Life In General – I spent the start of my week clearing gutters around the house and pruning trees. I had a bit of different perspective from up on part of our roof (above), it’s amazing how much more you can see from just a couple of extra metres up. It was good to get some of these chores done, as I’ve felt a bit on the back foot with some of them recently.
I also had to take Wilson to the vet mid-week. He mysteriously started limping on Monday, and despite doing all of the usual things it wasn’t getting any better. The vet didn’t think there was anything seriously wrong, and more of the same should sort things out. It does seem to have been improving as the week has progressed.
Work – I have another showcase event on Monday so this week has been about preparing for that and also thinking a little retrospectively about this year in terms of what I might need to do differently, for next year. I’m going to be starting my planning for 2018 fairly soon.
Allotment – My broad beans (sown two weeks ago) are just starting to germinate, the first ones are coming through the soil surface. Still lots of other things to do though, Winter is the time for digging the soil, and I spent a good part of Saturday doing that. I find it quite therapeutic to dig and think, and I also get a reasonable amount of exercise in the process. There is a saying that you get a double benefit from growing your own food, once when you dig the ground and the second when you harvest and eat your own produce.
Currently Reading – I’ve been reading The Blue Demon by David Hewson [GoodReads] this week. I really enjoy David’s books and had the pleasure of meeting him a few years ago. I love the way he is able to blend cultural and social history into his books, and this one is no exception.
Not sure what’s going to be up next, have plenty to choose from at the moment.
The Week In Wildlife – In Pictures
Mapping the U.K.’s Many, Many Names for Streams – There are always many names for the same thing, partly due to local dialects this interesting piece looks specifically at the different names for watercourses. Interesting though that one of the local names here – lavant – isn’t included.
EU on brink of historic decision on pervasive glyphosate weedkiller – I know that this won’t please a lot of people, but I can’t help thinking that it is probably a good idea on balance.
What we can learn from the man who swam five miles with a tiger shark – [LINK] I’ve had many close encounters with wildlife, but never in the sea – probably because I don’t swim in the sea all that often.
A Couple of TV Shows that I want to mention. “H is for Hawk: A New Chapter” is still available on BBC iPlayer (if you can access it) [LINK]. I’ve posted a video preview of this previously, and I really enjoyed it. You’ll probably get more from it if you’ve read the book H is for Hawk, by Helen McDonald, who also presents the programme, but it’s not essential.
The second one that I want to mention is WWII’s Great Escapes: The Freedom Trails [LINK]. This has been on for a number of weeks and was a good watch. Incredible to see what some soldiers and airman managed during WWII to escape from captivity or avoid capture. Particularly when you consider the equipment that they didn’t have and the terrain that they had to negotiate.
(It might be that the links in this section don’t work if you’re outside of the UK, but both programmes are worth watching out for if you get a chance).
London National Park Map – I mentioned this a couple of weeks ago, and my free copy (I had to pay the postage) arrived last week. It is pretty amazing in terms of how much “green” space there actually is in London. If you’d like your own copy you can get it here (once they’ve reprinted because they’ve currently sold out). Here’s a sneak peak:
Podcasts – I’ve added a couple of podcasts to my app this week. The first is The Kevin Rose Show [LINK] which covers a variety of things including technology, lifehacks and other things. The second is On Margins [LINK] which covers publication and writing type topics.
Tomorrow is another day – Today is Sunday, but who knows what Monday might bring. I hear there are some likely movements in the Trump / Russia investigations:
Electronic Scrapbook 