All posts by Keith

I’m a controversialist and catalyst, quietly enabling others to develop by providing different ideas and views of the world. Born in London in the early 1950s and initially trained as a research chemist I retired as a senior project manager after 35 years in the IT industry. Retirement is about community give-back and finding some equilibrium. Founder and Honorary Secretary of the Anthony Powell Society. Chairman of my GP's patient group.
personal, pleasures

Reasons to be Grateful: 29

Experiment, week 29. Another week, another selection in my continuing experiment in documenting five things which have made me happy or for which I’m grateful during the week. So this week we have …

1. Iris sibirica. These wonderful blue, delicate looking iris are out now in our garden. They’re always a delight to me!

Iris Sibirica

2. Hypnotherapy. I always enjoy my 3-weekly-ish hypnotherapy sessions with Chris. We always find something interesting to mull over and I enjoy the experience of being hypnotised. And this week Chris reckons he got me hypnotised much deeper than ever before; I was certainly reluctant to emerge from hypnosis and it took me a fairly long time to come round.

3. Yummy Food. Yes we’ve had the usual good meal this week (as well as a few mundane ones; we don’t eat royally all the time!). On Friday I did pasta and seafood (a variant on my Pasta with Bacon recipe) again, only this time with scallops. Much as I like scallops I think I actually prefer this dish with king prawns — well who wouldn’t?! And tonight I did Pork Fillet with Pesto, but with a jar of commercial tomato pesto; served with steamed new potatoes and English asparagus — most yummy!

4 & 5. Meeting Friends. It’s always great to meet up with friends as we did yesterday with Katy and her children at Kew Gardens: always another delight and which I’ve blogged about here.

natural history, pleasures, science

Kew Gardens

Yesterday we went to Kew Gardens to meet our friend Katy and her three children who are in London for half-term holiday, and trying desperately to avoid all the Jubilee shenanigans.

We had a great day. We’d agreed to meet at 10 and provision lunch for ourselves (we’ve not been impressed with the catering at Kew in the past); although Noreen and I did agree to provide cake for all: no mean feat when you’re meeting four cake eating fiends! We also provided a generous supply of home-made pizza.

Noreen and I left home too early. My fault as I was calculating on weekday rush hour traffic not that at dead of a grey wet Saturday morning. Even having stopped on the way to to acquire sandwiches and cake we arrived 30 minutes before the gates opened at 9.30. Boring!

Katy and troop eventually showed up just before 10.30 having (predictably) been stymied by the vagaries of London Underground. By this time Noreen and I had drunk coffee (some of which I spilled, scalding my hand — dozy git!), we’d had a wander round the shop and Kew’s all too tiny garden centre, and I had bought two orchids to add to my collection (luckily the shop were happy to keep them aside for me until we left).

Cactus Flower

Although we go to Kew at least once a year, I’ve still never managed to see more than about 40% of the 300 odd acres. And Katy hasn’t been there for half a lifetime! So we decided we’d take the motorised tour train round the gardens, to get a flavour of everything. It wasn’t very warm and was trying to drizzle; I was glad I’d worn jeans rather than shorts and had a waterproof. Sadly the tour guide/train driver was dreadful and seemed to be telling us everything except what we wanted to know — but then it’s probably designed to appeal most to Americans and Japanese (of whom there were plenty).

We managed 80% of the tour before jumping off and heading for (more) coffee and early lunch. Still, having now done the tour I now know that the parts of Kew I have seen are the parts which really do most interest me, with a couple of exceptions.

Kew Palace Panorama

After lunch, and allowing the kids to run around for a bit, we wandered off to see Kew Palace — yes, a small Royal Palace built late 17th century in the Dutch style and one of the last refuges of the madness of George III. It isn’t large, but is well done and is quite interesting, especially as in restoring it they have left some of the walls of the upper floors in pieces to show how they were constructed. The formal gardens behind the palace are also rather lovely, although the Laburnum walk was clearly well past it’s best. After this I had a little rest on a park bench (so decadent!) while the others availed themselves of a guided tour of the palace kitchens.

By this time it was nigh on 2pm and we were still cold; well the weather was unseasonably grey and breezy. So it was off in search of more coffee and share out some cake, with more time for the kids to run riot!

We then wandered off in search is the Princess of Wales Conservatory and the Palm House. There at least we would get warm! But by this time the sun was out and it turned into a rather nice afternoon.

I always like the PoW Conservatory. Like the rest of Kew there is always something to look at, whether it is flowering cacti, orchids, bougainvillea, water lilies … and there are Amazonian fish in the pond including, this time, a huge puffer fish and an enormous Plecostomus catfish.

Water Lily House

Another short rest to allow the children to let off more steam — where do they get the energy?! — and off for a quick tour of the water lily house (instant sauna!), which is always gorgeous at this time of year, and the Palm House with more aquatics in the basement as well as bananas, neem, ylang-ylang and ginger plants.

Nymphaea Cultivar

By this time we adults were on our knees, and in fact the kids were beginning to tire too. So just after 4.30 we packed up our kit and decided to go our separate ways home (having collected my orchids). We didn’t get to the roses, the Temperate House, the Japanese Garden or the Treetop Walk, all of which remain on the list for anther day. Nevertheless it was a grand day out; we got cold; we got hot; we saw lovely things, we drank coffee, we bought ourselves treats and we consumed a month’s worth of sugar. And there are still things to go back for. What more could one want?

You can find Katy’s account on her weblog.
And lots more of my photos of Kew (not just yesterday’s) on my Flickr.

words

Word : Apophenia

Apophenia

The experience of seeing meaningful patterns or connections in random or meaningless data.

In statistics, apophenia is a type I error (false positive, false alarm, caused by an excess in sensitivity). It is also used as an explanation of paranormal and religious claims, and a belief in pseudo-science.

The term was coined in 1958 by Klaus Conrad who originally described this phenomenon in relation to the distortion of reality present in psychosis, but it has become more widely used to describe this tendency in healthy individuals without necessarily implying the presence of mental illness.

(Thanks to Prof. Ian Young for the word!)

ramblings

Conundrum Confused

This is weird …

Why do I keep thinking today is Saturday?

We’ve done all the things we’ve normally done on a Friday, but my brain has persisted throughout in telling me that today is Saturday.

I really don’t understand time. Or should that be consciousness? But then does anyone understand either? However you look at them, both are just weird.

photography

The Photo Gallery: Sunshine

3 Comments

The subject of Tara’s Gallery this week is Sunshine. So I offer you this …

Butterfly

This was taken during our September 2009 trip to Washington, DC; actually in the herb garden of the National Cathedral.

The whole garden was swarming with butterflies in the September sun, which was unseasonably hot. There were lots of these ranging in colour from pale cream through canary yellow (as this one) and pale green and pale orange. Don’t know if they were all the same species, but they all looked the same apart from the colouring.

And there were also lots of Monarch butterflies and several delightful hummingbirds, which I totally failed to be quick enough to capture.

photography

Buggered Britain 9

Another in my occasional series documenting some of the underbelly of Britain. Britain which we wouldn’t like visitors to see and which we wish wasn’t there. The trash, abused, decaying, destitute and otherwise buggered parts of our environment. Those parts which symbolise the current economic malaise; parts which, were the country flourishing, wouldn’t be there, would be better cared for, or made less inconvenient.

Buggered Britain 9
Click the image for larger views

This is London’s iconic Hyde Park Corner, at the junction of Piccadilly, Knightsbridge and Park Lane a couple of Sunday mornings ago. It was taken from the top of the Wellington Arch (now open to the public). What a mess!

amusements

Auction Oddities

It’s auction time again and as usual I’ve been perusing the catalogue of our local auction house. I must admit that they are not as interesting or wacky as they were a year or two back; whether they’ve improved their description writing or aren’t getting so much odd stuff to sell, I don’t know — although this sale does seem to include a lot of good silverware and designer clothes (both men’s and women’s). Anyway here are some highlights of the latest sale which amused me.

An engraving, ‘Actresses Dressing in a Barn’ …
Undressing? I should have expected the opposite of actresses in a barn!!

A large military lot to include two ammunition cases, a radio … headsets, an HF transmitter receiver, a large communication unit, two army hats, etc.

A small carton of plated King’s pattern cutlery, also a pair of berry spoons, souvenir teaspoons, corkscrew, and an unusual giant nutcracks (sic)

A fine large George III silver sauceboat, with gadroon rim, on stepped hoof feet, with half-eagle crest.
How do you step a foot,let alone put a crest on it?

A silver child’s mug of Celtic design …
And there was I thinking children’s mugs were always whinge-shaped.

An Elizabeth II silver waiter with bead rim …
I can think of a few gays who’d quite like that. 😉

A pair of George II silver baluster muffineers …
Well that’s a new name of a gigolo!

A shelf of exotic shells and dried fish, and … a gilt metal leopard

A shelf of interesting figural pieces, including an old cream jug styled as a seated goat …
You mean you don’t already have one? Tut! Tut!

Pottery storage jars styled as houses, china cups, saucers and plates, a bowl of pottery fruit …
Not quite sure how you style a jar as a plate or saucer!?

A pair of Baccarat frosted glass chicks …

Three old green glass dumps (sic), one enclosing a three tiered flower pot, the other two bubbled.
Do what?!?

Nine late Victorian fireplace tiles, variously decorated with birds and flowers, and also with Dutch children in blue relief.
Should think the children might be very relieved to the removed from the tiles.

A collection of ceramic figures, including … a Lomonosov rabbit with carrot and polar bear …
Would have thought rabbit inside polar bear might be more likely.

Five mounted goat skulls with horns, each on a shoeld (sic) mount

A cowboy saddle in red leather and suede.
Now where’s Princess Diana when you need her?

personal

Reasons to be Grateful: 28

Experiment, week 28. Another week in my continuing experiment in documenting five things which have made me happy or for which I’m grateful this week. So this week we have …

  1. Summer Weather. Finally summer arrived with a bang this week. We’ve not just had almost wall-to-wall sunshine but it has been hot as well. Even though it has been unusually, and at times uncomfortably, hot, I’d much rather have it like this than the drab, coldness of winter.
  2. Short Trustee Meetings. On Tuesday evening we had the 2-monthly meeting (by audioconference) of the Anthony Powell Society. Amazingly we finished the meeting in 40 minutes which was a result; often the meeting last and hour and a half!
  3. Samsung Galaxy S2. During the week I got a new mobile phone, and finally succumbed to a smartphone. Because at the moment I’m doing a photographic project which entails a lot of driving around central London on a Sunday morning I figured that something with satnav would be a good investment. And so it proved this morning trying to navigate the back-streets of Soho and Covent Garden! It’s almost paid for itself already! And I have to say it is a most impressive piece of technology (except for the power consumption which is frightening with the GPS on).
  4. Lamb Sag Madras. Well I can’t let a week go by without at least one foodie item! On Saturday evening I made a rather good Lamb Sag Madras served with Mrs Marshall’s Very Lemony Rice. Yummy, it was!

  5. Kensington Gardens. As part of the aforementioned photographic project I was walking through Kensington Gardens before 8AM this morning. It was already getting warm, but it was still delightfully fresh and great to have the grass under ones feet. Even at that our on a Sunday there were joggers, dog walkers and skateboarders everywhere! And swans (above) on the Round Pond.
links

More Sexy Science You May Have Missed …

This week’s selection of links to items spotted recently which you may have missed. And you really didn’t want to miss this juicy selection …

First up here are some awesome illuminated manuscript cookies. Just where does one get edible ink and paper for an inkjet printer?

How is it that we see dark, even when we close our eyes, because apparently the eye gives off more “black body radiation” than there is daylight? It’s all down to Quantum Mechanics. Interesting for you scientists; awesome for the rest of you that someone even investigated this!

Apparently the government may be about to (re)introduce obscenece laws allowing the persecution of buzzards. The birds are allegedly stealing too many pheasants from the idle rich who now want to shoot the buzzards as well as the pheasants.

Why are tomatoes so tasteless these days? Well the scientists think they’ve found out what adds the taste (and it wasn’t obvious!) so they can now breed better commercial varieties. In the meantime the advice seems to be to grow your own.

So just why are harps harp-shaped? It’s physics again.

A Drink to Help You Orgasm? Fantastic idea; shame about the marketing hype.

OK so extended breastfeeding is the norm in most human and primate societies. So why are all you western girlies weirdly not doing it? Ah, I see, not enough Neurogasm. 😉

What? An American designer who hopes his better vibrator can rejuvenate the American sex life? Only if it comes in a plain brown wrapper.

So apparently the urge to sext naked self-portraits is primal. Yeah right; so our distant ancestors had mobile phones!? But seriously, where’s the f***ing problem? Nudity is neither unnatural nor unwholesome — actually just the opposite. If people want to show themselves off, well fine, isn’t that their privilege?

Besides it seems Rihanna (“a nubile chanteuse, m’lud”) is spending a lot of time and energy sharing round what’s between her legs. Again, where’s the problem? Isn’t it her prerogative. Good for her for knowing what she wants and not being afraid to go for it. It’s a pity more of us aren’t so unbuttoned.