Jill Bourne
@jillrb
Mid-century vintage. Retired lay about. Gardening, nature, archaeology, politics, books, music. Alto, usual suspect back row. Co-owner of a little red boat.
Extremely photogenic wasp spider lurking in my polytunnel. Noticing gradual increase in these over the last couple of years.
Felt quite mournful on hearing that the ‘Major Oak’ has died. Photos are from a visit to Sherwood Forest a few years ago. These ancient oaks brought to mind Tolkien’s ‘Ents’ and ‘Treebeard’, the oldest living creature. #MajorOak
Asparagus beetle invasion on my veg patch. Art deco fashionistas of the insect world
Just outside the back door. Such enchanting trilling and beautiful plumage. He’s such a show off and seems to have no objection to being filmed at close range!
Cambridgeshire has a dusting of snow this morning. Keeping a look out for the appearance of fieldfares and redwings.
Govt comms have been abysmal, but strip away noise and vitriolic attacks, the budget is seems reasonable. Increased headroom means interest on govt debt reduced, lots of children lifted out of poverty, small upward shift in living standards, some wealth redistribution. Growth measures in progress.
From a recent Guardian article by Richard Partington. What extraordinary times we live in. #budget
Visited the Anderton Boat Lift. What a marvel! The building behind is the old Brunner Mond/ICI factory, often referred to as the ‘beast’. My great grandad worked there, tinkering with a little engine. Showed his pics to a local, who told me he’d been blown up and put on the wall in Weatherspoons
Definitely coming across as a Farage fanboy. This from the end of the same article 👇 Unbelievable
The Haddenham Traction Engine Rally. Sights and sounds from another era. Joyous
First sighting of a wasp spider, a female I think. It’s been on the front door all day, quietly basking in the autumn sunshine. Apparently the females eat the males after mating, so possibly slowly digesting her husband
We have had a visitor to the veg plot, a bit like the tiger who came to tea. It ate the beets, trashed the lettuce and chard and nibbled the beans, (tbf that might have been marauding muntjacs). Now have an electric fence, cost of which would have bought life subscription to a veg box delivery 🦡⚡️🤣
Amateur music making is a marvellous thing! Very thrilling being in the massive wall of sound that is the chorus for the Verdi Requiem. To be performed in the magnificent setting of Ely Cathedral.
Other half is an old fen boy. This morning he sniffed the air, gave his knackered knee a rub and announced that skating was the order of the day. The stretch of the Cam floodplain where he has been sliding about on the ice since the age of 3 resembled a medieval frost fair. Never seen it so busy.
A relative was responsible for the renovations in the 1960s and we still have the architectural model! The work is very much of its time, but they were on a pretty tight budget, hence the wooden porch
My ancestor Marilla Long was born in the ‘Hole Houses’ at Hales Green, Norfolk. Generations of her family are recorded in the parish register for the nearby church of St Margaret. This astonishing church, lost in time & little changed since the C12th is simply beautiful. #FamilyHistory #genealogy
Coinciding with the 2024 Olympics, this marvellous exhibition at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge takes a look back at the 1924 Paris games. Fabulous paintings, film clips, sculptures etc. Plus a lethal looking bobsleigh, minus protective helmets or any other safety features. Eek!