holes, blue blood, outside

Vents and exits 5.

The blood of snails, spiders and octapuses is blue . The colour is derived from the copper which is an ingredient . I learn this curious fact from Professor Jim Al Kahlili's account of the The Periodic Table, on BBC 4. The programme describes how the 92 elements, (of which we and everything else are composed) were discovered;  how the table came into being; and its contents arranged. Its internal logic is beautiful and mind-teasing.
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There is a tall, elderly lady, whom I see  most afternoons  outside The Grove Tavern.  She has a cigarette in one hand and a large glass of white wine in the other. She is someone who enjoys life and is not going to let anything like a smoking-ban in bars, interfere with her pleasures.  There is usually a chair for her on the pavement outside the pub, but this afternoon she has to to stand with her wine and smoke in the drizzle.
"Where's you chair?" I say. 
"It's broken," she says.
"They should get you a new one."
"The govenor, Steve, says not to worry. He will."
 And I'm sure he will. There is something warm and welcoming about The Grove and its drinkers. It's what pubs are about. Or used to be.