Pumpkins and Desperation

It's the time of year when we see discarded pumpkins lying around town. I'm not sure why people don't just put them in their food composting bins, but they often don't. Maybe they want to give the pumpkin a last public hurrah before it goes to the great pumpkin patch in the sky.

I'm not sure what Olga was so fixated on in the photo above, but she insisted on being in the picture.

This one was trying to hitch a ride on the tube.

Dave and I have sorted out our plans for Los Angeles in February. We made hotel reservations and arranged our rental car and planned a two-night stay in Palm Springs. And our friend Warren has agreed to watch Olga in our absence so we should be all set. Dave has even made restaurant reservations, in addition to buying our tickets for the LA Philharmonic. It's good to have that organized.

Did you see the New York Times poll about Trump's popularity in several crucial swing states? The election is still a year away, but this is not good news. Trump is leading Biden -- in some places by a fairly large margin -- in several states that Biden would need to win in order to remain in the White House. And I'm not sure that will change even if Trump gets convicted in any of these trials. People who support him merely believe he's being persecuted.

I think it's past time for the Democrats to reorganize their house, or we are going to have another four years of Donald Trump. Biden is a very weak candidate -- I think we should acknowledge that he was a transitional president and find someone new. I've thought this for a long time but that poll cements my conclusion.

I'm not sure who the best replacement would be. My first thought is always Buttigieg, but minority voters don't seem to like him, and those groups already seem to be moving toward Trump. Kamala Harris is unpopular. Gavin Newsom might have a shot.

We gotta do something, people. If it comes down to it of course I'll vote for Biden, but I do think he's too old. (As is Trump.) Biden has done a respectable job under very difficult circumstances, but we need fresh blood and new ideas -- in both parties, honestly. We need youth and vigor. We need a Kennedy. (But not that Kennedy, who's insane.)

Here's an amazing find I made while walking the dog on Sunday. Someone set a bunch of items out on their garden wall next to their trash bins and this was one of them. It's an old antique iron, labeled "Le Parisien No. 5."

And it came with a handmade metal brace for hanging it on the wall. The brace even has someone's initials (I assume) on the back -- perhaps whoever made it. Score!

An East London Odyssey

Yesterday the sun was shining (mostly) so I went for a photo walk in East London. I went to an area I hadn't visited in years -- possibly since I shot it for Bleeding London, way back in 2014. (NINE YEARS AGO!) I started in Stratford and walked eastward almost to Ilford, and then south through East Ham and back to the tube via Plaistow and Canning Town -- about six and a half miles, according to Google Maps.

I realize that map doesn't give you much context, but you get the idea.

It's a very diverse part of London. I honestly think I heard no more than a smattering of English the whole time I walked -- based on all the shops and restaurants I saw, there are communities of Middle Easterners and South Asians and Eastern Europeans and probably much more. (The fact that there's a "turban tying service" on that Google map above is an indication!)

I remembered this beautiful old building from my previous walk through the area. It's the Old Manor Park Library, a historically listed former Carnegie library that now houses artists' studios. (It's on the corner of the amusingly named Rabbits Road, a block from Michigan Avenue -- I sent a photo of that street sign to native Michigander Dave.)

The sun worked against me in several of my photos. It was low and bright, and when I tried to photograph things in shadow (like the Palestine mural above) the contrast between light and dark areas was a challenge.

I found this old church, now covered in beautiful autumnal vines, on a side street. It's still being used as a church and community center.

Here's the East Ham high street, looking northward toward one of the area's many Hindu temples.

I stopped for lunch in West Ham at a mediocre fish & chips shop, where I finally tried a Rubicon mango-flavored soda that I've often seen around town. (Not bad!) I was frustrated because the restaurant had no place for me to wash my hands, before or after I ate. How is this even legal? Seems like giving customers bathroom access should be a requirement.

Anyway, I caught the tube at Canning Town and came home from there. It felt really good to get out of the house and get a good walk in, and flex my creative muscles.

Last night was Bonfire Night, aka Guy Fawkes Night, and for the past few evenings we've been hearing pops and blasts all over our neighborhood. Last night I could hear showers of sparks coming down from fireworks, but I couldn't actually see them, at least not from our back garden or front steps. Admittedly I did not try very hard. Olga, fortunately, has never been bothered by firecrackers, unlike some dogs.

Those of you who were amused by the bizarre news story I posted yesterday might also like this related one. Honestly, you can't make this stuff up.

Old But Playful

It's the time of year when I'm always stooping down to photograph leaves. People must wonder what the heck I'm doing, bending over with my iPhone focused on the ground. But then you get to see beauties like this! The funny thing is, while that leaf is bright orange, most of the tree is still green.

Yesterday was blessedly uneventful. I got lots of reading done (finishing an overly long and improbable YA novel called "Home and Away" plus part of a New Yorker) and I took Olga to the cemetery.

I feel like I've commented a lot about Olga's age recently. Well, I want to show you that she is still quite energetic, despite being 13 years old. (A noise warning -- barking is involved!) As you can see, she is a bit slower, and she has a more stiff-legged run than she used to, but she's as playful as ever. She does love a tennis ball.

Anyway, she got a bath when we got home, and I had to be super-careful during the entire walk because I accidentally wore my work shoes and the cemetery was muddy as heck. Am I the only one who does these things?!

In other news, this is possibly the weirdest news story I have ever seen. People are so, so strange.

A Quiz and a Mermaid

Last night Dave and I went to a quiz night with a group of work colleagues at a pub in Paddington. This is the view from a footbridge over the Grand Union Canal, looking toward St. Mary's Hospital. I was amazed I was able to convince Dave to go -- he's not really a party person and his quiz knowledge is scant on certain aspects of contemporary pop culture. But then, so is mine!

In the end we didn't do too badly. All three teams tied within half a point. We had a brief audience rebellion when the quizmaster asked which of four buildings celebrated their 50th anniversary this year, and then insisted the answer was the Eiffel Tower! No, no, a thousand times NO! I voted for the Sydney Opera House, which I'm certain is correct. I'm not sure how the quizmaster got the answers mixed up but at any rate she threw out the question. Maybe she was just trying to make sure we were paying attention.

We had an event in the library yesterday so I spent most of my time working on the shelves. I also sorted out repair plans for our dishwasher, which involved sending a video of the problem to not one but two people. It's a very boring eight-second video of flashing lights on the control panel. Now the repair guy is supposed to come on Tuesday. I hope he can fix our existing machine (which is about eight years old, if I remember correctly) but I suspect he'll be bringing a whole new dishwasher. Of course that comes out of the landlords' pockets, not ours. (Well, not directly, anyway!)

Here's my November "Florida Memory" postcard, from my mystery correspondent in Jacksonville. This shows the Mermaid submarine boat (whatever that is) at Rainbow Springs in 1955 or thereabouts. Rainbow Springs is west of Ocala near the town of Dunnellon, where I found the Blues Brothers years ago.

It's interesting how many of these old archival photos show Florida's rivers, springs and swimming holes, rather than beaches. Perhaps the emphasis on tourism decades ago was more about natural attractions, although I suppose Miami Beach was already a hot spot by then. It certainly wasn't about theme parks, which didn't even exist. Those were the days!

Cookies and Martinis

I had a very low-key birthday yesterday, which is fine by me. My co-workers bought some cookies which we set out on my desk (but out of sight of the kids!) and I was visited by a series of people within my department over the course of the day. It's a school-wide department so they aren't people I see all the time, and it was good to catch up with them. And I got a nice card, and one co-worker gave me some chocolate.

My celebration with Dave will come later. He got me tickets to see the musical "My Neighbor Totoro" at the Barbican in December, and I'm sure we'll probably do dinner too. So last night was nothing special -- we had leftovers and I had two martinis and watched a movie ("Auntie Mame") while he did schoolwork!

I wonder what k.d. lang, Stefanie Powers and David Schwimmer did yesterday? They all have the same birthday I do. In fact, Schwimmer has the exact same birth date -- same year and everything. There's some useless trivia for you.

Storm Ciarán generated lots of rain but not much else here. Apparently we did get some wind last night, because just before I went to bed I found the Russians' weird bird-deterring beach ball thing lying on our patio outside our back door.

You'll remember that's normally hanging on the wall above their terrace.

I guess there will be no birds in our living room today. Look at Olga's muddy paw prints on the back door rug. That will give you some idea of the conditions in the back garden.

The other day I mentioned Vladimir Putin and how he stands to gain from U.S. involvement in the Middle East. While not making a causal link as strongly as I did, a Washington Post columnist has also pointed out how Putin stands to benefit from our current geopolitical situation. As the Post put it, Putin had a very good October.

In Birthday Denial

This was the view as I walked home yesterday at about 4:45 p.m., looking toward the approaching sunset. Don't recognize that corner? It's the same one where the Emminster and Hinstock apartment blocks once stood. The buildings are rubble now -- there's still a snaggled fragment of Emminster standing beyond the trees to the right, but it's only a few floors high and will be gone soon enough.

And soon enough, new apartment blocks will be rising in their place, so I'm going to enjoy this open view while it lasts.

Today is a momentous day in our little household -- I turn 57 years old. Not that there's any significance attached to that number, really. In celebration (or denial), let's have a look at an assortment of completely non-birthday-related random photos, shall we?

Hmmm...what happened here?!

I found this little sticker in support of BullyXL dogs, which are basically gigantic pit bulls. (I'm sure some dog aficionados will take exception to that description, but please give me a pass and don't harass me in comments. It is my birthday, after all.) The government has outlawed the BullyXL breed in the UK, and this sticker makes the point that the owners are the problem, not the dogs.

I will say that I've seen BullyXL dogs on the street and even I think they're scary-looking. And I'm a dog person. They're about twice as big as Olga. But I don't dispute that their training makes a huge difference in their behavior.

Scene from a rubbish bin on our high street: Poor pumpkin, smacked in the face with packing tape, and poor ghost, now an ashtray. Another holiday past.

I was watching an old episode of Bob Newhart the other day when this scene came on, set in Jerry's dental office. See that Picasso poster on the wall? I had an immediate flashback to my childhood, because I remember that poster. It was very popular in the early '70s and I'm pretty sure we had one hanging in our house, maybe even in my room. Or maybe someone had it at my parents' office. I liked it as a kid and in fact I've now added an image of it to my blog sidebar, below the archives.

I found this hat on the pavement. My first thought was that Bunga Bunga must be some place in Australia. Turns out it's an Italian nightclub in London, and it's also a slang term that refers specifically to the sexual exploits of former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. Who knew?!

I was walking the dog on Halloween morning when I found this awful thing sitting on someone's garden wall. It scared me!

And finally, this building has a very strange decorating scheme. It looks like someone tripped and spilled a bagful of squash down the front steps.

We were supposed to get a big storm overnight, Storm Ciarán. Winds of more than 80 mph were predicted, but that hasn't happened here -- maybe by the ocean. Here we're just getting rain -- par for the course in this very damp year.

Full Moon

One of the things I love about my new(ish) iPhone is that it can take photos in almost any light.

I've been having trouble sleeping the last few nights -- I could write a multivolume dissertation on the reasons why, but the short answer is "work" -- and when I was up wandering around the flat at about 2 a.m. yesterday morning, I noticed the moonlight spilling down into our garden. I wondered if my phone camera would function even in that relatively faint light, and the answer is yes!

Above, the view from our back door. I love the shadowy, blurry foliage -- very Halloween! The light on the apartment buildings shows up quite brightly, even though it's really not that bright to the naked eye.

Here's the banana tree on our patio, looking rather gray in the blue moonlight...
 

...and here's the moonlight coming in our kitchen window.

So, yes, I'm having some stress related to work relationships, but please don't ask about it because I can't blog about it and anyway it's not a big deal except in my own head. I just have to knuckle down and stay as positive as I can.

I haven't written anything about Israel and Gaza, because I feel like almost anything I say is likely to get me in trouble and I have no great insights into that conflict anyway. But here's one aspect of my thinking that I will share: Hamas is backed by Iran. Iran is an ally of Russia. Who stands to benefit by having America distracted by conflict in the Middle East, rather than focused on Ukraine? I haven't seen much written about this, perhaps because there's no documented evidence, but am I wrong to connect those dots and suspect that Russia may be behind the whole mess?