Bank Holidays

It's ridiculous, really. I mean, what's the point ? Always the same. Absolutely pissing down.

Lights

Over the last few weeks, I have been tinkering with the lights here in the Mews. I replaced some of the bricklights with transformers and fitted a bunch of outdoor spotlights. And a timer thingy for the pond water spout wotsit, and a dusk till dawn sensor for the lights. It all looks bloody good after about 10.30 at night, except that by then, most people are crashed out in front of the telly and will never get to see it. Except me that is... I lean on my balcony with a fag and a glass of wine, overlooking my creation, and I am full of agogness.

Asimo

My favourite robot has been showing off again, this time conducting an orchestra... and apparently he did a very good job. Bloody clever if you ask me.

Flowers

This week we went to a very posh house near Maidstone for a photo shoot. The house was magnificent, and had it's very own deer park, amongst all the usual things like croquet lawns, lakes, secret gardens etc. Anyway, at some point in the day, Ellie decided to nick my camera and run around taking photos of things. Here's a couple of her pictures.

Grass Carp

My pond is being overwhelmed by "blanket weed" - thin hair like algae that clumps around the plants and eventually turns the pond into a swamp. The most common treatments involve the use of chemicals or barley straw, but there is one other method that I discovered after lots of googling.

I have bought 2 Grass Carps, which are a species of vegetarian fish. They can consume up to 3 times their own weight of vegetation in a single day, and can grow up to 45 lbs if given enough space and food. They have already made a start on my blanket weed, and when they have gobbled it all up, I'm going to catch them with a net and cook them up with some fresh herbs and few new potatoes. Maybe.