Category: Uncategorized

The First Butterflies of the Year

First up some important pointers for you…

LINKS

First and most important, I have been helping with a research project by an American. If you have Asperger’s Syndrome and are a social media user (and would be willing to answer some questions about these things), Rocio Watkins would like to hear from you. She can be contacted by email: rwatkins11@apu.edu

For bird fanciers there is an excellent and informative piece about the Himalayan Griffon courtesy of Phuket Birdwatching.

I provided links to several views on the Tory plans to extend Right to Buy to housing association properties, but I think this one is also worth a look on left futures.

The Guardian has an excellent piece about disability rights, focussing on the work of Lee Ridley.

The latest news on activities by the Tory Department of Dirty Tricks comes from Mike Sivier of Vox Political.

On the same theme, a humorous piece from Glynis Millward.

My final offering is an excoriating piece about a horrow show officially known as  The “Gay Conversion Therapy” conference. John P Ointon, whose blog Notes from the North is a regular source of good material and who has reblogged me on a few occasions (so he has good taste alround!) provided this savage (but very amusing) account.

Butterflies

I am not suggesting, let alone stating, that these are the first butterflies I have seen in 2015, but they are the first that have been around long enough for me to catch them on camera. I have used one of them as a basis for the very latest version of my twitter thank you message. Most of them are of brightly coloured butterflies, but  did also get a pure white one…

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The white butterfly - these are almost as numerous as the brightly coloured ones but move much faster.
The white butterfly – these are almost as numerous as the brightly coloured ones but move much faster.

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Here specially for you is that thank you message!
Here specially for you is that thank you message!

Of course, it was not just butterflies in evidence on this walk. There were lots of other photograph worthy sights, some of which I will conclude this post by showing you…

The only picture not from today - this was at the bus station yesterday morning.
The only picture not from today – this was at the bus station yesterday morning.

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A wall of purple flowers
A wall of purple flowers
A single purple flower up close.
A single purple flower up close.
Mother and child.
Mother and child.

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A sensible sign, sadly being ignored by far too many.
A sensible sign, sadly being ignored by far too many.
A last butterfly shot, from the end of the walk.
A last butterfly shot, from the end of the walk.

Finishing the Banknote Imaging

I have a few things to share with you before moving on the main meat of my post.

LINKS

First of all, the intention of the Tories to extend the ‘right to buy scheme’ to cover Housing Association properties. I have little to add to the criticisms that have already been made cogently by various people. So for more on this story to choose your link (or like me, read them all):

Next up, a petition for CCTV cameras on all police cars via change.org – please sign and share.

Also highly recommended is today’s post from Autism Mom.

Finally, through mapsworldwide blog, which I am a follower of, this lovely post about San Marino from journeyaroundtheglobe.

BANKNOTES AND CRICKET

Today at work has been largely taken up with imaging banknotes for James and Sons May Auction. The exception, was this coin, done in response to an email query…

?????????? ?????????? ??????????Here is a small selection of banknote images (I did over 100 today)…

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England have managed 399 in their first innings in the test match that is under way in Antigua. This total, built around Ian Bell’s 22nd test century, is all the more impressive because the West Indies having won the toss chose to put England in.

Spring is Here

Before I get to the main meat of this post I have some links to share.

LINKS

First of all, here is a very interesting and important blog post from Paddy-Joe Moran. Next, courtesy of 38 degrees comes a short video. Cosmos Up produces a variety of interesting stories about a wide range of subjects, and the one I have chosen to share concerns oceans elsewhere than on our own planet. There are actually two outcomes that will be decided by a votes counted up on May 7th, the second being the vote for Britain’s national bird (my choice is pictured below)

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My next story comes from the Independent and concerns tougher penalties for dog walkers who do not scoop when the animal poops – excellent so long as the get enforced – see if you agree by reading the article. This section ends with a splendid graphic, which is shown here, but as it is not my own I have also included a link to the original.Graphic

SPRING

Today, for the first time in 2015, I am making use of the ‘outside study area’ of my flat…

The 'outside study area'
The ‘outside study area’
A close up of the picture on my outside table - still in good condition after a winter outside.
A close up of the picture on my outside table – still in good condition after a winter outside.

The cricket season is under way, although England are in the West Indies for a series starting later this afternoon. A certain K P Pietersen started his season for Surrey by hammering 170 at The Parks yesterday. I suspect that it will take several more innings of similar magnitude before the England selectors display any inclination to take the slightest bit of notice of him.

The comparison between yesterday and today is shown up well by these pictures taken along the same stretch of the Great Ouse…

The next four pictures you will see were taken yesterday.
The next four pictures you will see were taken yesterday.

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These
These
The next three pictures were taken today.
The next three pictures were taken today.

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I have some more splendid pics to share with you to finish this post…

The survey boat the features in the next three pictures was around yesterday.
The survey boat the features in the next three pictures was around yesterday.

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West Lynn church.
West Lynn church.

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If you enjoyed this blog post please share it.

An Important Petition and A Great Blog Post

This going to be a very brief post, but there are two things that I feel I must share with you.

Philip Morris, the tobacco giants, have launched a lawsuit against the Uruguayan government in an attempt to overthrow that country’s anti-smoking legislation. There is a petition up and running gaining support for Uruguay in this case, courtesy of the campaigning organisation Avaaz. Please sign and share widely.

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The second thing I wish to draw your attention to is one of the best posts I have ever read regarding Autism. It uses a series of films which I have never actually watched to make its point. This post comes from Autism Mom.

A magpie on a branch of the same tree.
A magpie on a branch of the same tree.
Gulls perched on a severely pollarded tree.
Gulls perched on a severely pollarded tree.

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If you enjoyed this post please take the opportunity to share it widely.

The meeting of the Nar and Ouse under a Walter Dexter sky.
The meeting of the Nar and Ouse under a Walter Dexter sky.

Thursday and Friday

On Thursday, the printed catalogues for James and Sons next auction got to the shop. Here is a cover shot…

Catalogue Cover 001

A full catalogue can be viewed online by following this link.

As well as producing images to resolve queries, I imaged a couple of lots that had not previously been done.This gave me some good pictures to choose from…

This is the first image for lot 452, which needed 18 images in total.
This is the first image for lot 452, which needed 18 images in total.

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The relevant detail from the front cover
The relevant detail from the front cover
This is one of the ten maps mentioned on the front cover.
This is one of the ten maps mentioned on the front cover.
Lot 497 was a box full of stamps and postal history items. I have included only the small high quality bits in this blog.
Lot 497 was a box full of stamps and postal history items. I have included only the small high quality bits in this blog.

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This vast collection of buttons was hard to do anything approaching justice to, so it was no surprise to get a query about it them. This was the main image I produced in response.
This vast collection of buttons was hard to do anything approaching justice to, so it was no surprise to get a query about it them. This was the main image I produced in response.
I then produced a close up shot of some of the finest items in the collection.
I then produced a close up shot of some of the finest items in the collection.
The label on this toy was just one thing that was requested in addition to the original image.
The label on this toy was just one thing that was requested in addition to the original image.
One of the two new images I produced to show the toy in its full glory.
One of the two new images I produced to show the toy in its full glory.

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The bus journey home that day was not a good one (n.b. Norfolk Green usually provide an excellent service – stories like this are very much the exception) since the engine of the bus were on overheated and shut down. Since were on Queen Elizabeth Way, in between Knight’s Hill and the hospital, the driver tried to keep it going to reach the hospital where we could pick up other buses into town. Sadly, he was not able to achieve this, and we had to wait within sight of the hospital for a replacement bus to pick us up, while the driver of the original then had to wait for a maintenance vehicle to arrive and tow his bus to the depot (I presume). Opposite Gaywood Tesco, someone having failed to spot that the destination board on the front of the bus said “PRIVATE HIRE” by way of indicating that it was not picking up tried to get on and had to be told twice that this bus was not picking up. Meanwhile, to put in perspective how unimpressive it was for someone who was not apparently incapacitated in any way to want to get a bus in to town from there, one passenger (’twas I) had decided that as it was bright and sunny outside he was going to walk the rest of the way to the town centre.

After attending to matters at Nelson Street, I got some close up pics of decorated windows at King’s Lynn Minster…

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Friday featured both some imaging to resolve queries relating to the April auction and starting to image for the May auction. It also featured in a big way one of other regular duties, that of porter. I have some good images to share, including a map from just outside Fakenham Library…

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However, I did get away early owing to the fact that none of the people who had keys could stay on beyond 3 o’clock. The bus home did this time survive the journey. Queen Elizabeth Way was slow again, but this time that was caused by nose to tail traffic, and the bus was stationary long enough for me to snag two excellent shots of the ruins of Bawsey Abbey…

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Autism Research

Having signed up to participate in another research project relating to Autism I had to visit Cambridge today to perform some tasks at the Autism Research Centre on Trumptington Road…

Douglas House, 18 Trumpington Road, Cambridge, which houses the Autism Research Centre.
Douglas House, 18 Trumpington Road, Cambridge, which houses the Autism Research Centre.
Detail from the wall of Douglas House.
Detail from the wall of Douglas House.

This particular study was devoted to assessing how people with Autistic Spectrum Conditions respond to visual stimuli. Apart from the final exercise, which was identifying the odd one out from sets of four pictures, some of which were very tough, it was not too difficult. If you are interested in Autism, are able to travel to Cambridge and would like to take part in this study you can contact Rose Cooper by emailing rahc2@cam.ac.uk.

Both on the way there and on the way back I got some good pictures…

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A mist shrouded view of Ely Cathedral.
A mist shrouded view of Ely Cathedral.

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Metal plaques like this adorn the ground around the bus stops outside Cambridge station.
Metal plaques like this adorn the ground around the bus stops outside Cambridge station.
Modern flats near the Railway Station
Modern flats near the Railway Station
Sculpture at one corner of Brooklands Avenue
Sculpture at one corner of Brooklands Avenue

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Moorhen enjoying the botanical gardens
Moorhen enjoying the botanical gardens

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The two towers of Ely Cathedral, homeward journey.
The two towers of Ely Cathedral, homeward journey.
The nearest i came to getting a complete picture of Ely Cathedral.
The nearest i came to getting a complete picture of Ely Cathedral.

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North Norfolk Walk Part 2

This is my third and final post relating to Easter Sunday. The first, concerned specifically with the North Norfolk Railway can be viewed here while the second, dealing with the walk as a whole from its start at the Sheringham Park Visitors Centre to Weybourne can be viewed here.

After leaving Weybourne we had a very nice stretch of walking along the Norfolk Coast Path, where at points the erosion caused by the remorseless battering of the North Sea was clearly going to be forcing the path further inland in the not too distant future. Here are some pictures from this coastal stretch…

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Four birds, and each one a different species.
Four birds, and each one a different species.

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Did this warning sign have potential Darwin Award winners in mind?!
Did this warning sign have potential Darwin Award winners in mind?!

Turning inland, we crossed back over the railway, and then a main road, before having a much more open walk back up from the coast towards the Visitors centre. Near the end there was a significant climb (yes, even in Norfolk such a thing is possible), before getting back to the car. The photographic tale of the final leg of the walk…

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Here for the record is the walk as publicised in The Times.
Here for the record is the walk as publicised in The Times.

Banknotes Press Release

Before I get into the main meat of this blog, here is an important and interesting piece from Tom Pride, political blogger and satirist.

Given that banknotes played a starring role in James and Sons last auction on March 26th, and that those notes were part of a very large collection, the second and third parts of which will be sold on April 29th and May 27th, it was inevitable that a press release focussing on banknotes would be required, and yesterday was the day I sent it out. The official post on the James and Sons website can be viewed by clicking here and has already been widely shared on twitter. Meantime, here is the press release itself in both word and jpg form…

Banknotes Reach High Prices at Norwich Auction

This is the press release in jpg form.
This is the press release in jpg form.

Also yesterday I had to produce some images of a new donation for the Great Charity Centenary Auction, some of which I now share…

These five shots are of the same item, in two different settings and with various degrees of editing.
These five shots are of the same item, in two different settings and with various degrees of editing.

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Also yesterday I dealt with some of the very few items for the April auction that have yet to be imaged. A full catalogue for this auction is available for viewing by clicking here. Here are the highlights from the lots I imaged yesterday…

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North Norfolk Walk (Part 1)

On Easter Sunday, enabled by the fact that I was staying with my parents overnight rather than returning to King’s Lynn we decided to do a walk recommended in The Times, and have our main meal in the evening. Here for reference is what they provided:

Walk 001

Sheringham Park, where the walk starts and finishes, is a National Trust property, and as such as is very informatively signposted. Here are the information boards from the start of the walk…

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Straight after these was an interesting tree…

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After this, we passed a turn off to The Bower, with a story board, and then walked through woods for a while…

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This clump of flowers was hard to do full justice to because the flowers themselves do not have a lot of colour.
This clump of flowers was hard to do full justice to because the flowers themselves do not have a lot of colour.

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The sign that we had reached the end of the wooded section - horses grazing in an open field.
The sign that we had reached the end of the wooded section – horses grazing in an open field.

Just in to the open section came Weybourne, and a chance to watch the North Norfolk Railway in action, which I have already covered in detail here and therefore will skip over.

I will leave you for the moment with some glimpses of the village of Weybourne, before covering the rest of the walk in another post later…

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The North Norfolk Railway.

Yesterday, because I was staying over with my parents rather than trying to travel back to Lynn on Easter Sunday, we were able to have our main meal in the evening, which in turn meant that we could do a proper walk in the day. The Times had a feature advertising a number of good walks, one of which happens to be in Norfolk…

Walk 001I will be doing a post about the whole walk with a link back to this post later, but for the moment I will focus on the star attraction of the walk, a chance to look at the North Norfolk Railway in full flow. Our first glimpses of what was in store were these…

?????????? ?????????? ?????????? ?????????? ?????????? ?????????? ?????????? ?????????? ?????????? ??????????We arrived in the vicinity of Weybourne Station at about 1PM and discovered that two trains (one in each direction) were expected within the next ten minutes. Naturally therefore we waited, and in preparation for the main event I gathered some photographs at the station…

?????????? ?????????? DSCN3180 ?????????? ?????????? ?????????? ?????????? ?????????? ?????????? ?????????? ??????????The trains themselves did not disappoint. As a fan of Edward Marston I could picture Colbeck and Leeming emerging from one of the carriages to investigate one of their cases! Having got some excellent shots from platform level, we watched the second train leave from the bridge across the line…

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??????????Finally, because my mother had bought a heavy book, we called back at Weybourne on our way home to pick it up, and I got some pictures from the car park…

?????????? ?????????? ?????????? ?????????? I will conclude by thanking the volunteers who run this wonderful glimpse back into our past and reminding you that in due course I shall be blogging about the walk as a whole.