The Start of 2025 in Toft Wood

 Our village is repeating the initiative from 2020 of recording the village, its customs, people, buildings, wildlife etc. As part of that initiative,  I compiled a book all about Toft wood which was planted by the villagers in 1995. This year as part of its 30th Anniversary, I hope to complete a more thorough wildlife survey. So today I headed down the hill and into the wood in warm sunshine and recorded any signs of spring and also made a start on the mosses - a group I haven't tackled before. Very surprised when I processed my stack of images of a moss on a tree trunk (living hawthorn) to find several fruiting bodies of a very small slime mould species (?) (confirmation or not to follow). Otherwise Hazel catkins, male and female, are fully out while Alder catkins, snowdrops and Arum lily are unfurling their flowers

Canary Wharf at Dusk

 Still a few images to share from the Docklands trip - here a walk around the Canary Wharf area as the light faded and the lights took over.

Paxton Stump Revisited

Another hour spent photographing the fungi and slime moulds etc growing on the large Willow stump at Paxton. Many of the Fenugreek Stalkballs have matured and are spreading spores while new fruiting bodies are appearing in other cracks. The yellow Actinia Slime moulds have also matured and burst open. The spiral basket structure is the seed of the Bur Clover Medicago polymorpha which cover the Redlands area of Paxton last year (though not identified as such) but was absent this. The info suggests it can be Annual or Biennial so will see what happens in 2025. The crusty growth I think is Steccherinum ochraceum Ochre spreading tooth but will have to keep an eye on this one. No IDs on the last two yet!

Trinity Buoy Wharf

We finally reached our second stopping point, Trinity Buoy Wharf, which gave some timeless shots of the Thames (without the Uber boats fleet or the IFS Cloud Cable Car in the distance!). I last visited in July 2020 (blue skies!!) when they were building the tall blocks behind Orchard Place so a few comparison shots. The famous diner has gone along with the cranes.

Royal Victoria Dock Walk

During the early half of the 20th century, the Royal Victoria Dock became an essential part of industrial Britain and London’s largest centre of flour milling. 1905 the Millennium Mills were built but were partially destroyed in 1917 by an explosion at the munitions factory. Millennium Mills was rebuilt as a 10-storey concrete art deco building in 1933. Sustained severe damage from bombing in the Second World War; rebuilt between 1945 and 1950, and was in operation by September 1953. The Royal Docks closed in 1981. The years have passed and still no progress on redevelopment. Excel Centre was built by Sir Robert McAlpine and opened in November 2000. It is now in phase 3 of development expected to be completed in October 2024 but riverside access is still closed off, 

Going up towards the City, there is an impressive yacht that serves as a hotel, the Sunborn (£440/night). Passing The Crystal building, now the City Hall, our walk carried on alongside the new Silver Town Tunnel development. I was fooled by a model Peregrine on one of the tall buildings!