WEST>>>

Our semi-detached house was built on a hill. Consequently, as you step down the street the houses also step down. The neighbours above look down on our garden and we look down on the other side's garden.

Above us there's Tony and Jill - a lovely couple who are now well into their eighties. They have lived on this street for fifty years. Between our two houses, near the back doors, there's a brick wall with a concrete panel on top of  it.

Recently, I repainted our side of this rough-textured panel with white masonry paint. In idle moments I have often thought about adorning it with a mural - perhaps sunflowers or a giant robin but a month ago, a much  simpler idea came into my simple mind.

The garden is west facing so I thought of painting the word "WEST" upon it followed by an arrow. I know the idea is slightly bizarre but as I said to Tony and Jill when explaining it, "I am a bit mad". The design I had in mind would be reminiscent of the painted directional graphics that may still be spotted in old football stadiums.

In any case, the word "west" crops up quite a lot in our culture. "The west" is where most visitors to this blog reside and Percy Shelley wrote "Ode to The West Wind" in another October - two hundred and six years ago...

O wild West Wind, thou breath of Autumn's being,

Thou, from whose unseen presence the leaves dead

Are driven, like ghosts from an enchanter fleeing...

And once young men were advised to "go west" to seek their fortunes. In contrast, the expression "gone west" means to have met with death or disaster. So "west" isn't just a cardinal point, it has plenty of other connotations.

Anyway, anyway beyond the dark midnight I have hatched many wild plans. Mostly they are not followed through but this time, this time I did it as the two pictures prove - taken I might add on a rather cloudy afternoon.

Apples

A mast year is a year in which a tree bears an unusually bounteous crop of nuts or seeds and this term can also be used for fruit trees.

2025 has certainly been a remarkable year for apples here in Great Britain - a genuine mast year. Several newspapers have reported as much and people with apple trees in their gardens agree that this year has been quite special.

We have five old apple trees in our garden which we have looked out upon for thirty six years. Throughout that time, the four big trees have given us lots of green cooking apples each autumn. But this year something very odd has happened because the apples that hang from those selfsame trees have turned red for the very first time. (see picture above)

Scientists might explain that perfect growing conditions with plenty of summer sunshine will often trigger much greater production of a red pigment called anthocyanin and that seems to be what has happened to our apples.

In all previous years, our apples have been so tart they would make you wince. They have only been good for pies, crumbles and apple sauce - all requiring the addition of sugar. In spite of that history, today I thought I would try one of this year's red apples and sure enough I could eat it without squirming. 

Though not quite as sweet as many modern eating varieties, the level of sweetness was more than acceptable and I carried on to eat the whole thing. 

When it comes to apples, I might have to wait another thirty six years for a similar mast year. I will be 108 years old when that crop arrives.

Two

 

Our grandson, Zachary will be two years old next Friday. On Saturday morning, we took him to the urban farm at Hounslow. It is very close to Heathrow Airport and all the time we were there we had to experience aeroplanes rising into the sky - so low that you could easily make out the names of the carriers - from "United" to "Lufthansa". You can imagine the noise they made.

Personally, I loved Hounslow Farm because of its higgledy-piggledy amateurishness. It has clearly been there a good number of years, relying upon the goodwill of volunteers to proceed. The animals Zach saw included sheep, goats, llamas, pigs, horses, donkeys, rabbits, chickens, turkeys and ducks. In the guinea pig shed I saw a rat which was not supposed to be there. Maybe he had been invited over for lunch by the guinea pigs.

At ten thirty in the polytunnel,  two teenage girls introduced us to some small animals, including stick insects, hissing cockroaches, a diadem snake from Sudan and a soft-shelled tortoise from southern Russia. One teenage girl advised me to hold it like a hamburger. And here I am showing it to Zach...

The photos don't really reveal what a happy little chap Zach is. He loved meeting up with his grandma again but took time to warm up to his silly old grandpa. I don't blame him. This morning, we took him to Battersea Park, south of the river. It is exceedingly popular with local Londoners. They run there, ride bicycles, feed ducks, amble along, play sports like tennis or visit the popular cafes. There were hordes of them.

And here's Zach looking at you from the crotch of a tree. He can see exactly what you are doing so stop it right now!

On the way down to London by train, a famous woman sat opposite us, texting and phoning and berating a guy called Simon who was her underling assistant. It was Sharon Graham, the powerful leader of Great Britain's Unite trade union. It has over 1.2 million members. I have often seen her on television. Strangely, she did not ask for my autograph...

Absentia

 

Like yesterday's "Fossils" blogpost, this one has been "scheduled" to post via the magic of Blogger.

We are currently down in this country's sprawling metropolis. See the video at the top in which a much younger Ralph McTell sang about "The Streets of London", focusing humanely on those who are overlooked or neglected in big cities - people like shadows who nonetheless have stories to tell. Did anyone ever aim to become homeless - living out on the streets? I doubt it.

Ralph McTell is now eighty years old. I guess we are all getting older. Years flicking by, one after the other.

Yes. We are in London, visiting our grandson Zachary and his parents too. I doubt that we will see a West End Show, visit an art gallery or grip the railings outside Buckingham Palace, hoping for a glimpse of King Charles III and the true love his life - Queen Camilla. Zach will be two years old next weekend.

Hopefully, the three o'clock train from St Pancras will bring us back to Sheffield as daylight begins to wane on Sunday.

Fossils

On the mantelpiece in our front room, there's a fossil that is 180 million years old. It is an ammonite that was found on the coast of North Yorkshire. I should add that I did not find it myself. Instead, I bought it for a mere £5 in a fossil shop in Whitby. To me this was an incredible bargain. I mean - 180 million years! How amazing. Admittedly, my ammonite is only two inches in diameter but still...

Courtesy of YouTube, I have recently been following a pair of Yorkshire lads who are skilled fossil hunters. They explore remote North Yorkshire beaches  - invariably on the look out for stone nodules that may contain ammonites. These nodules are often contained within layers of shale that were formed millions of years ago in warm, tropical seas.

Unusually, in the half hour video that follows there are no spoken words. It's just one of the young fossil hunters searching the beach for promising nodules and then splitting them open with his hammer. Sometimes there's absolutely nothing within but often he finds an ammonite - viewed for the very first time by human eyes.

I found it all rather mesmerising. In fact, I have occasionally considered passing an hour or two on a remote Yorkshire beach searching for ammonites myself. The "Yorkshire Fossils" videos give you a good idea of what to look out for.

Bonio

Bonio

When the quiz team here at Yorkshire Pudding H.Q. were preparing yesterday's bones themed quiz, no one expected the wrath and indignation that the "Bonio" question would engender. It was like a volcanic eruption of unbridled disagreement.

Consequently, we contacted Bonio, the founder of "Bonio" dog biscuits but his response was couched in promotional terms. We could not get a straight answer.

He said this:-

"Dogs know their Bonio! They know the cupboard where it's kept, the sound of your hand delving into the pack - and they know the excitement as their favourite biscuit appears, closely followed by the first satisfying crunch! They love Bonio as a quick breakfast and they will be happy crunching on them whilst you pop to the shops!"

He continued:-

"There's something yummy for everyone from small pups to gentle giants with Bonio dog bisuits. Every single, yummy Bonio biscuit is lovingly and traditionally oven baked. This means that not only are these delicious dog treats totally tasty, they are also wholesome and nutritous too. Choose from our Happy Fibre, Meaty Chip, Bonio Original and Mini Dog biscuits."

Here's one very satisfied dog owner, praising the benefits of "Bonio":-

Thank you Felicity. And to conclude, here's an old "Bonio" commercial...

My sincere apologies to any quizzers who were aggrieved by the "Bonio" question. We will try to ensure that all future quiz questions are more thoroughly road-tested in order to avoid distress.

Quiztime

 

Okay, okay. The day has arrived for another exciting edition of "Quiztime" with your genial host Persimmon Pudding. As intelligent visitors to this channel will appreciate, our team of quiz question setters often struggle to find themes that have worldwide relevance. However, this week they have excelled themselves. The theme is bones - a truly international topic.  As usual, answers will be given in the comments section.

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1) In a normal adult human skeleton how many bones are there?

(a) 106 (b) 206  (c) 506 (d) 1006

2) What is this human bone called? 

(Clues: we have two of them/ much bigger in real life)

3) Where will you find your metacarpals?

4) In the spiritual song "Dem Bones" which bone is the knee bone connected to?

5) This is the skeleton of an animal but which animal?

(a) horse (b) mouse (c) stegosaurus (d) rabbit

6) "The evil that men do lives after them; The good is oft interred with their bones".  Part of a funeral oration, in which Shakespeare play will you find this remark?

(a) "Julius Caesar" (b) "A Midsummer Night's Dream"

(c) "All's Well That Ends Well" (d) "As You Like It"

7) This is the biggest bone in the human body but what is it called?

(a)radius (b) femur (c) tibia (d) humerus

8) Which one of these "bones" is NOT found in the inner ear?

(a) stirrup (b) anvil (c) hammer (d) drum

9) Below - some bone-shaped biscuits for dogs but what is the brand name?

(a) "Woofalot" (b) "Bonio" (c) "K.Nine" (d) "Waggy"

10) What is by far the principal mineral that makes bones hard and strong?

(a) calcium phosphate (b) sodium chloride

 (c) iron sulphate (d) magnesium phosphate

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That's all folks! How did you do?