December 01, 2003
Kew
Tragically, Adam was lurgified and unable to put in an appearance in our nation's capital this weekend before his scheduled return to Spain. Stop by his weblog immediately and wish him better.
Nevertheless, a tiny blogging reunion was achieved, with a visit to the Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew courtesy of the Internet's favourite (and handsomest) molecular biologist. It must be more than twenty years since I last visited Kew, and the Gardens are really very lovely indeed, complemented beautifully by unexpectedly clear autumn weather. I, it probably goes without saying, preferred the steamy pseudo-tropics of the Palm House, but the temperate conservatory was marvellous too, and even the crisp, chilly exteriors were rather splendid in the thin seasonal sunshine. If only the whole thing weren't situated right out in the sticks I could be persuaded to go quite regularly. The low-flying aircraft on their way to Heathrow are very striking, though; you wouldn't get that if the gardens were in Clerkenwell.
Later we had a hefty Tex-Mex lunch; later still I had an Italian meal with various members of my extended family; making it overall a very sociable -- and gluttonous -- day. A perfect antidote to the dreary, self-indulgent miserableness of my last post.
Having resuscitated my digital camera with a new battery (the old one had completely pegged out, holding roughly enough power for one photo after an overnight charge) and a 64MB memory stick, I even had the opportunity to take some pics, as you can see. Sadly, those featuring Alastair, charming as they are, have been vetoed. Feel free to petition him for a change of policy. I'm at a loss to see how he can justify their suppression when I'm willing to post something as gormless as this (taken, need I add, by him):
May I be the first to wish you all a very happy Monday.
Update: The shy and retiring scientist has relented, so here, for your delectation, he is:
