LEYCESTERIA FORMOSA...

...otherwise known as Himalayan Honeysuckle.  

We had a  busy morning visiting friends for coffee then collecting some magazines to go in the Bags of Hope.  We then popped into the Community Fridge when I was able to chat to to some of our customers.  so whilst I was doing that, Mr HCB was able to spend a quiet hour in the Prayer Room upstairs.   

After we had had lunch and as we had some library books to go back, I thought I would give our new Bus Boulevard a try so caught a bus into town.  We are very fortunate that we have buses every 10 minutes, so I didn’t have to wait long. 

The journey into town was uneventful but not so good once we got to the Bus Boulevard, because rather than stopping on the town centre side of the road, it proceeded to go down the road and back up the other side, which meant I had a much longer walk to get to the town centre.   However, it did get my steps up, so I mustn’t grumble! 

Having deposited our books at the library, and as I was on my own, I decided to walk through Queen’s Park as I hadn’t been there for some time.  What a sad sight the lake is at the moment;  it is covered with green algae - but I must admit I was amused when I stopped to take a photograph to see the sign which said “NO SWIMMING”! 

I carried on round and stopped to chat to two ladies and a little boy - we chatted about the state of the lake and how difficult it was for the various ducks and swans, and I was pleased that the Mum said she liked to get out and teach her little boy about nature!  After our conversation, I blessed them all with a little heart each! 

When I got to the next pond, it was just as bad with lots more green algae, which I understand is dangerous to wildlife and can cause harm to people, producing rashes and illness if swallowed - not that I had any intention of swallowing any!   I’ve put a collage in as an extra, but I daresay many of you live near rivers, canals and lakes that look just the same - probably due to the lack of rain over the last few months.

My main shot is of the Leycesteria Formosa also known as Himalayan Honeysuckle, which I thought fitted in well for tiny Tuesday - and having just checked, I’m on theme, so even better! 

I think the summer holidays for schools are coming to an end, so although the town centres won’t have hordes of children around, there will be a lot more cars on the roads, so must remember not to go out between 8 and 9 in the mornings.  Swings and roundabouts, I guess!