Anyone lost a pair of shoes?

I saw these shoes at lunchtime on my walk. I guess it’s a student prank as it was near the College, although I’m not sure the students are back yet. Made me look and smile, not what I expected to see up there.

For regular Waffle readers who read my last post, you will be pleased to know I am back at the dining room table, with my obligatory glass of water on hand. I didn’t sleep well last night (combination of wine last night at the paella garden party and worrying about work in the early hours of the morning). I was tempted to do some more horizontal blogging on my bed today, but I don’t want to get into sloppy habits. Before you know it I’ll be like Winston Churchill doing most of my work in a drunken stupor from the bed in my pyjamas. That really won’t do. This is Windsor you know?!

Since the pandemic I don’t take a proper lunch break at work and David picks me up a bit earlier than I used to leave. But I do try to fit in at least a little walk around the block. Today I saw the shoes up high, and also a few nice bits of nature.

I thought this plant was very pretty. Looks a bit like jasmine but I don’t think it is. Does anyone know what this is?

There are some nice bright berries around now too.

This is one of my favourite trees, ever. This is the one I helped to save when the Council called it “actionable nuisance” and were going to chop it down.

Then I was excited to find the ginkgo tree again. It’s in someone’s front garden and last time I looked I couldn’t find it. Ginkgo is a very old species of tree, some fossils dating back 270 million years.. wow, that’s old! I used to like the ones in Kew Gardens where I had my student holiday job in the book/gift shop. We sold earrings in the shape of ginkgo leaves, and I was often directing tourists to look at the real trees that were not that far from the shop. In those days, the shop was in the Orangery building which is an amazing space. Now it is a restaurant and the shops are elsewhere. When I visited Kew with my Mum last year I was chuffed I could still find the ginkgo trees, waiting for me all these years.

You can see how the shape would make good earrings. I think they were silver.

So that was my little lunchtime stroll. I then came home to see what was what in The Waffle plot.

Guess what? I found a new sunflower in bloom. Yippee! This one has a slightly smaller flower but is gorgeous. Look at it! It’s like tie dye…

Unlike this one that’s been in bloom for a while and is so tidy with its colour.

There are some good berries now in the garden.

Very Christmassy! (Oops I just used the “C” word on the blog in September, I do apologise, far too early for any of that nonsense). There was even a robin posing in the holly the other day.

These red leaves are newly out too, very autumnal. They will coordinate with my capsule wardrobe with the red theme 😂. I have bought some bright red trousers, have I mentioned them before? They are so funky. Goodness knows when I will wear them. My trousers are much brighter than this.. better get your shades ready people of Windsor!

It’s chicken and bacon turnovers for dinner tonight. Looking forward to that. Better get cooking! Here they are from the last time I made them. 😋x