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Diary – 2014 September
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All my diary pages going back to 2009
DRAWING & PAINTING:
1 September
I really like these slippers, and I am trying hard to remember which
shop they were in, so we can go back and get them!
2 September
This is the best part of the river on a sunny day, as the river weed is
a very bright green, with the shadows very dark. This is taken from a
wooden bridge over the river. On the right it leads to a shopping place,
and on the left to a main road, but in the middle here it is quite
peaceful.
We walked on to the park. The park keepers put straw bales wrapped in
chicken wire into the pond. The ducks have been using them as resting
islands all year and lots of baby ducks have been sitting on them. This
bird has made his nest on top of one.
3 September
My first two mail order apple trees arrived today. We are all very
excited. We have to clear the plants along by the fence, especially some
ivy, and I found this old bird's nest underneath. It had been built over
the top of an old unused birdbox, but I think the nest belonged to a
blackbird.
4 September
I got up very early to check on my lovely trees. They are very green and
healthy. This one is Royal Gala.
We got out the root of an old shrub, pulled out an old post, and put
this new post in. It was hard work and I helped where I could. I am
especially good with the spirit level, to make sure the post is
straight. We put the cement mix in dry and watered it in around the
rocks, which makes sure there are no air spaces.
5 September
We went to the Tall Ships Regatta at Greenwich. All these grasses
are grown in long rows, so they look like waves in a green sea. The rows
of people are all watching the ships on the river and it was difficult
to see over their shoulders or between them. This sweets stall was very
attractive, but too much sugar I think!
The sailing ships had been in a race from Falmouth in Cornwall. In the
Royal Naval College were loads of things going on and places to sit and
eat. This big blue pond had two giant fans providing a wind. The
children on each side were turning the boats round and pushing them back
across the "sea". They were all very excited and noisy.
There were lots of people dressed in costume, officers and sailors, and
all the people who made and mended things.
This stall was to do with guns, and all the tools needed to make and
repair them are on the table. These ladies were sewing, as all the
clothes had to be made by hand in the 1800's.
There was so much to see, but for a break we went into the museum. I
really like this diary from 1838, and the person has done a beautiful
painting to go with the words. All these badges are ships' signs and my
favourite is the red dragon of Wales at the top.
Upstairs is a big open space with the world map on it. King Neptune was
giving talks to groups of people, and the children were running around
trying to stay on the land and not step on the blue sea bits.
This is a ship's figurehead that looks like an eagle but it is the
mythical Roc which was a giant bird. There were lots of ship paintings
and on most of them I found some seagulls flying around and looking for
the gulls each time made it a lot more interesting.
We looked around the Queen's House which is full of paintings. Looking
out of the upstairs window we were able to watch the prize-giving for
the Tall Ships race. In the crowds we saw another King Neptune riding
his seahorse. Under the seahorse is a motorbike so that Neptune can
whizz around the place!
6 September
We went back to Greenwich again. As soon as we arrived, we took the
Docklands Light Railway to the other side of the river, so that we could
see the boats with fewer crowds. Here is the Queen's row barge calle
Gloriana. The part with the big red flag is the stern of the ship and
the rowers are at the front. It passed by and then later on had turned
round and came back again.
More sailing boats floated past at intervals. This steamer boat had a
very loud booming horn but as I did not know when it was going to sound,
I could not get a video of it at that exact moment.
This is a part of the cutter head of the tunnel boring machine for the
Docklands Light Railway, when the tunnels between Greenwich and the
north side were being made. As soon as we got back to the Cutty Sark
ship, we noticed these people up in the rigging, showing how people used
to walk along to unfold the sails.
This stall shows the very nice food, crockery and tea set that the
captains would have had on board. I don't think the ordinary sailors got
any fresh fruit. This man is making nets and is using a shuttle full of
string to make all the loops. He has started with a top rope and will
make rows of loops all the way down.
The are two bad pirates, and they did a lot of posing for everyone's
cameras. At the end of the afternoon we watched this Japanese-style
drumming band outside the colonnade of the Queen's House. It was very
loud and they must have had a lot of energy because it went on for some
time!
8 September
Today we decided to go to Woolwich to see the Tall Ships there. I got up
very early and painted the trellis pieces, so that they are ready for
putting together another day. When we arrived at Woolwich, we saw a big
water feature with water flowing over flat paving. The pigeons
absolutely loved it and were sitting around, paddling and drinking.
We went through the Old Woolwich Arsenal site and down to the river
edge. I was delighted to see this fairground carousel with its
traditional music. The music is real and comes from a big organ in the
middle.
I took lots of photos of the horses and cockerels, and all the mirrors
and lights, so that I can look at all the colourful patterns again when
there is a grey day at home in winter time.
We spent some time leaning on the railings by the river, watching the
tall ships gliding past. People were having rides up and down the river.
The sailing ships were a lot quieter than some of the ordinary ships on
the river.
Here is a wonderful emblem on the side of one of the ships. As it is on
the side, it is not really a figurehead. It is winged fiery serpent.
This is a wheelwright's stall and there were tools and half-finished
wheels lying around, so you could see how they were made. There were
stalls showing how everything was made and done.
This table showed what the ordinary sailors had to eat - hard sea
biscuits, salted meat and navy grog, which was a rum drink that was
sweetened and watered down.
In the museum we found lots of modern tapestries showing the history of
the area in lots of tiny detail. The first one seems to be somewhere
like Greenwich Park and a Roman road being built nearby. Brown Teddy
liked this one where Sir Walter Raleigh is laying down his cloak so that
the Queen can walk over a muddy patch.
The museum had lots of measuring instruments that were used in the
Arsenal when it was an ammunition factories area. In the hall, there
were lots of prints of paintings by young children, of ships on the sea.
They were all very good and colourful. I wish they were all in a book so
that I could see them again, at home in a soft warm armchair!
A long time ago the river was entirely full of ships likes these, with
masts everywhere.
We walked along towards Greenwich. The pigeons have found a very safe
place to rest and sleep on this jetty, as nothing can on it from the
shore, and the concrete is warmed by the sun. This post is rotting away
and has almost disappeared and I suppose the whole jetty will disappear
like this eventually.
We took a bus back to Greenwich, and here is the wool dyeing stall. This
lady looks as if she has lots of ideas for knitting up the wool to make
things that will keep everyone warm in winter.
This stall shows how vegetables were stored at sea in boxes of hay. We
were very glad to see the Punch and Judy stall and we watched it for
about half an hour. We saw Mrs Punch and the Baby, Mr Punch's dog and
his horse, and a scene with the Beadle, who was like a policeman in
those days. Mr Punch is always getting into trouble and never seems to
learn from his mistakes!
Here Lord Nelson is asking Mr Punch to join his Navy, to help him win
the battles. Later on the Crocodile came to steal the sausages, and Mr
Punch had a bit of trouble stopping him. The Crocodile's mouth is made
of wood that makes a very loud clacking noise when it shuts. All the
children were screaming when the Crocodile came up behind Mr Punch.
There are lots of souvenir shops in Greenwich and I think
these sailing ship models might be a bit expensive.
10 September
We made a start on nailing the trellis together. It might
take some time to do it all. We put in the bulbs along the edge of the fence,
and I always take a photo when bulbs go down, so we don't forget where they are.
The fuchsia was wrapped up because it had just been moved from a shady pot to
full sun, and did not have enough roots to survive the heat.
13 September
We put the apples trees in and I laid some big smooth
stones around the base. It is planted at the same depth as it was in the pot, so
the pot soil needs covering to stop it drying out, until the tree has put roots
out. A few days ago we mixed the grass seed with some damp soil in a bucket, so
it could be germinating, to prevent any delays. We raked in the seed and put
down this very thin plastic dust sheet to keep it all damp and warm. This is the
only use I can think of for all those lumps of soil left over after raking!
Further down the garden, we got out an old tree to make way
for a new apple tree. The root stump was very spreading and thick. We all had a
go at digging around it. It is a good idea to leave a long bit of trunk so you
can rock it about and give it a good tug, to see where the remaining roots might
be, which will need cutting. It was very heavy.
18 September
The next two apple trees arrived and Brown Teddy just
couldn't wait to get them out of the boxes. Later on we had some friends
visiting and we all sat in the greenhouse and ate cake. This wonderful musical
candle surprised everyone and we took a film of it opening its petals and the
music playing.
21 September
It was a misty morning and I found these blanket webs
everywhere. These webs are over the plants at the end of the pond. Blue Parrot
found the only two Spartan apples, which had fallen onto the netting. They were
still clean and eatable, and I am glad the snails did not get there first! I
hope the tree has a good crop next year, after its rest this year.
Brown Teddy is glad the birds have lots of berries to see
them through the winter. The yellow is pyracantha and the red ones are
cotoneaster.
Dino approves of fruit trees, and wanted to know when he
could eat the apples. He might get a bite next year, when we will only allow a
couple of apples to grow. He said who will water the tree, and that made us
think that it would be a good idea to put down the black covering material and
put all our spare stones on it, to keep the soil from drying out. It looks like
a beach now and it is much better than having bags of stones lying around.
29 September
This evening primrose has been flowering all year. The
flowers come out at night for the moths and we admire them every morning before
they drop off. This rose has its flowers in spring, but here it is putting out
just one little branch with a few more on. It is called Adelaide D'Orleans and
it a very fast-growing rambling one, with lots of very long thin branches.
You can use the space on your 404 page to help find missing people by embedding info from notfound.org See Yellow Teddy's 404 page
Where to report a lost or found teddy or
toy in
the UK:
https://www.facebook.com/LostboxTeddyBears
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