WHAT ATTRACTED YOUR ATTENTION TODAY?

[Tizer]

The TV nature programmes by Iolo Williams show some beautiful landscapes where remediation, or simply leaving them alone, has worked wonders. Nature is very good at righting humans' wrongs. I particularly remember visiting Cligga Head in Cornwall which was the site of a Wolframite (tungsten mineral) Mine and an Explosives Factory until well after WW2. It hasn't had any remediation and you have to be careful because it often has gypsy-type folk there with very fierce dogs. The ground still has a lot of mine waste and rusty old machinery but each year it has a covering of beautiful wild flowers that are adapted to the conditions. I took this photo on the top of the cliff and it shows the plant life thriving on a contaminated area. The yellow flowers in the background are the same species that I sent you seeds of - if they can grow on this site they'll probably manage to grow in your garden!. There's also pink sea thrift to the right. The dark green-brown covering in the foreground is composed of tiny flowering plants, small enough to survive the fierce and salty west wind



While browsing the web this morning I chanced on these two sites which have lovely photos and are worth a look for the photos...

Linds Bloomfield site

Cornish caves

[Cathy]

Goodness those Cornish Caves are wonderful. Fascinating and the colours are like Jewels.
Thanks Tize, loved looking thru them. Easy to get lost in the images.

[Stanley]

I am still remediating my kitchen! I have a hot wash on to get the black contamination out of my towels and shirt and I have just mopped the vinyl floor with Flash and Dettol. I think I might be back on track.
Now for a look at the finer things of life....

[Stanley]

The hot wash worked and my shirt came out clean. The kitchen floor looks like new and I think we can put that one down to experience!

[Stanley]

The fact that the site is running a bit slow......

[Stanley]

Today, the fact that up to now the site appears to be running all right.... Hard to type with fingers crossed.

[Stanley]

The fact that when I woke during the night there was a power cut. It was back on when I got up this morning. All I had to do was reset a couple of clocks.....

[Tizer]

I have some concerns with the logic behind this article...
`Will sustainable aviation fuels take off?' LINK
This bit bothers me...
...Sustainable fuels are synthetic alternatives to fossil fuels, made from renewable sources. These can include waste cooking oils, vegetable fats and agricultural waste, as well as captured carbon dioxide. The advantage of burning fuels like these is that it does not add to the overall load of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The carbon emitted has only recently been removed, either by plants or by chemical processes. By contrast, burning fossil fuels releases carbon that has been stored in the earth for millions of years...

I'll accept that it does not add to the overall load of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere because the carbon emitted has only recently been removed in contrast to burning ancient reserves of fossil carbon. But to me this is a `get out of jail free' card. Instead our objective should be that any carbon removed from the atmosphere should be prevented from returning to the atmosphere. Taking out then putting back is simply not good enough. We've allowed climate change to progress so far that even if we stopped pumping out CO2 now there's so much up there that Earth will keep on warming for a very long time. We've got to lower the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere, not just try to keep it constant; it's too late for that. With the present state of the world I don't feel much hope for our descendants and I expect the only way out of the problem will be a catastrophe that will bring about a re-set - and it won't be pleasant for life on this planet.

[Stanley]

And I feel you are right to be concerned Peter. Halting climate change was never about clever schemes that shuffled carbon about but fundamental change in how we powered and ran our lives.
I fear you are also right about it being too late. The genie is out of the bottle and as my friend Maureen used to say (to mix a metaphor.) "You can't put tooth paste back in the tube."
We are seeing the consequences already and some, like ocean warming, are surprisingly quicker than was expected.

[Stanley]

See THIS Warning about thunderstorms today.
Warnings for thunderstorms and heavy showers have been issued by forecasters for Sunday, covering much of England and parts of eastern Wales. The Met Office say there is a "small chance of flooding and disruption" in some areas as a result. The yellow warning urging people to "be aware", external comes into force from 04:00 BST, covering large swathes southern England, the Midlands and the north.
It's unusual for a weather warning to be repeated in the general news. Does this mean it could be more serious than usual?
(Or are they just short of news..... )

[Tizer]

We've got the `weather warning' but the weather maps show little rain for today.

[Stanley]

As it turned out they were just short of news! We never saw any thunder all day. However, this morning they have the same warning in force all day. This morning there is a large thunderstorm just off the East coast below Hull so we might get it today.

[Stanley]

Once more no sign of thunder yesterday. No warnings today.....
I saw THIS in the BBC news this morning.....
The UK has suspended some arms sales to Israel, saying there is a "clear risk" the equipment could be used to commit serious violations of international law. Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the UK would be suspending 30 out of 350 arms export licences to Israel. The affected equipment includes parts for fighter jets, helicopters and drones. Mr Lammy said the UK continued to support Israel's right to defend itself, and this did not amount to an arms embargo.
My own view (and this might qualify for classification as anti-Semitic.....) is that all the actions being taken by the Netanyahu government violate international law and by supplying arms we become complicit. Has everyone forgotten that over 35,000 Palestinians have been killed and conditions are now so bad that Polio is abroad again in Gaza after being absent for 25 years. The whole of the Middle East teeters on the brink of all out war and we make the token gesture of banning the export of a few items out of a long list.

[Tizer]

Searching through some old photos recently I found this one of my father with his favourite car and I too believe it's the best car he ever bought (and every one was second hand). A Triumph Vitesse 6, 1600cc and 6 cylinders. He always said he would have been able to drive it to Blackpool and back in top gear. Surprisingly, he let me drive it even though I'd only recently passed my test. I suspect he felt that I didn't believe his praise for the car and needed to find out for myself. It certainly was a dream to drive. Just think of those 6 tiny pistons - like little salt cellars!

[Stanley]

That pic reminds me of the days when motoring was a pleasure and not the pain in the bum it is today. Thanks for posting it Peter.
Someone called David Pope mailed me but I don't know the name so I simply deleted it.
It struck me that it might be genuine mail but in these polluted days we will never know. Better safe than sorry.

[Tripps]

Someone called David Pope mailed me but I don't know the name so I simply deleted it.

That name triggered the 'velcro' memory I once had an email from Pendle labour Party and I thought that was the name. However - I named the episode "pieandpeasgate' and googling that today found that the name was John Pope.

"Speaking of Pendle Labour Party - I once got an invitation, in error, to a Pie and Peas Supper from them, which accidentally revealed the entire mailing list. I think I mentioned it on here and called it 'pieandpeasgate'. I think it was from a chap called John Pope.
You could find it with a Google search once upon a time, but not now. It was in 2011 and Gordon Prentice was somehow involved. I emailed him about the Silentnight pension fund shenanigans. He replied thinking I was Sir David and called him 'growlly'.
Since he kept his blog going for a long time - I accused him of planning a return. He said definitely not, and he was right."


All probably irrelevant now, but it dates from2011, I find it interesting, and and the site is a bit short of 'content' at the moment.

[Stanley]

I did a search of my archives before I deleted him David. I find I have to be a lot more choosy these days about which mails to open, never mind use links in them!

[Big Kev]

Chaos on the railway this evening, a tree has come down between Skipton and Bradford and brought the overhead cabling with it.

[Stanley]

The forecast was accurate, there was some strong wind yesterday afternoon and evening. Full leaf cover, wet ground and strong wind is a good test for trees.......

[Stanley]

Yesterday I was struck by the fact that we hadn't got as much wind as was forecast. I suspect that we were given a west coast forecast when we actually got more of an east coast weather pattern. Something to do with us being in the foothills of the Pennines.....



And this in Private Eye.

[Stanley]

Grand Daughter Laura in Perth attends graduation ceremony for her Masters degree. We're all very proud of her....

[Tizer]

Well done, Laura!

These photos are lovely...
`Your pictures on the theme of 'still life'' LINK

[Stanley]

Mick, Margaret and Laura at her masters degree ceremony this morning in Perth, WA.

[Big Kev]

Good stuff

[PanBiker]

Excellent, well done Laura.