Turpentine Grows In Trees
Do you know where turpentine comes from?
Despite both my father and father-in-law being good decorators and users of turpentine, I didn’t!
Until I saw this and took these pictures.
The Russians used to grow forests especially for its product. I think it is true to say, we had found ways of making an alternative synthetic product.
How Did They Get There?
There really can’t be an obvious answer to how these trees got on top of this chimney in Burnley.
How Did They Get There?
Life would be so much more boring without questions like this!
Crushed Walnuts Everyone?
Around the corner from me is a walnut tree.
Crushed Walnuts Everyone?
It looks like there has been a good crop this year, but most have been crushed or eaten.
Through St. Paul’s To The Tate Modern
I went for a walk this morning, starting on the North side of St. Paul’s Cathedral and then over the Millennium Bridge to the Tate Modern.
I’d actually never been in the gardens of the cathedral before, which connect the two sides of the building. As it was fairly early, it would have been a pleasant place to sit around for thirty minutes or so.
There’s more on the blue trees here.
I’ve Got Catkins
The hornbeam outside my house has got catkins.
I’ve Got Catkins
At last we’re beginning to see flowers on the trees.
Palm Trees In The Snow
I should have taken this picture of the palm trees in Hackney, a couple of days ago, before the snow started to melt.
Palm Trees In The Snow
Although, it’s cold January day, the flowers are already out.
Jon Snow Is Everywhere
It’s a good cause and I agree with the charity’s aims.
Trees for Cities Advert with Jon Snow
Adverts for Trees for Cities are everywhere on the Underground and they feature Jon Snow.
I was at Liverpool University, just before Jon Snow organised the protest against Lord Salisbury, who at the time was Chancellor of the university. There must have been an earlier protest, as I remember something about 1968. In Engineering, who didn’t take too much of a political stance. the reasons were a bit above our head. Although, we did think that Lord Salisbury was not the sort of old right-wing political buffer, who should hold that position. Wikipedia says this about the protest in 1970.
Apart from his political career Salisbury was Chancellor of the University of Liverpool from 1951 until 1971. In 1970, students at the university staged an occupation at Senate House to demand his removal, over his support for apartheid and similarly reactionary views.
I think it is true to say, that today, anybody with those views wouldn’t hold such a position.
In the end Jon Snow was rusticated for organising the protest, but the University did later award him an honorary Doctor of Letters in 2011.
C’s tutor at the University was Robert Kilroy Silk. He was also one of the organisers of the protest against Lord Salisbury, but I have read that at the last minute he didn’t turn up. It couldn’t have been because he was giving a tutorial to C, as she had graduated from the university in the previous year and we were living in London. Obviously, no punishment was handed down to Kilroy Silk.
C always found him odious and I can remember her stinking with tobacco smoke after she had been to one of his tutorials, where he chain-smoked Capstan Full Strength all the way through.
He obviously left the right impression on her, as once we were standing next to him at Newmarket racecourse and no matter how I tried, I couldn’t get her to approach him and speak of her times at Liverpool under his tutelage.
So now I think justice has been done. Kilroy was here, briefly and Jon Snow is everywhere. Sadly C is no more, but I still have her memories of her tutor in my mind.
Bonkers Conkers
I took this picture in Bermondsey yesterday on the walk.
Conkers in July
I’ve never seen conkers on the trees this early.
The Boners Conkers Notice
I just had to go and see the notice in the Abbey Gardens in Bury St. Edmunds.
The Infamous Conkers Notice
Everybody was eitherlaughing at the notice or photographing it!
A Load of Old Conkers
I thought that we’d seen the death of Health and Safety warnings over conkers. But we haven’t according to this story.
Surely, St. Edmundsbury Council have been things to do, with my Council Tax.
