summertime

london 7.35pm 23C sunny friday 2019

 

Digital StillCamera

Digital StillCamera

Digital StillCamera

i think they are roses. but their leaves dont look like roses nor do they have thorns. i googled it, and this came up. some kind of begonia. they are all the same type of flower ,just appearing in different forms and colour. i think it is amazing they look so different.

nothing much going on in my personal life.

there is the usual bad news of course, the ones going round is how some people and children become so anxious about climate change,  that they are getting a mental illness from it. there have been a lot of news giving dire fear mongering of possible futures if the warming continues. they have dropped all pretense that it is climate change, (no talk of it getting cold and freezing) and concentrate on saying it will be getting hotter till we fry.

and they give as an example that london in 2050 will be as hot as barcelona now. i suppose that sounds terrible to some who have not been to barcelona… but when i read that i thought that will be a fine thing. if only. it puzzles me why they can predict it so far ahead when you consider that they cannot forecast what it will be like in 5 days. of course they get round that by saying climate is easier to predict than weather. 

hmm, i would think it would be more scary  if they say it will be as hot as dubai now.  or did they think dubai will not like it  to compare it to future warming. i suppose they feel they can insult barcelona with impunity. but leave aside all that for the future, it is a lovely day today in london. 

nothing going on mind you. so i just took to wandering about in the buses, going to buy icecream cones at iceland. theirs is the best value, 6 for £1. and so many flavours to chose from. i went to the branch near waterloo, but they have completely empty shelves where the icecream used to be…

i saw on their website, that tesco sells these veg, so i decided to go to the tesco , the big one in brixton, (i have not been there before) to buy their 35p little gem lettuce. and peaches 4 for 45p. and i was reminded that iceland has a big branch in brixton, so i stop by it on the way back, and got the cones. now that it is getting so hot, i fancy eating icecream cones now.

it would seem that the tesco in brixton will be the nearest big supermarket branch of tescos nearest to me, now that the big one in kennington, which i normally go to , is closed .

there are lots of tesco express stores near me, and i went to them  but they dont sell these low priced goods. the little gem lettuce will make good salads, i intend to dress them with mayonnaise . summer time is a good time to eat salads.

random musings

london 10.50am  22C sunny wednesday 2019

 

 

 

Digital StillCamera

Digital StillCamera

very garish colours of summer flowers, these are the ones growing in the communal gardens in my housing estate, now. added. i googled the image of the flowers, and google says they are marigolds. 

when i say housing estate it conjures very ugly housing, but it is not so in mine. it was built in 1898, the first london council housing. and very pretty it is too, with red bricks and the block of flats set in pattern and tree lined. it used to be millbank prison. this area must be very unsavoury in those days for them to think of siting a prison here. right next to the river too…and they boarded the prisoners to the ships that are bound for australia from the banks of the thames here too; 

just goes to show that in olden days no one wants to be near the river, as it is swampy , prone to tides and most probably because it must smell awful, as the river acts as a sewer in the old days. now, everyone fights to be near the river, with river views commanding a premium.

the picture of the hamburger is the one i took at belushi’s, when i went there for their £1 burger yesterday. it was a very dark corner of the pub, and i took it without a flash, because i could not access the flash in my camera. i am surprised it came out quite bright, when i thought i would just get a dark blob.

it was a rather nice burger, with lovely smell of barbequed beef. that smell is quite difficult to get nowadays. the reason being that many of these high end burger places cook it lightly, to keep the middle slightly red. to keep it tender. but this one even though cooked right through was still very tender, which is good of them. i think the secret is very high heat. but whatever , it was lovely to get that smell of barbequed beef. heavenly.

later i saw a chap eating a hamburger with a knife and fork, and i thought, 1) his hamburger is much smaller than the one i got, 2) they dont give us knife and fork at belushis, we have to eat it with our fingers. i suppose we could ask for knife and fork and they would give it to us, but we dont mind. 

lucky i went to wash my hands first at the toilet. usually i find it difficult to eat with the hands, but this one was very manageable. even though the bun was big, and the meat was big.

they provide lots of bottles of sauces on the table, but i did not put them on, as it just makes the whole thing very messy if u do and it does not need it really. it would mask the taste and smell of the meat and defeat the whole purpose of the exercise.

and two of the malaysian women who are regular goers of these offers were seated there allready enjoying their burger. i went there at 12.30pm, actually i arrived in the area at 12pm, but felt it was too early and went wandering in the nearby  lidl and poundstretcher shops before hand. so it was nice to have their company while we ate. they live near hounslow , west london, so no wonder they chose this branch of belushi’s, in shepherd bush, as it would be nearer them. and it was a coincidence that they chose the 12-1pm slot as well.

in the evening i thought i shall go to trafalgar square to see the opera, marriage of figaro. i arrived just after 7pm, when it starts. lots of places to see it really as the square was not full. you can even see it on the outside of the fenced area, without needing to go through security if u wish. but if u stay outside it does mean you wont be committed to staying… and that means you will be tempted to move on, like i did. there was a lot of speech singing rather than actual singing, if u know what i mean.

anyway i just wanted to wander about, and appreciating the sight of the buildings around trafalgar square, and the people and just savouring the atmosphere of being in the middle of london in this pleasant warm evening.

so i strolled along to chinatown, and sat a while in leicester square looking at the people, and then popped into two grocery stores in chinatown, before they close, and bought a flat and a thin noodle £1.15 each.

and looked at the queues forming to get into some restaurants in chinatown, and not in others. very curious phenomenon, where one place would have long queues to get in, whilst next door no one is in it. 

added. 11.37am, how nice of them, just after writing the above, i saw an email from them saying they are giving me a 2 for 1 voucher to use from now till the 20july..

flowers and spiderman

london 2.18pm 14.5C sunny saturday 2019

 

Digital StillCamera

Digital StillCamera

very colourful flowers growing in planters in the estate grounds; the colours are so vibrant. i dont know what they are called. i used the image to search in google and it came up with primroses, so that is what they are.

 

Digital StillCamera

i went to the disney store in oxford st, just to see if they have any of those lunch boxes because from googling it, i find the variety and range of these lunch boxes are vast and comes in all kinds of designs. but strangely there are no lunch boxes in store. just these spiderman toys and huge model of him. there were some t-shirts and shorts with the spiderman image on them , and a luggage on wheels with the spiderman logo. and that was about it.but i was rather disappointed that i could not find any lunch boxes.

its quite amusing to see macho looking men with armfuls of frilly little girl dresses that they are obviously buying for their little girls. the dresses all got puff sleeves which are so old fashioned; rather reminds me of old maids dresses. and to think they are going to be worn by little girls, making them all look like they are old maids. haha. there are more dresses for girls than costumes for boys. the only ones for boys i see are those that look like darth vader and storm troopers. with the girls outfits, it comes with wig and sparkly shoes too. they are really pushing the boat out with the girls’ getup. 

added. i have been going to google to look at all these spiderman lunch boxes, and could not find the one i found. until now. here it is. it is in ebay, someone selling it ,, original cost about $14.95 came out on sale in 2016 but selling in ebay now for $29.95 with $28.71  shipping costs to uk. 

miscellany

london 4.44pm 4C overcast, monday 2018

i am seeing a tv film holiday camp, 1947. i noticed everyone of the actors are not very good looking. the only name i can recognise is jack warner, or at least i thought i did, until i google him and saw that it was not the jack warner i was thinking of.  i thought jack warner was that actor whose wife was natalie wood. i guess it must be because he is in the news now because they are rehashing the case of her death on board a boat. her husband was robert warner.

but anyway, looking at this film in black and white, i recognise the actress flora robson. she was quite old in this film. ( i said was but i am not sure if she is dead or still alive now) but have you noticed, british film actors dont seem to be as good looking as those from hollywood. here they chose talent, rather than looks, and so we dont get all those old actresses coming up years later accusing men of rape and other things in the british film industry. it is all hollywood and american films people that have these accusations. which just goes to show the casting couch is alive and well there. now it has come to haunt the men after all these years.

its quite a overcast day today. suppose to be cold but of course if u are wrapped up warm, you wont notice it, and so i did not. it is not windy that might make it even more unnoticeable.

i am glad for the camelia bush in the communal garden, it is the only one bursting with flowers and making things more cheerful with their colour.

but also the mimosa tree is coming into flower. i have noticed this tree, growing on its own near the pimlico library , and never knew its name, until i read a account of it, in a article about trees in london. it seems it is one of the few mimosa trees in london. it has yellow flowers , very small but grows in clumps, and can cover the whole tree so that you dont notice the green leaves; and it got a scent, which is unusual nowadays when everything nowadays is grown because it has no scent. and it flowers in winter, another unusual plant that does so, like the camellia. 

 

a succulent plant, that i see growing and overflowing the planter in our estate. its fleshy leaves i like.

london victoria library 11.58am sunny 21.9C friday 2017

Digital StillCamera

Digital StillCamera

and i have learnt something new about hydrangea from this post today. it seems it is blue or pink depanding on the acidity of the soil. and that is because more acid soil makes it easier to absorb aluminium. amazing isn’t it? but what about if it is white? 

White hydrangeas should be white every year but the soil pH will affect the tiny true flowers. But to keep them pure white they are best grown in some shade – in full sun they will turn pink through scorching.

i thought i saw a pink hydrangea in my estate but i think it is not. i realise it cannot be hydrangea when i see another plant with this intense red. 

Digital StillCamera

Digital StillCamera

Digital StillCamera

its a pleasant day today 3.20pm 22.1C sunny. i got back from buying pork joint and a chicken from lidl’s. they are the cheapest £2.79/kg for the pork, £1.87/kg for the chicken. and for medium size chicken too. (its about 1.65kg)usually they increase the cost for the heavier  chicken. heavier chicken have more meat, relative to their bones.

it is now roasting in the oven, whilst the pork is cut up and freezing now.

i find whole chicken are best for roasting. when i bought chicken pieces , i find they dont roast well, the skin was not crispy at all. maybe they might be better grilled… simon asked me why i dont buy them anymore… as he likes the thighs, he says he prefers them to breast or drumsticks. it surprised me as i thought he , like most white people, like breasts meat.. no bones see?  

i realise the lidl pork has a lot more fat and skin to it. these are meant to be roasted , so they had a thick layer of fatty skin on it, to provide the crackling… when i buy them i dont use them to roast, but to stir fry, cutting them into pieces. but british people dont seem to like to stir fry their pork. you cannot buy any pork without the skin and fat layer. so i use the skin and fat to make crackling, by cutting them fine and frying them. and reserving the oil from it to use in cooking to add that flavour. 

life is very nice , at least in london. other places like india or in texas are having its floods, so not nice for them. but there is always somewhere in the world that is not having a nice time. that is life really. isn’t that the truth? 

we are now in september, the start of autumn, though it does not feel autumnal now in london. 

fuschia

london 9.15pm 20C clear and bright even though the sun is supposed to be setting. or set, 9.12pm it is supposed to set. thursday 2016

 

Digital StillCamera

Digital StillCamera

very nice looking flowers hanging over a wall. its fuschia.

rain and flowers and… chickens

london 7.38am 14.1C cloudy thursday 2016

the rain is causing the flowers to bloom and burst out. rather nice.

this morning i got this from my wordpress reader. it is about bill gates giving chickens to women in africa so that they can make some money. 

i imagine it is easy to rear chickens. when i was a child, we used to visit my maternal grandmother, she lives in kajang, my home town, and we would pile into the car and drive from petaling jaya where we live to go to her about once a month.and she would always cook a chicken for us from her flock. it is always an old boiler, who has finished her egg laying life… its a tough old bird but very flavourfull.i always associate the smell and taste of it to my granny now.  they run wild , scratching the ground, and freely wander about the place feeding themselves eating whatever they find. i used to wonder how she knows which ones are hers…i guess when she feeds them daily they come running though how tempting to catch  a stray stranger bird who is visiting…  she lived amongst a big household and she have a huge mangkak tree… which produces the best fruit ever… mangkak is the hakka name for jackfruit.

so giving chickens to families seem like a good idea.

without realising it, after reading it, i found i have fulfilled his three requirements to gain points that will donate chickens to them. so i signed up. it would be nice to see a family that got the chickens and see how they get along with it. haha. i wonder if he will post something about that in future. 

added. found this link about the chickens in africa. this one says they are introducing a species from india that is better than the local breeds. lets hope the introduced species can look after itself rather than have to rely on being mollycoddled with special feeds and all.haha. certainly i noticed my grandmother’s flock are scrawny things. haha. very unlike the plump birds i see in london’s supermarkets. but then, the plumb birds are hopeless in foraging for themselves. 

Digital StillCamera

Digital StillCamera

Digital StillCamera

Digital StillCamera

all this rain is making the flowers burst out

added. 1.20pm sunny 19.5C today is forecast to be dry, the only dry day in the forecasting chart. it is really very pleasant today. blue sky and all that. 

added.13.6.16 more lilies

Digital StillCamera

Digital StillCamera

chelsea in bloom

london 3.24pm 12.7C cloudy wednesday 2016

Digital StillCamera

Digital StillCamera

Digital StillCamera

Digital StillCamera

Digital StillCamera

Digital StillCamera

Digital StillCamera

Digital StillCamera

Digital StillCamera

Digital StillCamera

Digital StillCamera

Digital StillCamera

Digital StillCamera

Digital StillCamera

Digital StillCamera

Digital StillCamera

Digital StillCamera

Digital StillCamera

this is the flower show put up by the shops in chelsea,it is separate from the big one where u have to pay as much as £50 to get in. i find it more colorful than the other one, because it is arranged flowers. whilst the other one is landscape gardens and flowers growing naturally. i like seeing arranged flowers.  it is an art in itself. they call it chelsea in bloom and in there u can vote for the display that pleases u most. and they give all the displays with pictures too. dont quite know how they can make it democratic, as i did not see all the entries so if i vote for any one of them it wont be a fair judgement. and the parrot was not featured …nor the two fruits, which were in the M&S window (it won something, another award, according to  the sign on it).

spring flowers and root veg

london 12.44pm sunny tuesday 2016 13.9C

Digital StillCamera

Digital StillCamera

Digital StillCamera

 

Digital StillCamera

Digital StillCamera

aldi selling root veg for 39p each. 2.5kg of potatoes, 1kg of carrots , red onions. nice bargain. i shall roast them i think. the sandwich is made from home made grated carrot and celery coleslaw. 

i was going to cook soya sauce chicken today, so decided to add some root veg in it. 

Digital StillCamera

there are chicken pieces in there. haha.

Digital StillCamera

Digital StillCamera

Digital StillCamera

Digital StillCamera

Digital StillCamera

Digital StillCamera

Digital StillCamera

To see the world in a grain of sand

And a heaven in a wild flower,

Hold infinity in the palm of your hand

And eternity in an hour (william blake)

it seems princess charlotte have a chrysanthemum named after her, and it is going on sale for £8 on may 2 in waitrose,( her birthday) its quite a pretty flower, pink with green tips. 

spring, flowers, saffron, thoughts

london 7pm 9.9C sunday 2016.

its always nice to see the plants waking up and sprouting buds and putting out early flowers. they certainly get a lot of attention, each flower is a the bright spot appearing in the general greyness, nice for us humans to see, but i wonder how useful it is to the plants… there cannot be that many insects so early in the year to pollinate them. and it’s not not that many plants nowadays ever get a chance to bear fruits either. all that effort and energy spent to produce flowers when we humans grow them just for the show.

i mean just take cherry blossoms, so many of them blooming in japan, but we dont hear of any   corresponding glut of cherries harvested later in the year , do we? so all those blossoms produce sterile results. it is the same here in london, all the cherry blossoms never produce any fruits at all. we would go through alot of trouble and selection to plant cherry blossoms just for their blooms at the spring time only… and we are not even interested in the fruits, so that we deliberately select sterile plants to propagate.

but when we look at farming and how we rear sheep, and cows very selectively, to eat and not for show, it tells me that we are meat eaters, and not fruit eaters. and too right … you have never heard of a fruitarian have you? someone who only eats fruits.

we also grow other spring flowers, daffodils and crocuses. but have u noticed the crocuses we grow are not the same variety that gives us stamens that we can dry to make saffron?

when i first heard that saffron is the stamen of crocuses i thought i could harvest that from all the crocuses that i see growing everywhere in spring in the parks in london. but it seems the variety grown is not the one that saffron is harvested. i wonder why? surely it would be great to kill two birds with one stone, to grow them for beauty as well as harvest them for the saffron. it must be a win win for everyone…. but no… why is that? anyone can explain? is there a body trying to monopolise saffron? to keep its price high? it cannot be difficult to cultivate the crocus sativus, which is the one that produces the saffron stamens and plant them in the parks and fields. added. i had a re-read, and noticed me using the saying… killing two birds… hmm, these sayings are so commonplace, that i tend to use them without thinking, but perhaps they are a product of an olden day when people are quite practical, and hunting birds for food is a survival thing rather than sport, and is part of people’s everyday life.