More water

I thought that, Thames Water's report notwithstanding, that there was more water in Stamford Green Pond this morning than there had been yesterday, not that the water looked very inviting at all.

And the plug, sluice or whatever, noticed a fortnight ago at reference 2, was no longer visible.

And a passer-by was in no doubt at all. I was all those burst mains in and around Stamford Green Road and Parklawn Avenue. Leaks all over the place. Which is all very well, but it does not fully explain why the water only appeared yesterday.

Furthermore, there was a fine leak, bubbling up through the brick paving outside the Marquis, on the High Street. And a bit later on, two more leaks in Manor Green Road, one attended by a van, if not by action.

And in between, the parching of Court Recreation Ground continues. The tall lime tree, noticed at reference 3, is visible left. But I was rather taken aback at reference 3 by how green the Recreation Ground looked just a couple of months back.

It being a Wednesday, a day for DIY or lunch out. I opted for DIY, using up some stock from a chicken to be reported on in due course. The stock having been made previously, about half an hour's preparation.

Stock slightly more gelatinous than usual, possibly because the mix included a dried out, discarded head of maize, which might have contributed some starch. Cook a few potatoes in the stock.

Cook a large onion and a few rashers in a little butter, until the onions were starting to go brown.

Add onion, bacon and an elderly leek to the mix. Add some mushrooms.

It all did very well.

Maybe I will take in the summer padding piece at reference 4, before I return to the chicken proper. A piece which comes with a good sprinkling of the fancy graphics that the FT is keen on; sometimes too fancy for their own good.

To think that chicken was an occasional luxury when I was a child, and what my mother disparagingly called 'broiler chickens' were only just being invented. I also remember that when I came to buying such chickens on my own account, they had a pronounced tendency to taste of fish, a problem which they seem to have overcome.

On the other hand, the (cheap) boiling chickens that we used to buy in Harringay Green Lanes seem to have vanished. And I dare say that the egg shop there went long ago; a regular sized shop selling nothing but eggs, from custom built, tiered, brown wood display shelving.

PS: a 'Beryl' bowl from the Woods Ware range is visible above. Once the staple of all kinds of institutions, it has done us very well - rather better than our various forays into fancier brands. Car boot sales forever!

References

Reference 1: https://psmv6.blogspot.com/2026/08/there-be-water-in-pond.html.

Reference 2: https://psmv6.blogspot.com/2026/08/two-short-circuits.html.

Reference 3: https://psmv6.blogspot.com/2026/06/tall-tree.html.

Reference 4: How chicken conquered the world: A global surge in poultry numbers is transforming high streets, diets and landscapes. Is the chicken takeover unstoppable? - Susannah Savage, Amy Borrett, Janina Conboye, Financial Times - 2026.

Group search key: 20260826.