Monday, July 2, 2018

A Memorial, a Broken Bottle, and a Lavender Patch


Today, another random collection of photos from my recent wandering.

First, this large graffiti mural recently went up around the corner from our flat, in memory of Jack, Alby and Harry. I wondered who they were, so I Googled the names, and it turns out they were three young graffiti writers killed by a train while painting on a rail line in South London a few weeks ago. What a sad story! RIP, boys.


In a lighter vein, this slipper is among the lost key rings and dog collars displayed on a fence on Hampstead Heath. It seems like wildly impractical footwear for a walk on the Heath, but who am I to judge?


You know I'm a fan of old bottles. I found this -- actually just a piece of a bottle, the bottom half -- on Sandy Heath. It was a remarkable piece of glass, about 1/8 of an inch thick, heavy and full of interesting bubbles. As you can (barely) see from the bottom, it's another R. White bottle, probably from lemonade. But I didn't keep it, because it was dangerously jagged. I recycled it.


The piece of vintage 1950s barkcloth that blog pal Linda Sue sent us looks great in our dining room! The old skanky carpet, however, is another matter. The spots predate us. We've been trying to get our landlord to replace it since we moved in, but so far, no luck.


I found this bench full of discarded Beanie Babies, trolls and other toys at a playground while walking Olga. When we passed the next day, only the trolls remained. Hopefully someone will claim them.


The "Done Our Bit Club" is a social club for veterans in West Hampstead. It's on a street lined mostly with houses. It looks like a quirky little place.


Olga enjoyed her visit to sunny Hampstead Heath on Saturday!


And then yesterday we went to the cemetery. Here's the burdock I photographed several weeks ago with my foot in the shot -- it has bloomed and now it's going to seed. I love these plants -- so huge and imposing. You can see how dry it's been by the state of the grass!


And finally, a grave beautifully planted with lavender. The bees and butterflies were all over this lavender patch -- you can see a fluttering cabbage white there in the foreground.

Dave is home safely -- yay! He spent most of yesterday sleeping, recovering from his sleepless transoceanic flight, but we did catch up on all the family news. He also filled me in on his conference, which sounds like it went better than he thought it might. It's good to have our little family unit together again.

12 comments:

Yorkshire Pudding said...

You expressed kindly feeling towards trolls. This is surprising. Personally, I would have all trolls exterminated as they are a blight upon the internet and have created much unhappiness.

37paddington said...

welcome home dave! as for the beanie babies, someone knew they're worth something and scooped them up.

Ms. Moon said...

Lots of nice pictures! And a story in each one of them. Honestly, they could all be used for writing prompts.
I really do love that lavender planted grave.
Welcome home, Dave!

Sabine said...

Really good pictures and every one of them tells a story.

ellen abbott said...

and Olga didn't pick out a toy?

Sharon said...

Very sad about those young guys hit by the train. The Hampstead Heath photo looks like doggie heaven. I love that lavender!

The Bug said...

Ooh that lavender is gorgeous! Love that stuff. Hmmm - maybe we should plant some!

I have fond memories of troll dolls - my aunt Lila had one & I thought it was SO COOL. I was thrilled when she gave me one :)

Catalyst said...

An entertaining and interesting post. Good pictures as well.

Anonymous said...

More good photos of your walks there. Love that lavender. Welcome home, Dave!

Linda Sue said...

lavender grave, such a good idea. Natural /organic. burial is a thing up here, In this climate and soil i t would not take long to decompose, especially since , for natural burial, the body may not be pumped full of preservatives...Usually a tree is planted, but this lavender would be so lovely. Thinking ahead...
The table cloth looks perfect in your design scheme and with Olga, so right about the carpet!
Often wondered about graffiti artists and how they manage to get up so high and in such perilous spots...crazy!

jenny_o said...

"Every Picture Tells A Story" (Rod Stewart) comes to mind today! Love them all, but especially the green bottle bottom.

The photo of Olga surprised me -- I didn't think of her as being anything but white on her "undercarriage" but there is a lot of dappling there!

Steve Reed said...

YP: I thought they were little grizzled old guys who lived under bridges? :)

37P: ARE they still worth something, though? I thought the Beanie Baby thing crashed long ago and now they're just toys.

Ms Moon: That's essentially the way my blog functions a lot of the time -- the chosen photo is a writing prompt!

Sabine: Thank you!

Ellen: Olga is really only interested in balls and Kongs. I've tried to get her to play with stuffed animals and she's just not into it.

Sharon: Isn't that a terrible story? I don't understand how the train hit them around 1 a.m. and they weren't found until 6 a.m. Wasn't that 1 a.m. train manned by a driver? Typical for a local news story in England, there are more questions than answers.

Bug: Yeah, I remember them from my childhood as well! I don't think I ever owned one, but my friends had them for sure.

Catalyst: Thank you!

Robin: Isn't that lavender great?

Linda Sue: I like the idea of natural burial. Personally I'd rather be cremated, but I know that uses a lot of energy.

Jenny-O: She's very spotty! Even under her white fur there are spots.