Wednesday 29th April 2026

Wednesday.

Halfway through the week and nearly the end of the month.

A year ago we were enjoying our last full day in India before returning home. Turns out there is only so many curries you can have in three and a half weeks, and we yearned for something other than lentil dahl.

But we are home now, and we had lentil dahl for dinner, although when we did return hoe, it was six months before I could face a curry.

I'm a little run down due to banging my shin last week. It don't look pretty, and takes time to do its thing before healing. I had hoped the phys had increased circulation to the extent that my legs were getting better. I think they are, just not as quick as I would have wanted.

So, an easy day then, resting up and trying to ignore the pain, though the pain isn't that bad..

Jools went to her class, leaving me home. I had gone back to sleep after waking up at five, waking with a jolt at twenty past six to find myself pinned to the bd by Cleo.

So, after making myself a coffee, and once the day had warmed up, I sat on the patio with Scully as we pretended that the day was warmer than it looked, thanks to the keen east wind.

It may have looked like Spring, but didn't feel like it.

At least down on the ground, in the lawnmeadow, the Yellow rattle is beginning to bloom, and so it will explode into colour and be alive with insects.

I go out at lunchtime to snap a railtour. Not a railtour, but a test run for a railtour.

A friend had given me timings, I had tried to find if it was accurate, but no luck online. So I drove over to Shepherdwell for quarter to one ready for the class 73 top and tail action.

Only it was now routed through Ashford, and there wasn't time to get to Dover to get in position to see it arrive, so went home as Jools needed the car for a tip run.

One of us had to stay home for the delayed deliver of insulin for Scully, because as soon as it was delivered it had to be refridgerated, and it was already a day late. The customer service from DHL was appalling as their phone number wouldn't connect, and there was no answer from their Watsapp number. And when I asked the driver where the parcel had been, he just shrugged.

Our neighbour, Mick, knocked. He had a huge bag of rhurbard. Take as much as you want, he said, we're off on holiday tomorrow, and have a glut. So I took a huge bundle and was soon stewing the chopped stalks for a crumble over the weekend, and then makin syrup with the remaining juice to pour over ice cream. We just needed ice cream.....

And that was as exciting as the day got. Other than listening to Arsenal on the wireless in Europe, where they drew 1-1. No footy on the telly, so I just listened and drank slow port.

Tuesday 28th April 2026

It is the start of the main orchid season.

Which means out and about whenever possible.

Which is why we were going to Marden again, this time to show a new friend, Iain, the delights of the meadow.

But first, it was to the gym for some phys. And truth be known, my heart wasn't in it, and Jools bailed. But Tuesdays are listening to the new Word in Your Ear podcast, and otherwise I would struggle to make time to hear it.

So after coffee I leave for the gym, and once parked, get down to some serious pedalling. And listening to the pod.

Main subject was the Michael Jackson biopic, of which I have views, as do they, but seems the lacking in the child sex allegations was a settlement with one of the victims that anything to do with that settlement and activity it covered, could not be mentioned. So, the film was partially reshot and the offending scenes cut.

I went to see Jackson in concert on the Bad Tour. And walked out after an hour, having seen enough.

My view is that if the whole story couldn't be told, then maybe the story should have been left unfilmed.

Anyway, I do my session, drive back home for a brew and shower, so to be ready when Iain came at nine, and we could leave.

Sadly, Jools had to wait in for a delivery. Which, did not arrive so she could have come along.

So Iain and I leave, and talk about orchids, of which he is a novice, but knows about plants and grasses.

As we were going past, I call in at Samphire Hoe so he could see the Early spiders by the traffic lights. I explained the insect mimicry.

And we drove on.

We turned off at Leeds, went through the village before turning to go down the escarpment and onto the Weald, passing the pub we would be eating lunch at.

We arrived at the reserve, and had the whole place to ourselves. Although my other friend called Ian would arrive soon. And sadly, the fine weather that was forecasted for the day six weeks ago was very wrong, as it turned out to be cloudy and breezy, but might get out later.

We walked into the reserve, through the first meadow where there are a few orchids, but into the second where there thousands and thousands of them.

I point out the colour variations, the variations in lip shape and pattern, all caused by small genetic changes.

Halfway round, Ian arrived. Hello Ian, this is Iain.

And Ian, where's Iain gone. Only when speaking the second I is silent, but made I laugh.

By the time we walked round the small third meadow and back to the car, it was quarter to opening time, and we had a table booked.

Since eating at the Kings Head in Sutton Valence two weeks back, have found out its just been voted the best pub in Kent, so that's a reason to o back.

I couldn't resist the double smash burger again, while Ian and Iain both had variations on the crispy pork belly.

It was splendid, as was the conversation.

But it was time to go home. So we bid farewell to Ian as he drive back towards Teston, and we turned back up the down to Leeds then to the motorway.

We got home at three, and Iain said goodbye and drove his car back to Deal and home.

And that was that.

By then, of course, the clouds had cleared, then sun come out, but was still cool.

So best have another brew to warm up.

We shared a pizza for supper, then I settled down to watch Southampton play Ipswich, and was a very entertaining 2-2 draw, even if Town did level in the last few minutes.

Monday 27th April 2026

We rejoined English Heritage a couple of years back as I wanted to visit Dover Castle. I justified it by saying we could visit their other locations in the area and thus save money on the annual subscription.

Two years late, and three years of membership payments later, we were to visit Walmer Castle.

It was to be the warmest day of the year, and the castle's gardens at their Spring peak. The bonus was that its just a ten minute drive away.

Again, my brain and body had me awake at just gone five, though I did go back to sleep for an hour, and when I did stir, Jools had fed the cats and was out on a walk.

I made myself a coffee and checked on the world.

We sat on the patio for breakfast, enjoying the warm sun and light winds. The lawnmeadow is about to spring into colour, all over are rosettes and basal leaves of native flowers and plants.

We left for the castle at ten, and arrived shortly after ten fifteen, there were only a few other cars in the car park. We walked over the road and up the drive, showing our membership passes we were allowed in, over the drawbridge spanning the dry moat, and into the inner courtyard.

Being English Heritage, there were lots of plants for sale, at a great inflated price. We walk by and into the castle itself, once the residence of the Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports, the most famous of whom was the 1st Duke of Wellington, Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley.

Photography isn't allowed inside, so we walk to the back door and out to the bridge leading over the moat into the gardens.

A left turn brought us to the memorial garden of the Queen Mother, a large reflecting pool and a classical shelter. Usually there are dragonflies around here, but the season is yet young, so there were none to be seen.

Along a woodland walk, where although they looked splendid, the bluebells were the Spanish variety rather than our native English ones.

In the meadow, most of the Snake's Head fritillaries had gone over, but one was worth snapping, as ours at home failed this year, so the old wheelbarrow has now been scrapped.

The to The Broadwalk, laid out after the first world war, huge beds of flowers with large hedges to the rear, now cut in the popular "cloud hedges" style.

Still too early for much colour, but they looked wonderful with the hulk of the castle in the background.

Then to the walled garden, where most colour came from the huge variety of tulips and the fruit tree blossom.

I saw there was a café set up in one of the old greenhouses, so we go over and have an early cream tea: scone, butter, strawberry jam, clotted cream and tea.

We eat sitting outside, me in the shade of a parasol as the day was really heating up.

Our last station was the moat. Never water-filled, it is grassed with large beds around the castle, so we walked down the steep path and round the castle. I chased an Orange tip, but it failed to settle.

Once we were back in the garden, I asked should we go home?

We should.

So, we drive the ten minutes home, nothing much happened, except being in a train of cars following a small red Toyota that travelled no more than 35 mph.

Just as well we were not in a hurry.

And so back home, where I spent the afternoon reading Cameron Crowe's autobiography. Or most of it, sitting at the bottom of the garden in the sun.

He was washed up writing for Rolling Stone at the age of just 21, as the new young guns came through and demanded to write about punk, new wave.

It got chilly by five, so after feeding the cats we had a light supper. Me of some leftover chilli from the fridge, and Jools some more of her high protein breakfast which has been living in the fridge for five days.

It might just feed the five thousand.

The evening had football. Manchester Utd v Brentford. And was a good game, but I was tired and cold, so went to bed at half time with Utd winning 2-0.

Sunday 26th April 2026

As a taste of things to come over the summer, there is just one live football game for me to watch this Sunday, and one that has little resting on it. As Coventry have already won the Championship, while Wrexham need a win to get into the play-offs, but with their Hollywood money, Wrexham are pretty unlovable right now, with their TV series and all that.

Meanwhile, the second FA Cup semi-final is behind a paywall on what used to be TNT Sports, so I will listen to that on the radio, hoping that Leeds can overcome the awful Chelsea Football Club, who this month were found to have made illegal payments to players through most of the last decade, but their titles and trophies remain untouched. Not even an asterix.

We are up just after six, feed the cats, make and drink coffee, then are off to the sports centre for more phys.

I did a little too much on Saturday, so the stiffness in my thighs took fifteen minutes to ease, but then powered on to complete the session.

Then, instead of going home, we drive along the A2 to Barham for some gentle orchiding.

We turn off through Kingston, and park at the bottom of the bridleway. My target was to check up the slope for the colony of Lesser butterflies I thought died out six years ago, but apparently returned last year.

I tell myself the slope will be easy as I am a gym rat now, but the slope is steep, and i have just done a session, so two slight pauses on the way up, brought me to where the track levels out, and so can search where the plants used to be.

Much vegetation has spread, and areas that used to contain dozens of Early purples were now just covered with saplings and Dog's mercury, but in the wood, I find clear ground, and there were Early purples and Common twayblades. Not in huge numbers, but doing OK.

I went deeper, but other than finding more of the same, no Lesser butterflies.

I recheck on the way back to the path, and find one Lesser butterfly on the edge of a pit, spike forming, and another blind rosette.

At least they're clinging on, and there might be more nearby.

We walk back down the slope, then over the road to the beech wood, to check on the woodland Ladies.

Good news is that there were dozens if not a couple of hundred rosettes, many with spikes reaching for the canopy, and one partially in flower.

Also present were many Twayblades and a single Fly. I find last year's desiccated Birds-nest spikes, but no sign of this years.

I walk back to the car, then drive us back to the A2 and home, it was yet only nine in the morning.

Sadly, my left shin is a mess from where I kicked the log on Friday, so I need to rest up to allow it to scab up.

So, I sit around the house the rest of the day. Annoyed at the celebrations in Coventry as Frank Lampard's team play with Wrexham.

So O roast potatoes, then bake steak and stilton pies, steam vegetables, so that once the game ends there is just half an hour's cooking before we sit down to eat, with glasses filled with cheap pink fizz.

After washing up, I put on the radio but find it hard to stay awake. Chelsea 1 up by half time, and Leeds not looking like scoring. So it ends with Chelsea winning to meet Citeh in the final.

Meh.

The evening was filled with playing the Strangler's Rarities LP I bought last week, then New Boots and Panties for Jools, as its one of her favourites.

Finally some #wilflowerhour ing from eight, and that was the weekend done.

The beginning of the end of Brexit

Ah, Mr Brexit. It's been a while.

Let me start by saying that the EU will not allow the UK to rejoin unless there is a political consensus by the two major plitical parties in the UK. Larbour and the Conservatives, something that would give stability.

After having the UK as a troublesome member state, then go through Brexit, they wouldn't want to go through it all again.

And there will be no optouts.

But there is movement by the current Government to have coloser relations with the EU, even if that stops at anything meaningful.

But the reality is, with the Orange Shitgibbon in the Whitehouse, there can be no stability with the USA, and every tantrum threatens tariffs, so it makes sense to trade with those closer to us. Odd then that it is the US that will drive the UK back into the arms of the EU.

Of course, Nigel Farage will complain its a betrayal of Brexit and the referendum. But elections trump (ahem) refendums, and the Brexit that was negotiated at speed by Johnson has revealed its faults.

And as said on numerous occasions, Brexit was a process not an event.

We may have left the EU, but negotiations will go on forever, as standards in the UK and EU change, and there has to be processes to deal with it. Even if the UK doesn't change, the EU does, to non-compliance occurs by drift and inaction.

There is no appetite in the UK to politically litigate Brexit again, not the whole nation. Even numbers of people crossing the Channel by boats has halved in the last year, so the Brexiteers now turn their blame gun on those on benefits.

Its always someone's fault, but never theirs.

Farage backed Johnson's Brexit deal to the extent he stood down every one of his MPs in places where the Tories were expected to win, to ensure a landslide for Johnson.

A return to the EU is a generation away, no matter what some people and groups might say.

Saturday 25th April 2026

Amazingly, this is the last weekend of the football season where there are games in all divisions, as it was the last day of the non-league, and next week's Championship games kick off at half twelve on Saturday, meaning this would be the last afternoon on the sofa with Scully, Radio 5 and Final Score and the videoprinter.

Next time will be the August Bank Holiday, or around that time.

It was a Saturday, so after getting up at six and doing the usual stuff like feeding the cats and drinking coffee, we left for the sports centre at ten to six, getting there two minutes early, so we had to stand outside for the doors to open for a couple of minutes.

I go upstairs, climb on the bike, and begin pedalling at a mad rate, so much so that I burn 386K/calories in forty minutes, so that would explain my tired legs.

So tired, in fact, I bailed on going orchiding, saying we'd do it tomorrow. In fact the weather was cool and cloudy, but the sun soon burnt through that, and the temperatures quickly rose.

Back home then for brews and breakfast, and after a shower, sit outside on the patio where a series of cats came to sit, just to make sure there was any food about. Even Cleo sat nearby on the new tool box, keeping both eyes on me.

Of course there was football all afternoon: Ipswich on at half twelve, and again although they drew and moved back up to second, they seem to be lacking something up front.

Then to three and the radio and Final score, so I could keep tabs on Norwich. Our faint hopes of making the play-offs held as results went our way in the early kick offs, all we had to do was beat Swansea. At home.

It ended a 1-1 draw. A game of two penalties, both scored, one for each side. And so our season ends just falling short of the play-offs, though it would have been a year too soon for this group of players.

Meanwhile, Spurs and West Ham were fighting to see who out of the two of them would go down, and in a crazy eleven minutes West Ham scored. Everton equalised. Spurs scored against Wolves, thus moving themselves out of the bottom three. Before West Ham scored in injury time to leap-frog Spurs.

This battle royale has four more games to go. But the day meant Spurs won their first league game of the year! At the end of April.

Then came the FA Cup semi-final: Citeh v Southampton. And a good game, where the Saints scored in the 80th minute to set up the great upset. Only for Citeh to score twice after bringing on half a billion quids worth of players to run in two late goals.

Meanwhile Arsenal edged Newcastle in the league, 1-0 to go back top.

And that was more than enough football for one day.

Friday 24th April 2026

So, we have nearly made it to the end of the week again.

As always on non-phys days, I could lay in to six or half past, but my brain wakes me up before five. However, this day, much to my surprise I fell back to sleep, and was woken up for the second time when Jools drove up the drive en route for her yoga class.

I get up, get dressed and make coffee, before putting out the bins and drank a second cuppa sitting on the patio as the sun warmed the morning up.

I did have orchids on my mind.

On Tuesday, I bumped into one of the mods from my orchid group, who had just been to see the peloric Early Purples.

What is Pelorism, Precious?

Well, Wikki describes it thus:

"Pelorism is the abnormal production of radially symmetrical (actinomorphic) flowers in a species that usually produces bilaterally symmetrical (zygomorphic) flowers. These flowers are spontaneous floral symmetry mutants. The term epanody is also applied to this phenomenon. Bilaterally symmetrical (zygomorphic) flowers are known to have evolved several times from radially symmetrical (actinomorphic) flowers, these changes being linked to increasing specialisation in pollinators."

In other words, its a genetic throwback to an ancient form, petal and sepal arrangement.

I waited until Jools came back, and confirmed she didn't need the car, then set off to Yockletts.

Again.

Not much to report. It was quiet on the roads, and it was a fine, warm day. Perfect for orchiding.

I toyed with the idea of parking at the bottom of the Gogway, and just walking up to site where I thought I knew my quest would be ended. But, thought a walk across the whole reserve would be good, and get in my steps again.

So I parked in the small layby, grabbed the camera and walked into the reserve.

Unlike animals and insects, plants can't escape when a predator comes by. So it was a shock to see the glade where on Tuesday there were four flowering Early Purple spikes, to discover all were gone.

I walked to the lower glade: it was cool and in deep shadow, but the sun would reach it soon, and maybe there would be butterflies.

I stopped to snap the Fly orchids through the wood, up to the upper path to check on the couple of Lady orchids that were still in flower, just a little further on from Tuesday.

Over the Gogway, I checked on the site for the green Fly: no sign as yet. I think they have died out, but time may yet prove me wrong on that.

U the steep path where I expected to see the most advanced Lady spike in full flower, as it looked splendid but not quite all open on Tuesday.

But it was gone. The rosette was there, but no spike.

I don't know for sure that it was picked by a human or an animal. Deers love the taste of orchids for sure, but that meant four different orchid species on the reserve have all lost flowering spikes this year.

Too much of a coincidence really. I think they were picked, but I have no firm evidence.

I sigh and walk along the path, now quite overgrown to the bluebell wood, where there were most spikes already gone to seed, and only a handful of Early purple sikes showing well.

I find what I thought was the track to the peloric orchids, but I find none. Nearby a colony of usually shaped spikes were spotted, so through the undergrowth, over fallen trees, all while walking on the side of a down at an angle of 45 degrees.

I checked further down and still find no peloric orchids, but I do find another colony of Early purples, one with excess of pigmentation, hyperchromatic. An un-named variant.

I take shots.

Then walk back up the down, where as I was climbing over a trunk, my right foot slips, and instead of my left foot clearing the log, I kick it with my shin, removing the skin.

That smarted and will take some time to heal.

I curse my weak body and carelessness, but in truth I had climbed up and down the wooded down at least five times with no issues, no heavy breathing or needing to rest my back or knees.

I just did it.

And no walking pole needed.

I walk back down the main path, then along the bottom path, along where a decade ago there was a wide strip of grass, full of wild flowers and butterflies, but now scrub and soon to be woodland.

The orchids and butterflies will not return.

I sigh again.

Back over the Gogway, along the lower path and up to the lower meadow, where I take a seat in the vain hope of seeing one of our most fabulous butterflies: A Green hairstreak.

I had not seen them in the meadow since before COVID, so I had little hope.

I saw Brimstone, Holly blues, Large whites and Orange tips, but I kept looking.

In flight the Green hairstreak looks brown, and only is iridescent green when its scales reflect the sun.

I see two small brown butterflies flying close to the ground. I knew for sure these were Green hairstreaks.

I got up and walked closer. One landed, and I lay down, edging closer getting a few shots through the grass as it rested.

The camera over exposed every shot.

But it flew off, duelling with with another across the meadow. Round and round they flew, like a small two butterfly tornado, before circling a beech sapling over and over again.

I walked over and one settled. I edged closer, and through the sapling's leaves, I rattled off shots, hoping on would be in focus as I struggled to stay still on the steeply sloping ground.

And was done. It flew off, and it was time to leave.

I drove back to Stone Street, turned south towards Folkestone and the motorway.

It had turned into a fine Spring day, and even with a slow coach in front of the line of traffic was last in, I cared not.

So, back to Dover, as traffic for the port got confused as to what lane to be in, I turned up Jubilee Way and to home.

I had beaten Jools home, as she had walked the long way back from knit and natter, via Kingsdown Road the then the Dip.

I sat on the patio with three attendant cats, sipping from a pint of fizzy orange squash.

Lunch/dinner was Caprese with basil from the plants I repotted, and warmed a loaf in the oven.

It was a fine meal, the tomatoes now full of flavour, as was the basil.

The music quiz took place at six. I came second on the night, and so second overall for the month, but the fridge magnet prize was out of reach.

For the evening there was football. Could Nottingham Forest increase the gap between them and Tottenham and West Ham?

Sunderland dominated the first ten minute, with 91% of possession, but possession without an end product is just a statistic.

Then, then sky fell in on Sunderland, Forest scoring one, then three more in quick succession. 4-0 at half time, and they even managed to sweep in a fifth before the final whistle, thus giving themselves a nine point gap to Spurs in 18th, meaning it is between Spurs and West Ham as to who is going to take to last relegation spot.

A shame then, that Steve from next door chose this game to go and cheer on his team, Sunderland, on in person.