One Problem Becomes Another

The saga of the leaning bush has taken another turn. I called our property maintenance company yesterday and explained that something really needed to be done because we couldn't easily get in and out of the flat -- and emergency services, should we or the upstairs neighbors need them, couldn't either. I thought that might goad the landlord into immediate action.

And it did, but not in the way I expected. When I got home from work the bush had been pulled to the side and pushed down into the front garden -- so our walkway is clear, yes, but now there's a giant bush lying across our front landscaping.

Today I plan to follow up and point out that this isn't really a solution.

In other news, I've been getting the strangest spam e-mails lately. For several months I've been receiving daily weather and employment reports for Worcester (Massachusetts, I assume, though I suppose it could be England -- I've never opened them to find out). I can't imagine why someone has assumed I live in Worcester or that I am in need of a job there.

Yesterday I got one titled, "All Americans should have this flashlight bright enough to blind a bear!" (The exclamation point is mine, but that sentence needs an exclamation point, doesn't it?) It went on to assert that "Wide spread attacks inside the United States HAVE become a reality that's CURRENTLY being brushed off by mass media sources...to not cause panic." I'm not clear whether they mean bear attacks or people attacks, but in any case, their solution is to sell me a "military-grade" flashlight.

Thanks, but no.

(Photo: Another artful shopfront near Tottenham Court Road.)