I haven’t written about Cheam, my boyhood location, for some time. And then on Guy Fawkes night I remembered the following story, told me by my father. Once again, I forgot to ask about details during his life, so have filled in the missing bits with my story-telling technique. The main protagonists are my father,Continue reading “More than he wished for.”
Author Archives: Clive La Pensée
Chaos as a way of life. Part 3.
Destruction has started. The guys destroying my house said they have never seen worse woodworm. It’s a good job I hadn’t believed the surveyor’s opinion. But the worst was soon over and we were left with a huge hole where the floor had been. The muck of decades was removed – everyone who had workedContinue reading “Chaos as a way of life. Part 3.”
Start slowly and let the chaos linger.
The day has come to empty the bottom of the house, and thus facilitate the floorboard removal. More boards are wobbling and the kitchen tiles cracking at an unprecedented rate. The little munchers have done their worst. Rentokil assure me the munchers are dead. I’m sure they are right, but the floorboards are so weakenedContinue reading “Start slowly and let the chaos linger.”
Destroy a house and enjoy the chaos.
This could be a short series of posts. I might crack up on day 1, which is 5th November. We have woodworm, which means floor out, so why not go for underfloor heating? And while we are at it, let’s have an airsource heat pump. Total cost, around £21000, half I will get back fromContinue reading “Destroy a house and enjoy the chaos.”
Haiku and Photography
It’s simple. Take a photo. It doesn’t matter how good it is. Look at it later, on a large screen and begin to study the things you failed to notice when the camera was out. Let some ideas flow. It’s up to you whether you stick to the Haiku format or just have a post-photoContinue reading “Haiku and Photography”
Are German beer purity laws a hindrance?
Time to let go! Remove the ball and chain from your leg, brewers! German beer purity laws date from the 16th century, and were needed to stop the worst abuses by brewers, who added everything in the garden and beyond, in order to get the drinkers happy, but it came with a price to drinkers’Continue reading “Are German beer purity laws a hindrance?”
Brexit Armageddon at Ferens gallery.
Two exhibits at the great annual Ferens show, demonstrate the value of a trip to your local gallery. The vortex and Armageddon, did it for me. Armageddon – the final battle between good and evil. This picture is Armageddon to me although I don’t know what the artist called it or who the artist is.Continue reading “Brexit Armageddon at Ferens gallery.”
The bigger they are, the harder they fall.
Ferropolis, the steel town left to rust and remind us of our energy nemesis. Even with these monsters, the DDR couldn’t rip enough coal out the ground to meet its energy needs. A great place for a rock concert or just to stare and wonder. Now we know that they were not just monsters inContinue reading “The bigger they are, the harder they fall.”
Why do we ignore the facts about the Gulf Stream?
It doesn’t matter how much evidence is presented, no one in power accepts that the world is on fire. I was stunned by the interactive version. The picture shows a Gulf Stream as no one wants to see it. The heat should be transported from the south to north Atlantic and warm Europe. Without thisContinue reading “Why do we ignore the facts about the Gulf Stream?”
Our Personal Eco-Oasis
Cars queue to wreck our world. We have all heard the song, A Nightingale Sang in Berkley Square. I had heard that nightingales have now colonised Berlin, although in our square behind the splendid turn of the century front, I have rarely heard a nightingale. However, woodpeckers, flocks of sparrows and starlings, various tits andContinue reading “Our Personal Eco-Oasis”
Clive and Eva La Pensée 