Nice tree, but it makes walking on the pavement almost impossible if you’re over five feet tall.

A tall, lush evergreen tree stands beside a street, surrounded by a wooden fence and urban environment.

Xmas in Little India.

A house is decorated with blue string lights hanging from the porch at night.A brightly lit star decoration is displayed in the window of an upper floor of a house at night, surrounded by other festive lights and decor.A corner building with bright neon lights and the name "The Scotsman" my local pub, photographed at night.A house is decorated with colorful LED lights illuminating the windows at night.

…streets were relatively clean, traffic lights and lamp-posts worked, and officers were present in the busiest areas. Simple things absent in other parts of Syria, and a source of pride here.

Traffic lights and lamp-posts usually work in Southall. Seems like Idlib is cleaner and safer?

All we need now is an authoritarian ethno-nationalist leader….

Perfect cheese omelette this morning.

Two eggs whisked lightly for two minutes into a hot pan with melted butter. Added some leftover Gouda sliced cheese and a sprinkling of grated mature cheddar and Double Gloucester, chives, cherry tomatoes quartered.

Served off with parsley, salt and pepper, and a spoonful of sweet, hot jalapenos, and two rounds of burnt toast.

They are reduced to playing a game of politics which lacks any substance, with their only reward (apart from those that might come when they have left office) being the dopamine hits that they get as a consequence of the appearance of their being in power.

Sounds like someone I know.

Via Richard Murphy.

A shame we only get to choose one.

A community voting announcement invites Southall residents to choose a priority from various options, including clean environment, safety, job opportunities, facilities, development, pedestrian areas, community life, and cost of living.

This morning’s trees.

Auto-generated description: A park scene with leafless trees and a large fallen branch on the ground. Auto-generated description: A weathered, leafless tree stands prominently in a grassy field, with one of its large branches detached on the ground. Auto-generated description: A barren tree stump stands in an open field with a pathway, surrounded by leafless trees under a cloudy sky. Auto-generated description: A pathway lined with large, leafless trees runs through a grassy park with a bench alongside it. Auto-generated description: A large, leafless tree stands by a pathway with houses and a fence nearby under a cloudy sky.

My lucky day (NSFW).

Transcript

“…Netanyahu said the move was necessary because a “new front” had opened up on Israel’s border with Syria after the fall of the Assad regime to an Islamist-led rebel alliance.”

How (in)convenient.

Israel plans to expand Golan settlements after fall of Assad bbc.com

Cricket match well underway in my local park at 9:30 this morning.

A vast open field with scattered trees under a clear blue sky.A group of people are playing cricket in a grassy park surrounded by leafless trees under a blue sky.