The Kids Are Alright - The Who

Not a Hope in Hell of saving the Best until last today

as there could have been little better than a visitation from my c3 younger

 APPRENTICES

Josh, Sophie and Oliver
(the latter back to Wellington boots rather than Football)

 who had additionally come to view 

Grandma Jen's new

 ARAB HORSE

In addition to having a keen interest in Wildlife Josh is a member of the 

Bournemouth Town Football Acadamy, Oliver the same at Southampton and little

Sophie, just 5, already an accomplished all round dancer.

She was told of my days of being a 'tap-dance' but had to give it up as kept falling into the sink!

My single hope now is that we get all of this isolation out of the way and get up the 

Common together real soon!

 Otherwise, things keep popping up from time to time and we continue

trying to capture them for your pleasure!

 Once again there were no new Moths to add to the Year List while this rather 

handsome lady

PHEASANT

crossing the lawn kicked the day off very well!

If indeed it is bad news we might as well get it behind us and report that the

 LITTLE GREBE

nest still shows signs of being abandoned - but you never can tell!

While what has become the norm in recent weeks

 MISTLE THRUSH

 still look to be doing very well

while the first of c2

 juvenile

 MEADOW PIPIT

was certainly obliging and the

FIDDLER

was on the Roof!

 The spotting of any

 DARTFORD WARBLER

let alone a full blown adult male is enough to bring the Canon to bear,

 and while we already had suspicions today we located the

COMMON BUZZARDS NEST

Any other activities, and there were a number, were confined to the 

other side of the Airport perimter fence where first to appear were the

HERP'sPEOPLE

 who seem to check the

 Reptile Covers

on a regular basis.

Today it looked like they were clearing them out so that

GRASS MOWING

could take place??

and what followed looked every bit like a

Machine for Sowing Seed another????

but whatever the airport spend a lot of money on this border of grassland!

There is a Light Aircraft repair station at the 'hook' end of this

Lofty Crane

so did linger in hope of catching some action - but no and moving on found both

Red

 and

 Yellow

Fire Engines underway but not stopping at the 

Fire Practice Yard - so no flames today.

Looks like

RYANAIR

are now right in the swing of things with, we guess, about half a dozen flights per day?

 Another, rather more ragged juvenile hove into view

with no intent of staring in a

 Feature Length Film

 TUGGING an AIRBUS

ROWAN in the BREEZE

 and looks like there shoud be some

 HAPPY CATTLE

 when this lot start falling!

While to put an end to things Paul Harris sends images of a 'scarce'

 ORACHE MOTH,

which we have caught here just the once, while his next find

 was on a traffic roundabout just outside of

Weymouth

where it has stayed since, a scarce

WOOD SANDPIPER

Going to My Hometown - Rory Gallagher

A RETURN TO PETER GREEN - Part I  

As half heartedly promised a few posts ago we return to the mis-identification of no,

not Birds, not Moths or even Mammals

but the legend that is / was Peter Green.

The Tallin, Estonia trip had kicked things off and now, unexpectedly we were in for a

RE-VISIT!

Jim the Medic had already 

Plighted His Troth

to his vivacious intended Liz so with those few last gaspes of freedom

He, Me and 3 other Lads from Up North headed off to

Cork in the Irish Republic

to celibrate what I called a WAKE having alredy pre-booked the

 

GARNISH GUEST HOUSE

As an aside:- If you only have the slightest inkling that one day you may visit the vibrant, charming and wonderfully exciting city of CORK in Eire, then please click onto this web-site and commit details to your diary. The ultimate accolade would be if you truly put 'hand on heart' and swear you didn't like this establishment, then I will foot the bill!

 Yes my man, just stow my kit in the Forecastle Locker!

On arrival you are met by the owner, whose name we foolishly did not note, offering the most genuinely warm welcome you could ever receive along with a complimentary 'Cream Tea'.

There is a method to this madness, as Jim the Medic would tell you, as munching through an array of pasties and sipping fine teas or coffee a feeling of well-being overcomes you along with a few

minor Physical Changes as well. 
In full Leprechaun mode you will be truly ready to enjoy all the city has to offer.

In addition, each time we returned to the house we were offered tea and coffee along with a huge plate of cakes and pastries, free of charge, much needed by your correspondent slaving over yet another computer glitch! Some mention should be made of the breakfast menu that consists of 'traditional' grilled, scrambled eggs with smoked Salmon, a 'fish of the day', fruits, pastries et al but best of all Porridge with either Bailey's Irish Cream or Jamison's Irish Whisky
now that's the way to start any party.

Directly opposite is the University of Cork standing in magical grounds, along with

bus routes and main roads to all parts of the Emerald Isle.

Just a few incidental photographs, not previously published,

 A COUPLE of PINTS

 A LOOK AROUND THE CITY

Do you think we should have a 'kip' before this evening's
Run Ashore??
The Clan had gathered!
TO BE CONTINUED!

Fings Ain't Wot They Used T'Be - Max Bygraves -

But more particularly Children, not like when we wuz Kids.

Now, lack lustre, lazy, disrespectfull, we won't go on as you will get the picture, 

and here's the Livin' Proof!

 Apprentice number 2, by age

Oliver

 recieving the 

Young Player of the Year Award

from none other than Football Manager and Local Resident

Harry Redknapp

 (just goes to show the lad remembered everything I showed him)

Secondly and finally as we don't like to keep on, we gave our redundant cameras and binoculars to Senior Apprentice Chloe (she of the recent gig to Morton) 

to do with as she pleased either use herself or pass on to other deserving parties!

This is what you get in return from a couple of Children I have never met.

 If just a Thank You wouldn't warm the cockles of your heart,

this was the inscription........

It is hoped one day to redress that balance, and oh how we would welcome those 2.

I do believe there is an appeal to everyone here should you have a redundant 

'anything' in your cupboard which may prove useful

"just pass it on to a YOUNGSTER, the next David Attenbourgh  (or other)

is waiting somewhere in the wings" 

Around the Moth Traps!

Talking of which we continue to trap reatively low numbers of the

same old, same old but then you just get that little tickle and

BINGO

the delightful

JERSEY TIGER

 is added to the 'year list'!

Additionally, there was the capture of one of my sure-fire favourites which both

Dave and Phil have caught here this year, with the image not really showing the

Full Picture.

In the right light

WAVED BLACK

is a real stormer!

 As is the rather prehistoric

COXCOMB PROMINENT
Up on the Common it was gratifying to find both

 LITTLE GREBEs
back on station, not that it's thought they have been anywhere,
but still both seem reluctant to get back to the nest/s!
What we haven't seen this summer and a long time before is the humble

 DUNNOCK

(Hedge Sparrow, Hedge Accentor call it what you will)

 and really have no idea what is going on with this young bird?

We cannot even find a convincing last date in the log!
Before leaving the pond there was also a rather brighter

GREEN SANDPIPER
which like the above didn't hang about very long.

 It would seem, according to local websites, that there has been a bit of a rash of

 WILLOW WARBLERs
across the county, like this juvenile above and an adult below

 but these made up all of our part of the gathering

 on the 
Heath

although the was a 'songster' in the garden while monitoring the
Moth Traps there, only the second we can recall!

It would like be readily agreed by all dedicated 
Wildlife Watches
that the best Bird Hide in the World is you motor car,
and a nice little excuse for us Lazy Gits but nonetheless it surely works.
Along the fence line of the Solar Panel Compoud up ahead we spotted this

 GREAT SPOTTED WOODPECKER

seemingly nibbling away at the Insects sheltering inside the fence posts.

 while it did linger for 15 to 20 minutes

there were also a number of sorties

 back and forth into the trees

which gave the impression that it was

 Not 'rare' or even 'uncommon' but what a pure delight

 to just sit and watch its techneques and little

 nuances until eventually it

disappeared

altogether!
On the way back to base a short visit was made to the
"all to long neglected"
Sewerag Works
(a daily MUST in the winter)
where lightning certainly struck for a second time and where another

 juvenile

DUNNOCK 
was found but, without doubt
"Best was saved until Last"
when encountering 2 Lovely Ladies walking the Bridleway.
It was, like the film of the same name, an all too 
Brief Encounter
but we all had a good old (young in their case) laugh and would love to see them again.
It somehow made me think of Kate.

You pick up a paper you read a name.
You go out it turns up again and again.
You bump into a friend you haven’t seen for a long time,
then into another you only thought about last night.
You hear your sister calling for you,
but you don’t know where from.
You know there’s something wrong,
but you don’t want to believe in a premonition.
We raise our hats to the strange phenomena.
Soul-birds of a feather flock together.
We raise our hats to the hand a-moulding us sure-’nuff,

"om mani padme"!

Strange Phenomena - Kate Bush from the album The Kick Inside

undoubtedly the most sensual collection of songs ever written!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGZG5zQSkB4

om mani padme hum (Tibetan)  

“that in dependence on the practice of a path which is an indivisible union of method and wisdom, you can transform your impure body, speech, and mind into the pure exalted body, speech, and mind of a Buddha"

Rock ‘n’ Roll Trivia - and it’s all a little spooky.

In June 2007 Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour played 3 one night solo concerts at the Royal Festival Hall, South Bank, London, with each featuring a guest artist’. Additionally, Richard Wright, keyboards and backing vocals with Floyd, also played as did a number of other ‘Floydian luminaries. By a serious quirk of fate I was only able to secure 2 tickets for the second night which my then lady-friend Lorraine and I were looking forward to with great anticipation! Who the guest artists were was a closely guarded secret with no one knowing (save the obvious) that Robert Wyatt was to perform at the first and Bob Geldof the finale, both of whom I could well do without! Almost verbatim Gilmore took to the microphone and announce that they were now going to perform a little know song to which he felt he could not do justice vocally so would invite Kate Bush to the stage to sing ‘Comfortably Numb’ - we almost melted!!!! The spooky bit comes when trying to find any recollection of this on the internet only being able to find a single and poor recording by a member of the audience on their mobile phone????

Nevertheless, We Wuz There!