Walking, Lobbying and The Inevitable Return of the Rain

After a late night, we had a slow start this morning. Pulled the curtains hoping for sunshine, but saw only clouds. These soon started delivering rain - not as much as further north, where we had been going to meet up with my brother and sister-in-law for a camping weekend. Just as well we postponed, since the M50 is closed and Northampton is flooded! Went down into down at lunchtime, seeing this reminder of last night's partying.

Walking through the shops, I was amused by this slogan.

Not a cake, but soap!

Removing a pane of broken glass - presumably broken last night by revellers.

The elegant neo-classical frontage of British Home Stores. 

More authentic Georgian architecture just along from BhS.

I was down in town as part of an internet-organised lobby of Don Foster, our local MP and Lib Dem Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport. His role was apposite as we were there having all signed a 38degrees petition to stop government snooping of electronic communications. I've just checked the website and the current number of signatures on the petition is 184928! Here are my co-lobbyist.
Don came down and accepted the copy of the petition and talked for a few minutes about how the Lib Dems are putting the brakes on Tory plans and asked us all to be patient while the draft Bill is scrutinised. Given the sentiments of the people there, I think he can expect to see us again…

It was an interesting exercise, as most of us had never met before. It was certainly fulfilling to do something in person, and as a group, rather than just signing a petition on computer. I chatted to a few people afterwards about the politics of surveillance and other jolly matters. A co-lobbyist asked me to publicise the case of Roger Hayes, arrested and jailed in a secret court without a jury - apparently for non-payment of Council tax as part of his anti-terrorist funding stance. More details on this at the ukcolumn website. I wandered back through town and walked home back up Lansdown hill for the second time in two days (puff puff:-)!). Passed a stunning display of clematis, of which this is just one example.

Walking around is great because I notice for the first time details I have obliviously walked past many times, like the detailing on this little stretch of railing.

After lunch, I took Bella out into the rain for a walk, seeing these pink blackberry flowers which have come out in the last day or so.

Alchemilla leaves holding onto the raindrops. The plant is  so named because "it shares the family trait of having hairs on its leaves which catch the morning dew. This feature led to the origin of the family name. Alchemilla means 'little alchemist', and refers to the practice during the Middle Ages of trying to turn base-metals into gold. Alchemists required the purest dew for their experiments, which was gathered from the leaves" (from Arkive)

Lots of Sharon Roses in flower at the moment. We humans may be moaning, and the birds may not be raising chicks because of the weather - but most plants are thriving.

We walked up Charlocmbe Lane, avoiding the soaking wet long grasses in the fields today. This is the point where a supposedly quiet lane turns into a noisy road…

Hebe flowers have started coming out in force as well.

Honeysuckle flowers.

It's not just the flowers that are enjoying the wet weather - the trees and shrubs are thriving too.

Passed this rather worrying pottery figure in a car - the parking pass on the front indicated it was a teacher's, so I guess this is homework for marking?

Came home to the welcome of our big nepeta flowers.

This day a year ago, I was dodging the showers and was pleased with my timing when I managed to get Bella out for a walk in between two of them. Also pleased about our impending short holiday in Devon (Bella's Summer seaside break) as well as our Autumn trip starting in Istanbul and finishing in Athens - with all points in between to be determined!