A momentous decision

I am well and truly off Facebook - and by "off", I mean no longer do I have a page. I won't be a pompous arse and say all the crass things about it, but I have a real problem with the access situation. I'm sure I've done enough cyber walking for "them" to know a lot about me - as is the case for anyone who has surfed the Tinterweb - BUT I really don't like a big company like Facebook passing on the fact that I once liked Didier Drogba's Facebook page and that I might like to buy a condo in the Ivory Coast. In the long run it really doesn't matter I know, but hey that's me and my discomfort has made up my mind for me. NO MORE FACEBOOK!


I have a lovely website - designed by the lovely Karen Cooper of KC Graphics - and really don't feel the need to show off anywhere else but here in bloggocks-land and leave the website to do the job of drumming up business for my gardening skills (sic). 

http://www.simonmurraygardenservices.co.uk/


What I might do is add a few more aspects of the Murray life and blog on a few  subjects (hooray say you, Mr Deluded). So, on Saturday had a visit down to London to meet up with a few of the ex-picketers from outside South Africa House. It was hugely disappointing on the numbers front, eight as against about 40 last year, but we were a perfectly formed gathering of immense political- and radical-ness, despite what some misguided communists might think.


The only reason I think it was so badly attended was probably because last year was the 25th anniversary of the Non-Stop Picket for the Release of Nelson Mandela and All Political Prisoners in Apartheid South Africa, run by the awesome City of London Anti-Apartheid Group - City AA, City Group, The Non-Stop Picket or as the lovely Boys in Blue from Cannon Row cop shop used to call us, The Claags! This is a link to a superb on-going documentation of the picket by Gavin Brown, an ex-picketer himself:

http://nonstopagainstapartheid.wordpress.com/


However, I did meet up with Deirdre, Gavin and Patrick for lunch and a trip to The Tate Modern in the afternoon to see Damien Hirst's exhibition. 

I'm no fan, but have a very slight regard for Mr Hirst, if only because he takes the piss out of the middle classes and above and basically steals from them. Crazy stuff. The exploitation of animals is repulsive. Killing sharks to order, especially endangered ones would be pathetic if it wasn't so ignorant, arrogant and full of bullshit.

Below we have thousands of cigarette butts on mirrored shelves...

...I confess I never read the blurb because it's always so pretentious and full of bullshit, so what this represents, other than many hours work for the staff of the Tate Modern, I have no idea - don't wanna know either...



One thing though, here's a few nice shots of London...

SA House... Nearly 20 years since we left it alone...

Countdown continues to some sporting event

in the East End - 74 days to go

This is from the roof of the Tate Modern, the Members bar, fabulous

Once again when I arrived in town, the first bus I saw was this:

They've gone back to a double decker, very sensible!


And finally, a new garden to look after...

...not a lot to do at the front, but a massive lawn to cut every two weeks round the back.


So, there you have it, a little bit of gardening news at the end, so I don't feel too bad. Thinking of starting a new radio station, anyone got any ideas as to how to go about it?


Happy twiddling...

None for sooo long then 3 come along at once...

What am I like eh? 


I came up with a new word the other day, bloggocks or bloggox if you want to be cool. It's a mix of bollocks and blog - did you spot that? Anyway, it's what this is all about innit?


Here is a most gorgeous picture from Womad a few years back. I post it because it's beautiful, sent to me by a beautiful person:

The ceiling of the Siam tent Womad 2006, courtesy of my best friend - wish I could make it this year the 30th anniversary, but well, y'know...

Today, Tuesday 12th June 2012, I was at Rebecca's place in Quainton and the building work has taken on a whole new tenor. Like great big ugly tracks all over the grass and great big ugly holes in places where there shouldn't be but ah well, there we go...


I was going to take pictures of the work, but it depressed me a bit, so I re-strimmed the little pathways I cut through the meadow area a few weeks back. I love it down there and at some point later in the year we are going to add a little seating area by the brook that runs at the bottom of the meadow. Can't wait!


Here are the new pictures:

This is a newly cut path, across the top of the re-sown area I did in April

Doesn't really look it here, but this is a quite steep hill up to the main lawn area

Looking along the bottom back to the re-sown area

And this is where the tennis court will be next year.
At the top of the drive

It's a garden I could work on all week and still struggle to keep on top of it at this time of year, so the 10 hours I do every Tuesday merely scratches the surface. Very enjoyable work and very lovely people!*


Happy strimming, if you can!


*And I'm not just saying that...

I promise not to mention the weather... Part Deux

Two posts in a day - sounds like a song a la Crowded House's Four Seasons in One Day, love 'em. Now I've mentioned them I am listening to Weather With You, class. Neil Finn has to be one of the nicest blokes - I know it's not possible to know that for sure, but he was one of the blessed Linda McCartney's favourites, so he must be good.


On my way to Quainton every Tuesday morning I pass through a new housing estate and I laugh a lot. And this is why I laugh a lot:

This place is about 30 seconds from the edge of Aylesbury and, all due respect to the people of Aylesbury, but it's not the most scenic of places and has a bit of a reputation for drugs and suchlike. And I do not judge here, not by any stretch of anyone's imagination. These signs are for a pile of crap estate called Kingsfield Park and they say (just in case you can't read them):


1 Kingsfield Park  - Air to Breathe


2 Kingsfield Park  - Space to Think


3 Kingsfield Park  - Space to Think (again)


4 Kingsfield Park  - Room to Grow


It's a shockingly misleading bit of marketing. Most of the houses are back to back and cramped up into little cul-de-sacs that could not give you space to swing the proverbial marketing exec, let alone to think, breathe and grow. I guess I'm just a house snob, I like old houses, at least turn of last century and new estates just seem such anodyne little boxes with gardens the size of a stamp. All too pretty and possibly not that well built. Here's a couple of the house styles from their website:

Gimme Victorian streets any day!


This is the top of the driveway at Rebecca's in Quainton, about five minutes drive from Kingsfield:

And here are some flowers from the top of the drive too:

Nice!


Happy house hunting - if you're doing it!

I promise not to mention the weather...

OK, I feel a bit lost. I am one of those sad individuals who has to do something. And by something, I mean work. I have this innate feeling that I must earn to justify my existence. When I think logically about that obvious psychotic behaviour I should tell myself, "Chill, if you can't work it's not your fault", but I feel like I'm letting people down. All those nice people with their lovely gardens... Ho hum.


Anyhoo, I have a backlog of pictures to upload and will basically make a selection from the past month or so. It's probably a good thing as I have quite a lot and so I must edit out the worst ones. (Can't believe I haven't blogged for over a month, still can't get the hang of this!)

First time in my life I actually love a car - not in the fruity sense of the word obviously, that would be berserk. The "Belgrano" (big and grey and never been anywhere near the Falklands) is a beauty and now I have discovered boxes it's actually quite neat!

Here are some little jobs I have done, not insignificant of course just some nice tidying up, something I actually enjoy - slightly gay?

Before...

...after. A nice little cottage in Tring

Before...

...after. The greenhouse area at Rebecca's place in Quainton - why is this soooo enjoyable?

Before...

...after. A little bit of topiary at Julie's place in Buckland. I sometimes feel cutting hair may have been a good career, but then I think hair is such a bad idea...

Some flowers:

"Bellis perennis is a common European species of Daisy, of the aster family, often considered the archetypal species of that name. Many related plants also share the name "daisy", so to distinguish this species from other daisies it is sometimes qualified as common daisy, lawn daisy or English daisy."
Many thanks to Wikipedia! I love daisies, such a shame I spend so much of my time mowing them up. I think they are so quintessentially British and we should adopt the little beauty as our national flower, sod the rose!

And here are some pretty pictures (I think) sort of at random. Yeah, that's the sun in the top one - damn! does that constitute mentioning the weather?

This is a painting in waiting isn't it? Love those shadows, but seeing as my current painting has been sitting in the dining room untouched for about 3 months, it ain't gonna happen some time soon

The previously flowerless wisteria at Pat's.
I'm hoping next year will see it awash!

Lunch time at Pat's - gotta get those feet up some time!

OK! That's it for this post, I'm going to have to write another to include the remainder of the pictures. They have a bit of an irreverent feel, so I think it would be out of place in a blog with such nice pictures.


Back in a mo...


Happy days!

That was the weak that was

Strange how time flies, tempus fugit indeed. There I was thinking it's Tuesday and Friday clips me round the ear. I'm sure it's an age thing, time does kinda move quicker the older one gets - doesn't at all of course, just feels that way - but you get what I mean.


I sat here yesterday, Thursday, thinking "this week seems to be going on forever" and then it's Saturday and the cup final is a mere 16 hours away. I love football. It's hard to explain to someone who has no interest, but it matters even in today's money squelching, mock-celebrity ridden, puss-filled pile of shite, that is the Premier League/Champions League, etc. I can't even afford to go to Stamford Bridge any more. I used to go every home game and many away games too, but not now. In fact when Chelsea were shit I went for five or six seasons in the 70s hardly missing a game at all. Oh well, this evening at 5.15 we kick off against our nemesis team of recent times, Liverpool and the following picture is a living breathing hope of triumph...

Barcelona 24th April 2012 - a truly magnificent night that I wish me mum had seen...

Anyway, gardening, a mildly important part of my current life. Rebecca's on Tuesday and as I mentioned in the previous post, a rather nasty welcome on the top of the drive:

Rather large old Horse Chestnut sans rather large low branch.

It took me a good three hours to tidy up and chop the lost
limb into reasonable sizes. Then I thought a nice pile might
attract some wild life, so that's what I did, made a nice pile...

Top of the drive. I've been trying to tidy it up for a while and I'm slowly
getting there. Last week I trimmed the hedge that runs along the right
hand side as you look at it here. It's oddly planted with a very random
higgledy piggledy style and, although I do kind of like it, it genuinely needs
a bit of formality introducing - but not too much... 

Billy who was Tilly. He gets on top of the highest perching
point an belts out the a cockle-doodle-do something akin
to an 11 year old boy with a breaking voice. Bless!
PS: I have renamed him Billy Elvis, 'cos his comb looks
like a quiff

Today I cut the lawns at Glassmill House in Berkhamsted, unfortunately my "friend" from the other week failed to get annoyed with the noise from the strimmer and lawn mower. I shall persevere and hope that he tries to shut me up again. He truly was a delightful man and yet his issues came before him, about 30 seconds in all.


Quick cheeky pint in the Rising Sun, home via watching Finlay at cricket training and ahhhhhhhhh... Off to sleep!


zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...