Follow up

Off to a bad start on the Horton Clockwise yesterday with signs of activity from the chain saw volunteers; that is to say the sounds of machinery and puffs of wood smoke from the interior of Epsom Common, as seen from Christchurch Road. I decided that I would only get cross if I went to investigate so I didn't.

But I did remember to inspect the twigs removed from the corpse reported on on 15th March and they were covered with swelling buds, which suggests that the tree was very much alive when it was chopped down. The stump did not look rotten either, so what did the council's tree conservators know about this tree which we did not? Given the importance of hanging onto our natural heritage would it be too much to ask the council to attach a notice to the corpse explaining why it was a corpse?

Further on down Horton Lane more innocent amusement was provided by a  lady jogger who kept her two water bottles behind a road sign, rather than carry them with her. I assume she organised her run so that she could use them half way and pick them up on her way home, but I would not leave my water bottles behind a sign like that. Who knows who might remove them, or worse, tamper with them? What does it say about our two upbringings that she has the necessary trust to leave her bottles behind whereas I do not?

And on Sunday we made it to Hampton Court to inspect the spring flowers in the wilderness, full on on this bright and sunny morning. Lots of people about by the time we left, with the Palace car park full by around 1030 and the station car park fullish by the time we got back to it, around 1130. So many people that we were reduced to our third choice of café for elevenses, a third choice which did not run to any cake that I fancied. But the tea went down well enough.

Home to finish off the second bottle of wine from Hedonism, a 2012 gewürztraminer  from the part of Italy which would still be part of Austria if it had not been for a contretemps at the time of the first world war, that is to say the Alto Adige. From the house of Elena Walch and very good it was too. Interesting that I paid significantly less for it in Mayfair than Amazon appear to want for the stuff. And looking at the web site (http://www.elenawalch.com/), this wine appears to be in the second from bottom league (out of five); perhaps I shall have to ask at Hedonism whether I can move up a league.

PS: I read this morning about a major refit of A&E at St. Thomas's and I wondered whether the management consultants trying to force down the number of A&E units take into account the need to take them out of service from time to time for refit? An outage which would make a big hole in provision if you have decided to have your units 20 miles apart (say). Do they understand the principle that one unit is operational, one is resting and one is having a fag? In the way of the management consultants who look after our underwater nuclear deterrent? Is the difference that money is no object in this latter case? Jobs for the boys at Barrow is wot counts.