We had a pleasant late morning at the Botanical Gardens. I always enjoy a stroll there, and have very vague memories of lying in the sun there reading Plato’s Republic ahead of an exam, so I’d guess that was for Moral Philosophy 1 in 1978. They’re in the process of preparing it for evening walks starting tomorrow, with lights and light shows. We’ll try to get tickets for that.

There’s something odd, perhaps unsettling, but also curiously compelling in walking amongst trees that long pre-date me and will likely still be there long, long after I’m gone. I don’t mean that in any morbid way, but I like the perspective it brings. There are lots of Yews there, and they’re creating a boundary hedge from various sub-species of yew. Back in 2007 we spent a weekend at the Fortingall Hotel near Aberfeldy. Next to it is one of the oldest trees in Britain: the Fortingall Yew. There’s some dispute (according to Wikipedia at least), but it’s reckoned to be at least 1500 years old; cuttings from it are part of the Botanics’ new hedge.

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The second attempt at glühwein went very well, and that recipe too is now ready to scale up. Merlot is definitely a better base than Cabernet Sauvignon. Other grapes may be better still, particularly traditional German or Austrian grapes, but they can be experiments for other days, and they’re not readily available here anyway.

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Music: I thought I’d found a bargain in a local charity shop a couple of days ago–a Penguin Cafe Orchestra compilation cd. It’s a good compilation, so good that I got home to find I already own it 🙂

A quick search on the site suggests I haven’t posted anything by them here so far, so this is their best known piece: Music For A Found Harmonium