When it’s warm Bertie likes to have a paddle.
This morning we were walking downstream along the towpath on the south bank of the river from Hammersmith Bridge to Putney Bridge. On the left is the Thames, the banks of which are tended by the Port of London Authority. On the right the land is maintained by Richmond Council. In 2021 the Council planted Black Poplar saplings along both sides of the towpath.
“Black Poplar trees are one of the rarest tree species across the country and are currently under threat from a range of factors. They usually grow in areas of wetter ground and are commonly found alongside rivers and in wet woodlands. Unfortunately, their ability to regenerate naturally has been almost completely lost due to human impact on natural habitats and processes.
This population of Black Poplar trees on the Thames is important as it is the only known surviving population in the UK. It consists of around 40 trees including many ancient trees and rare females, accounting for around 5% of all female trees nationally. However, the most important aspect of this population is their genetic diversity as most of the trees are genetically unique and once lost can never be replaced.” (On the Riverbank)
As you know folk are careless when spending other folk’s money but on this occasion Richmond Council are to be applauded (loud cheers, off). Contractors employed by the Council were clearing weeds and undergrowth around the Black Poplar saplings and watering them, remarking sagely that if they aren’t looked after in their first two years there is a 30% fatality rate. Once they are two they are strong enough to fend for themselves.
Furthermore, common sense, a rare commodity these days and seldom encountered in Council Chambers up and down the country, is being applied. The poplars are growing on both sides of the towpath and the same contractors are working in both jurisdictions.
But I wonder if common sense prevails in the dispute that has arisen over the Guerrilla Garden that’s sprung up on the slipway between Riverside Studios and Hammersmith Bridge? In your eyes I may be an opinionated bigot but I like to think of myself as being an intelligent (make that ‘highly intelligent’) observer able to take a nuanced view and as a result temperamentally unable to make up my mind about almost anything. At the moment I am dithering over LTNs (Low Traffic Neighourhoods) and now there’s this GG over which to vacillate. As Lord Ickenham might say, sift the evidence.
Without wishing to unduly influence you, Seth el Shaddai seems to conflate two points; his desire to stand for public office and his justification for his Guerrilla Garden. Few of us will disagree with his campaign statement – “racism and eugenics should have no place in the world in 2023” – but I wonder if he should address this problem locally before joining Greta Thunberg on the world stage? Concerning the garden, I wonder what measures he will take in winter? Might it become an eyesore augmented by the flotsam, jetsam and debris delivered twice daily by the Thames?