THE CHANGES

by John Yeo

    The allotments are a fruitful place to ponder on the ever-changing cycles of the planting year and the changes of the scenery as man made structures appear. People are making the most of this early period to erect greenhouses, polytunnels and coldframes. Perennial flowers are a sure sign of continuous change. At the end of winter the snowdrops are the first flowers to appear, closely followed by daffodils and primulas and hyacinths.

The hardy vegetables that have survived the windy blasts of winter, such as kale, leeks and broccoli are finishing their cycle of life and then the weather dictates the garden year. The soil has to be warm to enable seeds to be set and it is interesting to see the changes of method aligned to the natural cycle of weather.

At the beginning of spring more birds appear as the breeding cycle begins. An unusual sight is a pair of large seagulls that have taken up residence, one is on the waste green part of the allotments every day, just watching and taking in the scenery.

Many subtle changes are slowly taking place that will dictate the eventual results of the growing cycle. Perhaps a new greenhouse on a neighbouring allotment will allow a new barter system to operate as plants are swapped between friends. Small changes that can result in large alterations as life on the allotments goes forward.

The Coronavirus pandemic that is sweeping the world at present is possibly making permanent changes to the way most people view the natural world. The decision to make Allotments a part of the required daily exercise during the self isolation lockdown was a blessing for the many vegetable gardeners in the UK. Gardening is an occupation that brings peace of mind in any circumstance. The feeling of creating a small space tailored with a variety of plants or vegetables is a pathway to health both of the body and the mind. The satisfaction of sowing seeds in your patch, watching the plants slowly mature, then taking care of them is a constant occupation. The ongoing fight against plant predators and diseases is constant. Yet gardening is always a calming pleasure, as the wonder of the natural cycle of life with the company of wild birdlife and small creatures unfolds in and around the allotment.

An ancient Buddhist tradition with a modern Wind turbine.

  I snapped this beautiful scene in the south of Phuket island in Thailand during our recent holiday. 

  This high hill overlooking the popular Ya Nui Beach on one side, and the bay of Nai Harn on the other, is called the Windmill Viewpoint, The Windmill is actually a huge wind turbine that is visible for miles around. Our first sight was an interesting green-coloured Buddhist shrine containing offerings of flowers, fronted by an impressive pair of Elephant statues. I have included a photograph of this at the bottom of this post. The view here was spectacular with a cloudless blue sky overlooking a darker blue sea. The green vegetation on the hillside, consisting mainly of palms and cacti, looked beautiful. We were high above Ya Nui Beach, looking down on the tiny figures of people on the beach below. The deep-blue sea was dotted with small boats. Passing sea traffic, ranging from long-tail boats to fishing boats heading out into the Andaman sea,    This impressive viewpoint overlooks a tiny, green, tree-covered island, named ‘Koh Man’, which reminded me of a tiny green emerald set in a sapphire blue sea. These beautiful photographs brighten up our strangely compressed lockdown days. We can but relive the memories. Perhaps one day Margaret and I will safely return to our travels again. Stay safe and keep well. Love ❤️ and Peace ☮️ from John and Margaret 

SATURDAY 18th APRIL 2020

 I snapped the above photograph when Margaret and I travelled on the train pictured above last Summer.  Hopefully the leisure steam train industry will survive the current lockdown ban, due to the Coronavirus pandemic.

  This wonderful image takes me back in time to the days when these wonderful steam trains would transport millions of people from town to city to metropolis around the various railway lines across the world. Nowadays they mainly carry tourists and leisure time enthusiasts on short journeys from point A to point B. Sadly, due to government restrictions on the use of coal to enable the country to become carbon neutral in the future, it’s feared that the price of coal will go through the roof and these wonderful railway engines will become uneconomical to use. This will make photographs like this rarer and rarer, as demand for the steam railway leisure industry declines for lack of affordable seats. 

  Margaret and I have had the pleasure of riding on the North Norfolk Poppy steam train line on a number of occasions with various grandchildren. It’s always a delight to see the children’s faces light up as they watch the fires being stoked in the engine, before boarding. The authentic carriages are comfortable and the windows look out onto a wonderful view of the countryside as the train sedately steams along. These railways are staffed by volunteers who are always dressed in the original style uniforms. The children love to see them acting their parts as guards and ticket collectors and there is usually a stationmaster on hand when the intrepid tourist travellers board and exit the trains. Thankfully, I’m sure these smoke-emitting, steamy trains will survive, in spite of the smoky coal-fired air surrounding them, wherever they travel. They should forever bring pleasure to children of all ages who delight in reliving History.

A memorable facet of our trip to sample the culture of Thailand were our visits to the outdoor night markets. One particular small market we visited was an eye-opening experience to say the least. 

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FLASH FICTION 

AGGREGATION OF AGGRESSION

by John Yeo

  I had received some highly desirable tickets for a high level Science show at the college theatre. A well known expert in Entomology, Professor Deacon, was to expound his theories of a newly discovered strain of highly intelligent insects.

I was seated at home reading up on the background of extra-terrestrial insect life and I almost forgot the show completely.

I dressed in a hurry and quickly called a taxi to take me to the college theatre. I arranged for the driver to collect me in a couple of hours.

The performance was in full swing and I was soon waiting outside in the foyer during the first half.

At the interval, I made my way to the box office to explain my situation.

Suddenly an overweight man dressed in an evening suit with a large red polka dot tie, pushed his way forward. He had a black moustache, and thick black sideburns, on his moon-shaped face, topped by a shiny hairless head. 

With an extremely loud, aggressive manner, he said.

   ‘She’s next if I come back and anyone’s inside, there will be trouble.’

  He then pointed towards a young lady standing at the back of the queue. The young lady was a teenager, roughly 19 years old, wearing a loud pink blouse and blue torn jeans. She had long blonde, shoulder-length hair, and her face was conspicuous by some bright red lipstick that she had thickly plastered on her mouth.

 I stepped back from the ticket window and glared at him, risking his open, high, alcohol-fueled, aggression.

At this point, the young lady stepped forward and said,

Leave it alone, Dad! You’re upsetting me, please take me home.’

 With that, they both made to leave the theatre which seemed to be full to bursting point. I had almost given up hope of ever getting to the front of the queue when another intimidating aggressive man yelled from behind me in the queue. 

 ‘Are you coming back?’

     There was a scuffle as the man with the polka dot tie turned back and grabbed the questioner by the throat and said, ‘Mind your own bloody business.’

Then he quickly left the theatre with his daughter.

With an embarrassed shrug of his broad shoulders the second man, who had a shaved head and an earring in his left ear. just glared and took his place back in the queue.

Frustratingly there was no movement for ages and by the time the interval was nearly over an usherette appeared.

 l explained the situation to her quoting the Science department and I was instantly shown to a seat for the rest of the performance.

During the second half musing on this frustrating, unnecessary aggression, I wondered if there were mirrors of unnecessary aggressive behaviour such as this in the insect world. Perhaps the difference between a thoughtless, robotic, zombie-like creature and man is accentuated by an unfortunate side effect of egotistic aggression.

A memorable photograph from our Thailand holiday photographs. This was randomly snapped from the window of the taxi we hired for our tour of Phuket. There are a half dozen scooters parked by the side of the highway, with a man seated at a table behind a small notice advertising bikes for hire. The young man wearing a pair of sunglasses, stares intently at his mobile phone, probably surfing the net, seemingly oblivious of the beauty around him.

 Another interesting thing shown in this photo is a notice offering bottles of gasoline for sale at 40 baht a bottle. I’m sure this unlicensed sale of gasoline would never be allowed here in the UK, for health and safety reasons. I imagine there would be a definite fire risk attached. These small roadside type businesses are situated alongside most of the main roads in Thailand, showing a nation with a great entrepreneurial culture. Moving along this interesting picture there is a boat pulled up alongside the motorcycles, it’s not apparent whether this is for hire, but I suspect anything is possible. 

Looking at the trees that are providing much needed shelter from the sun, they are mainly coconut palm trees that grow widely all over the island. We were visiting in February, when the coconuts were just ready to harvest and eat, or ready to drink the tasty milk juice inside. Thai cooking uses a lot of coconut milk in the preparation of their food.

The sparkling clear blue sea in the background, covered in small boats, both fishing and pleasure boats is typical of Thailand’s coastline. The hidden sandy beach, is just visible in this photograph, and there are clearly some bathers visible in the sea. A young lady in three quarter length jeans wearing a bright yellow jumper, gazes out to the sea. She has her thick black hair, typical of Thai women, held in place by an American style baseball cap. A wonderful reflection of life on the beachside in the island of Phuket in Thailand.