We are not used to this sort of aggression at the bird-feeders. Abit of jostling and competing for the best table perhaps but mostly a polite 'take it in turns' seems to suffice.The bird seeing-off the sparrow is, I assume, a young goldfinch. The wings look right but the distinctive red bits on the head aren't present.
I suppose I must mention the fact that the country is on the highest state of terror alert. It is 'critical' which indicates that an attack is imminent.
But arrests have been made, some on the M6, so the Police and The Security Services are doing well. Helluva job - helluva responsibility.
Picture 2 is of a brave little feral poppy that has survived Y scraping out between the patio-bricks, not to mention frequent applications of weed-killer.On has to admire courage and determination ! I think I probably mentioned some time ago the piece on Dylan Winter's 'Shared Earth' radio programme, about dormant seeds. Poppies for instance, have no problem waiting a hundred years for the conditions to be right. And it is quite amazing what comes after either a woodland or scrubland fire. Nature is wonderful.
I loved Bungus's comment re the article in his student days about 'waiting to see where people actually want to walk before laying paths !' Brilliant concept. Also I remember the protocol re smoking at Mess Dinners very well. We used to have cigarettes put out for us, in little jars at each place-setting. And then there was the business of getting one's neighbours to sign your menu. I've actually still got one from Germany. And I still well remember my mess-dress jacket. We used to call them 'bum-freezers' for reasons which would become apparent if you saw one. The 'logo' by the way was certainly not from a secret society. My aversion to Free-Masonry is well documented. It was simply a picture of an old radio-set scaled down.
Picture 3 is a passport size photograph of me, given the artistic treatment in PhotoShop.This effect is called 'glowing edges' and I must admit I quite like it. It is still recognizably me, looking miserable, and as Bob has pointed out - looking as if I'm waiting for the flash to fire. Which I was.
If anyone would like their own mug-shot 'doing' - each one only takes me a matter of minutes. The facility for people like me who can't even draw to produce 'art' on a computer with just a few mouse-clicks must be having a deleterous effect on the jobs of graphic designers etc.
This Wittgenstein quote I thought attractive:-
"Philosophy is a battle against the bewitchment of our intelligence by means of language".
. - Ludwig Wittgenstein
I remember from a biography of Wittgenstein that he was once staying with friends for a few days and his hostess asked him what he would like for breakfast. He said he didn't mind at all so long as it was the same thing each day. We are probably all a bit like that, except in hotels when we find the ' full english' irresistable.
Tracy came and pronounced Peter's barnsley-chops first rate. And we has a good cheese-board with 'posh' imaginative biscuits. Steven still poorly, even though slightly better, and he acknowledged his 'moaning lisa' e-card.
This is the mystery radio. But bigger. Hope everyone sleeps well.
I have noticed that there is little logic in the pecking order between different species of bird. Not only is it that sometimes the smaller bird can drive off one much larger but there seems to be a ‘paper, scissors, stone’ aspect to it'. Robin, for instance, drives off thrush, blackbird drives off robin, sparrow drives off blackbird, thrush drives off sparrow. I think it is what is known as a ‘round pigeon’, no, sorry, a ’round robin’.
ReplyDeleteLike you, I am impressed by the way the security forces seem to have ‘nipped in the bud’ the terror attempts of the last few days. And not for the first time.
It is particularly impressive when one appreciates that the element of surprise is all with attacker.
But people notice it far more when something goes wrong with the 'intelligence' and they need someone to blame for not having foresight.
Poppies are renowned for their longevity, often in hiding. But as Sandra says, “No plant dies if it can help it.”
I have never heard ‘Mess Dinners’ mentioned before. Should I have been calling you ‘Sir’ all these years?
Not that I would. I very much resented it as a qualified architect serving as a humble Acting L/Cpl Arch Dftsmn Class I in the RE so I wouldn’t put up with it now!
I remember once being on guard on the gate at Azzizia barracks (10 years or so before Gadaffi moved there) when a uniformed figure wearing a beret walked in and said
“Evening.”
“Evening,” I replied, with a friendly nod.
He wheeled round and said, “Don’t you usually salute an officer?”.
I then realised that he was a 2nd Lt in the Paras.
“I’m sorry, sir, “ I apologised, “I didn’t notice your ‘pip’.”
He was an all right guy and just left it at that.
The nearest I got to a ‘Mess Dinner’ was acting as a waiter at Chatham. The officers played silly games like relay races upa nd down the room with a potato stuck up their backside (the bum freezers made that easier) and the padre, an Irishman, went round all the tables at the end finishing off everyone’s drinks. He was a nice fellow too.
“Oi’m a Prodestant meself,” he told us one day, “But me brudder is a Roamin’ Cadillac.”
I feel I must make it clear that I met several other friendly and pleasant officers including our Acting Garrison Engineer whom I had known as afellow student at college!
I DID say I was sure the logo that it was NOT a symbol of some secret society.
I actually assumed it was a shrunken head, namely the ‘glowing edge’ portrait scaled down (I had seen it before).
By highlighting it I have just accidentally turned it into a negative which I think looks even better (copy it to Word and highlight).
For an exception to prove the correctness of your generalisation, I usually do NOT have the Full English when on holiday, mostly preferring the kipper or smoked haddock, if available.
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