Fresh from the market

It's Rose, looking good - all our friends seem OK, the sun shining on our tiny tiny community, once the mist had cleared.

Yesterday, ohla! Steve, Mike, Leo et al gathered to hack at the huge eucalyptus in Tobys garden. Very professionally done and much wood amassed.

Twenty years ago the gardener that planted it used to wander into my house, as he used to when he worked in the garden (which is opposite me). He reckoned then that he'd put it in twenty years ago so it's a good forty years old. 

Probably a fashion in the day - there are some by the river too. Therese used to collect the bark chippings and burn them in ash trays to get rid of cigarette smells. The fact I'd never heard of this custom just showed how stupid the English are.