The Sensor On My Pocket Camera Was In Need Of A Clean,

the problem being, 

'A' it was expensive and 'B' it would take weeks to have it sent away, cleaned and returned, above is a photograph of a white screen on my computer, the camera is set at its normal when first switched on, 

this is it at maximum zoom, the more the zoom is used the more the dust/fluff is apparent, but I had a cunning plan, firstly let me say, "Do not try this at home", unless you are willing to write off your camera if it all goes wrong, I read on the Internet that a chap had attached his hoover to the camera lens switched the machine on and then used to zoom a couple of times, and had sucked the dust fluff off of the sensor, well it seemed too good to be true, so a cardboard tube from a tissue roll to connect the camera our hoover and I tried it, hoover on, zoom in, zoom out, twice,

and this is the result at the cameras normal setting, 

and at full zoom just one or two spots left on the sensor, what a result!

out of interest the above photograph I took before the sensor clean,

 

roughly the same position today, the sky clear of dust/fluff, a great result, Diana was at work as I made my way through the park,

the bluebells in Foxgrove Lodge garden in full flower, 

I made my way into town, the florists with a good show,

first stop the card shop, for Duncan's birthday next month, 

next the post office for a stamp, £2.10 for a first class stamp, it seemed expensive, but I had chosen a card that was deemed to be 'Large',

next stop Sainsbury's for some Garibaldi biscuits that were now in stock, they are Duncan's favorite biscuits, for myself another 4 cartons of beetroot juice, if it does even half of the things it is supposed to do it will be worth drinking it!

next a look at This 'N' That, 

as I crossed the road and dropped off some printing at the shop, and picked up some RO water for the aquarium and our Venus fly traps, next home and feet up for a couple of quiz shows before my evening meal and a Deadliest Catch, after which I decided to watch a film that I have always considered underrated with an all star cast, it was,

 The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, I had watched it before with Diana, this is what I wrote then, 'if you like Terry Gilliam's work this is a must for you, the basic premise is that a travelling show in London allows people to walk through a magic mirror into Doctor Parnassus's mind, the Imaginarium, it is pretty confusing in there, well he is 1,000 years old! then the adventures begin, great surreal effects, costumes and players, the film also has a star studded cast, a pleasure to watch again', and it was, and by shear happenstance Diana arrived home just as it finished, so time for a coffee and a chat as well as a New Tricks before we were off to bed.

Someone Did Not Think This Through,

signs powered by the sun, 

image credit Alamy, in Scotland do not receive enough sunlight to make them work! who would have thought it! the disclosure is a major embarrassment for the Scottish Government, which says it hopes to have ‘the best road safety performance in the world’ in just six years’ time, so let’s look at the record, East Renfrewshire Council admitted 65 per cent of its signs are no longer working and there is no budget in place to replace them, Glasgow City Council, where the figure is 50 per cent, say it’s five years since they last checked them, the official neglect has been condemned by the motoring organization, the AA, Scottish Borders Council say it has been forced to replace solar-powered units which have failed due to the lack of sunlight in Scotland, there is no inspection or maintenance regime in place in Highland or East Ayrshire and Perth and Kinross Council confirmed one of its signs has been broken for five years - with no plans to replace it, now what was the claim from the Scottish Government again? Here it is, Scotland will have ‘the best road safety performance in the world’ in just six years’, really? for the full article have a look here.

Many First Editions Of Books,

are considered to be valuable, 

and here is one I saw yesterday, Elephants Can Remember by Agatha Christie, 

published in London by The Crime Club by Collins in 1972,

the book is in the original unclipped dust wrapper,

in case you have not read the book or watched the television episode 'Elephants Can Remember' is a tense murder mystery novel featuring the Belgian detective Hercule Poirot, and the recurring character Ariadne Oliver, Agatha Christie is one of the most prolific and successful detective writers of her time, writing sixty-six detective novels in total. She is best known for her protagonists Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple, this first edition is yours for £145.00 available here, and if you are into Agatha Christie, Rooke Books have a selection of her books here.

As I Started To Post The Blog,

there he was,

a single duck on the roof of a neighbours house, 

it still looks strange to me, seeing a duck on a rooftop,

blog posted and I was out, into a cold but sunny day, 

the chestnut trees in flower along the bus route,

the bus crowded today,

past Peter Pan's Pool,

in the distance grey clouds did not bode well for the day,

the bus was making good time, until the driver change at the bus station,

the wisteria here still not quite in flower,

Lewisham market up and running,

as I arrived in Blackheath village the florists just opening, 

a nice show of cut flowers, 

the aroma of stocks filling the air, 

the lilies looking really exotic, 

lots of potted plants too,

the upline train had just left for town,

a change of trains at Dartford, 

the weeping willows now looking their best after a winters rest, 

a quick photograph over Gravesend as I ran for the bus, 

and joined the queue,

I was soon walking up the hill to the nursing home where Duncan stays,

the tree behind the wall in the winter will be covered in berries,

many of the other trees,

covered in blossom, inside Duncan was in fine sprits, we chatted away about our trip to Ramsgate at the weekend, and our plans for the summer, also a squirrel called by, but by the time I grabbed the camera he was gone, as Duncan's lunch arrived we said our goodbyes and I made a move for the bus stop,

outside all of the roses now in bud, I was lucky with the bus and train, I did not have to change trains at Dartford, so after a hour or so I was on the number 54 bus passing the flower beds, 

at Lewisham hospital, there are 2 colours in the borders, a gay pink,

 

and a dark red, and then, 

another delay as a driver change took place, 

the bee garden on top of this bus shelter, 

now completely taken over by weeds,

this one however, 

still has its original carpet of plants, now with an extra years growth,

 

as I started to walk home the wisteria at Foxgrove Lodge,

really starting to bloom now,

as were most of the plants in the garden,

blue skies as I turned the corner by the snail mail box, 

it was soon time for a read and a sherry, 

and a huge chicken curry that Diana had left for me, 

'Cheers!', after my meal I watched a Deadliest Catch, followed by a Outback Gold Hunters, after which Diana arrived home, so feet up for a coffee and a chat, as we settled down to watch a Midsomer Murder, after which we were off to bed.