Tuesday 8th July 2025 - What a Waste, Above the Limits and Once Again

I’m enjoying the summer weather, but are the hoverflies?  As soon as the temperatures rise, numbers arrive in our conservatory, as if out of nowhere.  Favouring one corner, they spend hours, flying up and hitting the roof, which makes a sound like soft raindrops falling.  This often leads me to question is it raining or those crazy hoverflies?  We leave a couple of fanlights open overnight, invariably some fly out, others remain and there are those which die.  When we go into the conservatory in the morning, we are greeted with the sight of dead bodies on the floor.  All those deaths are such a waste of pollinating insects.  I don’t know what draws them in, the heat maybe.  I suppose if we shut the windows and doors that would stop them entering but then it would be too hot inside and we wouldn’t be able to enjoy looking out into our garden. We get other insects inside too but not in such numbers.  I have rescued butterflies, red darters and various bees this year, using a couple of repurposed items devised by Peter specifically for capturing insects, before releasing them out into the garden.  Mentioning butterflies, this afternoon we spotted holly blues again.  These are from a second ‘hatching’ this year.

Yesterday, Peter had an appointment at the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital.  It was an early appointment and to make sure we arrived in good time to get parked and find the unit, we left at six thirty.  Driving towards Norwich, I was surprised at the number of drivers who came up behind us and didn’t like the fact I was sticking to the various speed limits.  Some sat, almost on my tail, others overtook in what were not always safe places e.g. on the brow of a hill.  I can only imagine, they were late or in a hurry to get to work.  I guess, those who drove close behind were hoping I would put my foot a bit closer to the floor.  Well, they could just hope, I don’t want to have points on my licence or have to do a course, instead I disappointed them and stuck to the limits.  This left me with the question, why do people feel the need to drive above the limits?

Sad to see the decorative brickwork to the side of the gates, leading into The Pleasaunce, from Harbord Road, have once again been damaged by a vehicle (see photo below).  Not as bad as the last time but still substantial in that the brickwork has been cracked and moved in places.  It must have been a large vehicle to have done this, something on the lines of a coach.   Hopefully the management won’t have to wait so long this time for repairs to be completed and maybe it would be a good idea to install a couple of concrete bollards in front of the gateway to protect against any future collisions.