Category Archives: topographical

books, food+drink, memes, topographical

Friday Five: My Life Wouldn't be the Same Without …

Apologies to everyone for the long silence: been very busy at work in the last few weeks; just now beginning to surface. So let’s catch up with this week’s Friday Five …

My life would not be the same without this…

1. Song/movie/book:
Well as you’ll all expect by now I’m going to be very predictable and nominate a book: Anthony Powell’s A Dance to the Music of Time. Now there’s a surprise! But I could almost as well have chosen one of any number of albums or classical pieces.

2. Person:
Dare I nominate anyone except my wife? Yes I dare, but I won’t! Noreen has to be the nomination, although clearly my parents have to be a very close second.

3. Place:
Now this is really difficult. Much as I moan about it my first inclination is to say London — ‘cos it’s where I was dragged up and the place I know best. But there are other places where “I’ve left a bit of me”: Forde Abbey in Dorset would be one, and Lyme Regis another.

4. Event:
Another difficult one! I’m going to have to think about this for a minute or few. Strangely I don’t remember events well, perhaps because I don’t have a highly visual memory. There aren’t too many events which stand out and probably none for which I can replay the whole video in my head, only odd snapshots. Even things like our wedding and my doctoral graduation are fairly fuzzy memories. Clearly our wedding would have to be high on the list, as would the Anthony Powell Centenary Conference in December 2005; also the funeral for our friend Robbie at which I was the “celebrant” and my father’s funeral. Probably in that order.

5. Self-indulgence:
Don’t think I have too many doubts here. It has to be beer. I always enjoy good beer — by which I mean traditional English real ale, or quality Continental lager and white beer. My second choice would be food. No real wonder I’m the size I am!

[Brought to you courtesy of Friday Five.]

environment, natural history, topographical

Parakeets under threat?

According to yesterday’s BBC news the UK’s Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has commissioned a study to look at the problem (what problem?) of increasing numbers of Rose-Ringed Parakeets in Britain. There is now a large population (estimated at 30,000) of these handsome bright-green birds around the southern and western fringes of London and into Surrey with enclaves building elsewhere in the country. No-one is sure exactly how they birds arrived here, about 50-60 years ago; there are a number of competing theories none of which has been substantiated.

It seems Defra and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) are worried that the parakeets will start out-competing native songbirds for food and nest sites and possibly, as their numbers increase, cause economic damage to fruit crops. However the RSPB website does admit that there is currently not a problem and that the birds have protected status; but it is reported that the RSPB is prepared to consider culling the parakeets, they say only as a very last resort.

These are wonderful, colourful and cheeky birds – albeit they can be a bit noisy and they’re not native to the UK (they come from the Himalayan foothills in India). Although I don’t see them often in my part of west London (not enough really big trees nearby, despite it is quite a green area) they do pass through my garden a handful of times a year. Personally I would be sad to see them disappear or even be culled.

Two BBC News stories: Parakeet ‘threat’ to native birds and How do parakeets survive in the UK?

history, topographical

The Strange Things One Discovers …

Quite by chance I was earlier today reading the Transport for London webpage on the history of the Central Line, and came across this oddity about our local Underground station:

[…] Greenford station, the entrance hall was at ground level but the railway was on a viaduct, and thus became the first, and only, station on the London Underground to have escalators [actualy only one escalator these days] leading from street level UP to the trains.

natural history, photography, topographical

Heron in the Hawthorn


Heron in the Hawthorn, originally uploaded by kcm76.

The heron sitting in the top of the hawthorn tree in our garden in North Greenford a couple of days ago. He obviously had his beady eyes on my pond fish, and I can’t blame him as it was a cold winter’s day. I felt rather sorry for him having to probably go hungry tonight when he took fright at me opening the back door, but I don’t think he’d have got any fish as they were all huddled in the deepest middle part of the pond. And it was quite amusing to watch this large, rather ungainly bird, trying to balance on those small twigs whilst not getting its feet stuck with the thorns! It’s not the best photo I’ve ever taken, but the best I got: it was almost dusk and I was taking through the study window.

quotes, topographical

Zen Mischievous Moments #122

Learning a new lingo seems like a good way to start the new year, so here’s a guide to London (cockney) speak (it also applies to those who come from Southend):

alma chizzit. A request to find the cost of an item.
amant. Quantity; sum total. (“Thez a yuge amant of mud in Saffend”).
assband. Unable to leave the house because of illness, disability etc.
awss. A four legged animal, on which money is won, or more likely lost. (“That awss ya tipped cost me a fiver t’day”).
branna. More brown than on a previous occasion. (“Ere, Trace, ya look branna today, ave you been on sunbed?”).
cort a panda. A rather large hamburger.
dan in the maff. Unhappy. (“Wossmatta, Trace, ya look a bit dan in the maff”).
eye-eels. Women’s shoes.
Furrock. The location of Lakeside Shopping Centre.
garrij. A building where a car is kept or repaired. (Trace: “Oi, Darren, I fink the motah needs ta go in the garrij cos it aint working propah”).
Ibeefa. Balaeric holiday island.
lafarjik. Lacking in energy (“I feel all lafarjik”).
oi oi! Traditional greeting. Often heard from the doorway of pubs or during banging dance tunes at clubs.
paipa. The Sun, The Mirror or The Sunday Sport.
reband. The period of recovery and emotional turmoil after rejection by a lover. (“I couldn’t elp it, I wuz on the reband from Craig”).
Saffend. Essex coastal resort boasting the longest pleasure pier in the world. The place where the characters from Eastenders go on holiday.
tan. The city of London, the big smoke.
webbats. Querying the location, something or someone is. (“Webbats is me dole card Trace? I’gotta sign on).

To add further verisimilitude include the following in your dialogue:
fahkin. An all purpose, meaningless expletive and adjective.
innit. Added randomly to any phrase approximating to a statement.
wewl. A throat clearance at the start of a sentence.

As in: “Wewl so Trace goes darn yur Furrock Satdi and buys some new eye-eels, innit. Fahkin gewl’s costin me a fawchune.”