Green Island Gardens

The gardens are in Ardleigh, near Colchester, it's about an hour away, mostly on the A12.  The journey was comfortable in both directions, probably because of the time of day.   The site is a huge triangle, the entrance is located between two large gardens.  We parked near a bonfire, burning quite intensely, and generating lots of smoke because green waste had been put on top.  The smell of burning wood reminds me of my childhood, and I love it. We paid our entrance fee and wandered around the more cultivated of the gardens.  A better name might be Camellia City, as they were the most common plant.  They are beautiful, of course.  The large red or white flowers providing colour, that would otherwise be limited to the yellow of the daffodils. Most of the paths are covered in moss, especially through the wooded area.  even in the cultivated garden, the grass paths have quite a lot of moss.

This is Camellia japonica 'Rudolph', one of the deepest reds in the gardens.

The magnificent display growing up the side of the entrance, from the inside.

From a distance this looked like Forsythia.  It is "Hamamelis intermedia 'Evi'".  I cannot recall seeing anything like it.

I spoke to one of the ladies who were trimming shrubs, she said they were trying to grow a more yellow, more upright hibiscus.  I think this might be it.

There are hundreds of regular daffodils, these, though, are bizarre.  They don't appear to have trumpets at all.

These small blue flowers had attracted a bee.  I had one chance to capture the picture, but, unsurprisingly, the bee moved on. So here is my picture of the blurry bee. It left me with a question.  How good are all these plants for wild life?  We did not see a single squirrel, and only the one bee.  A large part, of the more cultivated garden was roped off, but even with that it was still worth a visit.  There are also various little buildings, mostly made with materials from the estate, I imagine.  Some could have done with repairs.

Warley Place

Warley Place is an Essex Wildlife Trust (EWT) 'garden' between Warley and the M25.  We went because the EWT website talked about the bulbs in bloom.   They are spectacular - especially the daffodils.  One of the wardens commented how early they are this year, because we almost skipped winter.

The garden created by Ellen Willmot over a century ago is now in ruins, but some of the trees she planted are still growing or coming near to the end of their lives.

The site is carefully marked out, with plenty of 'keep to the path'  signs.  That ensures the bulbs will grow next year and for years to come.

Here are a few of the pictures I took.   

Crocus

The daffodils cover the hill side.

In the kitchen garden, I haven't identified these yet.

A lily amongst the snow drops, similar to those in our garden that will bloom in a month or so.

Snow drops, daffodils and unidentified lilies

A field with clumps of daffodils

A patch of snowdrops, still surviving, while most are coming to their end for this year.

 

After our walk around the site, where we were in competition for a while with Havering U3A and two wardens, we had lunch at the Thatchers Arms next door.  The pub was full, we only got a table because someone had booked and not turned up.  Those who came in after us were turned away.  The food was good, the staff friendly, but the wait was a bit long.

Ameryllis (Hippeastrum) 2026 - Blooms begin

 

On 8th January 2026, these were potted up and put on the window sill.  Now, just 36 days later, we already three flowers.  Our newest, a Christmas gift, has 2 scapes (flower stalks).  So do some of the others that I have mis-treated badly during their last growth season.

Bye, bye, LEAF. Hello Inster

Today we said goodbye to our LEAF after a little over eight years.  Originally purchased for my commute to Chelmsford, it has served us well for all that time, despite a slightly dodgy start.  The wing mirrors closed and stayed closed.  They were replaced under guarantee.  The firmware required some work to get the reversing guide lines on the camera.  Apart from that and a hiccup, a couple of years ago, that meant we couldn't drive it for about 40 minutes, it has been a good car.  I got use to the quirky design, and came to quite like it.

It was replaced with an Hyundai Inster.

Canon CanoScan D2400UF

Canon CanoScan D2400UF

I have an ancient scanner, a Canon CanoScan D2400UF. I bought it to allow me to scan 35mm slides. I think I had Windows 95 the last time I tried to use it. Being old, I thought I'd try it in Linux first. It's not even mentioned on http://www.sane-project.org/sane-mfgs.html#SCANNERS. So, no luck there.
However, the Canon website has drivers for it, for 

• Windows Vista (32-bit)
• Windows XP (32-bit)
• Windows Me (32-bit)
• Windows 2000 (32-bit)

now where can I get a 32-bit Windows/XP from?  Because I'm not going near the others. 

 

The options are:

• Acquire and build a Windows/XP (virtual) machine
• Purchase a 35mm slide scanner that will work on modern systems. 

The Chalkwell Park Gorilla

Before we moved, so before I started school, we used to go for walks in Chalkwell Park.  There was recently an incident there, where a child was killed by a tree branch falling.  That is very sad, as the park had many lovely big trees.  I hope they can be managed better and are not simply cut down.

I also remember that the park had a little zoo, only maybe 10 cages - all way too small for the animals in them, but I didn't know that at the time.  I used to love walking by the fence, that separated people from the cages - just far enough so that we couldn't reach in, and they couldn't reach out.

One of the animals I remember most clearly is the gorilla.  The picture is AI generated, but fits pretty well with my memory.  The floor of the cage was covered in discarded orange peel, banana peel, and partially eaten vegetables.  Looking back, I realise what an awful life the poor creature had, but then I was just eager to see him, and the other animals.  I think there was a big cat, a lion or tiger possibly, pacing around and around as captive animals do.  I don't remember the other creatures.

This article https://www.essexlive.news/news/essex-news/lovely-essex-park-once-home-9448938 suggests there was a Himalayan black bear called Lulu, I don't remember that.

Free as a bird?

With the imminent imposition of digital ID and the loss of the right to a jury hearing in some cases, a trend that has been happening all my life seems to be speeding up.  There's also the issue of the police using facial recognition and that fact that the UK is almost a surveillance society (2nd only to China, by some estimates).

So my first question is what freedoms have we lost since WWII?  I asked copilot to tell me.

Here's what it found:

Quick Answer: Since WWII, several rights in the UK have been restricted or removed, often in response to security concerns, industrial relations, or political shifts. Key examples include limits on trade union powers (1970s–1980s), detention without trial under anti-terror laws (2001 onward), curbs on protest rights (2005–2022), and surveillance expansions (2000s–2010s).

📜 Major Rights Removed or Restricted Since WWII

Period	Law/Policy	Rights Affected	Context
1945–1950s	Emergency wartime powers continued briefly	Freedom of movement & association	Post-war rationing and national security concerns
1971	Immigration Act 1971	Right of Commonwealth citizens to settle freely	Ended automatic settlement rights for many Commonwealth migrants
1979–1990s (Thatcher era)	Employment Acts (1980, 1982, 1988, 1990)	Trade union rights, right to strike	Restricted closed shops, secondary picketing, and union political activity
2000	Terrorism Act 2000	Freedom of association & protest	Broadened definition of terrorism, allowed banning of organizations
2001	Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act	Habeas corpus (detention without trial)	Allowed indefinite detention of foreign nationals suspected of terrorism
2005	Prevention of Terrorism Act	Freedom of movement	Introduced “control orders” restricting suspects’ movements without trial
2011	Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act	Right to protest near Parliament	Restricted demonstrations around Westminster
2016	Investigatory Powers Act (“Snooper’s Charter”)	Privacy rights	Legalized bulk surveillance and data retention
2022	Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act	Right to protest	Gave police powers to restrict protests deemed “too noisy” or disruptive

⚖️ Key Themes in Rights Removal

• Trade Union & Labour Rights: The UK moved from strong collective bargaining after WWII to significant restrictions under Thatcher, reshaping industrial relations.
• Immigration & Settlement: Commonwealth citizens lost automatic settlement rights in 1971, marking a major rollback of post-imperial freedoms.
• Anti-Terror Legislation: From 2000 onward, terrorism laws curtailed civil liberties, including detention without trial, control orders, and expanded surveillance.
• Protest & Assembly: Laws in 2005, 2011, and 2022 progressively narrowed the scope of lawful protest, especially near Parliament and in public spaces.
• Privacy & Surveillance: The Investigatory Powers Act entrenched state surveillance, reducing individual privacy protections. 

🧭 Contextual Notes

• Many restrictions were responses to crises: terrorism (IRA, 9/11, London bombings), industrial unrest, or migration pressures.
• Rights were often balanced against security or order, but critics argue these measures eroded fundamental freedoms.
• The UK’s reliance on parliamentary sovereignty (no codified constitution) means rights can be curtailed more easily than in countries with entrenched constitutional protections.

In summary: Since WWII, the UK has removed or restricted rights mainly in four areas—labour rights, immigration, protest, and privacy/security—with landmark changes in the 1970s (union restrictions), 2000s (anti-terror laws), and 2010s–2020s (protest and surveillance powers).

Amarylis 2026

I have re-potted the amaryllises, with very cold, almost frozen bulb fibre that was stored in the shed.  All the bulbs are smaller than I remember from last year. Though, last year there was only a slight refresh of the soil, we got two flowerings from some of the bulbs, so I'm expecting them to be tired.  This year will be mainly leaves.

After re-potting I like to soak them for an hour or two, but as it's so cold (below zero for the daily peak) that will have to be missed out as well.

The very top one is new - a Christmas gift, so I'm expecting flowers from that one.

Let's see how it goes. 

Cloughton Day 7 - Friday 31/10/25 - Peasholm Park

For the last day of our holiday, we drove into Scarborough to visit Peasholm Park. We remembered this from years ago, but it has changed a lot. There is a car park at the lower end of the park.  Here I selected 4 hours on the ticket machine and was charged for 24.  This is one of the downsides of not being able to pay with cash. We walked along the path next to the woodland stream, there is considerable damage to some of the trees.  Some of that damage has been turned into these impressive carvings.
We left the park near the top, walking back along the roads.  Through the houses, Scarborough Castle is visible.  It's a ruin we didn't get to visit.
Sitting in the café, we were surrounded by gulls, with less than friendly expressions, as they tried to judge when someone would leave some item of food behind, or drop a crumb or two.  Meanwhile, they argued about the best position to watch from. The Leak and Potato soup from the café made a good lunch.  The baguette was warm, but the butter hard, as is mostly the case.
There were other birds on the lake, Canada geese, pink footed geese, and mallards, but the overwhelmingly most common were the gulls.
Here is a view of the lake from the café.
We did get a ride on a train, even if not a particularly large one.  The Scarborough North Bay Railway narrow gauge track goes from the park to the Sea Life Centre.  Not far, but far enough to satisfy our need for a train ride. We returned to the cottage after this, as rain was forecast.
In the evening, we drove to Bridlington for the Roy Orbison Tribute.  The theatre, is lovely, and the show was entertaining enough to be worth a visit.

Cloughton Day 6 - Thursday 30/10/25 - Bempton, Bridlington & Bryherstones

We drove down to RSPB Bempton Cliffs, on a beautiful sunny day.  It was lovely just to walk along the carefully made paths across the field to the cliff edge.  We initially went south.  There were not many different types of birds.  It's the wrong time of year for puffins, unfortunately.  We did see:
Pigeons (rock pigeons, they're known as) - grey on top, white underneath.  Flocks of them have adapted to live on the cliffs. I had to wonder, "what are their predators?"
Jackdaws - with a less pronounced grey than the ones that occupy our fields at home. And possibly Fieldfare, but it was difficult to tell at the distance we were at, they could have been more pigeons.
We had already done a lot of walking, for my dodgy leg, when Jo found a show in Bridlington, so as it's just a little further on we drove down there. Bridlington, was not a beautiful town, it was like a slightly down-market Southend.  We parked in a car park (that had been a demolition site) and rushed to the theatre to book for Friday Night.  There were still seats available, so our tickets were issued, and we rushed back to the car, with minutes to spare before the unforgiving cameras dealt us a penalty charge.
After returning to the cottage for a short time, we drove to the Bryherstones Country Inn for a big, end of holiday dinner.  The Inn is just across the valley, but the drive is a couple of miles.  I checked for a walking route, but it is not suitable in the dark.  The food was server properly hot and arrived quickly - we enjoyed our three-course meal and tea afterwards, and were very full on our return to the cottage.

Cloughton Day 5 - Wednesday 29/10/25 - Training

Today we visited the North Yorkshire Moors Railway (NYMR).  On arrival, it looked a bit busier than I expected, we found a place in the overflow (private) car park and paid our £7 for the privilege.  I queued at the ticket office, only to be told that today, and for a few other days this week, they have the Flying Scotsman on the line.  It is doing return trips to Whitby. Had we known, that would have been a much better place to start.  It is booked by a third party, so the NYMR cannot sell tickets.

Rather disappointed, we wandered in Pickering, and St. Peter's church. Here they have uncovered some amazing wall paintings, that were covered up by the reformation.  Although now pale, try to imagine what they would have been like when freshly painted.

We came back for the Flying Scotsman's arrival in Pickering and stood on the bridge.  (see Video above).

We also saw Locomotion 1, a replica of a very early steam engine, built in 1825 by the pioneering railway engineers George and Robert Stephenson. It was especially interesting as just a couple of days before we had watched the Guy Martin programme where they built it.

 

For lunch, we walked back into town and found a café called "Feast".  Unfortunately, our meal was more like a snack than a feast. 

Goats cheese salad = a few green leaves and a small round warmed gaots cheese. 

 

We left Pickering with plenty of time, so decided to visit the Hayburn Wyck waterfall. It's a long walk down hill to the falls, and up again, but definitely worth a visit. Most of the way the path is clearly marked, and partly paved, but there are sometimes high steps and sometimes the path is missing.   We just did it in the 1 hr of the parking ticket, perhaps we were slower than we could have been, because I was in trainers rather than walking boots.  It was muddy in places.  We had gone down from the car park, but came back up a different way, directly to the pub.  Then went in (and moved the car into the pub car park) for refreshments.

 

In the evening we visited the Blacksmiths Arms, for a drink, and found ourselves in the bar for the quiz night.  Entry was £1 each, the money is donated to charity.  The pub provided sandwiches and chips for the participants.  We came 9th out of 12, with 22/40 (55%).  I was so pleased we didn't come last.

Cloughton Day 4 - Tuesday 28/10/25 - The James Heriot Museum

Are we being CATalogued?  Opening the curtain this morning, we see minder is there, peering in. Today, we made the long drive to Thirsk to visit the James Herriot Museum.  This is the main reason we came to this area for our break.

We parked in the Long Stay car park, and walked into the town (not far).  By the time we did, it was close to lunchtime.  We spoke to the poppy seller, where we had bought poppies, and asked her where was a good place for tea and cake.   She suggested we try the White Rose Book Café, so we did.  We decided a light lunch would be in order, so selected soup and a cheese scone.  We also had tea & coffee. It was very good.

Then on to the Herriot Museum.  It's in the actual house where Alf Wight had his vetinary practice.  It is a very well worked museum, much better than I was expecting covering lots of different aspects - vetinary work, the stories and the publishing process, the TV production of the first BBC series, farms and farming at the time, life in that time and place, and the main characters in the real world.  It is well worth a visit. Jo next to a statue of Alf Wight in the garden at the Herriot Museum

Thirsk is a beautiful traditional English market town. It is currently decked-out in knitted poppies and other knitted scenes for Remembrance Day.  This kind of decoration is so much more appropriate than covering the place with flags. We bought some local cheeses, from the cheese shop, pies for dinner from the butchers shop, and vegetables - beetroot, tomatoes, cucumber - from the greengrocer. This was all select your own produce, and pay at the till.  After that, it was back to the café for traditional Wensleydale fruit cake and Wensleydale cheese, which we will keep for later.  We also found a general store, where we bought a shower mat, to reduce the slipperiness of the shower. It does the job, but gives off a strong plasticy-vinyly smell that makes the small bathroom uncomfortable.

The pond at Thornton-le-Dale, almost dusk. There are multiple routes from Cloughton to Thirsk.  We took an alternative route back, so that we could stop in Thornton-le-Dale.  We stayed in a cottage called "The Owletts" some years ago, and had a lovely holiday.  We visited it, it is currently unoccupied.  We found the path behind the main road and the strip of green where I played with Brody, back in the day, when he would run for hours and not get tired.  It bought back some lovely memories.  Use this search to read about that holiday:https://3cephas.blogspot.com/search?q=Thornton

Cloughton Day 3 - Monday 27/10/25 - Whitby, a tourist trap.

Whitby Abbey, from the car park near the Co-op

Today's trip was carefully planned.  I found a suitable car park, and put it into Google Maps.  When we got close to the car park, we were met with a 'No Entry' sign, and a sharp right turn.  So an alternate car park was found.  This is the more normal approach for me, I don't usually target a particular parking place. 

We pay the fee, and walk into town.  Straight away there is a man selling a jokes magazine, we buy one, politely listening to his jokes. Then a little further on we are accosted by the man at the Dog's Trust stand.  I'm not sure that he believed that we were already supporters, but I already know most of what he says, even if I can't remember the name of my current sponsored dog. They change so frequently, as we are always sponsoring a dog that cannot be rehomed, and is usually old and sick.

"The Black Pearl"

Then, just along the quayside, a boat called the "Black Pearl" is moored.  We take a ride on the boat, a little up river, but we can't go far because the tide is low, and a ford was made across the river in ancient times that has raised the river bed too much.  So, we go seaward, but the boat is not suitable for sea journeys. It's choppy out at sea.  The breakers are running along the inside of the harbour wall.

HMS Bark Endeavour, Cook's first ship

Next we visit the Cook Museum.  It doesn't look much from the outside, but the displays are interesting and tell the story well. It is definitely worth the visit.

Jo enjoying Cod and Chips at the Angel

After our visit, we walk back across the bridge to find a fish and chip shop for lunch.  We received a recommendation from the Jokes magazine seller, but can't remember what he said.  The Angel looks good, and we are expecting every fish and chip shop to be good here.  This time we were not disappointed. It was very good.

 

 

No longer able to complete long walks, we go to the other end of the harbour and board the tour bus to take us up to the Abbey.  Outside, there is just a single caravan that houses the booking office, with just two people serving.  We have to wait ages, then we have to wait again, because there is only one terminal working for payments.  Do better, English Heritage.

 

The Abbey, above the town,
taken from the tour bus

 

There's something being planned in the Abbey, normal paths are blocked off, and other wide pathways laid out.  It doesn't really affect our time at this awesome ruin.  We can hardly imagine what it must have been like in its day, not only does its presence dominate views from the town, but up on the hill there is an important community.

With just a few mins left, we visit the nearby church, where no photos are allowed.  Inside are the original (?) box pews, arranged so that families can sit in them facing each other. There is a three tiered pulpit away from the altar, and we are reminded of the chapel at the Chelsea Hospital we visited only a week or so ago.

 

We bought ice cream at the ice cream van, then caught the last tour bus back to the car park near the Co-op, where we had left the car, but there was still time in the day, so we drove to Robin Hood's bay.  Parkin at the top we followed the path down hill, sometimes a steep slope, sometimes steps.   At the bottom we had just a few minutes left to buy tea and cake as the sun went down.   On the long walk back up, we bought cheese at the general store.

We drove home in the dusk, and shortly after arriving went outside to see the Milky Way.  Sadly, there was a little cloud and quite a lot of light from the surrounding buildings, so although it was better than home, it wasn't that good.  We couldn't even find the plough clearly.