We're invited to an evening lecture by a gentleman from Harvard. He tells us that " I'm sorry I don't have a plane to give you " were the words of the week . He also thanks the South African President for saying what everyone else is quietly thinking.
Some cloud first thing but it soon burns off. There was much appreciated rain overnight. The television crew have finished filming their sand castle building series. A bored security guard is napping on the porch of one of the exotically decorated beach huts that have been used as a back drop.
It looks quizically at us, does a bit of preening and then heads off towards the lark field. The bird watchers aren't so lucky. They return along the track without so much as glimpsing one.
Tsunami power :https://gizmodo.com/how-did-this-1300-ton-boulder-travel-up-a-cliff-scientists-just-figured-it-out-2000606069
Glowing:https://www.sciencefocus.com/news/all-living-things-faintly-glow-ultraweak-photon-emission-upe
An unusual London scene. What must the tourists make of it ? This has Monty Python elements to it :https://youtu.be/jIp-XhKVDsw?t=1042
Equally unusual - a very Scottish tune in Washington. The choir look suitable bemused :https://youtu.be/eCtYJ0CA8sQ?t=4715
Hari OM
ReplyDeleteFirst, Angus, your shot of the Corn Bunting taking off is outstanding and one for the wall!
Second - my granny used to bake 'sair heid' cakes every Armistice Day (Nov 11) - though I remember them having little sugar lumps instead of icing - the paper was the bandage and the lumps were the 'aspirins' needed by the returned injured. My grandad turned 18 at the end of 1917 and was enlisted in the KOSB, seeing service in France. I had no idea these little cakes were still a thing... YAM xx
Google provided an explanation of Sair Heid, they look sweet, the lemon looks enticing. Bird spotting takes a degree of patience that I often lack, a friend of mine in Phoenix would have sat still long enough to see what you saw.
ReplyDeleteLoved the Grenadier guard video. Young and old alike marching briskly in step was wonderful. I couldn't help but wonder how some of those older knees and hips were holding up at such a pace! Seems I learn something new every day from your blog. A bitter/sweet story and history behind the Sair Heid cakes. And yes, wonderful photo capture of the Corn Bunting.
ReplyDeleteA splendid picture of the Corn Bunting in flight. What a shame that the bird watchers weren't so privileged. I'm glad you've had a good overnight rain and awakened to sunshine.
ReplyDeleteI was just in the middle of trying to figure out why the Grenadier Guard might have been marching in suits and bowler hats when our power went out. It just came back now, after being out for most of the day. It was an interesting chance to see how our French neighbors deal with inconvenience. Pretty well, I would say - the local hairdresser just moved all their customers out onto the sunny sidewalk, the green grocers brought their old fashioned weighing scale out of the closet and everyone did their business in cash for a change. It seems it was arson - maybe someone who doesn't like cinema? Although it turns out the film festival folks were also prepared with generators and everything has moved ahead as planned on this final day. I agree your photo of the corn bunting is prizeworthy. Birdwatching has always been a mystery to me, but I think I may get it a little after watching The Residence, where the heroine detective is in obsessive search for a particular bird.
ReplyDeleteI learn something new every time I read your posts. What a lovely bird. I just finished listening to its call. Tell my 40 something self that I would be entranced by birds!
ReplyDeleteI get more interested in birds the older I get. I recently put a small fountain in my backyard andI'm so enjoying watching the many feathered visitors - large and small!
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful bird! I purchased Amy Tan’s Backyard Birds and love it. No corn buntings around here as far as I know. The guards marching really did seem very Monty Python
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