And they're all called St Mary!!

And the sun shone and the sky was blue and then I woke up.

Ah a dreary murk of grey. Oh gee thanks!!

736 St Mary, Westwell












737 St Mary, Brook





Simple altar isn't it. The stones are prayer stones and I took one from the pile at the back and added to the table.


738 St Mary, Brabourne









739 St Mary, Stelling






I met up with Trish and we had lunch at the Woolpack, Brookland. LOVELY Bacon baguette.

For all the time she has spent in Sussex she has never been to Rye!! So....

Hope these two work....





I've been to St Mary's Rye before.













Ye olde sweet shoppe!!

Fletcher's!! I first visited here on July 26th 1977 (Mum & Dad's 25th wedding anniversary) and Roast Gammon, Roast Potatoes and Cauliflower Cheese. It was gorgeous, never been back since.

Further afield.

I think the blog has lacked a bit of variety of late so you'll be pleased to know that you can expect something slightly different starting tomorrow.

I am off to Kent to meet some birders on Saturday and so I've tagged a days holiday on to make a long weekend of it! I'm not certain how many birdy photos there'll be BUT I have at least 5 churches on the agenda and possibly 2-3 more on the way home Sunday.

The hotel has wifi - woo hoo, so you'll get a photo update Friday and Saturday I HOPE! What odds the wifi doesn't work!!

The churches aspect is good because my holiday plans for 2009 won't see me adding many to the list. I've got two weeks in Wales and my list is English Churches!!

The Englishman who beat Galileo

It is often said that no one remembers who came second but of course thats not always true.

I mentioned last week the 11th century Arabic scientist al-Hassan Ibn al-Haytham who was working with prisms long before Newton and today we have another example.

It is popularly held that Galileo was the first man to view the Moon through a telescope in December 1609 however it is now believed that this was first done by an Englishman, Thomas Harriot, achieved this feat on July 26th 1609.

According to Dr Allan Chapman, a science historian at Oxford University

Thomas Harriot was not only the first person ever to draw an astronomical body with a telescope on 26 July 1609, he rapidly developed to become an absolutely superb lunar cartographer.

There weren't equivalent lunar drawings to be done for another 30 years.

So we ask, why have we never heard of him?

Well Harriot was a wealthy gentleman and had no desire for fame. Also he had two friends who were political prisioners held in the Tower of London. Galileo was hard-up and wanted fame and fortune.

The map Hariott drew in July 1609 will go on show in Florence, Italy, this summer as part of an exhibition on Galileo. Some other images will go on display in the Science Museum.

Sir Patrick Moore said

I'm sorry Harriot isn't better known over here... after all, we all know Galileo.

But Harriot was first... and his map of the Moon is better than Galileo's.

Looking at Harriot's map, it really is a work of art. He saw the mountains, craters and the so-called seas. It really is a wonderful thing and it's British.

Harriot was first, no question about it, and his map of the Moon was good. Galileo came after, but went much further.

Harriot never took things as far as he might have done. We've got to give Galileo pride of place but don't forget Harriot.

Interestingly letters from Sir William Lower, in Carmarthenshire, to Harriott show that Welsh Astronomers were also studying the moon at this time.

Bring Me Sunshine

We live in a world of hyperbole. Any halfway decent Sportsman is great and the term genius is an oft overused word.

I thought this whilst watching telly this Christmas. Every year without fail the BBC will show the repeat of a Morecambe & Wise christmas special. When I was a lad the Morecambe & Wise Christmas special was THE TV programme. This was the days before satellite TV and videos when new Hollywood blockbuster debuts were big TV hightlights but they all gave way to Eric & Ernie.

Whereas some acts have aged and are stale and dated Morecambe & Wise are fresh. The writing of Eddie Braben teamed with the timing and comic talent of Eric & Ernie is as fresh today as it always was. Alas the duo left the BBC in 1978 but Braben remained later episodes were good just not as good.

Eric Morecambe died in 1984 aged 58. Ernie Wise carried on but never scaled the same heights.





Apparently they didn't want to do the sketches of the two of them in bed together until Braben said "it was good enough for Laurel & Hardy....."









pure class!

Get Researching

The 1911 Census was released today. I discovered that my paternal grandfather was an office boy at the time aged 14. My surname is unusual and so it was easy to find my immediate family (I've done some research in the past, originally my Dad's family come from Lincolnshire). Although it was odd to find that my Great Grandfather's Brother was a patient in an institution (no idea what that means).

The 1921 census will eventually come out but that will it for a while. The 1931 census was lost in a fire and in 1941 the Government had other matters to hand.

Hen Jumpers

I'm sure I have mentioned stories about battery hens being given woolen jumpers before, however BBC breakfast news mentioned another example today.

I couldn't find the story but I did come across Little Hen Rescue who work with farmers to retire hens into a free range life. Some Hens can be fostered some can't be rehoused and the resident hens can be sponsored. I may have mentioned all this before, sorry.

But what I first found on this site was a Knitting pattern for Hen jumpers!!

The first flowers

When you are freezing in the depths of winter Spring seems a million years away and yet, as I type this, the first signs of Spring are on the way.

I notice on the National Trust website that January 21st is the start of "Snowdrop Season" at Anglesey Abbey. Anglesey Abbey is one of the best places in the country to see these pretty little flowers and has hundreds of varieties.

As some of you may remember I went to Anglessey last winter I went to Anglesey and a thoroughly enjoyabe time.

The recent run of cold weather that has hit the UK makes it hard to appreciate that Spring is on its way. However these will soon be appearing ...



Anyone object to a repeat visit?

The National Trust has highlighted six places to see them

Anglesey Abbey, Cambridgeshire
Dudmaston, Shropshire
The Argory, Co. Armagh
Attingham Park, Shropshire
Kingston Lacy, Dorset
Penryhn Castle, Gwynedd

But of course you can find these lovely little flowers anywhere. I found these whilst out with Dad last year.

Frozen at Barnes

Elizabeth sent me an email yesterday about Travelscopes. I was chatting to her on yahoo last night and she said they had been looking at them at Barnes. I said it was a pity because if they had been going today I'd have tagged along. So as Malcolm had decided fancied an Opticron MM2 we agreed to meet up.

It was grey and it was cold only the main lake had any free water on it, all the side ponds on the wild parts of the reserve were frozen.

Birds look pretty fed up! Still we saw quite a few birds, Robin, Dunnock, Blue & Great Tits, Green woodpecker, Jay, Magpie, Crow, Jackdaw, Starling, Siskin, Goldfinch, Wood and Feral Pigeon, Coot, Moorhen, Mallard, Wigeon, Teal, Tufty Duck, Cormorant, Pochard, Shoveler, Shelduck, Candada and Eygptian Goose, Grey Heron, Wren, Blackbird, Parakeeet, Lesser and Great Black Backed Gull, BH Gull, Common Gull, Mute Swan, LOADS of Snipe, Lapwing, Great Crested Grebe and Little Grebe. Which I make 39, there was a brief view of what I though was a Pipit but I only saw it out of the corner of my eye. We missed a female Smew by minutes someone was "kind" enough to show me a photo.

Malcolm got an Opticron MM2 and sensibly got the excellent HDF 12-36 zoom and light hide clamp, excellent choice for someone with a camera.

We all went home afer lunch.

Some pics

Green Woody


Pochard and Little Grebe






Grey Heron and a Green Woody.






Great Crested Grebe




Canada Goose


Oh and a Crane a new addition to the collection.