Tuesday, May 9, 2017

First Rose, and Other News


Well, thank goodness for France -- or grâce à dieu, I should say. In the face of populist lunacy, they came through with a vote for reason. Now let's hope Macron proves up to the task! The British press has been quite alarmist about how he's scheming to take banking jobs away from London, but can we blame him? The UK created Brexit -- no one else!

Speaking of Brexit, I found this article interesting, about voters in Hartlepool, in northern England, and why they're shying away from Labour and supporting the twin evils (in my opinion) of UKIP and leaving the EU. One pro-Remain voter said: "I know I’m going to get strung up for this, but I don’t think the majority of people in Hartlepool knew what they were voting for. It was primarily immigration and that’s what makes it so sad because we’re going to pay the price now." Which tidily sums it up.

We've been pretty mellow around here recently. I went to a combined birthday party for three friends from work on Saturday night. They held it at a pub near St. Paul's cathedral, which was really smart -- that part of the city, on the weekend evenings, is completely dead, so it was the ideal place to gather a large group. We basically took the place over.

I also finally heard back from the NHS about my dermatology appointment. May 26 is the appointed day. In a rare moment of vanity, I told Dave we need to get our passport photos taken for our new documentation before that date, so I don't have a huge mark on my face!

And I've been trying to figure out the new system for recycling yard waste. When the borough of Camden started collecting trash every two weeks, at the beginning of April, they also went to a paid system for collecting grass clippings, hedge trimmings and the like. So Dave and I paid, and we heard nothing. I put a bag out for collection on Friday, our trash day, and it went nowhere. So yesterday I called the borough, and it turns out we were supposed to receive yellow tags that we put on the waste bags, showing that we've paid our fee -- and the bags themselves go out on Saturday. Supposedly the tags are now on their way in the mail.


Here's our first rose of the season -- or roses, I should say. There were two other close contenders, light pink and magenta. I love how dark and glossy and new the roses' leaves are at this time of year, before they get mottled by black spot and exsanguinated by aphids. (We try hard not to spray anything in the garden for pests. We just let nature take its course. I did treat our amaryllis(es?) for fungus, as promised, but they're in a pot and not really out in the environment.)

(Top photo: Colorful doors in Camden, a few weeks ago.)

7 comments:

  1. Word of the Day - exsanguinated. How I lived so long without using it or even encountering it? Mind you, I am not into vampire fiction.
    AMERICAN IMMIGRATION OFFICER: This ain't you sir! You've got a dirty great crater on your forehead with stitch scars and this fellow here is flawless! So (stamping) ENTRY DENIED!

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  2. English roses. So beautiful.
    Glad you got your dermatology appointment.

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  3. pretty roses. I need to go to the dermatologist myself. I noticed two spots on my nose yesterday (it's always on my nose!) and I just had a basal cell carcinoma cut out two years ago. and yay France. Seeing what we're going through probably brought them to their senses.

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  4. Thank God France knew better than to fall for hacking tricks and email shenanigans. That's a beautiful rose.

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  5. Many people have bought into a line of bullshit when it comes to voting. They will probably be too stubborn to recognize and admit their error.

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  6. The roses look great. I'd do exactly the same thing about the passport photo. When I had the little basal cell removed from my face, they put two tiny strips of adhesive over it for a few days and then it was just a red mark for a few more days. However, neither would look good in a photo that would have to serve as identity for several years.

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  7. Some analysis I read was saying there is still need for caution in France. Le Pen has greatly increased support for her party over the last election, and could continue to do so for the next election. But for now, the wave of change that was feared has at least been slowed down. There's another interesting article in the NY Times:

    https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/07/world/europe/why-macron-won-france.html?emc=edit_nn_20170508&nl=morning-briefing&nlid=79629996&te=1&_r=0

    The roses are beautiful.

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