Friday 29th May 2026

And its Friday, and so we're on the cusp of the weekend. Again.

I like Fridays, I can lay in and sleep. But as always, almost always, my brain woke me at twenty past five.

It was cool, but the sun was already lighting the window of the side bedroom. It was going to be another scorcher, though with a possibility of rain.

Which would have been nice, though in the end it amounted to about ten drops of rain, so the garden remained dry.

Jools was up and about, and off to yoga at ten past six. I could barely string a coherent sentence together at that hour.

I do accept coffee though.

So once I had woken up, I put out the bins, then go and sit on the patio with Scully, until the heat from the still low sun drove me back to the cool interior of the house.

The parasol would cast a cool shadow over the bench seat from just before midday, so would go back out then.

I checked on the Bee orchid spike. Still not open, but the first flower bud was now pink rather than white.

Maybe tomorrow.....

Jools came home, and after a brew and a cream scone, I announce, grandly, that I was going to go out orchiding.

Jools said it was too hot, so I went on me tod.

I drove along the Sandwich road past Sandwich, up through Richborough, then turn off towards Pegwell Bay.

We have been coming here for over a decade. Sometimes a cuckoo would be calling, though rarely seen. But not this year.

Into the reserve, I find the ground either side of the path overgrown, and at first no orchids were seen.

Further on I see a couple: a pure Southern Marsh, and a couple of tiny Common Spotted, and then the taller spikes of their bastard offspring, Dactylorhiza x grandis.

After some searching, and finding two small Pyramidal spikes in partial flower hidden in deep vegetation.

I went to the area I knew where the densest population usually were to be found, and find several spikes of both species, hybrids, but best of all, a double spike of pure white Southern Marsh. Only the third time I have seen this colour form, and a twin spike!

A short drive away is Monk's Wall, and the colony of Lizards along the side of the bypass.

I park up, walk up the slope, and find that the Lizards are at or close to their peak.

Large, majestic spikes, some green with pink edges, other pale green, almost var. flavescens.

I snap them, then cross over to the central reservation to snap more. On the way I stumble across a lone Bee orchid.

Unexpected Bee Orchid in the bagging area!

I don't think there's another orchid that causes such a reaction as a Bee, so I let out a squeal of delight and snap that too.

I had to drive through Sandwich, and along the narrow streets so to avoid the traffic jam on the bypass, which is mad. But passing folks sitting outside pubs, sipping ice cold beer made me thirsty. Soon, Ian. Soon.

My last stop was where, a few years ago, was a large colony of Bee Orchids, including some yellow ones. Sadly, the site has been developed, and the sides of the road now landscaped and the Bees gone.

But Viper's bugloss is taking over, with its large blue and purple spikes in flower in huge numbers. I walk up and down both verges, but see no Bees, but do find a Cudweed species for the first time.

And that was that.

Back in the car and through Deal, Walmer and back home. I thought the towns would be packed, but there was some parking spaces, but I don't stop, instead I think of the cold beer I would soon be supping.

I quickly made one bottle of La Chouffe Cherry vanish along with some peanuts, and with the second bottle we finished of the French garlic flavoured crisps I bought at Stop 24 services, before I saw they were £4.50 a bag.

I spend the afternoon listening to all 19 tracks off London Calling, sometimes singing along. There are worse ways to spend the afternoon.

And I live by the river!

They were nice, though.

I win the music quiz. On the first clue, correctly guessing that it was Bandwagonesque by Teenage Fanclub. Ten points to Jelltex, but I am unplaced in the month's final standings.

Time to change, have a wash before going out again to meet Ange and Sean at Chef de Mumbai for a curry, beers and a chat.

All of the above was wonderful, we ate slowly, but well. And I made three pints of Cobra disappear.

Lovely.

Jools drove us home in the gloaming, as the sun set angry and red to the north west, made so by the desert dust in the atmosphere.

A bloody good day.

Thursday 28th May 2026

Overnight, the wind dropped and the temperature climbed, as did the humidity.

Sleep was hard to come by.

So, by five I was tired, and it was supposed to be a phys day.

Truth is I haven't done a full 40 minutes in a couple of weeks, and I know I would have to this day. It would have been all too easy to bail, but Jools was going, so I went too.

We were five minutes behind, the doors to the entrance had already been opened as we drove into the car park. So we parked, walked to the swishy doors, and in.

Up the stairs and we find just one other person in the gym, so we take the two bikes, and get working out.

In the corner, where the bikes are, the air con isn't good, so soon I was hot and bothered, but apart from being uncomfortable, I was fine, just had to get through the urge to give up because hot and sweaty.

I did the forty minutes. Jools did her stuff, so back to the car and round to Tesco, where filling the car now costs seventy quid.

Thanks Donald, yer bampot.

Then into the shop where we spend another hundred or so quid on stuff we need.

And then we forgot. I forgot., the tortilla chips and sour cream, yet remembered the coriander.

I can't explain it.

Back home for breakfast of mini pork pies, and put the shopping away. Before I was out again, this time to Monkton Nature Reserve.

I arrived dead on ten, and ask for the director, who is pleased to see me.

Ahem.

And after some orchid chit-chat, we go into the reserve and see what the tour next week will see.

And hour past, and we saw mostly var. flavescens Man orchids, so I took shots as we walked and talked.

I showed him the rosettes and spikes of Pyramidals he thought had failed, and he showed me the Lizard orchid spikes, one of which should flower this year.

He had meetings, and I was done, so we shook hands, not before me offering to do a talk on Monday at a KWT orchid day, so no pressure then to perform my talk on Kent orchids.

I drove slowly back, through Wingham to Barham, then onto the A2 and back home.

The morning had gone.

I had a couple of hours before I was due out again, this time to Dover for a dental appointment.

I parked at Stenbrook, but the peace was shattered by the fair that had Eurodisco and whatever the latest bland trend is.

One kid lay on the grass, his mother trying to bring him round. A combination of heat, excitement and too much sugar I suspect.

Inside the dentist, the guy before me was having major work done on an infection, and his twenty minute appointment stretched to ninety.

I waited, and at regular intervals added time for parking via the app.

I went up. Teeth fine, other than me brushing too hard still.

But not as bad as could be, is damning with faint praise, I guess.

Back home for ten past five. The cats fed, so I cook a quick supper of sausage sarnies with onion and ketchup.

Took 15 minutes and was perfect.

And that was your day. My day. Some orchids and another day without work.

Wednesday 27th May 2026

Mum would have been 82.

Checking the moth trap is easier on days when we don't go to the gym.

As on Tuesday I forgot until we got back from Phys, and the poor moths were baking in the sun.

So set again on Tuesday night, so that when we got up at half five, I could check the trap.

I could see several of the moths were members of the Pug family, and the most handsome was a Green pug, which I delighted in it's patterning.

After checking all moths, we put the trap and fittings in the shade, so they could fly off when they wanted.

We went back inside to check Scully and feed the rest of the cats.

It was some ten degrees cooler, and there was a fresh breeze that made it feel almost comfortable.

We had nothing planned, other than Jools's class, so she left at half seven, while I washed up and faffed around.

I sit in the back garden on the top patio looking for birds and insects. A couple of Painted ladies were about, but when one settled, I didn't have my camera, so we just stared at each other until I moved and it flew off.

And not much of any import happened.

The morning passed into afternoon. Jools brought back a lady from the group to do some admin online with, so I was back outside, out of the way for a few hours.

Until I had to go to Canterbury or an osteopath appointment, as I am getting a slight pain in my right foot.

So, a gentle drive along the A2, then turn off onto New Dover Road, and halfway along is their practice.

I am seen, and it all boils down to the injury I had two years ago in my knee, a torn cartilage, and how my body adapted and put strain elsewhere.

So, I was prodded and pummelled, and given exercises to do, so paid and drove back home.

We dined on steak, chippy chips, garlic mushrooms and fresh asparagus. All delicious and washed down with pink fizz.

And for the evening there was European football. Crystal Palace wone the Europa Conference, 1-0. And that was that.

Just the Champion's League Final on Saturday and the season ends. Until the World Cup begins in two and a half weeks.

When Saints became sinners

On 7th May 2026, during preparations for the Championship Play Off sei final against Southampton, officials from Middlesborough noticed a person acting stangly, observing and filming Borogh's training session.

The person doing the filming, deleted data, ran to a nearby golf course and changed clothes.

He was later identified as an employee of Southampton FC.

Initially Southampton denied filming had taken place and no data was produced. This emerged as a misrepresentation of the truth. Not only was data recorded, it seemed the intern doing the filming was livestreaming the filming back to Southampton.

The Southampton Manager, Tonder Erhart, refused to answer questions about the incident in the run up to the two legs of the semi final, even walking out of a press conference after a journalist asked if he had cheated.

The semi final was played, and Southampton won, so would meet Hull in the final on the 23rd May.

Middlesbourough rasied the issue with the Football League, and a date was set for a hearing, 19th May. Five days before the play off final.

In the meantime, two further charges were raised against Southampton stating that spying had taken place before games against Oxford and Ipswich.

Previously, Leeds had been found guilty of similar spying, and fined £200,000. But in the wake of that, additional rules were brought in and agreed by the 72 clubs banning such spying, or scouting, within 72 hours of a match.

On May 19th, Southampton were thrown out of the play-offs and Middlesborough reinstated. In addition, they would be subject to a points deduction of four points for next season. The explusion was for the Middlesborough offence, and two each for the Oxford and Ipswich offences.

An appeal was heard within 24 hours, and the punishments were confirmed.

Documentation was released after the appeal showing Erkhart knew and ecnouraged the spying, and even complained that the footage obtained on 7th May wasn't good enough and would have to be redone.

So, Southampton's manager not only knew, but was the driving force behind the spying, and chose to say nothing until the semi-final had been played and won. Thus, I would imagine they thought strengthening their case, making expulsion more unlikely. Expecting a £200,000 fine, they must have been shocked to find the Football League took the charges seriously.

Very seriously.

After the appeal, there was no right to further appeal, and the final was played, Hull City winning to be promoted from 6th place in the final table.

The Football League can only bring charges against its members: the football clubs. But the Football Association can, and will, bring charges against those implicated. And lengthy bans from the game can be expected.

For me, the denial and refusing to answer questions when the manager/coach knew, is damning. And for that should have been kicked out of the competition.

It is likely that other offences will be found, and puncished. And at the moment it is unclear who at the club knew about the spying, so the club has said nothing.

Players, who upon relegation last May took a 40% drop in wages, and might have expected for that to be reinstation upon promotion, might now sue the club. As might clubs like Wrexham who missed out on promotion, partly, as a result of the spying. They might argue that the points deduction should have applied to this season, thus lifting them into the play-off, so they should be replayed.

We don't know.

Southampton are in debt. In addition they owe £99 million in transfer installments. If they have to pay players and other clubs compensation, Southampton could be plunged into financial crisis.

Its a mess. And one of the club's own making, and has forever tarnished the clubs name and image.

Tuesday 26th May 2026

Tuesday.

And today was to be even hotter.

Not only was it, but was the warmest May and June day on record.

35 degrees at Kew and one of the airports.

It was as hot as I have known it, and yet life goes on.

Up at just gone five, and it was cool in the morning light, and after coffee I get ready to go to the gym.

Already the car said it was twenty two degrees, and the mercury was climbing.

I intended to do more than twenty five minutes, but to be honest, I was so hot and sweaty, I could hardly hold onto the handles. On twenty five minutes my legs stopped and I climbed off.

No worries as I would be climbing downs later hunting more orchids.

On the way home I went to Tesco to by a bottle of squash and so ice cream. Two triple packs of pistachio magnums.

I was tempted to have one when I got home, but didn't.

I would have had a shower, but I would get hot again climbing Park Gate, so I leave that for later.

I took Jools into town for her class, then back home, where I wasn't hungry for breakfast, but make a cuppa, and wait for Iain to come round.

This was to be another U3A site visit, and as it turned out the last one, due to lack of interest. But two other members would meet us there.

I drove Iain and myself to Elham, then up the narrow lane to the parking place.

Oddly for peak season, there were no other cars, and just one person on the down.

We walk through the gate and straight away I see a whole load of green.

I knew where some of the Monkey would be, so we climb to the top of the down, but find just two spikes already going to seed, showing more of the dirty pink colour.

Down the path, expecting to see other spikes on both sides, especially at the bottom near the gate, but there were but two tiny spikes, already browning off.

Into he second paddock, and up the middle track, and where I would expect thirty or forty spikes, there were none.

Just two down the bottom, one at least worth photographing.

The other two members arrived at half nine, we walked back to the entrance to meet them. They were keen photographers, and not really into the plants, just shots.

Which is fine, I guess.

Mother Nature decided, therefore, not to produce more than ten spikes for us of Monkey, and inn the third paddock, no Fly and a single stunted Greater butterfly.

Otherwise a couple of tiny Common Spotted had begun to open, and a few green spikes of Chalk fragrant.

And that was it.

At least there was a Cockchafer beetle I spotted, climbing up stalks of grass from which to launch its large body from.

We all got shots, but that was that.

Iain and I leave the photographers and drive through Stelling to Stone Street, turn down that to the motorway then to Hawkinge.

Our final call was to the Late Spider site high on the downs above Folkestone.

We park near the gate, then walk up to the compound. The fence was still off, but there was no need to climb it as the biggest and most impressive spike was a few inches from the fence, complete with three fine flowers on its short spike.

Another orchidist there said he had found a "purple" orchid, could I ID it?

I believe I could, and turned out to be a Pyramidal with three open flowers on the spike, and nearby a CSO we saw last week was also in flower.

He was happy.

We too were happy.

We walk back to the car, then drive back to the Alkham Valley road, through River, up Whitfield Hill and home.

Iain left for home, and Jools had just got back from town.

We had an ice cream.

Damn, it was hot.

We did nothing the rest of the afternoon. Just stay out of the sun, even if the heat was less here than on Monday.

Just.

Supper was Caprese with garlic bread. Over-ripe tomatoes, soft creamy cheese and crunch garlic bread.

And wine.

The afternoon turned to evening, the light turned to rosy-pink, though temperatures didn't fall until well after dark.

I played music, the Chic version of Diana Ross's Diana album, followed by The Black Crowes and finally Harry Connick Jr.

Thus confusing the neighbours.

Monday 25th May 226

I thought that being retired meant there would be time to get round all sites for orchids, as well as explore new ones.

And I suppose if I went out every day I could, but I seem happy enough with what I do, and on occasion, showing people round sites.

Monday was a bank holiday, and by tradition it is supposed to be wet, windy and cold. Well, this Whitsun Bank Holiday, someone forgot to put in the paperwork, and it was going to be hot and sunny.

How hot? Up to 30 degrees here in east Kent, warmer in that London, where it nearly reached 35 degrees, only the 11th time that has been reached in the UK, and its the last week in May. High summer is yet to arrive.

Europe is suffering much worse, with temperature records being shattered from France through Spain to north Africa.

But Donald, tell us climate change isn't real.

Jools was out early doors walking to Kingsdown again. She left at six, when it was still cool. Coolish.

So I drank tea, checked the internet. And so by the time I went to pick her up at The Rising Sun at eight, I decided I would go straight out for some orchiding.

Traffic was light into Walmer, and back again through Kingsdown. I dropped Jools off at home, grabbed my camera and was off.

Where to?

Well, one of the not so well known sites for Late Spiders.

Traffic was really light from the port and tunnel. I reached Hythe in twenty minutes, turned off and went up Stone Street, before heading off along the narrow lanes and tracks to a nondescript pull off, where a stile was hidden by vegetation.

Here be orchids.

At least over the stile, up the back, through the brambles and up the down.

By now it was nine, and getting warm.

I walked up, stopping to check on orchids and possible orchids.

Several Common Spotted Orchids were out, one fully, so I snapped that.

I failed to find the LSOs halfway up the down, but around the old chalk pit, three cages were out, each with a tiny spike inside, protected from sheep and photographers.

I found at least half a dozen more spikes, so put cages on them once I had taken shots of the tiny treasures.

A short drive away was another site. Better known, and with maybe ten cages out. I check them but don't find the mono-coloured spike I was hoping for, so snap a couple then go on to a third site.

Its a hike to the down. Up a slope, and by then it was nearly eleven, and hot. I had forgotten my hat, so suffered with sweat in my eyes.

But worth it once I had got to the bank, and I saw several large spikes, many with several flowers, and even the first Bee Orchid of the year for me.

I snapped many of them, though seeing through the viewfinder was tricky with the sweat and it quickly steamed up too.

I was done.

It was midday. I had done 5,500 downland steps, I was hot and bothered and needed a cold beer.

I walk back to the car and drive to the motorway, then to the coast, taking the Alkham Valley Road, as I was going to the new Co-Op in Whitfield as it has a big car park, and few still know its open.

I bought four cans and two bottles of lager, then go through Pineham and Guston to home, where Jools pours me a pint of ice cold squash, and we retreat into the coolness of Chez Jelltex.

And so for the rest of the day there was relaxation, and the final play off game of the season, from League 2, where Notts County beat Salford, with Mr Beckham looking on.

Play off games are cruel, but compulsive viewing.

And so ends the domestic football season.

Sunday 24th May 2026

Although it seems to have gone on forever, and Norwich played their last game of the season some 22 days previously, it was the final day of the Premier League season, as well as the League 1 play off final at Wembley.

Despite the season ending, you'll be glad to know that it all returns on August 14th. Abd before that there is the World Cup, though most of the games are taking place in the middle of the night, at least for us.

Not only had summer arrived, it was going to get hotter.

And hotter.

So, up at half five when it was at least cool, then have coffee, feed the cats, and be off to the gym at ten to seven.

It was still cool when we walked to the entrance, but hot when we left forty minutes later having done our session.

Back home for breakfast of strawberries and cream, as its nearly time for Wimbledon.

I had a shower, while Jools took one of the knit and natter ladies to a garden centre for a shuffle round the plants.

I stayed home

And it got hotter.

The football began at two. Bolton thrashed Stockport 4-1 to go up to the Championship and so play Norwich next season.

Then came the final round of PL games, all kicking off at four. Who would go down: Spurs or West Ham?

All Spurs had to do was to avoid a defeat, even then West Ham would have to win.

Just expected, it was a tense afternoon, with Spurs bundling the ball over the line just before half time, and it was then a matter of if Everton could score twice.

They couldn't.

So, it didn't matter what West Ham did, they were down anyway. They won 3-0 against Leeds.

So, all over.

Between games I went into the garden to chase the Brown argus that have emerged, and were basking on the Yellow rattle.

I got some OK shots of the small butterflies. As it was hot they were flighty.

We have a fridge full of food, so I cooked hash for dinner, which was pretty good as always.

By then it was half eight, the sun was sinking in the west, but it was still hot.