thequacksoflife

More people visiting NT properties in December

2012-01-25T20:08:00.000Z

According to an article in the Guardian the National Trust is expecting a record number of visitors this financial year (2011/12)

Apparently December 2011 saw 521,000 people visit trust properties up 74% on 2010/11. Although given the heavy snow in December 2010 this may be a bit skewed, although the trust ran a lot of Christmas-themed activities.

On top of the increase the trusts cafes and restaurants saw a 71% increase in sales.

I'm not surprised since I've moaned before about the shutting of Trust properties. Lots more people go away for weekends in Winter now and I'm sure would pop into visit a property. It's grey and wet and cold? Then they'll pop into the house and if more properties are open then more visitors spending money on home made cakes..... sorry mind wandered.

Assuming the weather is ok I will be visiting a Trust property Saturday - maybe 2 - and if the weather was poor there would be a temptation to look around a house alas none near me are open!

I am reliably informed however that the trust is extending its opening times so that is good news

Lukas Kmit

2012-01-24T18:59:00.000Z

There has been quite a bit in the news lately about mobile phones going off in classical music concerts with Sir Peter Maxwell Davis saying that people should be fined.

Violist Lukas Kmit reacted differently when a Nokia theme interrupted his recital at the Orthodox Synagogue in Presov, in Slovakia.

I have to say I all credit to him, I'm a nightmare at concerts I continually check I've turned my phone off and show it to Trish to prove it. I'd die of embarrassment!!

Great publicity for Kmit!

Oh and the music is J S Bach!

Music, birds and shop windows.

2012-01-22T16:18:00.000Z

Well today was the first concert of 2012 and so off to London and the Wigmore Hall....

First a walk around Hyde Park, alas early on the light wasn't that good.

Lot of Tufties

At one point the Serpentine (the lake in the park) has an area set aside for swimming! And there someone was before 9am on a January morning!! Bonkers!

This heron was watching in disbelief.

Selfridges shop windows.

Typical bright sunshine after you've finished with birds!!

The concert was the Nash Ensemble playing:

Mozart - Serenade in C minor K388 (arr. Rechtman for wind quintet)
Mendelssohn - Concert Piece in F minor Op. 113
Brahms - Horn Trio in Eb Op. 40

All the pieces used a variety of instruments less often heard in the chamber repertoire and it made a nice change. I'm not sure these represent any of the composers at the hight of their powers BUT they made for a very enjoyable concert.

I'm seeing the Nash again in under two weeks and indeed today was the first of 4 in 3 weeks!!

Ickworth on a dull grey wet January Day!

2012-01-21T17:55:00.000Z

Last Saturday I was sat outside eating cake!! Today was grey and wet in Suffolk.

His nibs and I went to Sudbury and then on to Ickworth. When we arrived at Ickworth it started drizzling so Dad decided to sit in the car read the paper and listen to Radio 4. I brave soul took the GF1 for a walk. It was nice to see quite a few Snowdrops out.

Ickworth will be using the Rotunda basement to display the servants quarters. It will be fuly open come March.

A TRIP down memory lane.

2012-01-18T20:26:00.000Z

The Radio times has a feature of a drama about the model Jean Shrimpton indeed it makes the cover and actress Karen Gillam looks suitably yummy! Ahem....

Shrimpton is associated with the photography David Bailey. To be Bailey is synonymous with a particular advert in the 1970's.

there may have been more than one but the "David Bailey? Who's he?" line is one I can remember clearly.

The trip was an incredibly successful camera. Fully automatic and didn't need batteries. It had an odd focus system but it had a good small lens (40mm f2.8). Odd really years ago we bought cheapish camera that had good prime lens as opposed today when everything is a zoom.

Anyway I was surprised to come across a site called Tripman. You can buy an original Olympus Trip which has been fully serviced and cleaned inside and out with new light seals for £43. Or a refurbished one with leather replaced with a colour of your choice for £55. Of course you can buy one off e-bay cheaper but tripman gives you a 6 month guarantee

I was surprised to find an active flickr group

Tick edyboo

2012-01-17T18:43:00.000Z

So I am driving home from work.... I use the back lanes and at one point it becomes single track I pull over at a passing point to let a chap through. I glance to my right whilst waiting and there is a Little Owl sitting on a post!

Charging? its nothing new

2012-01-17T06:51:00.002Z

There has been controversy in recent years with Cathedrals charging people to visit and indeed many charge now. It was interesting to read in the Baedeker that even in 1890 Cathedrals were charging for entry.

Canterbury Cathedral for instance charged 6d for entry to the Crypt and Choir with Wells cathedral charging 6d to see the choir.

The Priory Church of St John Brecon (became a cathedral in 1920) has the following entry: keys kept in a white cottage to the left of the entrance: fee 6d.

Two properties now in the care of the National Trust admitted visitors in 1890. Penrhyn Castle was open Tuesday and Thursday by tickets obtainable at the Bangor hotels; 1 person 2s each additional person 1s. no gratuities! Whereas Knole was 1 person 2shillings, 4 persons 6 shillings, 7 persons 10 shillings.

Interestingly Haddon Hall and Chatsworth in Derbyshire were both open and were free but with gratuity to the attendant/custodian!

Heritage Guide Books

2012-01-16T13:41:00.001Z

I've have sitting next to me an 1890 Baaedeker's Guide to Great Britain. Well it's a facsimile edition from the people who did the Bradshaw Guide. It's again based around train lines and it's great fun to dip into. It'll be interesting to compare the descriptions in this to what I find.

In 1890 Beddgelert, where I am staying in June, is described as a "Gem of a Place".

I first came across Baedeker's as part of a TV programme wish I could remember the name of it! and I've wanted to look at one ever since.

I have on order a 1900 Baedeker Guide to London and its Environs oh and Through the Window: The Great Western Railway from Paddington to Penzance 1924. I'd love to get hold some 1950's guides in replica format!

Oh and for my trip to Wales. Simon Jenkins' - Wales - Churches, Houses and Castles.

I found out the other night that there is a heritage line running from Beddgelert to Caenarfon so that might be worth a trip!

Sunday

2012-01-15T19:02:00.000Z

It wasn't as cold as yesterday but still a bit chilly.....

it would have been easy to have left dad's gone home put the feet up and listen to some music but.... the skies were blue and I thought I ought to have a stroll around Rye Meads.

As suspected it was quiet, the Draper Hide looked out on frozen water and on one of the lagoons with lots of water there weren't many birds! Still I did hear a Green Woody and saw a Great Spot.

One of the things about a local patch is you know that in certain places what you will see. There are two separate spots where for instance I can really on seeing pairs of Mallards. Neither spot is a pond just a small stream but there they'll be.

Look mate if I stick my bill out and pose will you go?

Thank you!!

Not a great shot of a Blue Tit but needs must.....

I really ought to head to Amwell to see Smew but as Smew, Goldeneye, Fieldfare and Redwings keep us entertained my thoughts turn South where a little grey/brown bird is enjoying its winter waiting to head back North.....

Flatford Mill and the Dedham Vale

2012-01-14T18:14:00.000Z

Well the idea was to go to Norfolk today but it was a tadge cold first thing and the duvet was warm!!

So off to Fingringhoe Wick. The light was difficult as the hides face east! Still birds seen included Avocet, Black Tailed Godwit, Dunlin, Grey Plover, Little Egret, 5 Little Grebe and Brent Geese.

Trish had said she had never been to Flatford Mill, well the sun was shining so I thought it would be a good place to visit.

This is the view looking back from the Cafe (nice Leek and Potato soup).

As you may be aware Flatford is where a certain John Constable did a lot of his painting. Anyone recognise this?

We did the short circular walk. There is a bird hide, nothing rare just a Little Grebe, Shoveller, Gadwall etc...

Back to the visitors centre to share a slice of Coffee & Walnut Cake and Victoria Sponge. We sat outside!! In Mid January!! I admit I was wearing a t-shirt, rugby shirt and two fleeces!! But still..... Joined by this chap.

The RSPB have a wildlife garden at Flatford which I think is new. Alas it is only open April - October but that's another reason to return! There was a Blue Tit surveying a nest box (kept looking inside) and some nice view of a Great Spotted Woody!

And so on to Dedham.

Someone seems to be doing lots of work here. The garden of Willie Lott's cottage was being re-turfed. The National Trust website says that there is a parking charge even for members but today we showed our cards and were given a ticket.

It's a lovely part of the world I'll return later in the year and may even walk to Dedham along the Stour.

A little disappointing

2012-01-13T07:42:00.000Z

Hudson's Historic Houses is a guide book published annually that lists virtually all of the hertitage attractions open to the public. Although as an HHA, National Trust and English Heritage member my guides cover 90-95% of what I need its nice to include some independents and have everything in one place.

This year Hudson's celebrates 25 years. The book is typically big and glossy and comprehensive looking with lots of articles and some discount vouchers are included.

It arrived with my Bradshaw yesterday and I picked it up glanced through it and went to look at places for the first holiday of the year..... uh hang on where's Tyntesfield? Uh where's Clevedon? Looking at the map vast swathes of National Trust properties in the South West were absent. My home region was well served but when I went to Wales I found some properties present and some not.

I've no idea why this should be. Do properties pay to be included? Maybe the Trust (especially the South West) has decided to save its pennies.

Still it's very disappointing to fund that Hudson's coverage now means it is not the one stop shop it once was.

Bradshaw or travelling with Michael...

2012-01-12T19:43:00.000Z

It is odd that two of my favourite programmes are presented by ex Conservative ministers. On radio I enjoyed David Mellor on Sunday afternoon on Classic FM, oh don't get me wrong Mellor can be a little pompous (well that's the wrong word, he's not a natural) but his programme is interesting and he plays a nice range of music... strangely I'm listening to Radio 3 a lot more these days.

On TV, as I think I've said before, I really enjoy Michael Portillo's Great British Railway Journey's using as his guide George Bradshaw's Tourist Handbook.

I was chuffed to find that there is now a facsimile edition of the 1863 edition so I ordered it. I fully expected this to be a total waste of money but if I didn't get it I'd wonder....

So it has arrived today....

The book is split into 4 sections. Section 1 is fairly logical concentrating on the South East but it does wander a bit! But 2 3 and 4 are a little more outre 2 goes from Berkshire to Ireland!

But the book is fascinating. It tells you the population, market days, fairs and hotels but it also tells you whether there is a telegraph station and info on Bankers. Yarmouth (Great that is) has Gurneys & co, Lacon & co, Branch of East England Banking Co, National Provincial Bank of England.

Caroline maybe interested to know that steamers go from Yarmouth (IOW) to Lymington and Cowes daily and that tickets cost 1s & 6d and 1s with day tickets costing 3s. Oh and Yarmouth is described as "another decayed borough" whereas Shanklin is "a beautiful spot".

You realise just how much the world as changed when Barking is Essex is mentioned as having a Fishing fleet.

Oh and Trish may like to know that of Esher he says. This is the nearest station for Esher and Claremont: the former, once a place of some importance, is now little better than an inconsiderable village!! How things have changed.

In tonight's programme Michael has to use an 1880's edition as the railway hadn't reached Bournemouth in 1863!!

A book worth dipping into!

First visit of the year to Rye Meads

2012-01-08T17:59:00.000Z

The weather was the usual dull grey and I almost left Dad's and headed home but decided I really ought to make a first visit of 2012 to Rye Meads.

Birds there were but none were playing ball but I did see Fieldfare, Redwing, Snipe and Green Sandpiper amongst the ducks and woodland birds.

I did however see this chap have a laze.

He(?) was in a spot where he was unlikely to be disturbed as the public aren't allowed however an RSPB work party came along and he stirred.

He just crept into a ditch and the work party didn't know he had been there! Still he was the highlight of my day!

Snow Buntings, Blickling Hall and a church curiosity

2012-01-07T18:08:00.000Z

I met up with Trish and headed off to Norfolk today.

Something odd happened, the sun shone!

We headed to Salthouse to see if there were any Snow Buntings about but as we got out of the car the wind cut you in two and with the exception of Wigeon, Teal, Mallard and Black Headed Gull there was nothing.

As we walked back a few Turnstone arrived....

And then Trish spotted some Snow Buntings!!

Some more Turnstones....

We could have gone looking for a rarity and Cley but instead went to Blickling Hall (you'll see this again in May)

A ladybird!!

Lunch was a lovely Cauliflower and Binham Blue Soup.

So where to? I thought I'd show Trish St Andrews Church Little Snoring. The church is old as is the tower but no one knows why they are separate. The tower looks like it was once attached to a building. Most odd.

Sad really

2012-01-05T18:17:00.000Z

I read yesterday that Staffordshire County Council have culled/shot 1,929 geese and council contractors removed 9,351 eggs from nests. The removal of eggs is not new, I'm pretty sure others including wildlife charities have done similar.

The comment that "amused" me in the article was by one Paul Breeze who launched the Friends of Central Forest Park group

The geese can cause massive problems.

They look very nice from a distance but then you see all the droppings on the paths and you get people slipping around. Human beings have to come first.

It depresses me a little that humans think the world should be just for their benefit. I think some of them would be happy with a sterile world with no wildlife to get in the way outside of zoos.

New Year

2012-01-02T19:59:00.000Z

So here we all are in 2012!!!

I spent New Year with Dad and neither of us could be bothered to see 2012 in!

We went out for a ride New Years Day

Not sure where the cars were off to!

Today I went to Hanningfield Reservoir - it was a bit colder!! Noteable birds? Coal Tit, Sparrowhawk, Pintail, Peregrine and Slavonian Grebe!

Happy New Year

2012-01-01T07:00:00.000Z

And so Happy New Year. No idea where 2011 went !!

I have managed to book 7 holidays for 2012 BEFORE 2011 had finished :D

In April I'm off to South Gloucestershire, a few churches in North Somerset to collect and I want to pop back to Tyntesfield.

In May Dad and I are off to Norfolk.

In June it's Mid and North Wales. Red Kites no doubt.

In July it's Kent. I hope to spend a day on the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway and to take photos of the Crypt of St Leonard's Hythe for OC.

In August it's South Oxfordshire, a few churches and new House and Gardens to show you.

In September Dad and I are off to East Devon.

And finally in October I'm off to the Cottswolds AGAIN!! I do like it and I will finally go to Compton Verney!!

I hope you all have a wonderful year.

Twin churches, Bees, Roses, Soup and Cake on New Years Eve

2011-12-31T14:03:00.000Z

So it's still grey and dull so on the last day of the year I headed to Anglessey Abbey. I was early so went a few miles up the road to Swaffham Prior.

Swaffham Prior has two churches sharing the same churchyard.

St Mary's is now the Parish Church of the village.

St Cyriac is now in the care of the excellent Churches Conservation Trust.

No stained glass here but nature provides its own reward.

And so on to Anglessey Abbey.

It has been so mild lately....

what the heck? BEES!!!

A few Snowdrops out. Give it a month....

There are still roses about!

I wandered into the cafe for my hot soup and those naughty National Trust people had arranged it so that the first thing I saw was cake!!!!! So I had a nice vegetable soup and succumbed and had a slice of Coffee & Walnut, oh come on its the last of the year!!

So off to Dad's. See you next year!

Local Birding

2011-12-28T14:52:00.001Z

There had been a Great Northern Diver nearby for quite a while so I had a stroll over. Of course the bird had flown (or at least wasn't seen by me!) and the grey skies weren't conducive for photos! Still I did see Goldeneyes and Goosanders which were nice. Other good stuff were Kingfisher, Redwing, Fieldfare and Great Spotted Woodpecker. It was interesting to see a mix of Great Crested Grebes some in winter plumage and others in breeding plumage.

Given the lack of pictures here is a Blue Tit.

Back to work tomorrow. Two day weeks I can live with!

And so that's Christmas come and gone

2011-12-27T15:59:00.000Z

I went to Dad's for Christmas.

Christmas Day was very lazy. The telly was rubbish and so I read a fair bit.

We went to Finchingfield Boxing Day to stretch our legs...

I left Dad's after breakfast. Very quiet at Rye Meads. I tried to make a Siskin amongst a Goldfinch but alas... there were the usual ducks (including Shelduck) and Redwings and some small flocks of Long Tails and Goldfinch.

The light was awful and birds were not playing ball.... so this is all I got...

Bird of the day was a Green Sandpiper

Happy Christmas

2011-12-25T06:27:00.000Z

twas the day before Christmas....

2011-12-24T13:29:00.000Z

..... and nothing stirred not even a bird.

OK I exaggerate a bit but it was quiet out there not to say grey and cold.

I went to the Forest first....

This Grey Heron is standing next to the tern raft.....

So I stopped off for a Bacon and Sausage sandwich and a nice cup of tea (how British!).

There were a few bird highlights some Redwing, Bullfinch, Marsh Tit, Green Woodpecker and a Great Spotted Woodpecker.

I then popped over to Rye Meads it was equally quiet! Highlights a few Redwing, Bullfinch, Long Tailed Tits and Lapwing.

Trees Up

2011-12-23T17:17:00.001Z

That was hard work!! As I do I have struggled to put the Christmas Tree up.

Nicely decorated eh.

Mum bought it YEARS ago for me, I think I was in the flat at the time. So you will understand that it will be going up for many more years....

the impact of birdsong on humans

2011-12-21T21:40:00.000Z

Surrey university in conjunction with the National Trust and Surrey Wildlife Trust are conducting a project to determine whether birdsong has any impact on the health and well being of humans.

Apparently research has been done on responses to vision - hospital patients respond to treatment better if they see images of landscapes rather than urban walls - there has been little research on sound.

Initially volunteers from the National Trust and the Surrey Wildlife Trust will fill in questionnaires to find out their preferences and how they rate the impact of hearing birds.

Overtime this will lead to lab based research where people will be asked to perform tasks whilst listening to different bird song. These may be problem-solving or creative; and the impact of different sounds on parameters such as stress will also be assessed.

It will be interesting to see if different bird song has a different effect. I'd have thought the song of a Robin would have had a different impact compared to say a magpie.

As to me if I hear a lovely little songster like a Robin, a Blackbird or a Song Thrush say it does make me smile

I'm in the dark

2011-12-20T13:25:00.000Z

My nice new shiny Roberts Duologic DAB radio arrived and I duly tuned it in last night. I turned it on and there was sound!! It needs 4 rechargeables and I ordered two but that's ok as I was listening by the mains.

So I'm just about to brush my teeth and the sounds dies and the light goes. POWER CUT!!

So a torch? uh uh I managed to get my mobile to see by to brush teeth, find my pocket DAB to listen to and crawl into bed. The lights flashed once but by the time I fell a sleep the power had not returned.

This morning I've order another two rechargeables AND a cheapo windup torch to keep by the side of the bed!!

A festival of Swans

2011-12-17T16:22:00.000Z

The plan had been to go to Anglessey Abbey to look around the gardens. It was glorious sunshine this morning but as I headed north of Bishops Stortford the rain fell so a change of plans and off to Welney.

Oh boy was it cold!!! Still there were some nice bird, lot of Whooper Swans, Barnacle geese, Snipe, Pintail, lots of Wigeon, other ducks and Kestrel.

This juvenile mute wanted to have its pic taken!

Some more mutes

Another Whoooper

and to finish Mr & Mrs Pochard.

Dark and Cold

2011-12-14T20:22:00.000Z

It's not so much where is the week going but where is the year going? I don't know about you but Christmas seems to have crept up on us very suddenly!

I haven't actually booked any holidays yet but I have booked some time off work! Hey its damned cold out there and planning trips in sunnier times cheers me up. Get up Darkness, Get home Darkness!!

I'm a bit stumped on next years holidays.... been to SSSOOOO many places. The only things I'm sure of are a trip to Mid/North Wales and taking Dad to Norfolk.

The thing that irks me about this time of the year is that everywhere is closed. The National Trust shuts up shop which strikes me as odd because some of us will do anything to escape from Christmas shopping!

Still I have the odd camera ;) and I may well wander around Anglessey Abbey Saturday. Pete gets 24 layers out ready!

Also on the 2012 front a few concerts have been booked which is something to look forward to.

Christmas will be with Dad, given the appalling TV on over Christmas we're hope for blue skies and dry so we can get out for a ride - and you can see some pictures!

And in the period between Christmas and New Year I'll be in the office. I have stuff I need peace and quiet to do and frankly it seems a waste to be off.

Rye Meads

2011-12-10T15:06:00.000Z

I woke up at 8am, for me that is amazingly late!! I dragged myself out of bed and headed to Bishops Stortford, I was in two minds what to do. It was cold but the sun was glorious and I fancied a walk at Anglessey Abbey but I headed to Rye Meads.

So I arrive at Rye Meads open the boot and WTF!!!! No telephoto and no binoculars!! I was not impressed so home I go put them in the car and head back. I was not a happy bunny.

This of course all changed when two Lesser Redpolls were sitting in a tree by the centre door :)

The water was partially frozen at Draper Hide all very quiet but a few teal about.

The trails had a Redwing, Fieldfare and a Song Thrush joining the Blackbird.

Look at that blue sky!

As I walked towards the Kingfisher hide a Green Woodpecker took off.

No kingfishers but this was there instead

Carried on with an enjoyable stroll.

For Turquis

2011-12-05T07:20:00.000Z

So Turquis you'd like a picture of a Red Squirrel? Here's one I took earlier....

Classical Music, Sightseeing and Squirrels

2011-12-04T16:04:00.000Z

Today was the last cultural day of the year.

Up early and off to St James's park......

It was so dull....

Oh look Buckingham Palace

Is this a winter bloomer?

Some collection birds

Ah the ubiquitous Grey Squirrel.

The memorial to the Animals at War.

Some Selfridges windows.

The concert was the Finzi Quartet playing:

Haydn - String Quartet in Bb Op 50 No 1
Brahms - String Quartet in C minor Op 51 No 1

and very enjoyable it was and a nice final concert of the year!

Shopping

2011-12-03T17:31:00.000Z

I took Dad shopping today we went to Welwyn Garden City. I do like Welwyn (well as far as shopping centres go), lots of Greenery, the Howard Centre is better than most and it has a John Lewis!

We've not been there since Mum died and it is amazing how much has changed! The car park has no tickets or barriers, you just punch in the last 3 digits of your registration in when you want to pay and a picture of your car appears! and you pay. You could drive off without paying and pay by internet by the end of the day... after that they'll come after you I guess!

Dad likes John Lewis as he can say "HOW MUCH" :D

Here is Rye Gate House near Rye Meads.

Walking

2011-11-30T13:10:00.000Z

I'm not a great walker. I don't understand the fascination with walking of these people with compasses OS Maps, walking boots and trousers (green) tucked inside socks (green). Even more so when there are hills about.

My walking is stroll a few hundred yards, admire a bird, take a picture or find a comfortable seat to have a read!

But I did enjoy my walk Saturday.

I was on a National Trail don't you know in fact the Peddars Way/Morfolk Coast Path trail that opened in 1986. Well the Peddars way is MUCH older than that

The Peddars Way & Norfolk Coast Path starts in Suffolk at Knettishall Heath Country Park and follows the route of a Roman road to Holme-next-the-Sea on the north Norfolk coast. At Holme the Peddars Way meets the Norfolk Coast Path as it runs from Hunstanton to Cromer.

The website I "borrowed" that from has a number of "short" walks that look interesting and there is an online guide given places to stay etc.

The short walks are designed to tie up with the coasthopper bus service so you walk from A to B for 5-7 miles and get a bus back. The Norfolk Coast Path is broken up into 7 manageable chunks and each has a map attached.

I think I've decided that I'd like to walk from Hunstanton to Cromer. Now OBVIOUSLY I'm not going to do that in one day...... so my options are to go to Norfolk for a day and do a walk and do the walk over a number of visits OR go to Norfolk for a week and do the walks over a number of days......

TEMPTING!

Walking in Norfolk

2011-11-26T17:46:00.000Z

I was in Norfolk with Trish and my colleague Trevor.

We had a 6 mile walk in mind from Burnham Deepdale to Brancaster Beach. All very healthy but slightly spoiled by the lovely breakfast at the Deepdale Cafe!

And so to an enjoyable coastal walk.....

I elected not to put the telephoto on ...... these were with the travel zoom

My sort of sign - directions to the pub!

We stopped at the Ship for a drink - although they had no Adnams so I had a diet coke.

Plenty of Pink Feet and Brent Geese. Black Tailed Godwits, Ringed Plover, Grey Plover and Curlew but the high light were some Red Breasted Merganser.

Lunch was at the White Horse in Brancaster Staithe, the soup was nice but pricey and no bread or roll.

Burnham Deepdale church.

The walk was excellent in good company.

the State of the UK’s Birds 2011

2011-11-25T18:47:00.000Z

The latest population figures for wetland birds has been published in the State of the UK’s Birds 2011 report.

The report shows that winter numbers of the humble Mallard have declined by 38 per cent since 1982 and by 22 per cent since 1998. There have been some other species which have declined sharply since 1998:
Pochard -46%
Dunlin -39%
Bar-tailed Godwit -29%
Ringed plover -26%

Of course it's not all bad news with Wintering numbers of Avocet up by 95% and Shoveller up by 27%

Curiously the Iceland breeding Whooper Swan is up 122% in the past 10 years whereas the Bewick Swan which breeds in Siberia is down by 44%

Night flowering Orchid

2011-11-22T18:15:00.000Z

I guess many of you have heard of the discovery of a night flowering orchid.

Bulbophyllum nocturnum is unusual as it is the only known orchid that flowers ONLY at night.

The discoverer Dr de Vogel took the plant home to try and understand why the orchids buds appeared to wither when they reached a size that would normally produce 2cm flowers.

He found that the flowers open a few hours after dusk and remain open until a few hours after sunrise. The flowers opened for one night only which explains why they are withered the following day.

Being a Tourist and a concert

2011-11-20T16:21:00.006Z

Well off to London again today. It was an early start so we could get down to St James' Park. It was foggy early on but by the time I walked out of Marble Arch tube station.

A sign of the season?

Still murky in the distance as you can see.

Buckingham Palace gates.

Buckingham Palace

Victoria Memorial

St James' Park

Horseguards Parade

One of the guards - this is a member of the Royals.

The Cenotaph.

It was one much murkier by Big Ben (the river I guess)

Westminster Abbey

Ooh the changing of the guard.

The Royals

The Blues

Flamingos!

Loads of these chaps about!

I wonder if anyone has noticed me.....

Another of the exotic collection. Bar Headed Goose.

Another Heron

State visit I guess?

The concert was Cellist Thomas Carroll and Pianist Llyr Williams playing

Beethoven - Cello Sonata in G minor Op.5 No. 2
Franck - Sonata in A for cello and piano.

I preferred the Franck to the Beethoven, and though the concert was good it wasn't one of the best I've been to. Somehow there wasn't an emotional connection.

I think I need to dial in a bit more sharpening! I can hear the words RTFM :D

St Albans and Thaxted

2011-11-19T17:59:00.000Z

Dad and I went to St Albans today, he hasn't been there since Mum died. It meant he had a market to mooch around and I had a quick nip in the Cathedral.

Point to note - the refectory had LOVELY Sausage Rolls!! :D

So off to Thaxted...

when I was a lad we'd often go for a ride and you knew when you were near Thaxted as the fabulous church spire would hove into view.

The church has an appeal for a new roof (for one of the aisle), there was bring and buy sale in the nave (rather apt that I thought) and they were selling some nice soup (£1.50 a bowl!!) and I was asked if I could be tempted with a piece of cake - could I? well yes but alas I had just eaten! Look no fainting!

Dick Turpin's cottage .....

Spoon-Billed Sandpiper breeding program

2011-11-15T20:08:00.000Z

A group of 13 Spoon-Billed Sandpipers have arrived in Britain to start a captive breeding program.

The goal is to release the offspring of this captive population back to the wild. They also need to tackle habitat destruction and subsistence hunting.

The breeding program is part of an international group involving Birds Russia, Moscow Zoo, the RSPB and the British Trust for Ornithology.

London Again

2011-11-13T17:04:00.000Z

It was the first of three Sunday concerts in 4 weeks today!

Due to engineering works I had to go to Loughton tube station as we got out of the car I heard a bird I recognised. A Ring-Necked Parakeet which promptly flew over my head. I have never seen them over here before!

So to Hyde Park and some familiar views...

The sun was glorious!!

It was remembrance Sunday so lots of people about.

Buckingham Palace.

The Canada Memorial. Emotional for Trish...

I do miss a zoom on my Panny (alhough I love the 20 f1.7). The problem is that the telephoto options are two big. I am sort of tempted by the Nikon V1. The tele zoom is very compact.... must resist must resist!!

The concert was once again at Wigmore Hall with the Parker Quartet playing

Haydn - String Quartet in C Op. 74 No. 1
Debussy - Sting Quartet in G minor Op. 10

The Haydn was pleasant but I didn't feel the quartet quite achieved the same emotional involvement as the Heath Quaret had. The Debussy was better (especially in the opening and closing movements).

A good concert but not an outstanding one. Still a pleasant hour enjoyed by all.

A quick trip into John Lewis to look at cameras :) must resist must resist!!

And I will not laugh to much at the expression on Tricia's face when a young lady offered her her seat..... ROTFLMAO!!!!

The Thankful Villages

2011-11-13T11:00:00.004Z

In the 1930's the writer Arthur Mee coined the term a "thankful village" to describe the handful of communities which suffered no military fatalities in World War I.

Mee identified 32 such places, a figure that has been revised upwards in recent years to 52. Of these just 14 have come to be known as doubly thankful in also losing no-one from WWII.

These villages, like Upper Slaughter in Gloucestershire, have no memorial to the dead.

Some villages suffered horrific losses. Wadhurst a community of 3,500 people lost 649 people in World War I. On a single day in 1915 at the Battle of Aubers, 25 men from Wadhurst were killed - just under 80% of all those who went forward into no-man's land.

Why were communities hit so hard? The historian Dan Snow blames the Pals battalions
(units of friends, work colleagues and relatives who had been promised they could fight alongside each other when they enlisted amid the patriotic fervour of 1914).

This was repeated many times, of about 700 "pals" from Accrington at the Somme some 235 were killed and 350 wounded within just 20 minutes!! Men were sent over the top and were mowed town!

The UK lost 2.2% of its population in WWI but for the French it was worse than lost 4.3% 1.4 million people!

The French equivalent of a thankful village is even more extraordinary. Thierville in Normandy has not lost any service personnel in France's last five wars - the Franco-Prussian war of 1870, World Wars I and II, Indochina, and Algeria.

If you want to read more on this may I point you to this excellent article which I've borrowed from!!

Wilfred Owen - Dulce Et Decorum Est

Bent double, like old beggars under sacks,
Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge,
Till on the haunting flares we turned our backs
And towards our distant rest began to trudge.
Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots
But limped on, blood-shod. All went lame; all blind;
Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots
Of disappointed shells that dropped behind.

GAS! Gas! Quick, boys!-- An ecstasy of fumbling,
Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time;
But someone still was yelling out and stumbling
And floundering like a man in fire or lime.--
Dim, through the misty panes and thick green light
As under a green sea, I saw him drowning.

In all my dreams, before my helpless sight,
He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning.

If in some smothering dreams you too could pace
Behind the wagon that we flung him in,
And watch the white eyes writhing in his face,
His hanging face, like a devil's sick of sin;
If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood
Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs,
Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud
Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues,--
My friend, you would not tell with such high zest
To children ardent for some desperate glory,
The old Lie: Dulce et decorum est
Pro patria mori.

So on this remembrance Sunday

The Soldier by Rupert Brooke

If I should die, think only this of me:
That there's some corner of a foreign field
That is for ever England. There shall be
In that rich earth a richer dust concealed;
A dust whom England bore, shaped, made aware,
Gave, once, her flowers to love, her ways to roam,
A body of England's, breathing English air,
Washed by the rivers, blest by suns of home.

And think, this heart, all evil shed away,
A pulse in the eternal mind, no less
Gives somewhere back the thoughts by England given;
Her sights and sounds; dreams happy as her day;
And laughter, learnt of friends; and gentleness,
In hearts at peace, under an English heaven.

Ickworth on a November Day

2011-11-12T17:51:00.000Z

I stayed at Dad's last, I was popping in for dinner and as I was taking him out today.... (although he didn't know I was taking him out!).

We went for a stroll around Bury St Edmunds (nice cuppa and scone in the Cathrdral Refectory) and then on to Ickworth.

It was grey and a very November style day. A few pics however.....

One of two trees covered in Mistetoe

Right a pic of Sir. Please note the squint has nothing to do with Sunlight!!!

OI!!!

thank you

Ooh a Ladybird.

And the guns fell silent....

2011-11-11T11:00:00.002Z

At 11 O'clock on November 11th 1918 the guns fell silent in Europe.

The scale of the carnage is something that today we can't begin to understand. People spoke of a war to end all wars but within 21 years it happened again. Alas.

The first world war was not glamourised by Hollywood like the second was and yet arguably it had a more profound affect on society. The class ridden nature of Britain was changed, it didn't full over night but many of the boundaries started to crumble.

To put the carnage of the World War I in to some context on the first day of the Battle of the Somme, 1 July 1916, the British suffered 57,420 casualties, including 19,240 dead it was the bloodiest day in the history of the British Army.

That's 19,240 dead on one side in one day!!! When you factor in Paschendale and Verdun you get some idea of the scale of the first world war.

Whatever your views of current conflicts the debt of honour we owe those who have laid down their lives for us has to be remembered - not just those in two world wars or current conflicts but also those of earlier conflicts. Waterloo for instance may be 190 years ago but it too had young men who thought bravely for their country.

Remembrance is not nationalistic or triumphlist. Young men on all sides did their duty for their country. Their sacrifice is something we should honour and remember.

For the Fallen by Laurence Binyon

With proud thanksgiving, a mother for her children,
England mourns for her dead across the sea.
Flesh of her flesh they were, spirit of her spirit,
Fallen in the cause of the free.

Solemn the drums thrill: Death august and royal
Sings sorrow up into immortal spheres.
There is a music in the midst of desolation
And a glory that shines upon our tears.

They went with songs to the battle, they were young,
Straight of limb, true of eye, steady and aglow.
They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted:
They fell with their faces to the foe.

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.

They mingle not with their laughing comrades again;
They sit no more at familiar tables at home;
They have no lot in our labour of the day-time;
They sleep beyond England's foam.

But where our desires are and our hopes profound,
Felt as a well-spring that is hidden from sight,
To the innermost heart of their own land they are known
As the stars are known to the Night;

As the stars that shall be bright when we are dust,
Moving in marches upon the heavenly plain;
As the stars that are starry in the time of our darkness,
To the end, to the end they remain.

Hummingbirds shakes its head!

2011-11-09T17:36:00.000Z

Here is a cool article! It shows how Anna's Hummingbirds deal with excess rainwater by shaking their heads.

Apparently the hummer shakes its head with such acceleration that it can reach 34g's it's pretty impressive when your realise an F1 car typically reach less than 6g).

The Heath Quartet and Robert Thompson

2011-11-08T16:50:00.000Z

Well today I was off to Wigmore Hall again. This was to a YCAT (Young Classical Artists Trust) concert.

YCAT was set up in 1984,

YCAT provides a unique stepping stone for exceptional young artists who have the potential for international performing careers. Introducing these artists at home and abroad, YCAT brings high quality classical performances to as wide a public as possible. YCAT is totally reliant upon the generosity of individuals, trusts and foundations, and currently receives no public subsidy.

I have to admit to a degree of trepidation on this concert, not you understand the artists but the programme. One of the two pieces was the Piano Quintet by Dmitri Shostakovich a composer I haven't explored but oh hell it was £8 the other was by Haydn and I had a front row seat :D

The Artists were the Heath Quartet with Robert Thompson on Piano for the Quintet.

The full programme was:

Haydn - String Quartet in B minor Op. 33 No. 1
Shostakovich - Piano Quintet in G minor Op. 57

I have to admit to some nervousness about booking this concert. And that was I know little of the music of Shostakovich. But I decided it was only £8 and would it make a change.

I needn't of worried. The Haydn was excellent and I thoroughly enjoyed the Shostakovich. The Quartet were really good and I note they are doing a Sunday morning concert next March - tempting!

My one regret was how few people were there! Still it did mean I got a front row seat!

The Kingfisher Hide at Rye Meads

2011-11-07T15:23:00.001Z

Some of the hides at Rye Meads have some lovely paintings.

Here are a few from the Kingfisher hide at Rye Meads

The Blue Tit takes centre stage

2011-11-06T15:59:00.000Z

It was a bit colder today and that grey sky was still there.

Still I haven't posted many bird pics of late and I won't have a chance for a few weeks so after Roast Beef and Yorkshire pudding I headed out with the camera.

I think you'll get a fair reflection on what was visiting the feeding station from the pics.

The Blue Tit

A Great Tit gives some variety.

The Blue Tit is a very common bird but it is also one of the most attractive and they are great fun when they are feeding in trees!!

Dull and Grey and not many birds!

2011-11-05T15:46:00.000Z

When I looked at the weather forecast a few days ago it was awful however it just been dull and miserable!

Given that it seemed a waste to travel far and I went to Rye Meads. The Dunnocks were in great voice and I saw a Chiffchaff not far into my stroll.

It looked pretty awful for photos so when this Mallard posed up....

The view from Draper was ducks a pair of swans, a fly through Heron and one noisy Cetti's Warbler.

To be fair it was a quiet day.

A Little Grebe was playing ball!

Grey Heron

There was a Tit flock about Blues, Greats and Long Tails. I hoped a group of Goldfinch might contain a Siskin but no such luck!

As I left a Great Spotted Woodpecker flew through.

I've now got my feet up listening to Gorecki Symphony No 3. And I have tickets for 3 concerts for next year just arrived!

Jays - another clever corvid

2011-11-03T20:14:00.000Z

There's an interesting article on the BBC website that suggests Eurasian Jays "plan" their future food needs.

The study appears to suggest that birds would stash more of the foods that they knew would be unavailable to them on forthcoming foraging trips.

These Classical Chappies Move fast

2011-11-02T20:20:00.000Z

The Wigmore Hall started selling tickets for its January to March tickets today. I had ear marked one particular concert and found that it had sold out !!!

I found a replacement and that had very few tickets left!! Still I did get front row tickets for a flute concert!

Trish is rather pleased because I got tickets for Milos Karadaglic.

Who you say?

Autumn Colour in London and some Music

2011-10-30T17:19:00.001Z

Well I was off to London today to see a classical music concert.

If I go from Harlow it costs me £16 whereas if I drive the 6.6 miles to Epping tube station its £8 !! Go figure

Although you can't tell from this the tube station is well tended with flowers. Nice to see!

A rare sight an empty central line tube train.

Walking up the escalator at Marble Arch.

We were early though and headed to Hyde Park

Marble Arch

Apsley House (or No 1 London) home to the first Duke of Wellington.

Wellington Monument

Another Wellington Monument

7/7 memorial

Boris Bikes

What was amazing were the numbers of Grey Squirrels in Hyde Park.

And so on to the Wigmore Hall to see the Pavel Haas Quartet named after the czech composer Pavel Haas and winner of the Gramophone Magazine CD of the year award 2011.

The programme was:

Pavel Haas String Quartet No 1 Op 3
Beethoven String Quartet in Bb Op 130 with Grosse Fuge Op 133

We were both sceptical of the Haas but we needn't have been because it was very fine and superbly played. It sounded like there was more than four people on the stage at one point!!

The Beethoven was well played and a good piece (the presto especially) but somehow I didn't wholly warm to it. I think much of this was due to a few very noisy people. I felt a bit sorry for the quartet because at one point as the playing went quiet you heard two people talking!!

They were very good and curiously playing on my birthday next year so I will go to that!!

Lavenham and Clare

2011-10-29T18:03:00.000+01:00

A walk around Lavenham and Clare today.

The Crooked House is cool.

Lavenham Guildhall

The Little Hall (I really must visit it!!)

Estate Agents!!

The church.

On to Clare

Why does this happen when I only have a 16-85?!?!?!

Long Distance Kingfisher

2011-10-25T19:27:00.000+01:00

A kingfisher trapped and released at Orford Ness on the Suffolk coast was originally ringed in Poland some 620 miles away. The previous longest recorded distance was 603 miles. We'll know a more accurate distance when we discover where in Poland the bird was ringed.

The National Trust said cold weather could have led to the bird migrating from Eastern Europe.

St Mary's Church, Great Bardfield

2011-10-23T17:45:00.000+01:00

I went out to play with Black & White today and my chosen venue was the church of St Mary's Great Bardfield.

Great Bardfield is a pretty little Essex village that outsiders think doesn't exist. I drive through it a lot with out stopping (usually coming back from days out with Dad). The church is in in "the book", and pretty though it is, its inclusion is for its Stone Rood screen. Stone Roods are uncommon and some of the churches that have them claim them as unique, Bardfield doesn't since there is one a few miles down the road at Stebbing.

All quiet on the home front

2011-10-22T17:42:00.000+01:00

I made my first trip to Hatfield Forest or a while. There were some good birds about but they were a bit camera shy. I only saw the one Great Crested Grebe on the lake which was a bit surprising but there were some good woodland birds about Jays (lots of these), Nuthatch, Goldcrest, Marsh Tit, Great Spotted and Green Woodies.

A number of Trust properties in the East of England have these "picture frames".

So after a bacon sarnie off to Rye Meads.

This Little Grebe was diving about.

A young Mute Swan

Gorgeous weather.

Reputations and Reviews

2011-10-19T13:32:00.000+01:00

Reputations are interesting things even a newby listener (like me) to classical music knows that Johan Sebastian Bach is regarded as one of the greatest, if not the greatest composers of all time. But it's interesting to note that after his death he went out of favour and was "rehabilitated" a century later by Felix Mendelsohn.

Vivaldi, he of the four season's, fame was out of favour even longer although you wouldn't know it by the number of new releases of Vivaldi music.

It does make you wonder what else is out there. For instance Radio 3 played a violin sonata by Jean-Fery Rebel this morning which was very pleasant but he is someone I've never heard of. So I guess instead of buying the same old same old we ought look beyond the "core repetoire" and given you can listen to excerpts on line its easier to do than it ever has been.

Reviews are equally interesting in Classical Music they tend to ignore the music and concentrate on the sound recording quality and the performance. Just because you like X's recording of Beethoven you may not like there Shostakovich if you don't happen to like Shostakovich! Classic FM wrote a rave review of Nicola Bennedeti's new album Italia, in which she traces her Italian roots (I find that amusing!) by looking at baroque music like Vivaldi (but laudably including Tartini, Veracini), whereas Andy Gill in the Independent was critical of the "crass cover shot of a Vespa" and gave it 3 stars (I ought to add I'm struggling to see how it is crass!!).

Whose right? Dunno but it makes you wonder if people are listening to the same piece or are judging by reputation.

My own attempt to move beyond Vivaldi saw me by some albums by Tartini, Locatelli and Corelli from hyperion.

Home via Stourhead

2011-10-16T19:37:00.001+01:00

Apparently both my cameras can swap lenses! You wouldn't believe it since the Panny has had the same lens on all the time (20mm f1.7, oh the camera was permanently set to B&W so you've seen none of them.) and the Nikon had an 18-270 travel zoom on!!

This is all very convenient but Saturday night I decided this was daft. I stuck the 14 f2.5 on the Panny (now set for colour) and the 35mm f1.8 on the Nikon. There is a degree of freedom in this since you are restricted in what you can take, hence I took fewer photos than normal. Whether the quality improved who knows, I enjoyed it though.

Actually today almost never happened as it was raining most of the way but by the time Stourhead hoved into view the sun came out

I was there a month ago but it's such a lovely place and it repays revisiting.

Stourhead was good for birds today with Redwings, 5 Great Crested Grebes, Goldcrests, 2 Marsh Tits, seemingly dozens of Nuthatches and a calling owl!

well a very pleasant 4 days. But that's the holidays for the year, it doesn't seem that long since I was waiting for the first one!!! All I can say is Roll on April.

Crossing the Tamar!

2011-10-16T18:41:00.000+01:00

Today it was off in to Cornwall to Cotehele. To be fair Cotehele sits just across the Tamar so it's hardly venturing far into Cornwall!! It was a good choice as upon returning to the hotel it was bathed in clouds whereas Cotehele was bathed in sunshine!!

Cotehele is a medieval manor house with the buildings virtually untouched since tudor times.

The upper gardens are more formal, as is the terrace which leads to the wilder valley garden.

The upper gardens....

After lunch off to the house.

This is a artificial arm for fixing to suits of armour!

Terrace and valley garden

No cake today. Had a Cornish Cheese Tea - 2 cheese scones and 2 pieces of Cornish Cheese and a pot of tea. It was shared!!

A lovely day, Cotehele is well worth a visit.

The little grey cells....

2011-10-14T20:05:00.001+01:00

Today we went to Greenways. Greenways was the home of Agatha Christie and you are encouraged to come by green transport. We took the river cruise from Dartmouth!

The River Trip was very pleasant, plenty of wildlife including a couple of seals!

No pics inside which is sad because there was a skull with a frog on it that was pure OC!!!

This is Greenways house

The soup was Carrot and Lentil - nice!

We visited the "Battery" amusingly on the way back there was a Little Egret right outside! Still a poor shot of a nice substitute.

The cake was Coffee & walnut and Lemon Drizzle (excellent!)

At the quay waiting for the ferry back from Greenways

As we waited for the bus to take us to the park and ride we spotted this chap. Not something I expected to see a Razorbill!!

Super day.

God blew and they were scattered

2011-10-13T20:13:00.000+01:00

Well the peace and quiet have been destroyed :D Sorry Trish

First stop was Buckland Abbey. It was the home of Sir Francis Drake and was a monastry that was converted in to a home. There are no great treasures and the garden is not of the first rank but it is a nice place to visit.

Elizabeth I beating Phillip of Spain

Drake's drum

I'm thinking OC

So after a rather nice Tomato and Lentil soup on to Saltram House.

This Starling was having a wash!

We headed to the restaurant for tea and cake. Shock horror the people in front had the last slice of Coffee and Walnut cake!! But another cake was forthcoming so we shared this with a piece of Apple. Alas the Apple was poor and the Coffee and Walnut not as good as others I've tasted!!!

Still a very nice day and I've just enjoyed a nice meal.

I Am the Very Model of a Modern Major-General

2011-10-12T17:35:00.000+01:00

Alas today is my last trip of the year...... I'm in South Devon.

I set off very early (5:30ish!!) and drove through rain en-route. I looked at the sky and said Trish isn't here and the weather improved - actually that is true!!

I could have looked at 3 churches but I thought nah I'm going to laze about and went to Coleton Fishacre - given how steep the garden is in places laze is not wholly accurate!!

The house was built in the 1920's by the son of Richard D'Oyly Carte he of Gilbert & Sullivan fame (I've actually been to one of the Comic Operas at the Savoy and enjoyed it!!).

The garden is lovely but obviously not at it's best in mid-October. Alas no photos in the house.

Before heading off I had a cuppa and eyed the cake :D

The house is lovely, no great treasures but if I do win the Euro-Millions I might make the Trust an offer :D

The soup was Vegetable and the cake Lorraine's 1930 style Banana cake. I had a few nice sits reading. Good day.

My peace is about to be broken by she who brings rain.... ;)

Plaques

2011-10-11T18:38:00.000+01:00

I mentioned the other day that you often see plaques on buildings indicating famous people who have lived there. They are more obvious in London.

For instance in a small London Square like Cavendish Square I found ....

A Prime Minister!

These two were on the same building.

Dante Quartet at Wigmore Hall

2011-10-09T15:55:00.000+01:00

I was off with Trish to London for a bit culture! The first shock was no trains from the station, engineering works and a replacement bus service!! So a quick dash to Epping for the tube...... which is must cheaper - um!

Anyway arrived and got to the Wigmore Hall with plenty of time to see the Dante Quartet.

The programme was

Faure String Quartet in E minor Op. 121
Ravel String Quartet in F

I have to admit if I was at home my first choice would have been the Faure which was wonderfully relaxing but in the concert hall it was the greater contrasts of the Ravel which I found the more enjoyable. Although I thoroughly enjoyed both!

Thanks to the Dante for introducing their encore a Britten Waltz in F Major and for a very enjoyable Sunday morning.

A few Suffolk pics

2011-10-08T18:36:00.001+01:00

A week ago I was wilting in the heat today I've put the heating on!!

Dad and I went to Suffolk today. The weather was poor so just a few pics!

Very Autumnal

They like their Pink Houses around here!

I do find the blue plaques on houses fascinating.

According to the Long Meford website

Hanwell was senior lieutenant of the Sheerness (44 guns), the flagship of Commodore James Cornwallis on the African station. The Commodore died of a fever on 31st July 1798, and Lieutenant Hanwell, now the senior officer, promoted himself two ranks higher to become a Post Captain. This amazing step could only have been legitimate on the African station, and was confirmed by the authorities when he returned to England at the end of the year.

After that his career was fairly indistinguished.

A Barbers Shop sign....

The sign of the Bull Hotel @ Long Melford.

We ought to have some birds....

The old platform at Long Melord Station

A Party Political Broadcast with an interesting twist

2011-10-06T13:08:00.000+01:00

As the Great Antiques Hunt ended on BBC 2 last night a Conservative Election Broadcast came on. Now I admit I'd normally have turned the sound down or turned it off but by the time I found the remote I was hooked.

Essentially they gave the broadcast over to an appeal for aid to East Africa, with lots of Tories urging you to do as they've done and donate to the East Africa appeal.

Now of course this was quite clever. Apparently Nick Robinson (BBC Polictal editor) in an interview, had asked Cameron why he was increasing overseas aid when the countries finance are in such a state and, when the majority of the British people think the money money could be better used here: reduce the deficit, less cuts, equiping the military.

I think Robinson has got the mood of the man/woman in the street right. The problem is that the average person in the west (UK/US etc) equates the poverty we see here with that in East Africa. Frankly however I doubt that there are many people having to walk miles just to get clean water in the West but that is easy for a comfortably off chap like me to say (holiday anyone?).

The aid budget, like the BBC world service, is a wonderful source of advertising for us. Frankly I'd rather my taxes go to helping someone get clean water than some of the uses over here, but then I regard myself as a citizen of the world. When this bloke Jesus spoke of neighbours he wasn't talking about nationalistic boundaries.

No the Conservative party broadcast was clever. It gave airtime to a major crisis and portrayed them in a good light. Yes it was still an Party Political Broadcast but and here is something I didn't think I'd say Kudos to the Conservatives on it.

Some black and white

2011-10-04T18:38:00.000+01:00

I took these whilst away with Dad, last time I did this I got a very negative response!

Snipe in the open

2011-10-02T20:01:00.000+01:00

It is a tadge warm. The wildlife must be really confused!

I woke up in the middle of the night with the radio still going, turned it off, and finally woke at 6:45 which for me is late!!

I should have jumped up and gone out but didn't eventually I emerged and went to Rye Meads.

It was all very quiet the highlight being two Green Sandpipers and quite a few showy Snipe!

One sitting with some teal.

Another having a root about then going for a walk

There were 4 at Draper and 5 at Tern hides.

I wander back home lunchtime and have put my feet up listening to music!

2011-10-01T19:49:00.000+01:00

Ye gods it was hot today! Is it really October??

Dad and I went to Anglesey Abbey, it's interesting to see how the garden changes throughout the year.

Not sure this B&W works but somehow I find it interesting.

Khatia Buniatishvili at LSO St Luke's

2011-09-29T16:43:00.000+01:00

And so the second cultural event event of the week

Off to the LSO St Luke's to see the Georgian Pianist Khatia Buniatishvili play some Beethoven Piano Sonatas.

Before the concert we had lunch in the Crypt and then up to bag a front row seat (although you get tickets seating is first come first serve)

The programme was:

BEETHOVEN Piano Sonata No 17 in D minor (‘Tempest’)
BEETHOVEN Piano Sonata No 19 in G minor
BEETHOVEN Piano Sonata No 23 in F minor (‘Appassionata’)

Interestingly Beethoven No 17 I saw in July played by Imogen Cooper, I enjoyed it then and I enjoyed it today.

The second No 19 is an early work, it lacked the depth of the other two but in Khatia's hands it was an engaging listen - using a first name always strikes me as pretentious but much easier to spell :D

All this led up to No 23, the Appassionata, which was superb. It wasn't someone playing a piano, it was if the keys were an extension of Khatia's fingers.

For all three sonata's she had no score and she probably couldn't see the keyboard through her hair!!

The audience obviously loved the concert but alas no encore.....

I should comment that she looked gorgeous in her dress but frankly it was her playing we came to see and that was even more stunning.

Daniel Hope and Sebastian Knauer

2011-09-26T18:04:00.002+01:00

Well a few cultural treats this week :D

Today I was meeting up with Trish at the Wigmore Hall.

Before the concert we had a lunch in the Wigmore' restaurant.Salmon with beetroot to start and fish cakes on a bed of spinach with 3 way cooked chips. Very nice.

The concert featured Daniel Hope on violin and Sebastian Knauer on piano with a programme exploring the milieu of violinist and composer Joseph Joachim and his friends and colleagues.

The programme was:

Grieg
Violin Sonata No. 3 in C minor Op. 45

Joachim
Hebrew Melody Op. 9 No. 1 (arr. violin and piano)

Brahms
Violin Sonata No. 2 in A Op. 100

Brahms/Joachim
Hungarian Dance No. 5 in G minor

the encore was a the first movement of a Bach Violin and Piano (Clavier) Sonata

The two Sonata's were very good and the Hungarian Dance was a nice concert finishing piece but the Hebrew Melody felt like a bit of a filler.

I enjoyed the Bach but it felt "modern", I'm using modern in a 19th century sense :D

The concert was good, very good and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Trish thought it was the best we had been to this year but I have to disagree. It was consistently good but it lacked a piece that made my jaw drop.