This and That

Banksy's pitch will come to an end in New York by Halloween.  Listening to Grayson Perry this morning in the Reith Lectures are these two artists representative of the mood set of today?

The wind rattled round the windows and we experienced the storm, but apart from the fencing getting very wonky, and is now held up by a couple of garden forks and a post we were fortunate. Other people's fencing came down and the ridge tiles next door were skewed, quickly mended by a couple of other neighbours.

Today, after an unexpected call from gardening contractors, (we were on their books for work in the future) but they happened to be cutting down a tree that had fallen in the storm in the neighbourhood, our front laurel hedge is now being cut down to shape as it had become too much for both of us.  There is a lot of laurel hedging round here, and it should NEVER be planted as hedging as it has rapid growth and a vibrant energy not seen in other shrubs, whatever happened to privet?

The hedges round the greens are all native species, so home to the crows, magpies, sparrows, starlings and many collared doves that frequent the area.  My solitary dove came down yesterday in the midst of the storm rather scared with all the weather and kept LS company as he put up the fencing.  Think she is a she, being courted ferociously by another, but will have nothing to do with the overtures, faithful to her dead partner?

Matilda getting ready for Halloween

The storm did not hit so hard further North, but last Friday in Todmorden, it rained very heavily for half an hour, causing flooding on the main road.  The problem is of course the wash of water into the houses down the main road and the side roads.  Apparently my daughter said, the inhabitants will bring the traffic to a halt  to stop the water washing into the houses; the local taxi driver lining his cars across the road.