Quarter days

I actually looked up quarter days this evening, because yes, that’s exactly how exciting my Saturday night gets these days – Dr Who, food, looking up stuff, and very soon now sleep. I’m not sure what I’ll do now Dr Who has finished, probably look up more stuff, or go to bed earlier.

Quarter days are on my mind because service charges are due (1st June, 1st September, 1st December, and 1st March dates which don’t match up with either the traditional quarter days of England, Scotland, or the modern quarter days) but the bills haven’t been sent out – the fat bank balance is attractive to look at but the snitty demand for cash which will be eventually forthcoming really annoys me, that and who ever enjoyed chasing up bills?

Another and much nicer reason to look forward to the quarter falling is the arrival of 'Slightly Foxed' and now 'Hortus'  ("The most intelligent gardening magazine in the world"!)  which feels like the perfect fix for a gardener without a garden. I’ve sat on the fence regarding ‘Hortus’ for about four years but finally gave in after a recent article in the Saturday Telegraph magazine. ‘Hortus Revisited’ the collection of articles put together in book form for their 21 year anniversary has been a favourite for as long as I’ve had it (and how I hope that there will be another archive volume to celebrate this year’s 25th anniversary). I like these journals more than I can say, or at least more than I can say quickly and it is a Saturday night and almost past my bed time.

The quality of ‘Hortus’ from the paper to the writing is decidedly set at luxurious. It feels good, looks good, and is a in every way a pleasure to read (always assuming you have at least a passing interest in plants) not least because of the lack of full colour and glossy pictures. In an age where almost everything is lavishly illustrated there is something very restful about a nicely set out page of text (which is maybe why I like reading so much, and possibly another reason why e readers don’t really appeal to me) it lets me think. Pictures are more likely to make me drool.