A couple of previously unpublished photos from the Colombia expedition at the end of 2009. Daragh 4th and me 6th from right.
Flame-faced Tanager
Purplish-mantled TanagerA quiet day today trying to catch up on a few things, and a chance to return to last Sunday's post which closed with the words "to be continued"........
It may be remembered the day was dedicated to a walk along the Fleet, from Rodden Hive to Chickerell, with the continuation including some photographs of another of my favourite corners of Dorset, the village of Fleet. Further to the west is Moonfleet which was taken as the title of the J Meade Faulkner novel, first published in 1898. It was probably the first book I ever read, at least it was the first I remember reading, and is a tale of smuggling and ghosts.
The notorious pirate Blackbeard had stolen a diamond and taken its whereabouts to the grave. Buried under the church, which is the one at Fleet, he would rise from the grave on winter's nights to recover the booty and terrorise the hero of the plot John Trenchard. This of course immortalised the building, now seeing visitor from all over the world reliving the tale. However, for me it has a little more than that, as when my daughters were children we would visit the church to rub the brasses.
Usually monuments to the local gentry, these brasses can be found all over the country but taking a record of them by overlaying thin paper and rubbing with charcoal is in some quarters frowned upon as damaging. Julie, Lisa and I never encountered any problems, and the then vicar of the parish was only too happy to release the key, to unlock the protective grills, allowing us access.
It may be remembered the day was dedicated to a walk along the Fleet, from Rodden Hive to Chickerell, with the continuation including some photographs of another of my favourite corners of Dorset, the village of Fleet. Further to the west is Moonfleet which was taken as the title of the J Meade Faulkner novel, first published in 1898. It was probably the first book I ever read, at least it was the first I remember reading, and is a tale of smuggling and ghosts.
The notorious pirate Blackbeard had stolen a diamond and taken its whereabouts to the grave. Buried under the church, which is the one at Fleet, he would rise from the grave on winter's nights to recover the booty and terrorise the hero of the plot John Trenchard. This of course immortalised the building, now seeing visitor from all over the world reliving the tale. However, for me it has a little more than that, as when my daughters were children we would visit the church to rub the brasses.
Usually monuments to the local gentry, these brasses can be found all over the country but taking a record of them by overlaying thin paper and rubbing with charcoal is in some quarters frowned upon as damaging. Julie, Lisa and I never encountered any problems, and the then vicar of the parish was only too happy to release the key, to unlock the protective grills, allowing us access.
Fleet Church, small in size but sturdy in construction.
Just a single room, the naive, reduces congregation size.
Magnified, the family of Maximilliam Mohun can be seen kneeling in prayer.
for the sake of ease the accompanying plaque is shown.
Similar to the above.
After 90 years and 17 kids I always chuckle to think she would need to rest in the Lord, I expect her old man died with a smile on his face as well?
Butter Street, a small mews (I do believe I've read somewhere that these houses were previously stables, qualifying it as a Mews) of houses just up from the church.With Greece and the Russian Federation joining the ranks of Blog readers earlier in the week, it was left to Belarus to bring up the 70th nation on our readership. With the 'free' Stat Counter service limited to just the first 500 records, I thought it worth the small annual subscription to find out more accurate figures. Unfortunately, this only allows records of 2,000 readers making the 'hit' counter a little less than accurate, but all countries participating, on any given day, are represented on the chart.
I would like to THANK and WELCOME all my readers, and again ask that you pass to your friends the Blog Link if you enjoy the read, it's a great kick to reach so many of you, and as with those afore mentioned all private e-mails will be answered.
http://bagsy-thecaptainslog.blogspot.com/
| Num | Perc. | Country Name | |||
 | 1503 | 75.15% | United Kingdom |  | |
| 179 | 8.95% | Estonia |  | |
| 60 | 3.00% | United States |  | |
| 38 | 1.90% | Netherlands |  | |
| 21 | 1.05% | Sweden |  | |
| 20 | 1.00% | Argentina |  | |
| 18 | 0.90% | Italy |  | |
| 17 | 0.85% | Australia |  | |
| 14 | 0.70% | Germany |  | |
| 13 | 0.65% | Ukraine |  | |
| 13 | 0.65% | India |  | |
| 11 | 0.55% | Canada |  | |
| 10 | 0.50% | Chile |  | |
| 9 | 0.45% | Japan |  | |
| 7 | 0.35% | Serbia |  | |
| 6 | 0.30% | |||
| 5 | 0.25% | Spain |  | |
| 5 | 0.25% | Czech Republic |  | |
| 5 | 0.25% | Colombia |  | |
| 4 | 0.20% | Denmark |  | |
| 4 | 0.20% | Austria |  | |
| 4 | 0.20% | Ecuador |  | |
| 4 | 0.20% | France |  | |
| 3 | 0.15% | Taiwan |  | |
| 3 | 0.15% | Finland |  | |
| 3 | 0.15% | Europe |  | |
| 2 | 0.10% | Poland |  | |
| 1 | 0.05% | Mexico |  | |
| 1 | 0.05% | Belarus |  | |
| 1 | 0.05% | Hungary |  | |
| 1 | 0.05% | Norway |  | |
| 1 | 0.05% | Thailand |  | |
| 1 | 0.05% | Switzerland |  | |
| 1 | 0.05% | Trinidad And Tobago |  | |
| 1 | 0.05% | Brazil |  | |
| 1 | 0.05% | Belgium |  | |
| 1 | 0.05% | Russian Federation |  | |
| 1 | 0.05% | Venezuela |  | |
| 1 | 0.05% | Croatia |  | |
| 1 | 0.05% | Philippines |  | |
| 1 | 0.05% | Greece |  | |
| 1 | 0.05% | Bulgaria |  | |
| 1 | 0.05% | Ireland |  | |
| 1 | 0.05% | Indonesia |  | |
| 1 | 0.05% | South Africa |  | |
| 1 | 0.05% | New Zealand |  |
and finally, I see Genetically Modified Potatoes are making the headlines this morning but don't know what all the fuss is about! My mind was put at rest about GM foods some years ago when arriving for dinner one evening on the Oil Rig. The Camp Boss, knowing my love of seafood, asked if I'd like the lobster to which of course I replied yes, only to be told that it was Genetically Modified. Baulking at the prospect, he went on to explain that all was well and that the crustaceans had been scientifically proven edible. Still not convinced, he showed me the accompanying evidence on the packaging at which my resolve weakened. "Yes, OK Boss, I'll have the lobster", to which he replied "would you like a leg or a wing"?
