abandoned, potato, sweeping

This is all that is left of  The Foyer, the video rental  store that has kept us supplied with DVDs over the last few years. The lease expired, and unfriendly terms of  renewal added to exorbitant business rates, has meant that Andre Golay, the owner, has had to look for "something else to do". He is a film buff and couldn't have been more helpful to his customers in finding unusual films and discussing the qualities of those in current circulation. The photograph taken through the glass door at the entrance somehow sums up the dimensions of the community's loss.

Growing potatoes in bags turned out to an utter failure. Six seed potatoes produced a crop of not more than 12 rather small tubers. I did not however empty the compost from the bag and must have left one tuber behind because today I notice, a single, green  stem of potato leaves  projecting quite unseasonably from the top of the bag. The stone that the builder rejected. But how will it fare, sheltered though the bag is, in the coming winter?

I have been watching the workmen in The Grove sweeping up leaves with blowers. These devices are powered by some sort of internal combustion engine strapped to their backs. They are equipped with ear muffs, because the machines are noisy. They blow the leaves into heaps, which they then transfer to sacks. Most open air jobs appeal to me, but this one  strikes me as especially pleasing.