How not to cater for the non-car driver

There has been a lot of work at the junction of Orient Way and Leabridge Road at the north of Leyton, with an expansion of the cycle path. To cross from the south west stretch of Leabridge Road to the south east stretch, which I do on my way home from my regular Saturday cycle ride and from my Sunday kayak sessions, there is a section at the edge of the crossed with raised edges and a flat bit in the middle for cyclists to cross. The only problem is that, even if the cyclist is at the far right of the flat bit, they are out of arm's reach of the button to press to indicate they want the lights to change to allow them to cross!

There has also been a lot of work outside Walthamstow Central station. The 97 bus now doesn't come into the station - you have to go out on to Hoe Street to catch it. For the vast majority of people wanting the 97 from Walthamstow Central the 69 would do just as well (at least the first 3 1/2 miles covers the same route). But now we have to decide which. Even though the 97 bus stop is brand new, there is no indicator board, so standing waiting, watching 69 after 69 coming out of the station and passing by (3 one evening for me one evening the week before Christmas), you have no knowing whether a 97 is due or whether it would be best to go back to the bus station and wait for the 69.

To add a bit of positivity to my gripes, I was cycling through the wetlands this morning and coming the other way was a little girl on her Christmas bike with its trainer wheels. She smiled at me and told me "I am cycling too!". I responded with an enthusiastic "That's great!".

For the want of some rusty nails....

This summer I got Wild Dyer by Abigail Booth.

I have a cream over-shirt I would like to tie-dye.

I've been collecting onion skins in a paper carrier bag as I cook.

I am on the look out in charity shops for a large pan (to be used only for the dying)

I also need rusty nails. I found I already had one. Then on Friday, cycling to the Walthamstow Wetlands, I found one, very rusty, nail on the cycle path in Orient Way. Doubled my cache!

Rosemary theft

Someone has taken a lot of the rosemary from my front garden - not even neatly cutting it, just roughly twisting and pulling it off. Presumably somewhere there is a wreath with a lot of my rosemary in it.

A neighbour did knock on my door once as he wanted some rosemary for a meal he was making for a visiting friend. I was happy to give him permission to take some whenever he needed it for his cooking.

This is the third theft from my garden - a plant was dug up many years ago just before Mother's Day, and a load of leaf mould was taken a few years ago.

I would never grow vegetables in my front garden!

Plane tree bark = wonderful fire-lighters

Because of the dry summer the plane trees dropped most of their bark. I could have filled my sitting room with black bin bags full of the bark. However, I only collected two carrier bags full.

Despite the problems I would have had storing it, I wish I had collected more. It makes such marvellous fire-lighters, whether starting the fire or when I've left the fire too long and it's mainly red ash and needs firing up again.

Christmas already for some people but still so mild!

This week I saw a decorated Christmas tree on a table in a front room in my street. And then on Friday another one on a desk in the offices behind work. And Santas and lights in the window of a house in the High Road. Usually the early birds round here start on the last full weekend of November - so mid-November is early!

I am still getting a small handful of autumn raspberries twice a week. The white Cosmos is in full flower. The rosemary in the front garden is in flower.

Some nights this week, even through in all evening I didn't have any heating.

Building community with ukeleles

At our team away day last week we did the usual team away day things but finished with a fun session when someone came in to teach us to play the ukulele.

We've decided to have ukulele sessions on Tuesday lunchtimes. Four from our team, plus Leslie from another team who has a baritone uke, had a first go on Tuesday.

I got my ukulele from Argos today and hope to get to Hobgoblin tomorrow to get a tuner.

A colleague, normally working near Birmingham, says at his local pub 10 years ago some people who had acquired ukuleles got together to learn how to play them. Sessions twice a month over a few years they got really good. Now twice a year they have a big event at the pub and the place is packed.

I am hoping that once I get to a basic standard (which might take some time!) I can find a local group.

Autumn leaves and wish for a delay before the first frost

The leaves of the Boston ivy usually turn red at the end of August - they are still green. The leaves of the mulberry have dropped.

I scattered some seeds just before the hot water but didn't water them. Some have now germinated. I have several small sunflowers which might flower if he frosts hold off, but they are unlikely to have the time to set seed..