Maritime sunburst lichen (Xanthoria parietina)

Great response to the bee shot yesterday. I know bee shots are not the most exciting of blips after all the dragons, exotic butterflies, lizards, hairy caterpillars, monster spiders and deadly giant wasps, so I really appreciate all the hearts and stars. You make it worthwhile getting down and very dirty in the English mud. You even scraped into spotlight too.

My walk to the woods has become a daily routine and my path crosses a few other people's daily routines, so lots of 'hello', 'how are you' and 'nice day' calls going on. The walk also helps straighten out my back after a night on the sofa which I am gradually getting used to.

Just inside the south entrance to the park, there is a very dead tree. Just about every inch of which is covered in this colourful lichen, giving it a rather course texture and a yellow glow, it actually looks quite presentable, especially with the climbing ivy claiming the trunk of the original tree. It is not a skyscraper of a tree and so the management have probably determined that it is not a danger to anyone. Where practical, they do leave things to rot naturally and there is a lot of rotting, twisted timber for me to do a few photographic studies, if I get desperate for a blip.

Today's Indonesian difference discussion is on food deliveries. Yes, UK does have some food deliveries, most pizza outlets traditionally run a delivery service, McD's and a few local take-a-way restaurants too. What I am referring to, is the constant stream of makan (food) merchants marching past my front door, clanking bells, steel bars, wooden blocks or simply calling out like the olde 'Steptoe and son' style rag and bone man, "any old iron", pronounced in such an inaudible raspy tone, that it was years before I found out what he was actually shouting.

UK used to have a lot more street traders, some still exist in places: milkman, coalman, ice cream man, bread van, rag and bone man, insurance collector, fizzy drinks van, bin man refuse collector, paper boy. I am sure that the more mature blippers could mention a few more. In Indonesia it is mostly food purveyors. The bins get emptied daily and is paid for out of the monthly security payment. Ice cream and bread vans motorbikes also go past several times a day plus a myriad of other salesmen selling various household items. Basically, if it is small enough to carry a few, someone will bring it to your door.

I have grown so used to having my cooked food delivered, that the only things that I buy from the minimarts are staples like coffee, sugar, condensed milk etc. It has been well over a year since I did the 'weekly shop' to purchase a week's groceries. Now I am back in the UK, I find that I have reverted back to the primeval instincts of a caveman, 'eat it while you've got it' and the consumables that I bought to last two or three days are gone by 9pm.

Yesterday, John and Mike went to London, to a friend's party. After they left, I went into a culinary meltdown: toast, two small pork pies, Mike's left over curry from last night, 6 pork sausages, 2 cherry bakewells and a huge bar of peppermint aero. I lost a notch on my belt and now have to eat very sensibly for a week to find it again! Enough of my rambling.

Dave