Happy Birthday to Me! - Trad

Today we learn of the death of JON LORD of the Rock Band DEEP PURPLE. I for one wouldn't use the word 'sad' to describe his passing having brought such great delight to Rock Lovers all over the world.

He was undeniably one of the Top 10 Rock Keyboard Players that ever lived and leave us a legacy of such seminal works as Smoke on the Water. - R.I.P.

We all came out to Montereax, on the Lake Geneva shoreline.
To make records with a mobile, we didn't have much time.
But Frank Zappa and the Mothers, were at the best place around,
But some stupid with a flare gun,  burned the place to the ground.
Smoke on the water and fire in the sky.
Smoke on the water...

Despite a 'waterlogged' birthday the 4 of us had a great day in Corfe Castle where my ol' shipmate from the 60's John (Ginge) and Val Prince took Lesley and I for lunch. The rain didn't stop once so the photographs are perhaps not of the best, but guess you will get the idea.

 

CORFE CASTLE, standing above the village of the same name, was built by William the Conqueror, the castle dating back to the 11th century and commands a gap in the Purbeck Hills on the route between Wareham and Swanage. The first phase was one of the earliest castles in England to be built using stone when the majority were built with earth and timber. Corfe Castle underwent major structural changes in the 12th and 13th centuries. There was no chance of us climbing the mound today, so we headed strait for the

 

GREYHOUND PUBLIC HOUSE. There should have been a subliminal message there as

 

we unanimously agreed the food was some of the 'very best' pub grub we had ever experience but the whole experience was spoilt by DOGS. By my count there were 15 during the couple of hours we spent there, most brushing against us on entry, all stinking of 'wet dog', some slavering on the carpet and one growling and barking at every other animal that ventured near to it. Most unfortunately. this will preclude us from a further visit!

Under the shelter of umbrellas we took a look around one of Dorset's quaintest villages, firstly to the BANKS ARMS HOTEL

along with a number of other old buildings

including the POST OFFICE,

HIGH STREET

CHURCH and then onward to the

 

RAILWAY STATION complete with

TICKET OFFICE,

STATION MASTER

SIGNAL BOX

and PLATFORMS more or less as they have always been.

While there is a pile of luggage also left on the platform for authentic effect, the Station also houses

a small MUSEUM

which houses much of local interest.

Singularly, the highlight has to be the still functioning STEAM (Passenger Carrying) TRAIN

which we were just lucky enough to see put out of the station for its next run down to Swanage. Living close to Wareham Val and Ginge have visited the 10th Century Church of

 

while Lesley and I have both driven past a thousand times over the years but never set foot inside.

During 'closed' hours one has to get the key from a shop in the town, which John did, to gain access and well worth it.

Along with original SAXON ARCHES,

an effigy of T E LAWRENCE (of Arabia),

interesting wall HATCHMENTS?

and OAK BEAMS there are a number of

12th Century WALL PAINTINGS this one said to be of St Martin himself astride his trusty steed.

After admiring the North East window, also SAXON the was just time for a

HYMN (and a HER on my left arm) as I broke into a couple of verses of 'To Be A Pilgrim'.

A FANTASTIC BIRTHDAY TREAT GINGE, VAL AND LESLEY THANK YOU SO MUCH!

Down Under - Men at Work

After breakfasting on coffee and Portland Apple (Birthday) Cake, lovingly made for me by Lizzy the Secret Lemonade Drinker's daughter it was off for an away day to the Purbeck Hills. A most beautiful run of coastal downlands and cliffs forming part of what is known as The Jurassic Coast. Meeting Lesley in Weymouth then Ginge and Val in Wareham, we were not sure of the events of the day but knew somewhere along the line we would be eating in the picturesque village of Corfe Castle. A late return home necessitates a 'filler' style post with more of today's shenanigans tomorrow. Oh, and it was another rainy day!

My Birthday Cake by the lovely Lizzy.

 

Next, my friend Paul Harris tells me of a new Macro function/lens he has recently bought to photograph Moths and other Insects, sending me a couple of examples of it prowess. The Moth is a Silver Y a very common summer migrant which can arrive on our shores by the millions. Named from the Y shape on each wing, Paul went on

 

to photograph this in close up, and this is the amazing result.

With this old style Telephone Box having been phased out over most of Great Britain only a few remain in evidence here and there, along with others bought by private owners as garden ornaments. This however is the most novel use I have seen of one with a cash dispenser in the front and an outside telephone at the side. Well thought out whoever you are!

Also around the Borough, but more particularly around the Olympic Sailing Venue, security forces have been lifting drain covers for inspection and on replacement sealing them with a white compound and stamping with a Saint Edward's Crown motif. I did find one which looked as though it had been tampered with and reported the fact to one of the many roving Police Patrols which are now a daily sight. The Copper was delighted and thanked me for my diligence.

So, a return to a different Australian Outback this time in the Northern Territory visited on a extended stay back in 2007. This is Mount Connor in the distance

and the open Highway that leads from there to Uluru. We had left Alice Springs where it hadn't rained for 18 months until our arrival and now the local river was a torrent, so bad we were unable to cross the bridge to a favoured 'birding' haunt.

Between Alice and the Kakadu to the north we has seen NORTHERN FANTAIL,

ORANGE-FOOTED SCRUBFOWL,

PHEASANT COUCAL,

PIED HERON,

RADJAH SHELDUCK

RED-COLLARED LORIKEET,

RED-HEADED HONEYEATER and

SPANGLED DRONGO.

Arriving at The OLGAS, a group of mystical and odd shaped rocks, sacred to the Aborigines, we found a

SPINY LIZARD in the middle of the road which we returned to the safety of the Desert.

TORRESIAN IMPERIAL PIGEONS were spotted in the few trees that grew there,

 

but then all attention was focused on ULURU, the world famous AYER'S ROCK. This I had read was something that would either overcome you or leave you cold, fortunately it was the former with a weird feeling of presences dificult to describe.

The rock formations thereabouts were also of great interest,

 

and although like the most sacred of all, there was little by way of restrictions. A very strange, beautiful and intriguing place to visit.

Our final find was a WATER MONITOR, strange in this barren,dry land