The final countdown


I hope all is well with you all. London, in fact all the Uk is getting ready for the Queens Platinum Jubilee celebrations. There will be lots happening between 2nd to 4th June. There will be the Trooping of the colours a Pageant and a Platinum party these will take place in London. There will also be lots of community events namely a street parties.
Many streets have already been adorned with Union Jack flags and bunting.
The queen began her reign 2nd June 1953, a long reign and the Queen is undoubtedly loved by many people.
There are some strange things being done, an example being the red, white and blue fish and chips. I for one will not be indulging in them. There are also an enormous amount of tatty souvenirs on sale. The dancing queen and corgi are an example of this.
I was really surprised to hear that,Prince Charles and Camilla will make a guest appearance, on a soap opera called Eastenders, at a street party. Goodness only knows what that will be like.
However not every one is happy about the celebrations. The government is spending 28 million pounds of taxpayers money. Also local councils are spending more money. There’s a big to do in Derbyshire who decided to spend 200,000 pounds of council tax money for events. Many residents both royalists and non royalists are very disgruntled by this large amount. They believe that it is insensitive to the many people who are suffering hardship.
Well whatever our views I’m sure many people will enjoy. I for one am looking forward to the flyby. I also think that whatever is put on will be very grand. Let’s hope the weather is better, as I type we have a massive downpour, thunder and lightning.
So bloggers have a good week over and out London.










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Cuckooland museum

 --> I hope you’ve all had a good week.  The sun certainly has got its hat off in the UK at least it has for the last few days.   It’ll be time to get the sunblock out soon it’ll probably rain tomorrow. I had a fascinating broadcast on the radio about cuckoo clocks.  Two brothers Roman and Maz Pierkarsi have spent the last 45years collecting cuckoo clocks and they have the largest collection in the world.  They have a museum of cuckoo clocks based in Cheshire, their museum is called Cuckooland.   It is a very unique museum it is set up in an old school house.   The walls are covered from floor to ceiling, the brothers tell stories about each of the clocks in their collection. They began collecting the clocks when they were 15 and were training to be clockmakers.  They found their first clock in Preston and they were amazed by it.  They stripped it down to discover how it works. They travelled mostly to Germany the Black Forest area, the oldest clock in their collection is 250 years old.   Cuckoo clocks became popular in the Victorian times.   It was considered entertainment. The brothers make most of their incomes repairing clocks, they also run tours of their museum.  When they have visitors it takes three hours to wind the clocks up and a further three to turn them off after the visit. The brothers also have a passion for vintage motor bikes.   It never ceases to amaze me what people collect.  I’m guessing the brothers have a big job on putting the clocks forwards and backwards. Bloggers I do hope that you have a good week over and out London. --> Sent from my iPad

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Gardening helped two men overcome their difficulties.

Hope you are all well. London is very warm and the pollen count is really high, so lots of sneezing and red eyes to be seen. Soon it will be Chelsea flower show it was founded in 1913. It was a very upper class exhibition and it has changed over the years. This year they are going to present two very different gardens.
A gardener called Tayshan Hayden Smith will be exhibition his garden called. “Hands off Mangrove”. He grew up in Ladbroke Grove opposite Grenfell Tower the place where so many people lost their lives. Following the fire he felt he had to do something to help the community. He set about creating beautiful outdoor spaces in the hope that people could connect to nature and each other. He became a guerrilla gardener, transforming derelict areas into beautiful gardens. In 2019 he founded Growtoknow, he was a semi professional footballer, who didn’t know much about gardening. He met another garden designer who worked with him to plan the garden for the Chelsea flower show. The Hands off Mangrove garden is in part a tribute to the Mangrove nine who were wrongly arrested for causing civil unrest and he also wants the garden to raise awareness of the environmental challenges we are currently facing.
Another different exhibitor is Jason Williams, he lives in Manchester on the 18th floor. He has transformed his balcony into an oasis. He began with one marigold and it flourished to become a cloud garden. Jason said gardening has helped him deal with depression and anxiety. Two remarkable men who have created so much beauty.
Bloggers have a good week over and out London.












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