A petal of colour

I thought this was an autumnal leaf until I got closer to take the picture. F and I went for a walk in West Norwood cemetery. It may seem strange to take an amble among gravestones, but the cemetery is really close to home and it's a large, green space. F lost me for a while when I was hot on the trail of a green woodpecker, but the bird managed, quite easily, to outpace me. Everyone we passed said 'hello' and we had a giggle with three portly, cheery, older ladies wearing various plastic bags on their feet in order to cross the wet ground to the grave they were tending. The image of one of these ladies marching across the ground with one foot in a Gap bag and another in a TopShop bag (both bags not tied at the top, but with handles upright) is one I wish I could have blipped, but it would have been too obvious who I was taking a picture of.

We arrived home to the smell of gas. Then we experienced UK supplier efficiency for the very first time - a gas engineer was indeed with us within the hour, found the problem (a valve that had worked its way loose - scary!), replaced the valve and pipe, and left. It was wonderful to experience that kind of professionalism!

It was odd how difficult it was to resist turning off and on elctrical appliances, switches, etc. during the time we were waiting for the gas man. Most of that kind of stuff is automatic (i.e. turning on a light switch when walking into a dark room), but I managed to check myself every time.