Trolleys 988 and 989

The first of the two was a Waitrose trolley picked up outside the station.

Which picked up a second cousin on the way down through the Kokoro Passage. I could have stood on the rules and come back for it, as it was an M&S trolley, but decided on joint action as the two stacks are not very far apart.

Nothing of interest in what they are pleased to call the (monthly) farmers' market, and no farmers at all. No vegetables. The fruit farmer from Bessborough Farm had not turned out. A cheese stall, various foodie odds and ends. I suppose I might have fallen for something, but as it happened we were quite well stocked and did not need any more odds and ends that day.

Yet another leaking water meter in the north pavement of the eastern half of the main High Street - the Thames Water system not appearing to admit dealing with two nearby leaks in one go. The second leak has to wait in line like everybody else. I wonder this afternoon whether ambulances are the same.

A close-up of the top of a sucker of the mystery tree outside the old telephone exchange in East Street, last noticed at reference 2. Not in the least hairy, or even downy, which I think rules out Staghorn sumac. But not, I dare say, sumacs in general.

Under the canopy of the main tree.

Another sucker.

And the other side. Notice how the leaflets are not quite opposite, with one side being offset from the other by about a millimetre.

Note: according to Hortus Third, the leaves of the staghorn sumac have from 11-31 toothed leaflets. The number of leaflets here look to be in this range, but they are not toothed. While those at reference 6, by the gas depot, are toothed (on zoom on the original snap) - and there is an odd number of them; that is to say, there is a single leaflet at the distal end. About which see below.

Google Images sticks to his guns this time. Still tree of heaven, Ailanthus altissima. 

Present in Hortus Third, where the genus gets near half a column, but absent from Zomlefer. I am reminded that the leaves might be smelly when bruised, obviously something to try when I remember. I learn that the leaves are odd-pinnate, which means that there is a single terminal leaflet, making the total number of leaflets odd.

Which seems a bit improbable on the leaves above, which have many leaflets, quite probably a very variable number of same. Why would the growing tip suddenly stop doing pairs, go in for a single leaflet and then stop? Zooming is not conclusive today, but it should be easy enough to check on the tree itself.

While this effort confirms that Google Images, unlike Gemini, does not do conversation.

The Screwfix whitebeam.

A second flowering of the convolvulus to the left.

Neighbourly apples continuing to do well. When will I get anything as good from a shop, or even a stall?

Later on that day, from the station corner of Court Recreation Ground. Another suckering tree, this one looking near dead of the ivy. Another identification puzzle.

The next day, another Waitrose trolley from underneath Hudson House. I scored a pound from the handle lock, visible under zoom, something that M&S seem to have given up on.

In the course of checking the car park there, which was unfruitful, I happened to notice that the Union Jack was at half mast above the town hall. I inquired at the desk to be told, after a short consultative wait, that it was for the Duchess of Kent. I also learned that the infestation of flags in and around the High Street was a matter for Surrey County Council, as these were roads and road furniture that they looked after, and that that the flags would be removed in the course of routine maintenance. Which seemed fair enough. Making a big fuss and bother probably not helpful.

On the other hand, not so sure about the library offering a large advertisement for the grand finale of Downton Abbey, a series which we did not get on with and have only watched odd bits. Even if the library got paid for their trouble. Thin end of the wedge?

PS: I was interested to come across reference 3 the other day. The story being that while privatisation had its problems, it did have it successes too. One that sticks out here being a doubling of passenger numbers on their watch. Another, one that I have noticed, although it is not mentioned here, is that provision of toilets on stations has much improved - which is helpful for the older passenger. On the other hand, a good chunk of the revenue comes from general taxation rather than from fares. And while it may be the case that the private operators were more interested in maintaining dividends than in system maintenance and update, rather in the way of Thames Water, it is not at all clear that railways subject to the ebbs and flows of government fads, fashions and finances is going to be any better. We shall see.

The Gemini story on funding is snapped above - including a couple of points which the Financial Times did not pick up.

I also learned about the existence of the Office of Road and Rail, which I had not before heard of. Data to be found at  reference 4; the source of Gemini's data, which Gemini appears to have got right. Full story at reference 5. I dare say I could have turned this up using old-speak Bing or Google, but Gemini was quick and easy.

But what accounting shenanigans are hidden in: '... Consistent with financial reporting standards, there are timing differences between the recognition of industry income and expenditure in this statistical release. This particularly affects financing costs relating to historic inflation-linked debt. This results in a mismatch between total income and expenditure...'.

A parting shot from reference 5. How much has fares revenue increased since 2023-2024?

References

Reference 1: https://psmv5.blogspot.com/2025/09/trolleys-983-984-985-986-and-987.html.

Reference 2: https://psmv5.blogspot.com/2025/09/trolleys-976-977-978-and-979.html.

Reference 3: British railways face an uncertain future under state ownership: Plus, how the fuel cap is distorting transport costs - Robert Wright, Financial Times - 2025.

Reference 4: https://dataportal.orr.gov.uk/statistics/finance/rail-industry-finance/.

Reference 5: https://dataportal.orr.gov.uk/media/udsa42ql/rail-industry-finance-uk-statistical-release-202324.pdf.

Reference 6: https://psmv5.blogspot.com/2025/09/trolleys-968-969-970-and-971.html. 

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