17 July 2020

Hydrangea

It seems to be the fashion here in Blogworld to post pictures of summer flowers that are growing in one's garden - if indeed one is lucky enough to have a garden. That is why I have begun today's short post with an image of the blue hydrangea bush halfway up our back garden. It is a thirsty creature and I use it for measuring rainfall. When its leaves sag I know that more buckets of water or a good hosing are required. Within an hour the leaves will have magically perked up again.

To the right there's another flower. My wife tells me it is a pom-pom dahlia. I believe her. To tell you the truth, I am not really much into garden flowers or their identification. I get more excited about evergreen shrubs, wild native flowers and of course fruit and vegetables.

Moving on from flowers, the latest "Bosh!" news is that they now have a range of vegan cake mixes in selected supermarkets. I bought a box of "Bangin' Brownie Mix" from our local Waitrose store this week but I haven't baked the contents yet. I am sure the brownies will be delicious. More "Bosh!" products are in the pipeline. It is kind of weird to see your only son's image on food packaging. Five years ago, when Ian's life was at rock bottom, we could have never imagined he would come this far. It is amazing really.
Finally, visitors will be pleased to learn that my luxuriant coronavirus head of hair has now been shorn. It was like a bird's nest, containing a clutch of eggs, my old school cap, two pencils and a crossword book. In order to remove said nest I had to make the very first hair appointment of my life. It is a weight off my shoulders skull thanks to Danny - my favoured monosyllabic barber over at Woodseats in Sheffield 8. There are no photos of my barbered topknot so it's back to the blue hydrangea...

41 comments:

  1. It must indeed be weird to see someone you know so well in real life pictured on food packages. I wonder how I'd feel to see "Meike's Magic Muesli Mix" on Aldi's shelves, along with a picture of myself!
    Beautiful flowers. Hydrangeas are very thirsty, aren't they. There is a large pink one next to the front door of O.K.'s cottage, and it wants watering every single day, unless it has been raining long and hard.
    Weren't you pleased to find your old school cap again, and the crossword book?

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    1. I forgot to mention there was also a family of harvest mice in the nest. "Meikewurst" could be a new range of spicy sausages. I can see the TV ads now. We would finally get to see your sister in them - comically throwing "Meikewurst" sausages at Meike herself."Mmmm Meikewurst! They're fun!"

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  2. That blue is amazing. I love hydrangeas, such an old fashioned flower which reminds me fondly of happy days stealing fresh peas or rhubarb in my grandparent's garden!

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    1. Tut-tut-tut! You were a naughty girl Jean!

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  3. The blue Hydrangeas like acid soil. They originate in the Orient. Yet again stunning photos YP.

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    1. I swear I have never taken acid in my life!...Well, only once. Thanks for calling by again David.

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    2. Isn't it that hydrangeas flower blue if you have acid soil and pink when more alkaline? Like a litmus test of your soil ph.

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    3. Gardeners of old used rusty nails under the Hydrangeas to alter the colour. Your can buy aluminium sulphate and Hydrangea colour kits from garden centres. You can also buy soil ph testing kits.

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  4. Was it in Itchycoo Park? "It's all too beautiful".

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    1. I feel inclined to blow my mind
      Get hung up, feed the ducks with a bun
      They all come out to groove about
      Be nice and have fun in the sun

      Pure poetry! Eat your heart out Carol Ann Duffy!

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  5. Hmm. I am not sure that’s a zinnia. At least it does not look like ours. But yes- definitely hydrangea and it is gorgeous. They are very thirsty, aren’t they? You really should give us a picture of your now tidy hair. And gee- thanks. I’ll have Itchycoo Park” in my head for the rest of the day. You MUST send us pictures of those brownies.

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    1. I promise to post a oicture of the brownies when I have baked them but not my haircut. I am too shy for that.

      Oh,nd it is in fact a pom-pom dahlia.

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  6. You are lucky to have blue hydrangeas, ours are all pink. We must have alkaline soil here. Those boys picked a brilliant name with Bosh.

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    1. Bosch in Germany weren't too happy. There was a legal exchange to settle their objections.

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  7. Well, I don't know about fashionable but I am always cheered by photos of beautiful flowers, so thank you for posting yours.

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  8. The flowers are lovely and you must be so proud of your son.

    I would have thought the remote control might be in your hair as well:)

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    1. There were two remote controls and a tarantula too.

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  9. As Northsider and Tasker have observed: The colour of a blousy Hydrangea does indeed indicate whether your soil is more acidic than alkaline (same goes for Rhododendron - if ever there was a plant with an attitude, not least in its spelling).

    The Zinnia a work of art. Some flowers are. Maybe flowers are a female thing. For me daffodils are the bearers of spring, closely followed by the coy yet perfect tulip. My favourite mid summer sun flowers (they make a splendid way for squirrels to jump from one to another, the tall ones - think Tarzan - and break the sunflowers' heads in the process. I swear there was a time if I'd had a shooter . . .). And then, of course, the majestic, nay sumblime Paeony. Tight as a ball when young, then unfolding - not dissimilar to how a rose goes through its time line.

    Remember daisy chains? Or "he loves me, he loves me not, he loves me, . . ."?

    Your son. He does indeed pop up all over the place, not least in reviews and - guess where - on my cookery book shelves. Those two guys are inspired. They are fun. Bosh fun. And Kudos that they don't ram their inner vegan down your throat. They cook.

    As to hair: The Angel isn't called the Angel for nothing. Barbers would be out of business if more guys followed his example.

    Enjoy your garden, YP,
    U

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    1. Pleased to hear that The Angel has hippy tendencies when it comes to his barnet.

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  10. You mentioned on my blog having to get an appointment for your hair and being surprised Dave just walked in -- but he didn't. He needed an appointment too. Fortunately he was able to get one same-day.

    It MUST be surreal to see your son's photo on food packaging! It's really awesome how the BOSH! phenomenon has taken off. It's weird they call the brownie mix "vegan friendly," though. Why not just call it "vegan"? Too limiting?

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    1. "Friendly" is a good word but I see what you mean.

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  11. What beautiful hydrangeas! I love that color! My grandmother used to dry the flowers (not sure how she did it) and one year she decorated the staircase bannister with them at Christmas. It sounds weird, but it was so pretty.

    I'd like to see a picture of your shorn head!

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    1. I am glad my hydrangea picture brought back nice memories for you Jennifer.

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  12. I think that Zinnia may be the Dahlia's Sunday name. It may be the other way around. On the other hand it may just be a Zinnia (of which I had never previously heard).

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    1. I have nosw changed the text. It is in fact a pom-pom dahlia.

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  13. Your flowers are beautiful! It is exciting to see all the directions Bosh has taken. You will be seeing your son each time you go to the grocery store!

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    1. The journey isn't over yet for Bosh!. There's a good way to go yet.

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  14. I'll be looking for that cake mix in my local Waitrose, looks yummy.
    Like you, I can't believe what Grandson Tom has made of his life. He also was rock bottom and now drives a merc and has a penthouse in London. These boys have tenacity and its taken them to the heights.
    Well done boys.
    Briony
    x

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    1. Aye lass, the lads done good. I hope you find one of the cake mixes in Waitrose. I found it on the bottom shelf of home baking.

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  15. This is Danny your chatty barber. Could you not even have left me a decent tip? The young boggers always do. Especially after I give them a brush-down and say *Will there be anything else, Sir?* Nudge nudge wink wink.

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    1. Anything else? You mean like a dollop of hair gel?

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    2. Sixty-five years ago my older brother and I went to a barber's called Bond. You would see men getting a shave with a cut-throat razor followed by hot towels. Today I have to stop my barber from trimming my eyebrows. Once he started trimming my ears and nearly cut me. As for the electric razor, I have to say *Please keep that thing away from the top of my ears, it really hurts, and it can lead to infection..*

      Alan Plater wrote a brilliant play about an old-fashioned barbershop.

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  16. I got a haircut two weeks ago but I will not get another haircut until this is over.

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    1. I guess Mrs Red is good with a pudding bowl and garden shears.

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  17. nice flowers and can change color I like that, has 7 different colors, have a nice weekend

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    1. Well I never knew there were seven different colours. Thanks.

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  18. I follow your son and partner on F/B. The other day I did a non-vegan recipe that they were cooking, as I had too many eggs. They must be riding a wave of popularity but I have a feeling it is hard work. Pretty dahlia, I always fall for flower names and would love to get the 'Bishop of Llandaff' dahlia.

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    1. They do work hard to keep putting out recipes and maintaining their social media channels but they also love and believe i what they are doing.

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