18 December 2020

Seventeenth

 Yesterday morning I walked two miles into the centre of Sheffield. I saw this leaf:-


Then I saw this cat sunning itself on a wheelie bin:-

Then I walked past the park keeper's house near the entrance to Endcliffe Park. I know the family who live there:-

As in some other cities, the council have been putting plastic COVID information sleeves round lampposts and road sign poles:-

I rather like the last guide point on this side of the sleeve - "Be patient and kind":-

Soon I was on Hodgson Street where yet more student housing is going up:-

Then I walked the short distance to Headford Street to take this picture of a giant creature by the Sheffield-based street muralist Phlegm:-

I visited a couple of "sports" shops but could not find the Christmas gift I was looking for. Then I nipped into Brenda's fish and chip shop to buy a small portion of chips doused with vinegar and salt. And then I simply came home. All that way just for a bag of chips (American: fries).

In the evening, people from our neighbourhood gathered outside to sing two Christmas carols - "While Shepherds Watched their Flocks by Night" and "Sweet Chiming Bells". Tony from next door played his French horn and effectively I again led the singing with my booming tenor tones:-

Sweet bells, sweet chiming Christmas bells,
They cheer us on our heavenly way - sweet chiming bells.

46 comments:

  1. I concur YP .. be patient, be kind.

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    1. It is a lovely, non-scientific piece of advice.

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  2. Anonymous2:25 am

    Pretty pictures. I suppose there would only be one English artist called Phlegm.

    https://highriser.blogspot.com/2017/11/phlegm.html

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  3. I'm surprised at how many are out and around the streets.

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    1. I should have taken a picture on The Moor. Not over-crowded but plenty of people around. In spite of restrictions, the shops are open!

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  4. Interesting counterpoint between the artwork and the vent pipe on the near building.

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    1. So pleased you spotted that Tigger. It was deliberate.

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  5. You would have accomplished even less, had you undertaken your walk here in Ludwigsburg - sports shops and chippies are closed. Only supermarkets, pharmacies and the like are allowed to be open since Wednesday, and at least until January 10.
    The cat and the leave are great pictures, and of course I love that park keeper's house! I suppose it comes with the job?

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    1. Yes. Dave has been a park keeper since he was fifteen.

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  6. Ah, those were the days. When The Park Keepers would have houses (we called them lodges) at the various entrances to the park. All sold off, of course, when Council's got rid of their liabilities - sorry, when Council tenants were all given the opportunity to become house owners and share in the wealth as house prices inflated.

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    1. It was a sad day when Thatcher gave that particular bandwagon the green light.

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  7. I love Phlegm's work, and that's a GREAT example. Very cool. (Wish he/she would change his/her name, though.)

    I swear I've seen that same cat. And that same leaf!

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    1. I just copied and pasted those pictures from "Shadows and Light" Steve. As for Phlegm, he took his name from the Greek temperaments.

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  8. Not heard of Phlegm before, but certainly his work is very different from Banksy and much other public art. I shall search around the net later to see more of his work.
    Just a thought YP - I see that the "Be patient, be kind" guidance is part funded by The European Union Regional Development Fund. An excellent idea, but after 1st January next year, when the UK leaves the Union for good, does this mean that you will no longer need to be patient or kind?

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    1. To be a Brexiteer you must be impatient and unkind. The millions who voted "Remain" (like me) and the millions who chose not to vote added together are far greater in number than the fools who chose to "Leave".

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  9. Does Phlegm give catarrh lessons? I remember Park keepers wearing peak caps, blazersa in charge of immaculately tended parks with band stands, bedding plants, rose's and manicured bowling and putting greens that looked like snooker tables. Thatcher destroyed so much.

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    1. You would have made a great park keeper yourself David - "Oi! Bugger off ye young louts!"

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    2. "From heroes to thugs in fifty years". Coronation Streets Percy Sugden.

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    3. Just like Confucius.

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  10. That cat looks almost exactly like our cat. Looks like a nice sunny day and be patient and kind is good advice.

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    1. I have another picture of that cat revealing its lower teeth. It's a bit scary.

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    2. So is our cat. Her and I have issues.

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  11. I wouldn't dream of questioning your integrity, but I do wonder whether that COVID information sleeve is actually around a lamppost. It appears to be more like the kind of two-legged traffic sign that directs motorists to places such as Castleton and Glossop.

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    1. Well-observed Tasker! But that is not the direction to Castleton and Glossop which any self-respecting boy scout would have deduced from the shadows.

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    2. https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@53.3694857,-1.4942313,3a,75y,33.42h,94.87t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s3rAR_I8jFZS24Fe4X9Nq8Q!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

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    3. Ha-ha! Brilliant Tasker! You are not just a pretty face.

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  12. Ooooh! Chips with vinegar. You do make me miss 'home.'

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    1. I fancied a fishcake or a battered sausage too but I managed to suppress the temptation.

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  13. Yes. Very Steve Reedish until the end wherein you proclaim your "booming tenor tones" at which point it becomes entirely Mr. Pudding.
    "Be patient and kind." Good advice anytime, anywhere.

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    1. One day I might make a spoof Steve Reed post with pictures of people walking by shops, broken dolls in cemeteries and a forlorn dog looking back wistfully.

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  14. Ooh. I would apply for the job of park keeper if I would get a beautiful house like that one as part of the benefits!

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    1. But do you know how to rake up leaves JayCee?

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  15. More student flats? Sheffield will soon have more students per square foot than there are sheep in Wales.

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    1. The foundations for these flats were prepared before COVID raised its nasty head.

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  16. It sounds like a lovely day. The mural is interesting. I enjoy seeing different murals. Kansas City has quite a few and my brother (who retired in Costa Rica) is always photographing many from his area. May you and Shirley have a good weekend!

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    1. Costa Rica sounds like a lovely country. Is your brother happy there Bonnie?

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    2. He is very happy there. He is a birder and loves to photograph the many birds and other wildlife they have there.

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  17. Seems so odd to me to see a garbage can (British- wheelie bin) that is not bear proof.
    So wonderful that your neighborhood and others are celebrating in song.

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    1. I have never seen a bear prowling the suburbs of Sheffield. I guess they are pretty shy creatures.

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  18. I love the idea of a community joining to sing Christmas carols together. How did that get started?

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    1. We used to clap the National Health Service every Thursday at eight. A Sheffield woman had the idea of taking some of that spirit into carol singing so she put it out there on Facebook and it caught on.

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  19. A thought-provoking slide of photos. Street painting supported by councils now, and I see no defacement on the EC sign, are we growing up as a nation?

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    1. Looking at our esteemed prime minister I would say that we are entering the phase that Shakespeare called "second childishness".

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  20. The giant creature in black and white is so impressive. Looks like a grasshopper but on closer look, an alien. That was a good long interesting walk for a bag of chips!

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    1. I think I burnt off all the chip calories. Should have had a large bag!

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