revoloutionary socialist keeps an eye on the future

I should explain about the blue plaque picture. It’s fixed above Grieves’ butcher’s shop, on the corner of Albert Road and Bede Burn Road in Jarrow. The recitation of accomplishments has always fascinated me. Here’s an outline of John S’s life. What a guy. I particularly like the story about his curing Lenin’s sick dog.

All of the gardening is so late this year. Well into spring now, and I’m only just starting to stratify a load of seeds, which means they won’t even be sown until summer… But it can’t be helped now, and they’re all perennial or biennials anyway, so all will be well.

My favourite tree is Cedar of Lebanon; the shape is so aesthetically pleasing. I remember seeing a magnificent one in Winchester. There aren’t any in Jarrow, so far as I know, so I’ve bought fifteen seeds; I’ll stratify them in the fridge for a month, and then sow them in the greenhouse, keeping them in pots until I find homes for them. That’ll be the fun part because they can grow so big, and no one I know has a big enough garden.

I love the idea that the trees will be contemporaneous with the baby, and that when s/he’s an old person, inshallah, the trees will be little more than adolescents.