Ash trees and fungus

Ash Trees and Fungus Fungal spores are all around us. We live in a world of fungal spores. Some are good and some are bad. Some we have learned to live with and some are still being modified. Although we can kill fungal spores in enclosed spaces we cannot eliminate them from the world around us. Plants and trees growing in our countryside are affected by fungi just as much as ourselves. Trees have developed a symbiotic relationship with fungi such that fungi help tree roots to take up nutrients from the soil. Different types of tree use fungi in this way to a greater or lesser extent and it so happens that Ash trees are one of the few that do not rely on fungi to take up nutrients. Mature trees are much admired in the countryside and great weight is given to the largest or the oldest tree but apart from looking good do they provide a useful function? To put it to the Darwinian test do mature trees meet the survival of the fittest criteria? When walking in the countryside we are as likely to see a mature tree blown down by the wind as a young sapling eaten by a deer. The point is should we be trying to save our mature Ash trees or let them be killed by fungus disease. My own opinion is that we should let the fungus disease take its own course. We cannot hope to stop the fungal spores spreading even over a small area. Even if we did manage to contain a small area it is still susceptible to be reinfected from another place perhaps hundreds of miles away. The best course of action would be to identify those trees that are resistant to this particular fungus and develop saplings from its seed for future colonisation of infected areas. Ash trees are naturally vigorous and could reach a good height in less than ten years.

A Cottage in Norfolk

A cottage in Norfolk Travelled from home on Saturday 02/06/12. Unfortunately this happened to coincide with a) half term, b) Queens Jubilee and c) A double bank holiday. Fortunately most people were going in the opposite direction to ourselves but it was still quite busy. We passed an ancient campervan going up the M3 with a ‘for sale’ sign in the back window. Shortly after our clever satnav detected a hold up where the M3 joins the M25 and directed us off the M3 at junction 3 and back on to the M25 just before Heathrow. We had just got on the M25 again when we overtook the same campervan in the inside lane. Perhaps the satnav was not so clever after all. It also detected a holdup from the M25 on to the M11 and directed us up the A1. This time we ignored it because we wanted to stop at South Mimms for a break and by the time we had finished the satnav had changed its mind and directed us up the M11. After that we had no more trouble until near our destination as we passed RAF Leconheath. There were queues going through Brandon and Swaffham that added another hour on to our journey. We arrived at our cottage at about 16.30. First impressions were good. The place is quiet and clean so we should have a peaceful weekend. We decided to have our dinner indoors with a glass of wine rather than going out. A bottle of wine was provided together with bacon and eggs and lots of little extras. Sunday 3rd June Did not sleep too well, never do in a strange bed although it was comfortable enough? The headboard creaked whenever we moved. It rained during the night. It rained when we were having breakfast and it rained when we left the cottage to go to Titchwell reserve. The satnav took us there alright although it stopped a bit short of the actual reserve entrance. It was raining when we got changed to go round the reserve and we stopped in the visitor centre to see if anything was occurring. Joan bought a waterproof hat. It was raining when we walked along to the hides and we got quite wet with the wind blowing near the seashore. We were able to see a Spoonbill and two black swans. There was also a group of Little Gulls which looked quite stunning in their black and white plumage. Two of the newest hides were built to a modern design which enabled good views over the scrapes but the rain still got in when the windows were opened. I also saw a Bearded Tit when we were walking back to the car park for our lunch. It was still raining after we had eaten our egg sandwiches but we did go out again to the Fen hide. We did not see anything from this hide but we did see a Willow Warbler on the way back. We called in to the visitor centre before leaving and bought a couple of fact sheets on moths and bees. It was still raining when we travelled back but we were luckier than the caravan owners whose caravan was involved in an accident and ended up in the hedge. We went to the Bell Inn in Brisley for our evening meal. The bar meals were filling enough and it was not too busy. It was still raining when we got back to the cottage. Monday 4th June Sunshine was flooding through our bedroom window when we woke up. After breakfast we went in to Fakenham to do a bit of shopping. We had selected Budgens on our satnav but ended up in a Tescos. After we had brought the stuff back to our cottage we set out again to go to Holkham Hall. When we got there and bought our tickets at £12 each plus £2.50 for a car parking ticket we decided to have lunch before going round the house. We had tomato soup followed by a slice of cake which made quite a nice meal. Luckily we got there before the rush as there was a long queue when we went out of the restaurant. When we entered the house through the main doors in to the marble hall there was a crowd of people waiting on the balcony to welcome us in. Actually as we found out they were waiting for a display of 50’s clothing and we also went up on the balcony to watch it. After the first couple of displays we got bored and started our walk round the house. The dining area had a display of Jubilee tea things such as a red white and blue cake and other fancy fairy cakes. This prompted me to ask the question ‘What is the Jubilee celebrating’ of one of the guides. After some discussion with one of her colleagues we came to the conclusion it was her accession to the throne but we did not know if there would be another Jubilee next year to celebrate her coronation. Further on I spotted a display of coronet and robes for one of the Earls and asked the question ‘What do the strawberry leaves on the coronet signify’. They were a bit stumped by this question although they admitted it was not the first time it had been asked. I did not ask any other questions but it was quite a nice stroll through the rooms including the library and state bedrooms. We also went in to the kitchen area where there was a display of 1950’s cooking on a long dining table with nibbles on the way out. After our tour round the house we went out the back to take a photograph which had been recommended at the ticket office and then continued on to the walled garden. The walled garden was some way from the house but its size was impressive and as it sheltered us from the wind was very pleasant. Unfortunately the garden itself was in a poor state but it is gradually being restored to its original condition. It looks however that this may take some time. The weather was dry all day but a cold northerly wind put us off walking any distance. Tuesday 5th June After stopping for a paper in Fakenham we went on to Pensthorpe nature reserve. This is a privately owned nature reserve so we had to pay to get in and we also paid for an escorted tour of the estate. The reserve is owned by the Jordons of natures biscuit fame who have a house on site. We had a quick look round the enclosed aviaries which was useful for photographing birds such as the ‘Bearded Tit’, the Avocet and the Ruff but we had to be back at the visitor centre for the tour to start at 11.10. The tour consisted of a short talk in the lecture theatre followed by a trip in a road train pulled by a landrover in a low gear. We had a running commentary by the driver which was quite informative but the seating was rather restrictive so we saw as much of the interior of the vehicle as the outside scenery. When we got back we returned to our car for our packed lunch then we walked round the reserve. Many of the ducks and geese are tame to varying degrees so it is quite interesting to see them close up but the smell of bird droppings is rather off putting. The walk alongside the river Wensum was very pleasant as we managed to catch a bit of sunshine and it was sheltered from the wind. We did not see any Otters or Voles or big fish in the river but we did see plenty of damselflies and one dragonfly. The walk through the wildflower meadow was also pleasant which was situated on a marshy low lying area near the river but it was full of buttercups, ragged robin, yellow rattle, water avens and plenty of orchids. The orchids were marsh orchids and heath spotted orchids or hybrids of these two. Unfortunately the sky grew darker as we went through the meadow and we thought it might rain so we changed our route to go nearer the visitor centred. The clouds passed over however and we went along by the pond dipping pool to see the red squirrels. The red squirrels are part of a breeding programme to reintroduce them to the area but are in cages at the moment with wire runs connecting all the cages. When we were there one of the squirrels was running furiously backwards and forwards in the wire run seemingly in great distress. Although keeping wild creatures in captivity protects them from predators the restrictions must pose extreme mental cruelty on the animals and this was one extreme example of many that all of the creatures must feel. When we got back to the centre we called in for a piece of cake and a coffee and it was whilst we were eating it that it started to rain so we were quite pleased with our timing. Wednesday 6th June We decided to go to Wroxham for a day on the Broads. The satnav took us towards Norwich, around a bit of the ring road and out again to Wroxham. The traffic was quite heavy round Norwich but otherwise we made good time and the car park was easy to find. We bought our tickets with about half an hour to spare so we walked over the bridge into Wroxham centre and bought a newspaper in a small newsagents. I also bought a few apples from Roy’s which is a local supermarket and then we went back to catch our boat. There was about twenty or so people in front of us in the queue but we only just managed to get a seat on the open part of the top deck. A girl took our photo as we sat down but we had no intention of buying it. As we moved off it started to rain quite heavily and people started to pull down the plastic curtains which did not please me at all. If you are going to sit outside you should be prepared for the weather and it was difficult to see anything through the plastic. Fortunately it stopped raining within a few minutes and they rolled them back up again. The commentary was quite slow and deliberate but the trip was very pleasant in the sunshine with the greenery and water splashing around the boat. We went out of Wroxham with the expensive houses bordering the river and into a couple of Broads before turning back and returning to our mooring. When we got back we had our packed lunch in the car then walked into the town centre to pay a visit to the tourist office. I asked about any local nature reserves and he mentioned Barton Broad but a leaflet he gave us had a mention of Foxley wood which I knew was on the way back so we decided to go there. We got to Foxley wood about three o’clock so we did not have a great deal of time to look around so we went round the shorter of the two routes available. The weather at this time was hot and sunny with very little wind in the woods so we had a very pleasant hours walk. We saw several orchids including a greater butterfly orchid. It did rain slightly on the later stages and as we got near the end we had to hurry because it started to thunder. Fortunately we got back to the car before it started to rain. The satnav took us back to the cottage on a roundabout route through narrow winding lanes but it did get there. We went down to the pub for a meal in the evening. It is pretty basic fare but it fills us up and doesn’t cost much. Thursday 7th June The weather forecast was not too good for today so we decided to go into Norwich. I eventually found the airport park & ride on the satnav and it eventually got us there but it was a few miles from the main road and we had trouble understanding the parking restrictions. Some of them were for RBS personnel cars only and we were not the only ones confused. The bus no 603 was full when we got on so I had to stand all the way. We got off in the city centre and after a bit of orientation found our way to the market and then on to the information office in the new Forum building. Here we got a copy of a self-guided walking tour and set off to walk the walk. The walk took us up to the castle on a mound overlooking the city although it was not high enough to get a bird’s eye view. No doubt we would have a better view if we had paid to get in the castle and climbed to the top but it would have cost us £12 so we declined the offer and walked round the outside instead. The next part of our walk took us to the cathedral where we also declined to pay the recommended donation but we were still able to look round. The tour was quite pleasant but not as informative as some cathedrals we have visited. A male voice choir was practicing whilst we were there and they sounded very powerful due to the cathedral acoustics. Continuing our walk we went to an old part of the city called Elm Hill with old houses and cobbled streets but we had trouble finding our route from there and gave up the walk. Fortunately it was near the end anyway and past our lunchtime. We went back to the centre and quickly found a Costa coffee café where we had lunch. After lunch we walked back to the market area and decided to get the bus back from the bus station. On our route we passed a Pret a Manger and a large Marks & Spencer. We eventually found the bus station and this time we managed to get a seat at the front and top of a double decker bus so we had a good view on our way back to the Airport Park & ride. The car journey back took us on the same back road journey as yesterday but when we got on the back roads I decided to go back on the satnav and it eventually got us on a sensible route. When we got back to the cottage in the afternoon it started raining and rained hard and persistently for some time into the evening. Fortunately we had decided to have our dinner in doors. Friday 8th June Today started off wet and windy and only got worse. This was not altogether a waste of time since we were able to relax in the cottage. The location of our cottage was down a narrow dead end road some distance outside the village of Brisley. It was very remote from habitation and you would be hard pushed to even know it was there. So much so that we were told we need not bother locking our door which we did on the first day and took our key with us but afterwards we just left the key in the door and thought no more about it. The only people we saw besides the owners was a couple of birdwatchers walking down the road as we came back in the car. Unfortunately because of the weather we were unable to explore in the near vicinity of the cottage but we did see a deer on our way out one day. The birds coming to the bird table included a number of Tree Sparrows which are quite a rarity in most parts of the country and once we heard the call of a Turtle Dove. The cottage itself was quite old but the only complaint we had was that the shower was very feeble. Everything was provided including a complimentary bottle of wine and bacon and eggs in the fridge. It was just a pity about the weather. We did go out in the morning to Morrisons in Fakenham in order to fill up with petrol and in the evening we went for a meal at the Bell Inn in Brisley. This was the third visit for a meal during our stay. The food was basic but we never had cause to complain so long as we watched were we sat as the seats were a bit over used.

New York City Day 4

New York City Day 4
Monday 4th July 2011


We had nothing booked for the morning so after a bit of a lie in we strolled across the road from the hotel to ‘Juniors’ for our breakfast. All our previous breakfasts had been taken in the hotel so this was our first proper New York breakfast and we were not disappointed. What looked like a small café from the street turned out to be a large dining area where you could order virtually anything. When we entered to the reception desk we were immediately shown to a table and given a menu. Although we were in New York we decided to stick to our usual healthy breakfast and had a sundae bowl filled with yoghurt and granola and fruit accompanied by a glass of orange and a coffee. Even so it turned out to be a substantial meal and came to $35 all told. We left feeling confident that we were well set up for the day.
Our thinking for this day was that New York would be very busy on the 4th of July and the temperature promised to be nudging 100 degrees so we decided to spend most of the day in the hopefully cooler Central Park. The route from Times Square took us past the ‘Rockefeller Centre’ and on the spur of the moment we decided to give it a try. The kiosk we stopped at to buy tickets turned out to be credit card only so we bought two seniors tickets for $44 and set off for the ‘top of the rock’ We had to go up an escalator to the second floor where we joined the lines for the elevators; evading the photo opportunities as best we could.
The lines or queues were surprisingly small and we were soon in an elevator going up to the 67th floor. As we set off the lights in the elevator were turned off so we could look up through the glass ceiling to the lift shaft as it sped up to the top floor. Not everyone was impressed but it was a unique experience. The observation deck was in two levels with safety glass panels all round; presumably to deter suicides. The building itself seemed to be constructed of heavy cut stone with cast iron workings at the top which was a surprise as I assumed light materials would have been a priority. Although the temperature was getting a bit warm by this time we spent some time looking at the views which we thought were better than the Empire State building. The views were not significantly different but being lower down you got the impression of being amongst the skyscrapers which seemed nearer on all sides. The return elevator journey was a repeat of the upward journey but we exited at the basement and walked back up to ground level after some time finding our sense of direction.
The rest of the walk to Central Park was easy as we simply walked north up 5th Avenue and entered the Park at its south eastern corner. This is one of the main entrances to Central Park and is the site of a sculpture by the Chinese artist Ai Weiwei. The sculpture consists of representations of the Chinese Year such as the Pig or Rooster and Joan and I had our photos taken standing by our relevant sculpture. Our idea was to walk round the Park in an anticlockwise direction but we only managed to get as far as the Jackie Kennedy reservoir before turning back.
Central Park looks like a natural feature but in fact it was created in 1857 on land to the northern end of Manhattan Island. The hard rock on which the tall skyscrapers are built lies at the southern end of Manhattan but in the park area the land is much softer with occasional outbreaks of the hard schist which have been left as features in the park. The pond, the lake and the reservoir have all been artificially created; the area between landscaped and trees planted. Streets that cross the park, called transverses, have all been sunk below the park level and are crossed by bridges for footpaths and other tracks. Besides the water features the park contains a zoo which we did not visit and Belvedere Castle which we did. Belvedere Castle was built on the highest point in the park as a folly without internal rooms but over the years it has been used as a meteorological station and at the moment as a natural history observatory.
The park is also used for live entertainment and several artists were playing as we walked round including a classical violinist whom we were glad to sit and watch whilst cooling off in the heat.
The main reason for turning back when we reached the reservoir was the heat which was at its greatest as we crossed over to the west side of the Park. We managed to purchase bottles of water as we entered the Park and stopped for an ice cream when we walked down the west side. As long as we took things steady we managed the heat quite well but were glad of the air conditioning when we eventually arrived back at the hotel about 3 o’clock in the afternoon.
When we had cooled down a bit we got ourselves ready to go out for our evening meal at the David Burke Townhouse. We left the hotel at about 17.15 and decided to experience the delights of a New York yellow cab. The hotel had a special area at ground level where cabs could drive through to pick up and set down passengers. In addition they employed people to direct the operations and we duly presented ourselves, with a small piece of paper with our destination written on it, to a tall coloured fellow dressed in red livery. A person of his size was not meant to be messed with so we shut up and waited for our cab to pull up. We did not have long to wait before we got in the back of the cab and the cabbie drove off. He was not the sort of person you engaged in conversation either; not because he was big but because he had his hands full with his mobile phone in one hand and a large coffee in the other. Occasionally he put down his coffee and looked at the slip of paper to confirm his destination. The cab however seemed to know the direction better than he did as it did not take us long to get to the restaurant on 61st between Park Avenue and Lexington.
David Burke Townhouse was the second of the recommendations by Carolyn on board the QM2 and it turned out to be the best. We expected the restaurant to be full on July 4th but when we arrived there were people at only two of the tables. The number did increase as time wore on but the restaurant was never more than half full and we enjoyed the relaxed peaceful surroundings in the air conditioned room. The service was helpful but restrained. We were told that we could have a 42oz steak to share but even 21oz was a step too far.
We had an appetiser of mousse/gazpacho that tasted of mustard and salad cream in a shot glass and got individual bread still warm in the pan it was baked in. For starters I had a salad with walnuts, cheese, apple and croutons. My entrée was of lamb and selected vegetables arranged in a modern cuisine style. For desert I had pineapple baba rum. As a thank you we got two chocolate truffles in a cardboard box to take away. The whole experience was very enjoyable and we walked back to the hotel on a barmy evening with the feeling that New York was a wonderful place.