Snowdrops

The snowdrops were absolutely spot on at Herald Copse in Nonsuch Park today. Snowdrops full on, crocuses and daffodils not far behind. Worth another visit next week, although it is also time that we checked out the wilderness at Hampton Court.

Refreshed with toasted muffins in the park café. Something we have only had once in the recent past, on which occasion I recall them being disappointing. Today they were good.

On the way we noticed that the expensive model of the former palace is now on permanent if infrequent display at the current palace. See October 15th, 2011  in the other place. So it remains a mystery who stumped up the tens of thousands of pounds and for what. Just a bit of fun?

But one can do some sums. They are mostly open on Sundays and charge £2.50. Suppose they have forty visitors on an average Sunday and take £100. This would make around £5,000 in a year, quite a decent return on the original £40,000, providing one can neglect the costs of exhibition: equipping and staffing a room to take £100 a day would not work commercially. Is the take taxable? If the model is owned by some charity, does that make it exempt? Assuming that is that building expensive models for fun counts as a charitable purpose.

Last recorded visit to these snowdrops was on February 26th 2009. We must have been since, but maybe not so spot on. BH tells me that when it is warmer they only last for a week or so and it is quite easy to miss them.