Yesterdays birding trip to Spurn Point didn’t kill me off completely, in fact it may well have helped me along the road to recovery a little. My ribs held up a lot better than I thought they would and didn’t give me too much trouble during the day. The fresh air was more than welcome after being sat around the house all week and the birding, which was much better than I expected, will probably have kick-started me into getting out more over the coming weeks. The walk along the wet sand also gave my legs a bit of a workout too!
Nothing but sand, sea and sky.
Looking back along my boot prints!
The old military defences, being claimed by the sea.
The total bird count for the day wasn’t too high, 58 species for Lynda and I, but it did include some great birds. In terms of rarity value the highlight, I guess, had to be Great Shearwater. This was a “lifer” for me but as the bird was a fair way out to sea, the view wasn’t all that good - maybe my next one will be better!
At just before 1:30PM news started to filter through that a Snow Goose had been sighted off the east coast of England, flying south with a flock of Pink-footed Geese. A small group of us gathered on the shoreline and waited. One of the reserve wardens was stood close by and we heard over his two-way radio that the bird was heading our way. Another few minutes and the geese came into view. Even with only my binoculars, the Snow Goose was easy to pick out - the only white bird amongst a large flock of grey geese! As the birds passed by us, we got great views with both our ‘bins and through a ‘scope belonging to a friend.
The Snow Goose was “tracked” from Filey, to the north of us, right down to Holkham in Norfolk a journey of approximately 100 miles. Quite how far the goose flock had flown yesterday is unknown but they would have started their journey from the breeding grounds in Iceland. On October 13, we will be going to Holkham, on anther RSPB coach trip, so it will be interesting to see if we can find “our” Snow Goose again there.
Map showing the Snow Goose sightings along the English coast.
Locations and times for the Snow Goose.
Later in the day technology once again provided us with another good bird, an Osprey. A group of us were sat in or around the sea-watching hide when a warden’s radio burst into life… “Osprey, heading south, just out to sea. It’s passing Sandy Beaches now!” Well, Sandy Beaches was only just north of us so it was just a case of sitting and waiting. A short while longer and we had Osprey on our day list - this was getting a little too easy!
Other notable birds seen during the day included Red-throated Diver, Manx Shearwater, Common Scoter, Merlin, Golden Plover, Grey Plover, huge numbers of Knot, three Great Skua and small numbers of Arctic Skua. Overall, not a bad day for saying I had to leave my ‘scope at home - it felt like I’d lost my right arm all day!
As the birding had turned out to be better than expected I didn’t have too much time during the day to play around with the camera but I did manage half an hour or so late in the day to take some shots of the old wooden sea defences.
14 September 2007
Just a bit of an update on the past few days…
I’ve been off work since Tuesday due to the rib injury and have been trying to take things extra easy so that the muscles can have a chance to settle down. To be honest, I don’t think it is helping too much.
The pain in my lower chest/side is still about the same first thing in a morning and then slowly starts to ease during the day. By the end of the day, it doesn’t feel too bad, if I don’t move around a lot or twist my body too much. Come the next morning, I feel rough again. The doctor did say that it will take some time to heal fully but I want it sorted now!
Tomorrow, Lynda and I are off to Spurn Point, bird watching. This is a Derby RSPB Local Group coach trip so I don’t have to worry about driving, but it does look like I will have to leave my birding ‘scope behind - there is no way I can carry that weight all day. I guess I’ll just have to make sure that I tag along with someone that does have a ‘scope with them!
Depending on what the weather is like and the amount of birds that are moving through, I may just spend time enjoying being in the fresh air and messing around with the camera. Having said that, there will probably be rarities all along the 3-mile point and I’ll finish up walking myself into the ground!
Yes doctor, I am taking things easy!
10 September 2007
Trust me to open my big mouth! Only last night I said, on here, that “The problem I’ve had with my side has just about cleared itself up…”. Well, I spoke too soon! This morning I was awoken by a pain that felt just like someone had stuck half a dozen knives in my ribs - and no, it wasn’t Lynda doing it!
I can only assume that I had either lay on my ribs for too long or had twisted my side whilst rolling over in my sleep. Whatever I did it seems to have put me back to were I was a week or more ago.
After spending the first hour or so at work hoping that the pain would wear off, I decided that it was time to call it quits and get myself to the doctors. It turns out that I’ve probably torn my inter-skeletal muscles or something! Basically, the muscles between my ribs are now no longer properly attached, or something! I never did like or understand doctors.
As for me getting better - I just have to take it very easy and “not aggravate” the injury. Err, excuse me doctor! I’ve not exactly been teasing the thing like a dog with a stick! The funny thing is I was told I should be okay to carry on my cardio work and also swimming. I may just give that a miss for another few days though.
In a moment of madness I have once again registered to take part in the British Heart Foundation High Peak Trail Winter Challenge Walk(what a mouth full that is!) so on 18 November I’ll be setting out on another 17.5 mile sponsored walk in the Derbyshire Peak District. I’ll be posting details of how you can sponsor me during the next few days.
The problem I’ve had with my side has just about cleared itself up so I’ve managed three days on the mountain bike this week, but no gym as yet. If all goes okay, and I feel up to it, then Tuesday should see me back at the gym doing a light workout and maybe a swim. I need to be getting myself in shape for that walk!
On Thursday, I had been planning on going over to Crewe to see The Reasoning play at The Limelight Club. As it turned out work was a total pain, as it has been for much of the week, and that added to the thought of battling the rush hour traffic saw a last minute change of plan - I stayed at home with a pint instead!
Saturday, it was the Eco Fest. at Markeaton Park and Neverland played a gig there. Well, Neverland playing so close to home… I had to be there! The P.A. was rather small shall we say, the stage not much bigger, but the music was great! For saying that this was not a music festival, but an environmental awareness event, the crowd loved it.
NEVERLAND - RECORDED WITH STILLS CAMERA!
NEVERLAND!
Today, Lynda and I went to Donington Park for the Renault World Series event. It was a good day out, even better for being free, but was a total pain to get to and from! The circuit is only 10 miles from home but it took us over an hour and a half to get there and almost an hour to get home! The traffic was horrendous!
SOME OF THE HISTORIC RACE CARS.
My mate Gary was also there so it gave us a chance to chill out with a few beers, catch up on everything that’s been going on and generally act like a pair of terrible twins! Thankfully, Lynda and Suzanne, Gary’s girlfriend, were there to keep us out of too much trouble! I never did get a chance to take photos of the Renault promotional girls!
LYNDA - WITH HER FOOT LONG HOT DOG!
A BALANCED DIET - A PINT IN EACH HAND!
Highlight of the day for me had to be watching the ING Renault F1 Grand Prix car doing its demonstration laps - the speed and noise were just awesome.
ING RENAULT.
ING RENAULT - RECORDED WITH STILLS CAMERA!
I’ve stuck the video clip above so that I can test the new Blogger video upload - taking video on a stills camera is not the best way to do things!
Hot on the heals of my review of the new Clanadonia CD comes this great YouTube video that I’ve just found. Sit back, turn up your speakers and enjoy Tu-Bardh and the rest of the band play Hamsterheid live in Edinburgh.
Back at the beginning of July, I’d planned on going to the Elvaston Steam Rally, held in the grounds of Elvaston Castle, but the terrible weather we had during the early summer meant that the event had to be cancelled due to the ground conditions. This past weekend saw the rescheduled rally take place.
As the showground isn’t too far from home, just over half an hour's walk, we left the car in the garage on Sunday morning and headed off to Elvaston Castle under a clear blue sky and with the temperature creeping up towards the mid 60s. After a brief stop to chat to some friends as we passed their home, we arrived on the showground at just after 9:45AM.
The first thing that struck me was the amount of waterlogged areas that had had to be roped off from the public. Even though it is now almost two months since the worst of the rain the field was still holding water in places. We can only hope that September will see a better end to the summer than the start!
The second bit of a shock was bumping into an old friend that I’d not seen in over 20 years - it turned out that Helen, one of the old gang from back in my motorbike days, was helping out with a falconry display at the show. In the end, helping out actually meant flying the birds of prey during all the displays so we only managed to have a brief catch up.
After spending a little time admiring the falcons and owls Lynda and I headed off in search of the steam engines. There were around 16 or 18 rollers and traction engines on display plus a large number of fully working miniature replicas. To see the old engines in full steam and moving around the ground is a great experience but the work that goes into the miniatures is also quite amazing. I’d certainly like to own one of each… if it wasn’t for the cost! As well as the steam driven vehicles, there was also a good turn out of vintage tractors and heavy goods vehicles. A number of the tractors could quite easily find a home with me but it was the Allis Chalmers from the mid 1930s that really caught my eye - it was superb. There were also two or three very nice Massey Ferguson MF35s - great little workers from back in the ‘50s.
With so many old vehicles on show, it would have been hard to pick a favourite from the day, if it had not been for an Albion Chieftain lorry that we saw. Not only was it a very well kept and well presented vehicle it also brought many memories of my childhood flooding back.
As a young boy, growing up on the farm, I used to spend much of the summer riding in the cab of an Albion Chieftain that my Grandfather used to transport bales of hay and straw from the fields up to the barns. The only thing different between the two lorries was the colour. Everything else was just as I remembered it… all the switch panels were the same, the door handles and sliding windows, the double-hinged mirrors, even the way the front windscreen could open forwards. It was just like being a kid again!
After watching the steam engines, miniature engines and classic cars parade in the main show ring we watched the second of the falconry displays before deciding to head back for home. The weather forecast had been for possible rain late in the afternoon so we wanted to get back home before it set in - we didn’t make it! Luckily, it was only a light shower that caught us and it only lasted for around 10 minutes. As we started the walk for home, the rain stopped again and we had a nice steady walk back followed by a very welcome cup of tea. All in all, not a bad day!
Earlier this week I was lucky enough to receive a new CD in the post, Clanadonia, by Clanadonia. The CD was sent to my by Robbie MacFarlane, of the band, as a “review copy” - his words, not mine! Well, I’m not too good at album reviews but I will say that this is one cracking recording.
From the opening track, Tu-Bardh - obviously named after the man himself, Tu-Bardh Wilson - right the way through to the final track, Dark Island, this is tribal pipes and drums at their best. Many of you reading this will be familiar with Tu-Bardh, and possibly one or two of the other band members, so you will know of the high quality that can be expected from Clanadonia.
What you may be surprised by is the different styles of “tribal” that have been used on this, their first, album. Titles such as Egyptian, Spanish Eyes and The Cossack all give hints as to what can be found in the 10 tracks on Clanadonia. A couple of other tracks - Hamsterheid and Samba Ya Bassa - were given their names for reasons that have NOTHING to do with tribal culture. If you want to know just how they got their names… ask the band! It was great to hear Tu-Bardh tell the story why though when we saw the band play up in Scotland!
After hearing the album three or four times so far the track that really stands out for me has to be Shadow Dancer, four minutes of pure class. It’s not the typical sort of high energy drumming that I tend to go for but a track that quite simply lifts you up off your feet and transports you to a remote Scottish mountainside.
There you have it then, my attempt at an album review! Told you that I’m not too good at it didn’t I? I think it would have been easier to just say… “got a new album this week. Clanadonia - go and buy it!”
You can find out more about Clanadonia, hear a sample of Shadow Dancer and purchase the album at http://www.clanadonia.co.uk/ .
You will find that this page is now pop-up free! Well, it SHOULD be! (Let me know if it's not!)
I’ve been trying to track down just why some visitors to my page had been getting adverts appear alongside my Blog and yesterday I traced the problem - it was my hit counter!
I’ve been using the same counter since I started my Blog back in August 2005 and had always found it an easy to use system with little or no problems. That has since changed!
Motigo took over the running of the service and have been using the HTML code they supply for the counter to generate pop-up adverts! I HATE pop-ups as much as anyone else, so the counter has had to go!
31 August 2007
I’m a little late with this update but there hasn’t been much going on and I’m also having technical issues with my modem. At least it has kept my ramblings on here to a minimum!
The week leading up to the Bank Holiday weekend was very quiet both here at home and at work. I used the mountain bike to get to work on the Monday and from then on things went down hill! No more biking, no trips to the gym. I’m still not quite sure what I’ve done but it stopped all exercise dead in its tracks. The pain I’ve been getting in my side may be down to a pulled or torn muscle or it may be a damaged rib. Whatever it is, it hurt! This past couple of days has seen a big improvement but I’m still not quite right. No doubt a trip to the doctor would have answered all questions about the injury, but I don’t do doctors!
The Bank Holiday weekend itself was great. The weather was surprisingly good - even hot at times - and because of the pain in my side I did little or nothing all weekend apart from sit out in the garden reading and drinking cider. On the Saturday evening, Lynda and I sat out in the garden until well after dark with nothing more tiring to do than sit and read and watch the stars come out.
With the aid of her stargazing guidebook, Lynda was able to point out many new constellations to me including the Summer Triangle, Cygnus, the Square of Pegasus, Cassiopeia, The Plough, Delphinus and Ursa Minor including Polaris. Two shooting stars also showed themselves to Lynda, but I missed them both!
Sunday was more or less a repeat of the day before… more time sat out in the garden, more of Harry Potter read by me. The weather wasn’t quite so warm on the Sunday but at least it was dry and bright which is always a bonus for a Bank Holiday.
Most of Monday morning was taken up with washing and polishing the car. The time has come to start looking for a newer model again so I thought that I should try to get the car looking at its best before we go looking for a replacement. The end result was one rather smart looking motor and me feeling very sore due to the pain from my ribs. Just to finish me off completely, I then mowed the lawns. That was me done for the rest of the day!
One rather clean car!
A tidy garden again.
Late on Monday evening I tried to get onto the internet to post a Blog update and found that my modem wouldn’t connect. A quick phone call to the helpdesk soon confirmed that the modem was in fact dead and that an engineer would be needed. Tomorrow morning I should have everything sorted out again - not sure what the engineer will do though as the modem has been fine again for the past 24 hours or so!
The past week has been just work and evenings in front of the TV. The gym has been forgotten until Sunday evening at the earliest and even then I can’t see me doing too much of a workout. If I feel up to it, I may just go and do some light cardio work and then have a swim or I may just stop home and have a beer!
I have one or two other little snippets from this week but they will have to wait until Sunday evening, as it’s now time for the final of Big Brother on TV! Yeah, I know… I’m a sad person!
Cambridge Rock Festival yesterday was excellent and, as the event was indoors, even the great British weather couldn’t spoil it this time!
Lynda and I set out at 8:15AM and arrived at the festival site at 9:45AM - a nice steady drive along the M1 and A14 saw us cover the 90 miles in plenty of time to have a look around the Wood Green Animal Shelter (home to the festival) before the music kicked off at 11:00AM.
Taking the time to look around the animal shelter could quite easily have turned out to be the biggest mistake of the day; luckily, I managed to leave all the homeless pets behind! Walking around the small animal housing wasn’t a problem; seeing rats, guinea pigs, rabbits etc in their pens was kind of cute - just like seeing them in a pet shop I suppose. Seeing the dogs and even the cats (I’m not a cat person) was totally different! They were just crying out for someone that would re-home them and show them the love and care they deserved.
I had to go back and see one little Terrier a second time just to let it know that it WOULD be going to a new home soon and even went to talk to a very nice young cat a second time - not like me at all! The cat was rather fun though. It did everything that it should do… came for a fuss, showed us how it could jump up onto things for a closer look at us, rolled around on the floor to play and even demonstrated that it could wash its paws. It’s a good job we had to get back to the main arena for the first band!
So, the music. I’ll try to keep it as short as possible, but that never happens here does it?
The first band on the main stage was Kyrb Grinder, a London based Heavy Rock/Metal band. Very good at what they did but maybe just a little too heavy for me, especially at 11:00AM. The drummer was very good - voted "Best Drummer of The Year" for the past two years by Classic Rock Magazine - and fronted the band very well. There are not many bands that place the drum stand at the front of the stage and also have the drummer as main vocalist.
Kyrb Grinder.
Next up came The Reasoning, one of two bands that I’d came to see. There was only one real problem with their set, at just under an hour long it was never going to be enough! They played a superb gig, the tracks chosen were great, the crowd loved them, the stage show was first class and Rachel Jones was as expressive as ever. The Reasoning should have been given a slot much later in the day and of greater length, but at least by playing an early slot they did get a chance to have a beer afterwards! Cheers for the pint, Matt!
Rachel Jones - The Reasoning.
The Reasoning.
Big 10 came next, a Ska cover band. Quite where a band playing cover tracks from the likes of Bad Manners, Madness and The Specials fit in to a rock festival I do not know, but at least it gave us a chance to head off in search of food. From outside the arena Big 10 did sound quite good but not good enough to drag me away from my Green Chicken Curry and rice! Having said that, I did find myself moving around a little to tracks such as Too Much Too Young, Poison Ivy, One Step Beyond and Lip up Fatty! The classic Guns of Navarone brought the set to a close.
Juicy Lucy, a band that goes back to the mid '60s, was the fourth act on the main stage. Some great classic rock, played by a band that quite clearly had been there and done it all before. Nothing too showy about them, they just got on and played. Juicy Lucy are a band that I’d like to see again and I’ll be looking into their music some more. Hey, it’s only taken me forty-one years to discover them.
Following along the same time line as Juicy Lucy came Stray, another band that have been around for as long as I have. Stray have, in the past, toured with such greats as Kiss, Rush and the Pink Fairies so they know all about playing to a big crowd. At Cambridge, everyone loved them. This was a rock festival and that is just what we got from Stray. Another band that I’d like to see again.
After working my way through a rather nice bacon cob (to soak up some of the beer) it was time for Bluehorses, the second of the bands I had been waiting to see. As usual, the Bluehorses were quite simply brilliant - not that I’m in any way biased. The set of tracks they chose was pretty heavy, compared to some 'horses gigs, and it fitted right in with the crowd. As usual, the band gave it their all and rocked the place in the way only they can - even the lighting engineers upped the pace and gave a light show to match the quality of the music.
Bluehorses.
Now, at Bluehorses gigs you can almost always find me right at the front of the stage and Cambridge was no exception. Yesterday, I may have been better off hidden right at the back of the crowd! Unknown to me, I had been set up a little by a few friends in America (thanks, Sarah!), and the band. Lizzy announced to the crowd, and the world via the live Radio Caroline broadcast, that it had been my birthday! At first I was shocked, then I hid, then I laughed my head off about it! Liz and the rest of the band all stood smiling and waving at me in front of I don’t know how many cheering rock fans, and Jay played me Happy Birthday on the guitar. I just love this band, they are a great bunch of musicians and good friends too - not that I’m in any way biased!
Jay MacDonald - Bluehorses.
Liz Prendergast - Bluehorses.
Next up came Man, yet another band that can trace their history back to the '60s. I have to be honest and say that I didn’t really take too much notice of this band as I was too busy chatting with the Bluehorses crew! The bits I did hear sounded very good but I can’t say much more than that.
By the time Mindflow took to the stage, at just before 6:30PM, Lynda and I had found seats up in the "grandstand" to one side of the arena - it was starting to feel like a long day. I only remember two things about Mindflow - they were Brazilian and they were not all that good! Quite how they landed a slot so late in the day I’m not sure, but they didn’t impress me or too many others in the crowd. The programme billed them as "powerful progressive rock". I feel there may be a case for a court action under the trades description act! This was the only band that finished up playing to a much smaller crowd than they started out with. At least Lynda and I got the chance to eat our hot dogs and chips without missing anything good!
The final band we saw were Nine Below Zero, a very welcome relief after Mindflow I can tell you. We were treated to some great rock and blues classics. Their version of On The Road Again, by Canned Heat, was almost worth the admission price alone - well okay, not quite, but you know what I mean. The harmonica playing of Mark Feltham was quite simply brilliant and he was one of the outstanding musicians of the day. The band enjoyed playing so much that the organisers literally had to pull them off stage at the end of their set! Nine Below Zero will be playing The Flowerpot in Derby on 21 December, I may well be there!
At around 9:15PM Lynda and I decided to hit the road and head for home. There was still one more band to play but the rain outside was now coming down very hard, it was almost 100 miles back home and it had been a long, but enjoyable, day. The journey back wasn’t too bad, the roads were very wet and there was a lot of spray from the other traffic but at least we didn’t hit any hold ups.
So, all in all a very good day out. The festival is one that, given the right line up of bands, I’d go to again. It was easy to get to and well organised, with a very relaxed atmosphere - reminded me a bit of Off The Tracks.
Well, I’m now another year older and another year wiser! Okay, so maybe not wiser but I’m certainly another year older! Forty-one doesn’t feel any different to forty - which didn’t feel any different to thirty. Just another day really.
Just like last year, I was working on my birthday and, again like last year, it was a nice easy day. Having no internet connection for most of the day helped keep things quiet, as I was unable to carryout most of my day-to-day tasks. Not that I’m complaining!
Looking back, I think the hardest task all day was actually getting to my desk first thing in the morning - it had been sabotaged overnight! Everything had been wrapped in silver foil, my chair, my PC, all my files, even the phone and my calendar! Once I’d cleared all the obvious clutter away, I then tried to start work, only to find that all the network cables had been removed from my PC. They’d stitched me up good and proper.
My "gift wrapped" desk!
Having re-wired the PC I then found that they had given everything inside my desk the same treatment - all pens, pencils and rulers were wrapped, as was the stapler and just about anything else they could find!
Inside my desk!
By lunchtime, most of the jokes about me getting old had dried up and the day started to return to normal, then we lost the internet connection and everything ground to a halt. It did make for a nice easy afternoon but it started to drag a little by the end of the day.
After work, four of us went to the pub next door for a drink and a bite to eat, partly for my birthday, partly because one of my colleges is leaving on Friday. The food was great - liver and bacon in onion gravy - and it was nice to have a bit of time to just sit around and have a laugh without worrying about work. It was also worth it just to see everyone else’s face as I sat and ate an extremely large bowl of ice cream and profiteroles that should have been for two or more to share! Share? On my birthday? That wasn’t going to happen!
It's mine! All mine!
12 August 2007
Well, it’s only just over a week since we returned from Scotland - and it already feels like years! The past week has been rather boring, and very long, compared to the previous week’s fun and excitement.
I returned to work on Monday expecting to find the usual "problems" and things that no one else could (be bothered to?) sort out - I wasn’t to be disappointed! It wasn’t until late on Tuesday afternoon that I had everything back on track and all the issues resolved, including one that had the potential to bite our butts to the tune of over £1000. Still, they do try bless ‘em!
I’ve been a bit of a slacker this week in terms of using the mountain bike… I haven’t used it once! I had planned to ride to work on Friday, and had even got as far as starting to pack my work stuff into my rucksack, only to find that the night before I had come home from work in my normal shoes, which left the biking shoes still at work. Bang went that plan!
Mr David Lloyd (the gym I go to) and I are still close friends. I had a very good workout on Thursday, another hour and a half there yesterday before the Derby County game and was back in the gym again this morning.
After a rather disappointing body fat result the last time I checked it (25.2% on 22 July) I was more than happy to see today’s figure of 21.0%! I have been trying to watch what I eat a little more but wasn’t quite expecting such a drop. This now puts me right back in the "good to excellent" range. Maybe Scotland, and it’s battered Haggis, whisky, cider, Italian food, red wine, Chinese take-away, McDonalds and large portions of fish & chips, did me more good that I first realised!
Derby County kicked off their Premiership season yesterday and I was lucky enough to be there. My good friend Mark is away on holiday at the moment and was kind enough to let me use his season ticket. THANKS, MARK! The game itself was pretty good, even though Derby only managed a draw - they could easily have won it by two or three goals if things had gone their way just a little more.
Camera phone picture of some of the 32,176 fans inside Pride Park.
The Rams fans just before kick-off. Camera phone again!
In the end 2 - 2 wasn’t a bad result for the first day of the season and it was good to see The Rams more than hold their own against Portsmouth and the likes of David James (England’s No;1 keeper!?), Sol Campbell (England international) and David Nugent (England international). Nugent, I have to say, didn’t impress me or the rest of the Derby crowd. When he was substituted, the chants from the Derby crowd of "What a waste of money!" weren’t, in my opinion, too wide of the mark.
Next Saturday we’ll be off down to Cambridgeshire, for the Cambridge Rock Festival. This is a gig I’ve been looking forward to for many months. Bluehorses and The Reasoning are playing on the same day - a damn fine bit of planning by someone I reckon! Not only will we get to hear some cracking music but also meet up with a bunch of very good friends. I can’t wait!
Canal Scrape - Spurn Point. 
A Common Darter - I think!
The old military defences, being claimed by the sea.
Map showing the Snow Goose sightings along the English coast.
Locations and times for the Snow Goose.
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