Friday 13 February 2015

Beauty Queen - Roxy Music

There was an unexpected but most welcome visitor at the weekend, but not the weekend just past but the one before. It's doubtful I'd get away with saying things have been busy around here, but much of my time has been taken up this week with the memoirs and other things. It was, as ever, great to see Dave Foot making the most of his journey from Weymouth to take a look at Blashford Lakes only a 15 minute drive over the border into Hampshire. It should be said from the start that weather conditions and the distance from most of the birds proved impossible for photography, so most of the images that follow are taken from the Archive.

Returning to the Memoir, and thumbing through the Diary for 1971 I came across a long forgotten fact and most pleasant meeting in that year. Only having been out of the Royal Navy for a couple of months, in the interim I joined the Merchant Navy where, on my first ship I was pleased to meet a character indeed, Albert (Nobby) Clark, Nobbler or Nobby Stokes to you. On our first trip away he invited me to his home for a drink and to meet his wife, which on our return I did with great pleasure. On arrival at Sutton Poyntz, just east of Weymouth, outside of their house stood a brand new, yellow, Chevrolet Corvette and immediately thought there was something Nobby had not told me. Within, I met his wife and in turn her daughter (Nobby's Step Daughter) Lesley and as is my usual style went Continental kissing her lightly on each cheek. It wasn't until later, over the promised drink, that the subject of the car was brought up only to find it belonged to
 LESLEY LANGLEY
who it was revelled was
Lesley Langley (born 1945) from Weymouth, England was Miss United Kingdom and Miss World in 1965. She became the third woman from her country to win the title, and the second Miss United Kingdom in a row, thus becoming the second country to have back-to-back winners. Sweden was the first, winning the inaugural pageant in 1951 and the second pageant in 1952. She attended the Royal Merchant Navy School, near Wokingham, Berkshire, (now known as Bearwood College) in the 1950s. During her tenure she met and married Jazz organist Alan Haven and they had one daughter named Chloe. They divorced and Lesley later worked as a Dental practise assistant. She played a small part in the James Bond film Goldfinger and also became the front cover in 1967 on Weymouth's Official Holiday Guide, with photos inside.
Lesley with other competitors in the 1965 Miss World Pageant.
Now, hands up if you have ever kissed a Miss World!
Having thrown a bucket of iced water over myself, it's back to business.
 COAL TIT
 CHAFFINCH
with some kind of 'build-up' on its legs?
 GADWALL
 WIGEON
 GADWALL with COOT (foreground)
 It was only Dave who saw the 
BITTERN
 TUFTED DUCK
 GOOSANDER
'snorkling'
 GOLDCREST
and after my initial sighting
 we both caught sight of the
 GREAT WHITE EGRET
 BLACK-NECKED GREBE
 and the
LONG-TAILED DUCK
On Ibsley Water that day we saw, at great distance, no fewer
that 8 species of Gull. None of these images were taken on that day
but with such a fascinating family it is felt well worth while to illustrate
these birds from no matter what source!
 HERRING GULL
 COMMON GULL
 
 BLACK-HEADED GULL
 GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULL
 MEDITERRANEAN GULL
 YELLOW-LEGGED GULL
(first winter)
 RING-BILLED GULL
LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL
GREY SQUIRREL
GOOSANDER (swimming)
GOOSANDER (preening)
Entry            Pageviews
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Germany
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Russia
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France
                  18
Estonia
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Czech Republic
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Romania
                  16
Canada
                  11
Netherlands
                    9