the orchid and the yucca

Pray for these plants. They are in our care, so they'll need all the help they can get. As you can see from the before-and-after diptych above, the orchid (I think it's an orchid - the label just says Roślina doniczkowa, i.e., potted plant) and the yucca have been repotted. On a brief break from Empson this morning, I engaged in my most intensive burst of gardening this millennium. Happily it wasn't too cold out on the balcony today, but I did feel the want of gardening gloves. A trowel would have come in handy too.

in which Boswell lets a gag loose & mentions one of my favourite islands (mercifully, his illustrious friend keeps schtum)

'Next morning, Thursday, March 21 [1776], we set out in a post-chaise to pursue our ramble. It was a delightful day, and we drove through Blenheim park. When I looked at the magnificent bridge built by John Duke of Marlborough, over a small rivulet, and recollected the Epigram made upon it -

'The lofty arch his high ambition shows,
The stream, an emblem of his bounty flows:'

and saw that now, by the genius of Brown, a magnificent body of water was collected, I said, 'They have drowned the Epigram.' I observed to him, while in the midst of the noble scene around us, 'You and I, Sir, have, I think, seen together the extremes of what can be seen in Britain: - the wild rough island of Mull, and Blenheim Park.''

Brockwell Park lido

I'm very sad about the demise of Brockwell Park lido. You can see a picture of the hole in the ground where it once was here, (though you'll need to scroll upwards a little bit). And if you like, you can write and tell me if the rest of the blog is worth reading or not.
The lido was even cooler than this picture makes it look.

Nippon

unhemmed has been quiet recently. I can tell you why: me and Em have had the great good fortune of being in Japan, and there doing vigorous tourism, for almost a fortnight. My plan is to deposit the photos I took somewhere in webland & I've just made a start:

prizewinningphotos.blogspot.com

I'm not sure if I'll be able to maintain the high level of captioning and selection. We'll see how we go.

something we've not seen