Wednesday 17 July 2013

An Interesting Story and a Poser.

First the interesting story.   There is an article in today's Times by Daniel Finkelstein ostensibly about the Arab Spring and how it is all about revolts by the young men.   Makes a lot of food for thought and is well worth a read if you can get to it on line. It is titled 'Arab Spring?  No, more of a temper tantrum.'   Whether or not you agree with what he says it certainly makes you think about the whole issue.

But what amused me was a story inside the article about when, in 1972, the then Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai met the US President, Richard Nixon, their discussion turned to the subject of history.   Nixon asked Zhou what impact did he think the French Revolution (of 1789) had had on Western Civilisation.   The interpreter asked him and Zhou replied that it was 'too soon to tell'.  The interpreter later revealed that Zhou thought the question referred to the Paris Students' Protests of 1968.  The interpreter revealed that he had realised at the time about Zhou's misinterpretation but that his answer was just 'too wonderful to correct.'

As Finkelstein points out they did have something in common - youth.

Now for the poser.  Our peas in the vegetable garden are in full flower - white flower - and are already beginning to pod up.   But amongst them are three of what the farmer calls 'rogue peas' - with flowers of a totally different colour.  It is obvious that they are indeed peas and no doubt they will be indistinguishable from the others when it comes to putting them in the pot.   But can anyone out there throw any light on what exactly they are?

13 comments:

Heather said...

Your peas are certainly beautiful but I can't help as to the reason for the different coloured flowers. They are almost as good as sweet peas - better when you can eat the 'fruit'.
I did like that 'misunderstanding' story - definitely too good to be corrected.

Tom Stephenson said...

Hmm. Daniel Finkelstein. I am guessing that he is not an Arab?

John Going Gently said...

Rogue peas
How bizarre is that phrase

Tom Stephenson said...

They're not what you think, John.

Terra said...

I like your rogue peas, they must be rebels. Sort of like the Arab Spring participants. Although some of the Arab Spring leaders are tyrannical Islamists, sad to say.

Cloudia said...

What a delightful mystery. Glad your small hospital is such as you describe.

Magic beans, perhaps? :-)


Aloha

thousandflower said...

Dwarf grey sugar peas have flowers like that http://www.johnnyseeds.com/p-5746-dwarf-grey-sugar-pea.aspx

Irene said...

I would think that the people who participate in the Arab Spring in Egypt are more than just angry young men. There are lots of angry young women there too and other more modern and democratically inclined people. They have had an education and have been exposed to other ideas than those of the Islam. Also thank the social media for that.

angryparsnip said...

Beautiful photo of the rogue pea flower.
I love sweetpea but have never plated peas.
I think that would be a fabulous dish at a dinner, baked chicken with rogue peas, casoulet with rogue peas... it just goes on and on.

cheers, parsnip

Pondside said...

I think you should let them go to seed, plant them and then climb the giant pea-stalk that is sure to appear overnight. I'm imagining treasures at the top!

The Weaver of Grass said...

Tom and John - now, now - be good boys.
Thanks to all for visiting.

Margaret - I don't think they are dwarf grey sugar pease as they are a lot taller than the rest of the pea row.

Reader Wil said...

I liked your anecdote about the Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai.It's funny indeed.
The peas are also interesting!May be it's a mutation?

Sarah Head said...

Your purple pea flowers look very similar to the purple mangetout peas I grew last year. They look wonderful and are ok eaten before the peas mature but aren't very tasty if you wait longer. I decided not to grow them again. See what happens once the flowers turn into pods.