Hello from Rob

After many hours spent, from childhood onwards, in greenhouses, usually helping other people, I bought a greenhouse. It's now up, just as we get gales in England, and is helping my bananas, Bird of Paradise, Palms and other tropicals, to withstand the weather.

This is to save my home from becoming a care home of tons of plants in winter, where it gets harder and harder to move around, each year, to the extra size of the plants. I'm using some reclaimed polystyrene to help insulate it, and have toyed with the concept of having some animal manure, or compost, rotting down, to generate some extra warmth - this would ordinarily happen in the garden, and get lost to the surrounding space.

Anyone with any other ideas or who is practically inclined, I welcome your input, as I'm brain damaged, and not brilliant at putting ideas and practicality together.

An old school friend, David Manners, is involved in a charity that supports lepers in India, they're almost a forgotten people, as I hear that they are often shunned from society, and forced to become like nomads, as they may be unwanted close to others.

Their website is here, and it's worth spending a few moments learning about leprosy and some of the people being helped. http://sarvashubhamkara.org

He's written a book about his life and experiences helping these poor downtrodden people, details of which can be found on the site too. I greatly admire his commitment, as he spends his free time over there, at his own expense, helping to educate these people.

Leprosy is curable but, even after treatment, people who've had this disease are still often unwelcome back in their original communities. Treatment usually involves many months of drug taking, and the people, many of them banished as young children from their homes, often lack the knowledge and understanding of the need to continue treatment - often they sell their pills in order to raise money for food etc, as they typically are unable to do or find much paid work.

It's an eye opener onto another type of hidden society.

After a long week in Amsterdam, where I relaxed and took my mind of my cat's loss, I'm now back in England again.

Autumn plants are beginning to flower - my Cyclamen neapolitanum, with pink flowers, are blooming, very nice. My winter flowering Cyclamen coum have started shooting, with fresh leaves, and the promise of flowers in a couple of months time. These readily re-seed themselves, including 1 growing in a crack in some concrete, between my drive and front door, which flowers each year, despite the hardships it faces, trying to acquire nutrients from concrete. I love the strength with which wildlife will persevere to flourish.

Otherwise, bought a reddish Colocasia from Amsterdam flower market, which is now on patio, joining its 'cousin', a giant Elephant Ear, that I've grown since spring 2008, which has been battered by the winds here.

A week or so in England, before I travel abroad again.

My beautiful cat died this morning, after a short problem with breathing and retching up clear liquid. The vet believed that she'd eaten some poison from somewhere.

She'd had a happy day, in the gardens of my home and my next door neighbours, where she popped in, after hearing me talking to them there. She'd lazed in the sun, came in, and curled up beside me, purring whilst being stroked.

Then she jumped off, lay on the floor, and a while later started to seem as if choking, then retching. I thought she may have been having a seizure, as she also wet herself. There was northing apparently stuck in her mouth, she sat up, walked a little, then continued. I called out the vets, as it was now past midnight, but she died just after we arrived there.

I didn't use any chemicals in my garden, so I'm assuming that maybe she caught a mouse that had been poisoned, or something similar.

Now laid to rest in my garden, at peace. A big loss, as she was such a friendly, fun companion to have shared some of my life with. She found me as a stray, and we hit it off, about 8 years ago. So sadly missed.

It's a heatwave here in Louisiana, and it's hard to cope with. Been over or around 100F for a few days.