Lime not plane

Back at reference 1, I had been worrying about whether a large park tree was a plane or a lime. And then forgot to check out the plane side of the story.

Catching up this morning, I am reminded that plane leaves are quite different from lime leaves. What could I have been thinking of? Plenty of plane trees to be seen in London, not least in Cavendish Square which we visit on a regular basis. Bing turns up the screenful above, while the Wikipedia story is to be found at reference 2.

Also this morning, MSN brings me the sad news of the collapse of a company, the Millennium Dough Company, which worked hard at supplying higher grade pizzas to the trade. Healthy sounding talk of long fermentation, something that most bakers do not bother with these days.

Branching to Companies House, I find that the dough people are mixed up with an entity called 'Opulentia Spv Holdco 16 Limited', about which Bing can do little more than refer me back to Companies House.

Gemini is more helpful, getting me to Opulentia Holdings, which Copilot then tells me is based in Dubai. Google then turns up 41Kong of reference 4.

Then back with Gemini, I get a rather sad story, the middle of which is snapped above. I remember now that about the time I was graduating, being a bit of a lefty, I did not want to go into something called 'business', not that I had much idea of what that might be. But maybe I was right after all!

Rum that I should be getting all this from a product from a very large company which has probably played a bit rough itself, at the margins, in its day. I associate to some rather gross behaviour on the command floor of Microsoft House, captured on tape for some reason. This being turned up quite a few years ago now, in connection with something that I have completely forgotten about.

Is Gemini learning to play to said lefty leanings, all part of his working at keeping the customer onside?

Last up, some good news from Dignity in Dying. Maybe the bill will be brought back to life, obstructive behaviour by a few noble lords notwithstanding.

News brought to me via 'The Independent'  out of MSN at reference 10. I was a little surprised at the negative tone of the piece, remembering the days, back in the 1980s, when the Independent was a bold attempt to introduce a new left leaning broadsheet. Which also got itself in the news with the first full page nude - Vivien Neave - as I recall. Now long gone, with this online offering being about on a par with the Sun website. Awash with advertisements and other features which talk to you. A disease which, I might say, has reached the FT. Only marginal so far, but it may get worse.

PS 1: I thought to chase up the nude, resulting in another chat with Gemini.

I shall continue to ponder about the memory lapse. Not sure that Gemini has got that right - with his first point being more convincing than the other two - but then, how could he. Not enough information to go on.

PS 2: trying to find a copy of the photograph in question, this to try and check part of the Gemini story, which I had thought had gone a bit wrong, took me into all kinds of peculiar places, bumping into Google censorship along the way. I think I had better let the matter drop.

References

Reference 1: https://psmv6.blogspot.com/2026/06/tall-tree.html.

Reference 2: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Platanus.

Reference 3: https://www.thesun.co.uk/money/39384480/british-pizza-supplier-crumbles-into-administration/.

Reference 4: https://www.41kong.com/.

Reference 5: https://www.dignityindying.org.uk/.

Reference 6: https://www.dignityindying.org.uk/news/dying-people-given-renewed-hope-as-lauren-edwards-mp-takes-forward-the-assisted-dying-bill/.

Reference 7: https://laurenedwards.uk/.

Reference 8: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lauren_Edwards. There appears to have been trouble with social media. It was quite a long time ago - and perhaps illustrates the trouble we can get into with loose language in a semi-public place, more than anything worse. I remember that is in my younger days, one's silly and occasionally offensive remarks were usually confined to the public bar - and no-one remembered them the next day, let alone recorded them for posterity.

Reference 9: https://www.kentonline.co.uk/medway/news/i-thought-people-who-stood-for-parliament-were-not-of-sound-294260/.

Reference 10: Attempt to reintroduce assisted dying bill sparks new Labour civil war: Rochester and Strood MP Lauren Edwards will reintroduce Kim Leadbeater’s highly controversial Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill which would allow assisted deaths in England and Wales - David Maddox, The (online) Independent - 2026.