Rhododendron ponticum

Took this picture of the common Rhododendron on my way into work. While the plant was native to the UK before the last ice age it apparently only made its way back as a result of humans moving it and it can be a bit of a pest. Most of north Hampshire is on chalk so it's not that good for it and it isn't too invasive here - though this example in Basingstoke is happy enough.

Very busy day at work, fixing lots of things for the big system upgrade. Every time you fix one thing you find two more, so it's a pretty thankless task at the moment...