something fishy on the banks of the thames 

emotional blackmail alert

it's a bit like a computer virus alert, only the threat is ten times more insidious ...

after i had uttered an apology for some minor faux pas,

the loved one's reply was typically incisive, as follows;

"thankyou, i might let you make it up to me later"

nurielle's petit pain 

the smallest loaf in sussex

a weekly highlight of the cheesedrivers toil is a peep in to the kitchen of ockenden manor

and if one is a really lucky cheesedriver, then the bread that nurielle bakes will have just emerged ...

siamese gas holders at vauxhall 

cheese drivers LIKE getting lost in Kent in April !

painter and pianist roy hewish having a crafty smoke 

ninety year old aunt mavis flaunting her magnolia 

hype the aged

my energetic aunt mavis was ninety last week

i phoned for permission to visit and she said she needed a couple of hours because she was planting some seeds in her immaculate and lovely garden

we visited her, and as we were leaving i saw, with my very own eyes, that she was skipping up the garden steps back to the house

contented inhabitants of bexhill-upon-sea

this would make a nice cover for that virginia woolf book about the lighthouse ... 

vieve forward's medal showing colin and sylvia relaxing in arcadia 

colin and sylvia forward modelled in wax 

family stuff

i cycled to fulham after work to meet my sister at a foundry

she's designed a medal commemorating our parents, colin and sylvia forward, and we met the gentlemen who will change her wax model into bronze

the medal shows the parents in profile on one-side, and relaxing "en-fete" on the reverse

i think my sister is pretty amazing

more news of this work in the next few weeks, as and when ...

we went to the borough market next to southwark cathedral ... cheese spotting 

this time last year ... this time next year 

spring springing in putney 

someone forgot the thames is tidal but we tried not to smirk 

gone to lunch !

we walked beside the river the day before the boat race

someone had left their pride and joy on the slipway, perhaps not realizing the river is tidal, not just low

of course, we tried not to smirk

an illuminating juxtaposition in battersea 

not that we get a lot of vampires in putney ... 

hammersmith bridge with natives 

a dear old routemaster in the twilight of her years 

saturday morning still-life 

millenium gas holder - built to last  

Is it a gig ? 

conservatory at the horniman museum, a nice little tea break on the south circular ... 

sheila evans' birthday

those of you who know sheila evans' tastes for horticulture will understand why i am looking for a second hand conservatory as a late birthday present

it was today & i forgot, even though we've been friends for thirty years !

this particular model is out of stock at the moment but i'll try again next year

just the spot for a bit of moonlightin' 

what used to be ferry wharf, portslade, now part of shoreham docks

you'll probably be seeing more pictures from this area because i drive by twice a week

it's a pity the firm don't have their own cheese & olives wharf here with little boats coming in from spain & greece & wherever; then i wouldn't have to drive back to london with an empty van

17th century cat tiles from portugal 

i've been neglecting her rarther badly ...

my wonderful friend fiona loves cats & i should have posted these 17th century ones to her as soon as we got back from lisbon

i forget them but at least it gives me the opportunity to share them with you

the sad skellington of brighton's west pier 

chaos at the metropole

i left the house at five and cycled to work

by 0745 i was unloading in worthing next door to a burning mosque

i went to the metropole at brighton at 0845 and there was a queue of people waiting to deliver

the hotel is extra busy because the conservative conference is on but they don't seem to have any extra staff in the back of the house

we have other customers, not so big but equally valued, so i dashed off to a couple of villages in the far east of sussex and came back seventy miles later at 1115

this time there was nobody on the back door so i drove off to another remote village between horsham & guildford

then i stopped for lunch

eventually the delivery was made at 1430, one hundred and thirty miles later and only five and a half hours late

stressed, moi ?

and another thing ... brighton council should be ashamed of the mess they got into with the west pier, just look at it ... still, mustn't grumble !