Today was polling day.
Junk mail is a fact of life. I understand that it doesn’t take many punters for the cost of sending out such paper material by the normal postal system to be recouped. Recipients can, however, just bin it. Cold telephone calling is more annoying, because you have to get out of your chair and answer the phone, before replacing the receiver with, or without, expletives. The machines are frustrating because asking them politely not to call you again is a waste of time. For the poor unfortunates who actually ring in person, it is their bad luck they they may have to hear a piece of your mind.
Now we have the internet and e-mails, so we can be flooded with spam, far less palatable than its processed meat namesake. Naturally, therefore, this morning I received my usual message, allegedly from David Cameron, who will never have heard of me, thanking me for all I have done for him over the last five years, and encouraging me to help him get back into power. It was the same last time. Numerous mailshots from various members of the Conservative party on the run-up to the election, and, afterwards, one from the leader, thanking me for tramping the streets on their behalf. In fact, I did no such thing. As a floating voter who attempts to make up his mind based on what he has experienced and what he gleans from all the media coverage, I never nail my colours to the mast in advance.
I do not flatter myself that I have personally merited this attention. My e-mail address has simply been purloined and added to a data base somewhere in the clouds. With the press of one button, no doubt everyone on the list is similarly intruded upon. None of the other parties pesters me in this way. Are they crediting us with making our own choices; are they so backward in the use of I.T.; or do they have less resources?
On a calmer, balmy, morning, I ambled down the garden and the lane as far as Roger’s field and back.
The first of our red hot pokers proudly stood erect,
as did the sinuous tellima saxifrage, flexible enough to have withstood yesterday’s blasts.
The magnolia Vulcan basked in its hour of sunshine.
The tree peonies and the dwarf azalea have survived intact.
Cow parsley, in its rightful place, on the verges of Downton Lane,passed the time of day with dandelion clocks.
Pale pink blossom I cannot identify has appeared in the hedgerows,
as have the first golden buttercups.
Ferns were unfurling,
and petals floating on a puddle were reminders of the gales.
As I sat down to upload these photographs, Louisa rang me to announce that she had a project for me for the day. Tomorrow being V.E. (Victory in Europe) day seventy years on, my granddaughter Imogen has to prepare a presentation for her school class. My daughter thought it would be good for Imogen to produce the image of her grandfather and great uncle Chris taken when they attended the Victory Street Party of 1945. She wondered if I had any more of interest.
I had this one taken by Jessica in the garden of Lindum House on 8th May 1995:
Seated on a circular bench built around the acacia tree by Errol’s Uncle Frank, I point to myself in my photograph album. The 1945 picture of that memorable event is featured in ‘Holly’.
I e-mailed both the pictures to Louisa. Apparently it took granddaughter Jessica less than a second to pick me out of the Street Party group. She said I looked like my grandson Oliver.
This afternoon Jackie drove us to Milford on Sea where we cast our votes at the Church Hall, and our empties at the car park bottle bank.
Tonight’s dinner consisted of sausages roasted with peppers and mushrooms; mashed potato in superb, thick, chunky, gravy which could have been a meal in itself, and crisp carrots, cabbage, and runner beans. Custard tart was to follow. Jackie’s beverage was sparkling water, whilst mine was Doom Bar.
these are the example of colourful day. Nice pictures as always you shared.
Thank you
With junk mail – I recycle, Spam I delete and no matter what anyone says – I vote for who I want. I think it’s great Imogen will showing your picture!
Thanks gp
Is not the anonymous flower apple blossom? We in the colonies await the voting verdict in Mother England.
I think you are right Bruce. I will watch it develop. I just couldn’t think what it was doing in the hedgerow
Hawthorn and flowering crab have traditionally been part of hedgerows, no? Though there don’t appear to be thorns on it and we can’t see it’s form, which would reveal its crab apple-ness…
Could be crab apple. Watch this space
I’m with Bruce. Looks like apple blossom of some sort. Tomorrow, there’s going to be a flyover of WWII planes on the Washington Mall. I’m going to try to take some photographs as it happens. I’m so glad your plants survived. And I look forward to finding out who’s going to have to patch together a coalition government in the UK…
Thanks Lisa. See my reply to Bruce. I look forward to your photos more than the outcome of this election
I’m not sure I can see the flyover now. I promised a colleague I’d go with her to a viewing of documentary called Last Days in Vietnam being shown at noon. She wrote an article recently on her own escape 40 years ago as a 3-year old: http://www.afsa.org/PublicationsResources/ForeignServiceJournal/FeaturedContent/April2015FindingMyHeroesFindingMyself.aspx We’ll see.
Thank you Lisa. A compelling read. It is good to see something positive come out of that fiasco. I hope Anne achieves her ambassadorial goal
Though you were indubitably handsome in 1995, I particularly liked the photo from 1945. I was just learning to walk just then. 🙂
Thank you very much Cynthia
Great photos! Thanks Derrick – a reminder of springs past! 🙂
Thanks Rob
Junk mail are handed out at polling places, usually at the local school. I took everyone of them. Then I fold origami balloons with them, inflate them and hand them to the children in the playground – ‘full of hot air’ , I say. Their parents agree: ‘that’s a good use of junk mail.
🙂
An excellent response! <3
I’m with you on all issues Derrick – recently the Labour Party have gotten hold of my email address and are actively spamming my inbox. I am cross and will tell them so immediately I get someone to answer their phone!!
Thank you Pauline. Good luck with the spam, but even if they were to say they would stop it I doubt that there is a way for them to do so
Derrick Cheesecake! Was this one you just converted? I’m getting confused about what is current but know this one is eight years old…
Thank you so much, Judy. No – I haven’t done this one, but I am clearly going to have to.
I was talking about the photo of you shirtless when I said cheesecake… just kidding. Can you now see it?
Thanks very much, Judy. I did get your joke, which made me realise you could see what I couldn’t. I did get the pictures a second time, but both of the two posts you commented on today suffered from “Nothing Here” when I clicked on them to see if enlargement was possible. This is because they were originally posted on the Classic Edit. I have to convert them to Block edits to facilitate it, which I have now done.
Since I wrote my first reply on this I can now see my pictures again
Good. I know it gets frustrating. I just had all of my functions change position. I couldn’t make tags for a few days, then suddently they showed up in a totally new place. Another day, my “Save” function disappeared. It’s like someone has come into my house and changed all the closets around!
But I’m still getting Nothing Here when clicking on them, so I guess I will have to convert them after all
My husband David is registered “independent” here in the US which makes him somewhat of a floating voter. He gets more spam and mailings I don’t get, but I get plenty. Nice pictures!
Thank you very much, JoAnna
Your smile outshines even the buttercups!
(((HUGS)))
At first I thought that picture was of you in naturist mode, which was a bit of a surprise, to say the least Just had a pleasant time going through old posts, or lost half an hour of my life. 🙂 There’s always a trade off somewhere . . .
Cheers, Quercus 🙂
🙂
Here from the future, and oh, Derrick–“our red hot pokers proudly stood erect!” 🙂
Well spotted, Merril 🙂 Thanks very much
I read it aloud to my husband, and he said “What are you reading?!” 🙂
🙂
A great post. Love the photos. Amazing how fast we change over the years. You are looking good on this one! :>)
Thanks very much Dwight – I think 🙂