Whale Meat Again - Vera Lynn

The signature tune of Inuits across the World, or
maybe more appropriate
The Ballard of Bethnal Green by Paddy Roberts
(full and slightly altered lyrics to follow)
 Additionally, on the very day that we were blessed with our record number of 'hits' ever (20,888) we also managed to achieve what may go down as our biggest faux pax as well. Having asked Are Friends Electric on a previous post and described our Saturday meal at Milton Abbas we went on to include an image, not of that beautiful little village, but of another beauty in the form of Gold Hill, Shaftsbury. The appropriate amendment has been made with a promise to 'buck up our ideas' in the future.

Another 737 left

Bournemouth International Airport

yesterday ETA Buenos Aires 2045

that's the year not the time!

before with passports and visas both in check, along with Dave Foot

we embarked on a foray across the border into Devon with really only

2 ambitions on our minds.

 On arrival at Slapton Sands, and hardly able to see above the sea wall 

let alone through the mist-like rain, young Footy had a distant

 'summer plummage'

BLACK-NECKED GREBE

 in his binocular view before even turning off the engine!

The immediate signs were not good as consulting our fellow observers,

nothing so far had been seen of our first target. Unfortunately, this

PRAWN FISHING BOAT

was buzzing up and down the seaway

which may well have been the reason the object of our desire

had not been seen so far that morning.

It was right on the half-hour mark when, yes you might have guessed,

that Dave spotted, and brought to my attention, the first

SPOUT

quite some distance off-shore

(he's very lucky I let him come with me)

 followed by no more than a couple of fleeting glimpses of a small

DORSAL FIN and slight HUMP of the BACK.

The wait for another sighting was becoming tedious so the executive 

decision was made to seek sanctuary in the nearest

cafè, in the hope that the Fishing Boat might move on.

(he was also 'first' to spot the eggs and bacon)

Not usually one for a cooked breakfast, this had to have been in the Top Ten ever!

On our return and after a number of short searches for a Little Gull, that didn't materialise,

we found the Fishing Boat had sailed around the headland into

BEESANDS BAY, START POINT and LIGHTHOUSE

Additionally, a few seabirds including plenty of Gulls,

 GANNET
and

FULMAR

had gathered which also helped in finding our quarry,
but better still a solitary

 RED-THROATED DIVER

was an addition to my Year List.

By mid-morning a decent size crowed had also gathered with every eye being
a potential help in spotting the

 HUMPBACK WHALE

 which like an Iceberg

 was best part submerged

 but nonetheless

GREAT VALUE
Humpback Whale Video Footage 
 no pun intended © Dave Foot

Having had our fill, there was one last foray to try and locate the
Little Gull, but again with no luck but in the process did see this

 SHERMAN TANK

complete with plaque, a male

 SHOVELER

 our first
VIOLETs
of the year along with a couple of cheeky

JACKDAW

By mid-afternoon the wind had increased to gale force and the moderate to heavy
rain had become persistent, unfortunate as there was still one small bird we hoped
to see before returning home.
We did brave the rigours of the weather and at the site we were lucky to find
a row of 'overwintering' beach huts to shelter behind.

Additionally, the

CIRL BUNTING

were in residence

managing a few

shots

  and

clips.

Entry	Pageviews
United States	20888 - outdoing, by miles, any other day in our history! 'Thanks' to the Yanks!
United Kingdom	297
Germany	85
France	59
Venezuela	33
Italy	26
Estonia	21
China	16
South Korea	14
Canada	11

THE BALLAD OF BETHNAL GREEN

I'll tell a tale of a jealous WHALE and a maid of sweet sixteen
She was blond and dumb and she lived with her Mum
On the edge of Bethnal Green
and she worked all week for a rich old Greek
For her dad was on the dole
And her one delight on a Friday night
Was to have a bit of rock and roll. 

Chorus:- To my rit-fal-lah, to my itty-fal-lal
To my itty-bitty-fal-dal day. 

Then one fine day in the Month of May she found her big romance
He was smart and sleek, with a scar on his cheek
And a pair of drainpipe pants
And she thought “with you, I could be so true,
Through all the years to come”
For she loved the gay abandoned way
He chewed his chewing-gum. 

Chorus... 

It started well because he fell for all her girlish charms
But he had some doubt when he caught her out
In someone else’s arms
And he said, “Look here, you know my dear,
This is going just a bit too far
And he went quite white and he sloshed her right
In the middle of her cha-cha-cha. 

Chorus... 

So he went before a man of the law who said, “This will not do
I’ve had enough of this kind of stuff
As I want from the likes of you.”
And she was peeved when he received
A longish term in clink
In a fit of pique she married the Greek
And now she lives in mink.

Chorus...