23rd October 2017 Flower power.

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Monday 23rd 49F, 9C, heavy grey overcast with light winds. Rain promised for this morning but brightening later. A grey walk expecting rain. It never did. So I could have gone out. Any mention of sunshine was a complete exaggeration.

Just for a change: Here's one from the Head Gardener.
For Dave, my gardening brother:

Tuesday 24th 51F, 11C, light winds and heavy overcast. I was already spitting with rain as I left the house and continued to increase as I walked the quiet lanes. The forecast is for two days of rain or showers. I worked outside all morning before it turned very wet after lunch.

Wednesday 25th 56F, 13C. Heavy overcast, windy and wet. Copenhagen cyclists are complaining about the lack of cycle parking facilities. It was so wet I went shopping in the car.

Thursday 26th 51F, heavy overcast, breezy from the west. The cloud was breaking up enough to show blue patches but still no sunshine. Walked to the village and back. A large bird of prey went low overhead in a beeline for the church trees but became tangled in restless mink gulls and aggressive jackdaws. A small black cat was hunting on an overgrown lawn. It drew itself up and pounced but was disappointed.

Wot's your empty lane like for your morning walk?

The BBC News has a short video about the police monitoring the 1.5m [5'] minimum overtaking clearance from cyclists. Yeah, right! Most drivers thought the minimum distance was less than 6" provided it did not involve damage to their precious paint. Besides the mirrors fold back when you hit cyclists hard enough.

I can well remember posts on one online discussion forum. Where the cavemen drivers objected to the projecting, orange 'lollipops' some cyclists used to warn drivers against getting too close. Some drivers saw these as a direct affront to their basic human rights to own the road. Red rags to a bull, it was!

Can you even imagine if driver-free cars become the norm? One should never use the term driver-less because it suggests that drivers are somehow as remotely as good at driving as the machines. They'd definitely have to have an override button for the robot drivers. Just to avoid many drivers having a complete meltdown if the car would not immediately overtake to push every impeding cyclist right off the road.

It has never failed to amaze me how many human beings are still being allowed to drive. In "real life" they can barely function adequately. Yet they are still allowed behind the wheel of a car to perform  parallel processing, multitasking, have lightning reaction times, show constant high levels of concentration and terrifyingly acute observation skills.

Driving is, quite literally, one of the most demanding tests of human performance if done properly. Yet, almost anybody can get and keep a driving license to perform this supremely advanced skill,  almost at will.

So astonishingly competent are they at these incredibly demanding and taxing tests of ability that they can even smoke, eat, text, talk and read. While simultaneously and completely safely, exceeding local speed limits, often by 50-100%. The human race really is utterly amazing! We are so incredibly lucky there are no deaths or injuries on the roads. All because the entire human population is able to drive with such absolute levels of perfection. Even when drunk, drugged, registered blind, tired and totally, doolally senile. Mind that BIKE!

Just rode into town to collect a parcel. It was there yesterday according to Track and Trace but, as usual, no message from the Post Office. Unfortunately it went via what passes for the terminally ill and dying, Danish Post Office instead of the excellent GLS parcels service. So my journey was completely wasted.  Having spent another 12 minutes waiting, yet again, for Post Office customer services to answer their phone, they confirmed the parcel really was there. So now I get a a second ride. And did. 13 miles.

Click on any image for an enlargement.

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