Thursday, July 13, 2006

Maltesers, thistle, leaves in cobweb

I suppose I have known Maltesers, those spherical chocolates with honeycombe centres which melt away in your mouth, for most of my life, though I haven't eaten one for years. Today, those taste memories are sparked by something I didn't know existed - Malteser ice cream. On one of those spikes, which are fixed on walls to stop intruders, someone has speared an empty Malteser ice cream carton. All those years ago, when I used to buy the little packets of Maltesers decorated with photographs of the chocs, it never would have occurred to me that someone would one day merge them with and sell them as an icecream.

What a magnificent thing is the thistle, in particular the Spear Thistle, which stands tall and upright pricking the air, surmounted, by its bold, purple crown-like flowers! My flower book lists no fewer than 18 varieties of thistle, of which the Melancholy Thistle appeals rather for its name than for its appearance. The flower head droops at first, hence the name Melancholy.

In a newly woven cobweb between the wing mirror and the door of a parked car are three yellowing leaves vibrating gently in the breeze.

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