Off to Chelsea

I've just seen it's going to be 30 degrees Celsius in Warsaw today and not much less here, in London.
Off to Chelsea today!
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Not many opportunities for pictures, I was too busy at work.

Savoy, Embankment Gardens and Green Park

It was a good day. I will go  to see an exhibition on Virginia Woolf at NPG on another occasion. Now I must get some sleep as it's King's Road tomorrow!

Rainbow, Ealing beach and summer enjoyed

The rainbow I saw at dusk yesterday made me think of my dear former student - now friend from Budapest. I met her in London. On a few occasions she went on a weekend with us and other friends in our big Land Rover. During that particular trip we were visiting a musical instrument museum somewhere in Oxfordshire or Buckinghamshire. A spell of rain attacked the small town or village and we had to defend ourselves with umbrellas. Then came a bit of sunshine. We were approaching an old church at the time. The church was on the edge of the place and walking along the church wall we could enjoy a far reaching view. Then we saw the rainbow. My friend was elated. Being a city dweller, she had never seen a proper rainbow before! I'll never forget how happy it made her! Even now, writing about it, I am smiling and would like to join her in jumping with joy! :-)
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I've come across a read about the smugglers on Thanet and northeast Kent which I found interesting, hence sharing.
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It's been a good day. A slight disappointment was having to pay a fine at the local library at Ealing Broadway Shopping Centre. I joined it recently and was assured that when the books are to be returned, I will be emailed a reminder. I didn't get anything. The man at the desk told me they were due on Friday and charged me for each single day. I don't think I will be a frequent visitor to such an efficient and friendly place, unless I really have to...
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Going downstairs from the library, I found myself near ... a beach!!!! Just look:

 Yes, a mini-beach appeared at the shopping centre plaza!
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On such a sunny day lunch had to be served in the garden:

 Organic spinach from my friend's lot tasted excellent!

Flowers looked pretty...

 

For siesta we were joined by a friendly ginger.

 Then she left to mind her 'meowy' business:

Soon we left the garden too and went to explore the wilderness of Ealing....

You are wrong, nobody was murdered with these hands, not even the cat! Seriously! It's is not blood, it's blackberry juice on our hands! They were very sweet and juicy, caressed by the July sun!

After a feast, I went to show the river to my friend. She has never seen The Brent, and having been shown around Brentham Village, she wished to see the freshwater (which unfortunately has still been very far from fresh....). No picture of the river

Being with a friend who has used a phone as a camera before, I asked her to take a picture of me riding a bike (well, I was tempted to write 'of me biking', but refrained from it so as not to tease my dear teacher trainer and peer-trainees;-) ).

Helena Park, Ealing where I waited for my friend who stayed behind.

Two of us and a slightly 'psychedelic' tree on in Aston Road:

Missing school. Ants at work. A lot with a rainbow.;-)

A different Monday today: no school anymore. I miss the class and all the fantastic people I met on the course.

It feels a bit flat today not to be at school, challenged by different tasks and having a lot of fun while learning. Yes, although hard work, learning with Devon and Claire was inspiring, enlightening and good fun, and that's very important!
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At lunchtime I was watching the ants working hard in the garden. Can you see how big is the piece the ant is carrying?

 

Nature surprises me all the time...

 

This evening I went by bike to Duke's Meadows in Chiswick. It wasn't as straightforward to cycle there as I had thought. First, I got muddled up at the big roundabout at the end of Gunnersbury Road. Second time I had to ask a woman just before a footbridge over the railroad. She told me I was miles away from my destination. Well, that was an exaggeration, but indeed, it was still a long way to go. But I made it. 

 

On the way I saw a funfair in Ealing Common. Lots of Muslim families with children gathered to celebrate the end of Ramadan.

When I finally reached the river, I thought I was nearly there...

But I wasn't...

Seeing the abandoned public toilets on Duke Meadows, I knew for sure I was near.

Allotments are fun!

There was a lot of produce on my friend's lot:

Suddenly Lu noticed a spectacular rainbow!

Evening primrose was opening more and more flowers for us as the day was turning into the night:

 Good night!

 



ik

A poet's life and work

A friend told me about a poetry book he got from the local library. The author's name intrigued me and I asked Mr Google about "Jaan Kaplinski", as the surname sounded Polish. Having read about his life, I thought that maybe you'd like about it too, Dear Reader. If so, click here, and there, for some of his poetry. If not, read just this bit from his autobiography:

'born January 22nd, 1941 in Tartu, time and place of death yet unknown. His mother was Estonian, Polish father disappeared in the Gulag archipelago during the war...'

Besides,  in this picture the man reminds me of a friend from college! :-)



And here is oe of Kaplinski's poems translated into Chinese:

To Botany Bay

Great day in Margate and sunset in Botany Bay!

The beach was terrifyingly busy and we omitted it.

On the way from Margate to Botany Bay:

Botany Bay: