Tuesday, April 28/2026

Sound of a chainsaw early this morning - well, early by our undemanding standards anyway. Thinking it’s more a Sioux Lookout than a London sound. Then see the source in the treed area behind our flat. Two men are working at tree trimming, one brave bloke pretty far up the tree. He’s wearing a helmet but there’s nothing but his own grip and balance to prevent a fall. Hardly visible amid the boughs but located just to the right of the red triangle.

England is so lush and verdant that it looks like temperate jungle in places. And when we’ve come back here from spots like Malta that are almost entirely built over it’s clear that if the people ever left then the trees and plants would take over in no time. And I think of Noel Harrison’s song The Great Electric Experiment is Over, one of my all time favourites:

I can see the grass is growing on the streets I knew

And through the trees

I can see the sun is shining on the sea

And the ruins of the city are in flower now 

For the great electric experiment is over

Over now.
 

Check out the charity shops along Kilburn High Road. There are three now. One has closed down and now we can’t remember which it was. May have been the one I bought my backpack at three years ago. 

And stop at Sainsbury’s. Usually more expensive than Aldi, though it has been driven to post signs on its better buys pointing out, as far as I can see accurately, that they’ve been price matched with Aldi. We’re browsing when it occurs to us that we’re now reading in Polish and not English. Look up and discover we’re in the Eastern and Central European section. Where we get a Polish ham sausage that proves to be excellent - lean, hard, dense and delicious.