Wednesday, April 14, 2021

Beyond the Barricades


They're doing road construction all around us in West Hampstead. I'm not sure who "they" are, but at least some of them are from Thames Water. This long stretch of torn up road goes toward Fortune Green from our house. I took the picture because it was a windy day, and as you can see the barricades had blown down, and because it was Easter weekend nobody was working to pick them back up again. If anyone had to drive a wide truck through there it was probably a bumpy ride.

And with that, let's take a look at more of my random iPhone photos! Because I have no other significant news.


This is another unusual headstone at the cemetery where I walk Olga. It's off the beaten path so I didn't see it until recently, when I wandered in its direction to find Olga's ball. It's a sort of odd, tilted half-pyramid shape. The inscription is on the right side and the lettering is so faint it's hard to make out, but it seems to say "Margaret Stapfer nee Woollam, the dearly beloved wife of Dr. Heinrich Stapfer." And there are some dates, but I can't read them.

I wonder what inspired that design?


This is a burger box in someone's recycling. I just thought it was a clever name. Apparently WTF specializes in vegan burgers.


I came across this odd building while walking to the hospital for my blood test the other day. I wonder what it's like inside?!


This month's cocktail from the craft gin club wasn't bad. It featured club soda and a special cocktail syrup along with the gin, which is very floral. And once again, it's pink. They love their pink drinks.


Take that, Jeff Bezos!


Dave and I spotted this wacky car on our walk home from work. I had to make a special trip across Finchley Road to take the picture, and he had to get to a hair appointment so he kept walking. I then ran a couple of blocks to catch up with him, and I'm only mentioning it because I think it's the fist time I've run any distance in ages. It felt good. Why don't we run more?


Our neighbors across the street re-did their front garden last spring, during our first Covid lockdown. They put in a nice lawn and lots of new plants, but for some reason, they never took the tags off their trees. A year later, there's still a tag on this magnolia and tags fluttering from two bay trees. THIS MAKES ME CRAZY.


And finally, this pansy (or viola) sprouted in the crack between the wall and the sidewalk in front of our house. Durable little devils, aren't they?

41 comments:

Ursula said...

The pansy: You can't keep nature down. It's why I love cracks in tarmac. Something will rear its head. Till some zealous weeder comes along.

Tags on plants: It's the lazy gardener's way. Instead of remembering where they have put what they just keep the tag on. It's roughly on a par with leaving the price sticker on a present. How much more vulgar can you get? It's why when I give someone a book with the price printed on (no way to remove it) I'll put a more or less tasteful sticker over it. Talking of vulgar and price stickers: My heart bleeds (and I mean it) for the poor misguided women (they are always women) who leave the sticker on the soles of their recently purchased heels. Try and avoid walking behind them.

You wonder what's it like inside that "odd" building? I tell you what. Lots of stairs. Steep. Vaguely claustrophic. Will get on your nerves after a while. Still, the top layer will be bright what with all the windows, possibly even giving a view.

There you go, Steve, you think you haven't got much to blog about and, what do you know, you sparked my imagination.

U

PS Where is Olga?

Moving with Mitchell said...

I too wonder what the inside of that house is like. Could be very open and interesting... or not. The blue barricades are quite artful. I love the pansy and, yes, those tags would and do drive me crazy. We were once at dinner at a colleague's house. She was being very elegant. The brand new Colonial Candles on the dining room table still had their labels. It took all my self-control to not peel them off. When she was in the kitchen, I turned the candlesticks around so I would no longer have to look at the labels.

Yorkshire Pudding said...

Use of the term "sidewalk"? THIS MAKES ME CRAZY! By the way, is Jeff Bezos a blood relative? You look so similar.

Debby said...

I'd be interested in the date on that tombstone. There was a victorian egyptology craze at the turn of the last century, along with the seance/talking to the dead stuff. It makes me wonder if this is not a relic for those days. See if you can perhaps make out a date if you pass it again.

Ursula said...

Steve looking "similar" to Bezos? YP, book yourself an appointment with Specsavers asap.

U

Mary said...

Is it me, or is that tree planted way too close to what appears to be a brick wall? That is crazy...along with not removing the tags.

The Bug said...

I always love your iPhone dumps. The pansy is my favorite - such cheerful flowers!

Bob said...

The architecture nut in me loves that odd tower, turret house, building, whatever!

And that durable little flower providing beauty through a crack in the pavement. we should all strive to do that!

Ms. Moon said...

Your pyramid tombstone reminded me of the book I just finished rereading last night- Still Life With Woodpecker in which pyramids play a role. Oh, how I used to love Tom Robbins and that book. At this stage in my life though, it seemed just this side of wretched.
Sigh.
Give me the pansy, give me the room at the top of the house with windows everywhere.

Anonymous said...

Interesting collection of random photos. It always makes me happy to see the tenacity and spirit of plants as they push they way up through every crack in the pavement.

Edna B said...

That's quite an interesting building. I wonder what possessed the designer to make it this way. Pansies are one of my favorites. What a lovely surprise to find outside your door. That pink drink looks delicious. Enjoy it, hugs, Edna B.

Sharon said...

What an assortment of photos! That house is most unusual. I'd like to see the inside too. That pansy made me smile. It's so pretty and has defied the odds. There are a lot of people taking aim at Jeff Bezos these days. He must feel targeted. However, his ex-wife has been very busy giving away all the money she received in the divorce. She's made quite a philanthropic name for herself.

37paddington said...

Those tags on the trees would make me crazy, too! And what an interesting house. It makes one want to invent stories about it. As for Jeff Bezos, he could vaccinate the world world and still be the world's richest man. Who needs that much money? I love that his ex-wife is giving her portion of it away to charities almost as fast as it comes in, not all of it, of course, but millions and millions, and she's still wealthy despite it. If Bezos would only pay his workers a wage that reflects the millions upon millions he makes each minute, he'd get a pass from me; but don't get me started on him. (I'm ashamed to say, I still do order from amazon, *hangs head*)

Ellen D. said...

Nice variety of photos. I take forever looking closely at each shot and enjoying your descriptions. Thanks for the entertainment!

Sabine said...

Wonderfully weird pictures!

My father in law and his son always left/leave the labels on the plants. They claimed/claim that this is what real gardeners do, as in people who are also recording dates and yields and growth and who are not into flimsy colourful decorative whimsy show-off whatsits. I have long given up. Occasionally I remove the odd label when no one is looking. Feels daring.

ellen abbott said...

another fun set. love the pansy and the art car. and that house is pretty cool. I'd like to see the inside too.

Steve Reed said...

I too love plants growing through cracks. I read a book once that said if humans disappeared, it wouldn't take long at all (at least not in geological terms) for plants to consume everything and break up all our structures. Speaking of which, I think you're right about that building!

Steve Reed said...

I think Ursula is right about the building -- lots of stairs. I would have done the same thing with the candlesticks! LOL

Steve Reed said...

I'm sorry you have sidewalk rage, YP. Bezos and I share a tonsorial similarity, but it ends there, I think.

Steve Reed said...

I'll look more closely next time! Good thinking on the Egyptology possibility.

Steve Reed said...

Now that you mention it, YES, it's right next to the wall. What are they thinking?!?!

Steve Reed said...

I like pansies too, and I like them even more for being so tough. It's funny that "pansy" is used as a putdown, when really it ought to be a compliment!

Steve Reed said...

It's certainly unusual, but I don't think I like it. You're right about the pansies, though. Perseverance!

Steve Reed said...

You know, I have never read any Tom Robbins. He was such a thing for a while but I don't think we even have any of his books in our library.

Steve Reed said...

Plants rock! It gives hope for the world, doesn't it? No matter what we pave, they will win if given an opportunity.

Steve Reed said...

I agree -- it was a great surprise to find that pansy!

Steve Reed said...

And good for her. She has a healthy perspective on money and wealth, it sounds like.

Steve Reed said...

It DOES seem like a good house for a short story -- an evil, dark one. We pretty much HAVE to order from Amazon these days. It's often the only game in town! (I do try to get books from my high street shop, though.)

Steve Reed said...

I'm glad you like them! That makes my day. :)

Steve Reed said...

I have seriously considered snipping them off in the dark of night, but I realize that would be unforgivably meddlesome. I've assumed the plant owners are just lazy or oblivious, but maybe they really want to keep the tags for a reason...?

Steve Reed said...

The car is awesome, isn't it? I love it when people really make something uniquely theirs. (Like the house owners too, come to think of it.)

Red said...

Yes , run. Olga gives you the perfect excuse to run. I ran until I was 71.I miss it.

My life so far said...

I like to run once in awhile, like in parking lots for some reason. I feel young again. Why do we stop playing as we age? No wonder kids like life better.

I think your neighbors would deeply appreciate if you cut those tags off the trees. That would drive me crazy. Gracie does that with Jack's clothes, she doesn't take the plastic bit off. Poor kid. It would drive me crazy and really, it's such a short for me:)

My life so far said...

You wild woman!

Steve Reed said...

I used to run regularly until about seven years ago. Maybe I should start again.

Steve Reed said...

I keep thinking they're going to take them off themselves. But I guess if they have't by now, it's not going to happen! Maybe, as Ursula suggested, they're keeping them on so they know what the plants are?

John Going Gently said...

I’d love to meet for a cocktail,next time in London
Do u do meets?

Anonymous said...

The odd building is very....odd. Like you I hate tags being left on plants and it is even worse when they are planted in a garden. Here new appliances have energy use stickers on them and some people never remove them. That's just another thing that offends my eyes.

Steve Reed said...

Sure! That would be fun! Let me know when you come down!

Steve Reed said...

Yes! I hate that too! I don't get leaving stickers, labels or tags on anything.

Janie Junebug said...

Do people live in the odd building or does it exist for some other nefarious purpose? I hope I haven't told you this before, but my favorite grave in Springfield, Illinois, where Abe is buried, was Mr. Accordion's. I wish I'd photographed it. I can't think of his name at the moment, but his marker is shaped like an accordion and has keys on it. He was a vet, and apparently an accomplished player of that great, underappreciated instrument, the accordion. When I walked Faulkner in the cemetery, we always stopped to salute Mr. Accordion.

Love,
Janie