Biting the Dust

How are the mighty fallen! Now you see it, now you don’t, it was as quick as that to fell the last remaining old tree from the era of the Royal Infirmary standing in the gardens outside my window. They said it was diseased and might have done some damage to the surrounding buildings had it fallen in any of the winds we have had lately. Not long after we moved here its neighbour did fall in January 3rd2012 and I watched while it landed in slow motion inches away from the patio and balconies above.

If that wasn’t exciting enough for an ordinary Wednesday,  the man using a high water jet hose to clean the approach path to the building was persuaded to come down to hose my patio which was getting rather dirty after 14 years of my stay. 
Fortuitously, earlier I had removed the last of autumn leaves hidden in corners behind the bench and the chairs and had repotted  my little Christmas tree, and so now the patio is looking the cleanest it has ever been.