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Diary – 2018 February
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All my diary pages going back to 2009
DRAWING & PAINTING:
1 February
It seems too early for crocus but here they are, on the first warmish
sunny day for a while.
There is plenty of time for cold weather, so I have to get out and see
them before that happens, as they don't last long.
2 February
This is Baker Street Station. I like this one as it is a smart plum red
and cream colour scheme, and they have kept a lot of the old things,
such as railings, seats and tilework.
We went to Uxbridge, which is the end of the line, another station that
has kept a lot of old things from the past. This is a penny in the slot
weighing machine on the platform. The arrivals and departures board is
vintage as well, and I am always looking out for old station clocks.
5 February
The weather has turned icy cold again. Some parts have had snow, but all
we had was this light dusting of frozen rain overnight. Not enough for a
snowman!
9 February
Days are still very cold with icy north winds, so I was glad when
someone brought these flowers. I have to put them in the hallway in the
evening so they stay cool when the radiators are on, so that they last
longer.
11 February
We went to the Natural History Museum today.
This is a woolly mammoth and a blue whale in the central hall.
The only "live" dinosaur in the museum, with lots of roaring, head
waving and bobbing about. But I am glad to say the feet did not move an
inch. The children seemed quite happy to stand close to the railings. A
few were putting their hand into this T Rex head's mouth!
Two fur-covered moving models with soundtrack. I like these dino socks
in the shop, best worn round the house where you don't need to have
shoes covering up the pictures.
This is the ceiling of the central hall, lots of plants. There is also a
display board showing pictures of them so you can see everything in
closeup.
Afterwards we had our sandwiches by the River Thames. I recognised some
dinosaur feet coming towards us, and so he got a few crumbs. Exactly the
same scaly toes and claws!
This is one of the pier landing stages for river boats. I like the
coffee sign with the word coffee written in the wavy steam.
14 February
This is the last of our home grown pears, it kept very well in the cold
fridge. Today we finally got the new foams for the armchairs. It was a
huge box but didn't weigh very much.
16 February
Today we went to St James's Park, where they have started putting out
some spring colour. No daffodils out to see yet, but some good clumps of
snowdrops under some of the trees.
This old tree is getting some help to stay upright and it looks like a
flowering almond blossom tree. Theses ring-neck parakeets were flying
down to someone feeding the birds, and trying to snatch some food, but
not bold enough to stay on the ground.
We then went into Green Park which is behind these gates. To our left is
Buckingham Palace, hence al lthe gold! In Green Park we saw this item
called "Watering Hole" and it is a drinking fountain with a little spout
to the right of the top hole.
On we went to Hyde Park. This is the Serpentine Lake with crowds of
birds and people.
I think the swan was doing this with its feathers to look bigger, as
there as food about. My favourites are the starlings as they are so
bold.
Here is the Albert Memorial in Kensington Gardens. Albert was the
husband of Queen Victoria in the early eighteen hundreds. It is
surrounded by a big square of very ornamental railings, so no-one can
get to the memorial itself.
Just past the Memorial, I think these blocks are for horse riders to
dismount. This is a drinking trough for dogs, and maybe the horses too.
We went back to the Natural History Museum to look at the rocks and
minerals. I really like these green parrots, just like the parakeets
that we saw in the park.
Many of the rocks look as if someone has made them, but they are all
natural formations. The pink ones are called Desert Roses.
My favourite rock is this "landscape" marble, a piece of patterned
limestone.
There is a special room called Treasures and in there we saw the
original rock containing the first fossil dinosaur bird called
Archaeopteryx. These paintings of real birds are quite a contrast to the
fossil.
Here is Sir Richard Owen who founded the museum. His statue is holding a
fossil bone in his hand.
This is the view down to the central hall from behind the statue.
Downstairs we saw this slice of a huge meteorite which dates from 4.5
billion years ago. It is studded with pieces of gold-coloured olivine
crystal gems. It is called the Imilac Meteorite.
17 February
Today we went to Mudchute City Farm on the Isle of Dogs in London. These
pigs have made a "pig's dinner" of their field, a sea of churned up mud.
Some were even lying in it! This is their shelter.
The donkeys were occupied with the hay, and the sheep were occupied with
getting snacks from the visitors. You can buy bags of the right food and
feed it to the sheep. I am glad to say they have outdoor taps and sinks
for washing of hands afterwards.
The friendly chickens on the left are very shaggy and have feathers on
their feet. The clucking chicken noises always sound friendly to me, as
if they are wondering what is coming next.
These are alpacas, and they look as if they have got the wrong feet on!
A crow and a pigeon were helping themselves to the alpaca snack food in
some bowls fixed to the fence.
In Millwall Park, I think this round structure is a climbing frame, as
there are a few of the blobs sticking out, to hold on to. These are the
arches under the piece of disused railway viaduct.
We walked on to Island Gardens by the river. I like the way the steam is
coming off the cup of tea on the cafe wall. We sat by the riverside and
looked across at Greenwich, with the two cupolas of the Royal Naval
College on the left and you can just see the masts of the Cutty Sark on
the right.
We crossed the river through Greenwich Foot Tunnel. It was built long
ago to enable workers to cross the river without having to wait for a
ferry.
The dome on the right is the south tunnel end. We gave the pigeons a few
crumbs, but this wood pigeon got one larger than he could manage. He
spent a very long time trying to swallow it and he could not drop it to
break it up, as the other pigeons would have taken it. I don't know if
he ever managed it.
23 February
It is getting very cold now and the bird baths are frozen in the
morning.
24 February
Today we went to Croydon Museum. This picture of the Queen is made
entirely of buttons.
This mosaic is round the Library/Museum entrance, lots of animals and
plants.
We saw a collection of items from China.
This is a pantograph, which is used to scale up drawings. It belonged to
an architect who was working in Croydon when the big buildings were
beginning to be built. This rabbit family looked well loved and played
with. All the items belonged to local people and so there is a story
described for all of them, with the people's names and history.
This pipe is part of an Atmospheric Railway, where air is pumped through
the tube and the train travels over the top. It did not catch on, as
rats used to eat the leather pieces that close off the pipe openings!
This a Bubble Car, quite fun but does not look safe to take on the road
with all the big trucks and vehicles that we have now.
26 February
The weather is much colder now and the bird baths are frozen all the way
through. We have to remember to empty them the night before, to save a
lot of hammering and chipping in the morning!
27 February
Real snow at last, and I can see the birds have been looking for
breakfast before I got up. We have some extra pellets and bread lumps
ready for them.
The snow has settled on the foam lily leaf shapes on the pond, which
would not happen with real leaves as most of them die off in winter.
Time for melted cheese on toast!
28 February
A very cold dawn.
The dunnock and the robin were waiting for their pellets, but they do
not really like to be together, as they are competing for food. The snow
is making the pond netting sage, but it is good to have the snow on
there as it can stop the water freezing so much, by sheltering it.
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