Personal Blogs

A gang of wheat rustlers were caught on camera. Although the images were very grainy.

“I say, I say, I say. I’ve set up a company offering pleasure flights.”

“Up and down.”

I was very interested to read this article

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2019/jul/13/margaret-hamilton-computer-scientist-interview-software-apollo-missions-1969-moon-landing-nasa-women

Hamilton was one of the earliest software engineers and her software played a crucial part in the Apollo moon missions. It is a fascinating story.

Long ago I knew someone who had been a seamstress at the court of Queen Victoria. So I knew someone who knew someone born in 1819. Isn’t that amazing?

This familiar flower of waysides and disturbed ground is Common Mallow. The Mallow family includes many familiar garden plants, such as Hollyhocks, Lavatera, and Hibiscus.

The flower is always the key to recognising what family a flowering plant belongs to, and if you know these plants you may be able to see the resemblance to Mallow.

Also in the family is Marshmallow, a plant whose roots were historically made into a confection. Modern marshmallows are only connected by the name.

Surprisingly this plant family also features cotton and cacao = chocolate, and is thus of huge ecomonic importance.

'Mallow' is from Latin Malva and I think the plant has a similar name in most European languages. Modern Greek seems to be Μολόχα, Molócha, and some scholars have suggested the altered form could have been influenced by the Ancient Greek for 'soft'. Did this link to the marshmallow, a soft root, or even to cotton, already known in ancient times, as I understand it?

The Pupils ask many times, “How can we be brave?”

The Abbess always replies three-wisely

“Accept doubt. Face infinitude. Embrace eternity.”

I didn't like working in origami. Too much paperwork.

Have you heard any origami jokes? They really crease you up.

Really I wanted to be a comedian when I was young. But I was too shy.

Thinking of tomorrow

Shows the futility of past deeds.

Don't go looking for meaning.