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Diary – 2021 June
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All my diary pages going back to 2009
DRAWING & PAINTING:
1 June
Today we are in Beckenham Place Park. I like the patterns on the path when it is sunny, it makes it all more interesting. Old tree trunks are left to rot away, and sometimes get a bit of rubbish inside!
This is the swimming lake. Everyone swimming is towing a little bright pink floater, for safety. Further on is the cottage garden with a little wildlife pond.
The cottage garden has some veg patches and this interesting topiary yew. We are guessing it has been shaped to look like a big ornamental fountain. We sat here in the sensory garden to have our snack.
Back in the woodland old branches are often stacked up into wigwams. Some are used to make hurdle fences, to keep people from walking off the paths and trampling the woodland plants.
3 June
We went to Horniman Park in Dulwich. This is the bandstand and there were misty views of central London.
The park has lots of sundials everywhere. This is a bug hotel on a large scale, using old pallets and logs.
We walked from the park on to Sydenham Hill Woods. I like the little pond in the middle, it always looks to me like somewhere secret and quiet where the dinosaurs would have come for a drink millions of years ago.
This is Cox's Bridge, now closed off as it needs repairing. We are standing where the old train track would have been. This piece of old log looks to me like the pages of a very thick book.
6 June
My cotoneaster is usually full of bees, but today we had some small blue butterflies.
The Oriental poppies have all come out at once, which means they will disappear all at once!
9 June
We went to Peckham Rye Park. It has a large lake with all the usual pigeons, ducks and geese. They sit around resting and sleeping until people walk by and then they get interested!
A glimpse of the lake through the shrubbery. Brown Teddy said he was glad of all this shade, as it was getting quite hot.
These stones are the lintels from school doorways, one for Boys and one for Girls. They are big enough for people to sit on.
We went on to the Sexby Garden. I love little pools and I am glad this one is now a natural green. It was bright blue last time we came! There are lots of big flower beds and paths in all directions.
The long pergola covered in wisteria.
Sometimes I think wisteria stems are holding up the pergola! I like this wild flowery part with the tall foxgloves.
We sat here for our snack. The robin kept flying from branch to branch, singing his ownership of the area.
Another woodland part with a stream coming from a pipe into a pool. Another grey carp was lazing around, and we saw lots of tiddlers in the shallows.
At last we saw this tiny stream that is all that is left of the River Peck before it goes into the culvert.
10 June
Today is Eclipse day. We made this viewing box from a cereal carton, with a foil top with a pinhole, and a larger viewing hole. We didn't see much, though.
You have to use special glasses to watch an eclipse. We put the glasses over the camera lens and got this photo, you can just see the top of the sun being covered by the edge of the moon.
Even better than an eclipse is getting our two mail order roses, one for each of us.
They are big and bushy, I think they will soon be flowering. They have a woolly felt blanket on top of the soil to keep it in and keep it damp.
11 June
At last we saw the bird who has been singing loudly all around us. It is a chaffinch in the top of a neighbour's tree.
13 June
I inspected all my air layering attempts. I only got two plants out of them all, as I think some of them had dried out before I got round to squirting water into them. I now have two little bushes for the corner of the pond, just what I intended.
14 June
Today we went to Burgess Park. It was quite hot and this crow is panting in the heat, not cawing. But he could always cool off at the side of the lake if he wanted. Part of our walk round the lake was in this little bit of woodland, much cooler.
It is a long lake with spread out fishing spots. People get a day license and can sit there with their fishing tent and gear.
A little part was sectioned off for the wildlife.
The lake has been restocked with lots of very small carp, all together here in the warm shallows.
On the other side is the Bridge to Nowhere. It used to cross the Surrey Canal, which is now gone and it is just a path under the bridge.
We went on to Chumleigh Gardens, very ornamental and each time we are here there are camera club members all taking photos!
The gardens round the back are cool and shady. The butterfly decoration is over the gate.
We sat here for our sandwiches, and watched the robin in the tree nearby.
This is the giant palm behind our seat. Further long is the Arabic garden with a tiled pool and another palm in the middle.
More shady exotic trees and palms.
This tree was almost glowing in orange and yellow, where it had sunlight on it.
A lovely sundial, except it was telling the wrong time as the gnomon pointer has been bent or moved sideways. I hope they mend it soon.
We took the bus towards London Bridge Station. We could see the Shard but as we passed St George's Church the church spire got bigger than the Shard!
As we nearly always go home from London Bridge, this view of the Tower of London and Tower Bridge is very familiar by now.
16 June
Time to find and mend a leak in the pond liner. We had a little water dribbling down the garden path regularly. I am relieved that we did find the little holes that had been made by tiny sharp stones. We have some special extremely sticky tape that cover the holes, but the liner must be dry, so we had to let some water out first. Mr Frog was not best pleased when we moved some of the pond plants, but I hope he is glad his home is now safe from losing water.
18 June
Grey and rainy day but not cold so we went out anyway. These are the tall buildings on the other side of the river Thames at Greenwich. The only things of interest were bits on the beach. This log has a lovely pattern, it should really be made into a coffee table so someone can admire the swirly patterns!
The foreshore is stepped with gabions, which are mesh boxes full of stones, to stop erosion. This higher part has been planted as a wild flower garden.
This iron anchor is tall enough for a person to stand under. The chains are much bigger than they look in the photo, you could not possibly move any of it.
Well named!
Here is Greenwich Power Station which supplies electricity for the tube rail network. The old iron jetty used to take in the coal a long time ago.
Some exceptional high tide markers.
The path outside the power station still has the old rails, we are guessing probably the coal wagons. The taverns/pubs here are covered in hanging baskets and window boxes, all the way to the top floor.
One tavern has a long mural of the Greenwich riverfront. It took six photos to get it all.
We went into Greenwich Park, this is called Anchor Walk. They are all very old. The red cutter head was used in dredging and the yellow teeth were removable.
We had our snack next to The Queens House, sitting on a sheltered dry step out of the rain.
We climbed the hill to the Royal Observatory. There were a few people standing on the Meridian Line. The view over The Queen's House and Canary Wharf was very misty.
Greenwich Park is full of very ancient trees, mostly horse chestnut, this one must be at least 500 years old. This is Maze Hill Station, where we got a train to London Bridge.
No-one cooling off in a heatwave today, but the fountains are still going!
We walked over London Bridge. These are old stones from a previous version of the bridge, they are in a little courtyard next to St Magnus The Martyr Church. The timber beam is a Roman piling from about 75 AD.
16 June
Wildflower meadow in the park, which is a reminder, I must get some cornflower seed packets next year!
23 June
Today we went to Kingston. I just love all this decoration on the old timber framed building.
Here are the three fish of Kingston's town shield. This gilded statue of Queen Anne was made in 1706.
Here we are on the bridge over the Thames. I really like these little party trip boats, where everyone can sit around the table and have their snacks and drinks whilst the skipper takes them up and down the river.
This is the start of the path from Kingston to Hampton Court, along Barge Walk. The little floating basket with parasol is called Coots Nook. I wonder if they put food in there to encourage the coots to use it!
It is about an hour's walk, but there are plenty of shady places and seats, and we stopped halfway to have our sandwiches. This ferry notice has a bell to ring when you need the ferry.
Here is the back fencing of Hampton Court gardens. People were painting it with new grey and gold paint. The palace brickwork is also being renovated.
We saw a very fast swift flying about, and he landed on the top of a high wall, just in time for a quick photo. We went home via Waterloo Station, and these are the buffers at the end of the track. It would be interesting to see how they test them somewhere!
29 June
The geese in our park are so used to people, they sleep on the paths and you have to walk round them. But they are always looking at you in case you have food for them.
Mr Frog jumped out when we hosed the water lily leaves to get the stray fish pellets off them. He soon disappeared back into the water.
30 June
We are at Regent's Canal today. The steps have been covered in artificial grass to make a nicer seating area, and on this side of the canal a big screen was being installed, ready for the tennis season.
We walked through Coal Drops Yard and behind that are the apartments built into the gasometer frames. I like this very tall grassy planting, waving in the breeze.
"Let's make this much of the Rest of Summer" I think this was probably put in last year, after a mid-season lockdown.
Here is the lock at Regents Canal.
The building is the old waterpoint, which supplied water for steam locomotives. It was relocated 700 yards from its original position near St Pancras Station.
This hand cleaning station is in the gardens between St Pancras and King's Cross. By St Pancras we found this old drinking fountain from 1877.
St Pancras Station is very ornate at the front.
Here is the bronze statue of Sir John Betjeman, whose efforts saved St Pancras Station from being demolished. He is admiring the wonderful arched roof.
We would love to be standing here under very heavy rain and thunderstorms!
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