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Diary – 2019 October
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All my diary pages going back to 2009
DRAWING & PAINTING:
1 October
It has been sun and showers all day. The fish like to bask in the sunny corner, but when it rains hard, they like to roam round looking for flies washed in.
The day finished with a rainbow over the countryside.
2 October
Today we went to Morden Hall Park, after doing some shopping in the area. It was a little chilly so we went into the aquarium part of the garden centre.
The fish are all wearing very snazzy costumes, but my favourite is this one sitting on the rock in his pyjamas!
This cauldron of fake coal pieces has illuminated smoke coming out of the middle. The smoke looks exactly like flames, as it comes out in wavy shapes. It was really fascinating to watch as it looked so real, but we thought it could be dangerous if a very young person got the idea that all flames are cold!
Back in the park was this straw bale maze, but as today was not too warm, there was no-one there. In the rose garden the roses are all over and there are no picnics happening, like in the summer. At least the sun came out for a while.
5 October
Today we went to Upminster. The weather warmed up and the sun came out, so we were able to have our snack in the park, much more pleasant than sitting on the train platform to eat.
6 October
This is Putney Bridge. There were lots of seagulls and pigeons pecking around in the mud on the shoreline and we wondered what they were finding to eat. We thought it must be little flies on the stones or worms in the mud.
In the orchard of Fulham Palace there was an Apple Day Celebration. Every type of old variety was there, all labelled.
There are some hives in the orchard, but this bee skep is how it was done in the past. This is a small apple press, although we prefer to eat our apples as they are, or made into a smoothie. The man was making wooden items for sale.
The toffee apples were very popular. The band Threepenny Bit were playing traditional folk music and everyone crowded round to listen more closely. We really enjoyed their music.
After going round a few times, we went into the vegetable and flower garden part. There is a big greenhouse built against the high brick wall and in the middle section was a pile of gourds and squashes.
Outside the Palace, next to the river, we sat in the rose garden to have our snack. Then we took a bus to Chelsea and walked to the river there. These are the rows of houseboats at Chelsea, all settled into the mud at low tide.
We walked further on and over Battersea Bridge. Someone has been down on the mud here!
We could see a big storm and rain falling in the distance. As we got to Battersea Park, the wind got very strong and it started raining. There are lots of very big old trees in the park, so we sheltered behind a very wide one. The storm passed and the sun came out.
These are the fountains in Battersea Park. They will be turned off and emptied soon, for the winter.
16 October
We went shopping in Uxbridge. This is one of my favourite stations, as I like to see the old fitments, and here is a light-up box showing the trains and destinations.
In the shopping centre we found these wings so people can take selfies. The feathers are added by visitors who put on their own drawings, colouring and message. Further along was this chess set. There are always interesting things in shopping centres other than the shops!
18 October
We went to the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich. This is the Great Map where people can walk all over the world, or ride on the little wheeled ships. We saw the Polar Exhibition. Here are some snow shoes.
These paintings look extremely cold. The second one has the puffins sitting on a floating lump of ice. I am glad the museum room was reasonably warm!
In the Tudor Seafarers room, we were fascinated by this model of a Tudor shipyard. It has projections of actors doing the work. They look so real walking about but they are really on a sloping glass screen projected from above. There are even birds that fly over the sky. Later on we went outside for our sandwiches. We sat here under the covered walkway, as it was raining heavily with a squall of hailstones. This view is looking up the hill to the Royal Observatory.
When the squall passed and it was blue sky again, we went down to the riverside path. There are now giant bags of stones along the edge, to protect the wall from the waves.
At home we decided to bring in all the remaining apples, as we noticed that the squirrel was biting and taking them. They are all washed, dried and sorted. Any ones with holes are used up straight away into a smoothie, so only the good ones go into storage.
20 October
We saw the October Plenty parade in the gardens of the Imperial War Museum, with costumes and music. Here is the tall Berry Man, covered in berries, fruits and leaves.
Then we walked to Lambeth, and found this fountain pool in one of the side gardens of Lambeth Palace. It has a mosaic in the base, in blue and green with orange speckled fish. Further along the riverside gardens on the north bank, we saw this in the children's play area. Each squares plays a different bell sound when stepped on.
We passed by Westminster Abbey, shown above, and the Houses of Parliament, and the area is always very crowded. Most of the riverside seats are ornate, with sphinxes and camels, but this one has swans at each end.
We passed by some horse guards facing the street, then went through the arch into Horseguards Parade and on to St James's Park.
22 October
Today we went to the ecology park in Greenwich Peninsula. There is a long board walk through the wooded area, with little streams and ponds everywhere, even going under the walkway.
We came out the other end at the river. I like this seating area, all the seats are at different angles so people can lounge about and lay back.
We took a bus to Greenwich Park and climbed the hill to the Observatory. The day was very clear and bright. In the distance is the Queen's House and over the river is Canary Wharf area with its high rises. On the far right is the domed roof of the O2 centre on the Greenwich Peninsula where we had walked to.
We walked back through Greenwich Park. There are lots of these very ancient trees, mostly chestnuts, some over 500 years old. Brown Teddy was happy to see some berry bushes for the birds.
24 October
Gardening season is over now, and I did a tour of inspection to see what was left. This coleus and fuchsia are doing well, at least until the frosts arrive. This is the only remaining Michaelmas Daisy. We took the others out as they were too invasive with seedlings. We missed this one but left it in as it was flowering, but we won't let it seed.
Lots of berries on the cotoneaster bush for the birds. We have left the spoiled apples down the garden for the birds. This one is well chewed, I think the squirrel has had a go as well.
I am glad we got all these new bulbs in before this cold weather came.
27 October
This is an Argentinian sailing ship at Canary Wharf. They had an open day for visitors to look around the decks. It is a naval training ship touring the world. The staff were very helpful, telling us all about the ship and what they do, with very good English as well.
Back at Greenwich, we have our own sailing ship, the Cutty Sark, all perfect since its restoration, but not on the water - only on glass water!
We walked to the Observatory and watched the Time Ball fall at 1 o'clock, as it does every day.
28 October
It is quite chilly this morning but the fish are still interested in breakfast for the time being. There was a slight covering of frost on the bird bath.
This is Canary Wharf station and inside there are long elevators going down to the station underground. There are loads of tall glass buildings everywhere, as it is the business district.
We got to the river and watched the Thames Clippers speeding past. These two cameras are still there since our last visit, a pair of eyes looking out over the river. We were wondering why they put two in one place, maybe they are looking in different directions.
30 October
Today we went to the two parks in Vauxhall. This is the city farm with the horses kept outside in some grassy enclosures. In the second park, there was not a lot to see as the flowers are all over, but a lot of lazy pigeons sitting around and lazing on the grass.
What a surprise, some model Tudor houses in one corner. They are made of painted concrete.
This is Vauxhall Bridge with the Houses of Parliament just visible behind.
We went to Cleopatra's Needle on Victoria Embankment, a huge Egyptian obelisk that was presented to the country. As it was going to be a very high tide, we wanted to see if the lions would be drinking. They have rings in their mouths for boats to moor to. The water was not quite high enough to go in their mouths, though, although some big waves did come in when the Thames Clippers went past.
There is a big marble Sphinx on each side of the Needle.
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