Ahead

Chutney Tuesday

Apples, tomatoes, red onions, gherkins, garlic, malt vinegar, brown sugar, cayenne pepper, mustard seeds, sultanas, olive oil, lemon juice.

Shrub Mail

The postie brought three tiny evergreen shrubs :

Ceanothus Repen
Euonymus Emerald 'n' Gold
Lonicera Lemon Beauty

Cosmic Season

Late sown cosmos just coming into flower.

Listening List

Playing at Green Lung Towers this month :

African Head Charge - Songs of Praise
African Head Charge - Off The Beaten Track
African Head Charge - Drastic Season
Balam Acab - See Birds
Bill Evans - Alone (again)
Cluster - Sowiesoso
Compost Ambient Selection
Eardrum - Last Light
Ian Simmonds - Last States Of Nature
Jon Hassell - Sulla Strada
Lalo Schifrin - Gone With The Wave
Marc Codsi - Faded Postcards
Mark Hollis - Mark Hollis
Pantha du Prince - Black Noise
Peter Brîtzmann and Bill Laswell - Low Life
Peverelist - Live Mix
Raleigh Moncrief - Combed Over Chrome EP
The Bees - Sunshine Hit Me
Tobacco - Mystic Thickness
Tycho - Past is Prologue
VA - Le Cafe Abstrait Vol 6
Vulcan Freedom Fighters - Stardate Unknown

Major Tom

Chokey

Last Of The Summer Vine

'But it's not supposed to be like this,' bleated a few of us who'd spent the morning perusing all the available weather forecasts, as we sat under the porch at Frenchay listening to the rain drumming on the roof. The sight of some of the opposing Lansdown team turning up with a rugby ball got a few hot under the collar, but for a while it looked like the more appropriate sport.



Eventually, the drizzle eased a bit and the covers were rolled off to reveal a reasonable, if sticky playing surface. Bolts won the toss and dithered little in his decision to have a bowl, electing Harry and Dave L to take the new ball. The young Lansdown openers started very slowly, thanks to some thumbscrew-tight bowling from Dave but it was Harry who made the breakthrough when Bolts pouched the first of his three catches.

Justin was on duty behind the stumps again and made Martin a happy man when he came on to bowl and provoked an edge that Justin eagerly snaffled. Sadat generated some pace from the other end and eventually bowled the other stubborn opener to leave Lansdown on 69-3 some time after the 20 overs drinks break.

The rain had continued to fall on and off but mercifully the ball hadn't degenerated into a sodden sponge, although it did get a bit scuffed after being deposited for several straight boundaries off Martin, who was somewhat reluctant to let your correspondent have the ball when given the nod from the skip. Hidayat came on at the other end and broke the middle order partnership that had been steadily threatening to crescendo to a competitive final total and justice was achieved not long after, when Martin caught out his earlier tormentor.

The novice Sunday 1st XI bowler had further success when Justin took a fine, low, leg-side catch and then again, off his worst ball, to Bolt's finest catch. He was then somewhat perplexed to discover that it was a 35 overs match and that the innings was at an end with Lansdown on 151-7.



A few sandwiches later, Justin and Bolts were off to navigate the way to the target. The first three balls hit Justin uncomfortably, the fourth he prodded behind for a catch. After the jittery start, Wilko proceeded to compile a fifty run partnership with Bolts, playing his deft, trademark, late dabs until Bolts was lbw for 20 and he was joined by Duncan. The score cruised up at a good rate to 81 before the pair went in quick succession, Duncan to a catch, Wilko stumped smartly for 33. A few runs later, Harry was adjudged lbw for a duck, leaving the Cowboys on a still healthy, but possibly crumbly underneath 86-5.

Contrary to appearances, the next man in wasn't hiding, but sheltering amongst the conifers from the wind as the chilly autumnal evening descended. He waited and waited, as Hidayat and Dave L progressed with just the right blend of care and aggression, taking the total towards and past 100. The fielding side displayed a mixture of superlative throwing and slapstick as they tried in vain to break the partnership. Spectators arrived from the friendly match on the other pitch (big up Nelly's 50) as the pair at the wicket calmly overhauled their target with an unbroken 69 run partnership in the 32nd over.



The pink champagne flowed, followed by a pint served for the last time by Chris and Ian, who are retiring from their voluntary running of the bar and will be hard to replace.

Man of the Match was shared between Hidayat, Dave L and Tim and the Cider Moment split between Dave being bowled off a no ball and the third of Bolt's catches.

Scorecard
League Table

Shed Load