Tag: Nature

Cricket Classic

An account of the finish of the Nottinghamshire vs Surrey game in the county championship, some quality photos and some important links.

INTRODUCTION

As well as an account of a classic finish in the county championship match between Surrey and Notts I have some photos and a few links to share.

SURREY’S UNAVAILING FIGHT BACK

Thanks to Kumar Sangakkara and Arun Harinath in their second innings Surrey came into the final day with half a chance of completing a Lazarus like come back. Surrey’s second innings ended on the stroke of lunch with them having built a lead of 168 – just enough that things might get interesting…

Opener Greg Smith played a solid innings for Notts, but when he was out the score was 152-7 and an upset was definitely possible. However, nos 8 and 9, with a pair of genuine tail-enders to follow saw through the danger to get Notts home by three wickets. There was no play anywhere else in the country.

PHOTOS

Owing to the nature of the day (cricket in the middle thereof), I took two walks, one in the morning and one in the evening and I have pictures from both to share…

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Shot through the window of a bus yesterday.
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All Saints Church
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The side of All Saints Church – note the checkerboard panel.

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These butterflies were enjoying the sun and the dandelions near Old Boal Quay

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This pic and the next have gone down well with my twitter followers.

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These three shots of the Brunel £2 set demarcate morning and evening pics.

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LINKS

My first link is to a piece in the Mirror which shocked me. This is a story of a school using leg gaitors to restrain a six year old autistic child.

My second link is a thunderclap “#Kidsneednature”

My next three links all relate to:

ACCESSIBILITY ISSUES

The folks at disabledgo have put out a top 10 of fully accessible attractions in London which has led me to create:

  1. A new page on my London transport themed website, called “Attractions” and
  2. The introductory post to what will be a series based on the disabledgo piece.

My remaining links also belong together, constituting

THREE MORE REASONS FOR LONDONERS TO
VOTE FOR SIAN BERRY IN THE MAYORAL ELECTIONS

Sian Berry has been running the best campaign of all the contenders for London Mayor by the proverbial country mile, and today she has responded as a potential decision maker to not one or even two but three change.org petitions that I have signed. I have links below to the pages that show her very detailed and very positive responses to all three.

  1. The first is a call for a statue of a suffragette to be placed in Parliament square.
  2. The second calls for mayoral candidates to invest in youth work.
  3. Thirdly and finally is a call addressed by the creator of the petition to Zac Goldsmith and Sadiq Khan, but today answered by Sian, to protect independent shop owners in the capital.

 

 

 

Sport and Spring Weather

Cricket, golf and a walk – features lots of pictures.

INTRODUCTION

The county cricket season is underway, and just after midnight our time the first golf major of the year was decided. Additionally the weather today is so pleasant that for the first time in 2016 I am using my ‘outside study area’…

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AN EXTRAORDINARY FINALE

Reaching the point at which Jack Nicklaus among others has said majors really begin – namely the back nine on Sunday, this years US Masters was looking like Jordan Spieth was going to comfortably retain his title, but then he hit trouble, first in small way with bogeys at 10 and 11 (both very difficult holes) and then in a huge way at the 12th. At this tiny but fearsome par 3 Spieth put two balls in the water, clocking up a quadruple bogey 7 and losing the lead for about the first time of the tournament. England’s Danny Willett recorded a 67 to get to the club house at five under for the tournament, and Spieth reached the 17th needing a birdie, birdie finish to tie (barring miracles neither hole offers any chance of an eagle). A bogey at 17 and it was all over, and Willett, the previously unknown Englishman was the champion. The 18th at Augusta is a long par-four, not remotely drivable, and in any case the longest distance from which anyone has holed out to win a tournament is 176 yards by Robert Gamez (the victim of this freak, not for the first or last time in his career was Greg Norman).

A MORNING WALK

Before the cricket started today (day 2 of 4, Nottinghamshire having peen put in by Surrey had run up 445, Surrey had survived two overs without incident) I headed off for a walk.  I was barely started when the first photo presented itself…

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The riverside stretch to Hardings Pits yielded some cracking pics, a good few featuring cormorants…

Cormorant in full flight above the Great Ouse
The mouth of the Nar as it flows into the Great Ouse
West Lynn Church

The parkland stretch of the walk yielded two different types of train and several birds…

Magpie, just before heading back towards town.
This bronze Norwich Union plaque is the only one of its kind I have seen – it is to be spotted near the Catholic Church

The walk back into town, following Bawsey Drain, yielded a wide variety of shots…

Muntjac
Ducklings with their mother.
These adorn the Tuesday Market Place

SURREY IN TROUBLE

Having conceded almost 450 by poor bowling, Surrey are now struggling with the bat, at 149-5. Elsewhere, Durham and Somerset are enjoying a low-scoring tussle, while Ben Duckett of Northamptonshire has relieved the Sussex bowlers of 254 (and counting – he’s still there). I shall be doing some prep for my photographic display at the Positive Autism Awareness Conference this Friday once I have published this, which ends with this picture…

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A Good Day for Birds

An account of a walk that was dominated by sightings of birds.

INTRODUCTION

I have been out walking again today. The temperature has risen sufficiently of late that I was able to do so without donning a coat (until a few weeks ago, one’s thickest coat was absolutely mandatory for venturing outside).

PART 1: HOME TO HARDINGS PITS

I set off as so often by following the Purfleet to the Great Ouse. The Lower Purfleet provided me with the first ducklings of 2016…

The river was at fairly low tide, so plenty of mud was exposed, which is clearly what attracted this bird (bear in mind that I was shooting across the Great Ouse, as I was walking along the east bank of the river while the bird was prospecting the mud on the west side)…

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The long bill tells me that this one digs for food
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My second effort.

Leaving the river bank to skirt round old Boal Quay I bagged a couple of long range shots of a cormorant with wings extended and a closer up shot of a magpie…

It was just before leaving the river that I bagged my second new species of the day (not dissimilar in size and shape to the first, but different colouring and a different type of bill)…

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As with my first new species I was capturing these from the opposite side of the Great Ouse.

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My last shots of this section feature some Caspian gulls, and a couple of non-avian pics…

PART TWO: HARDINGS PITS TO
GAYWOOD & THE ROOKERY

This was, as expected the least notable part of the walk, but I did get some photographs…

PART THREE: GAYWOOD & THE ROOKERY

Just a few photographs of this little patch of woodland for you…

HOMEWARD BOUND

I headed back the way I had not come, and was rewarded by my third new species of the day…

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Three shots starting with this one.
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A better effort
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My best effort. I felt that the feature image should be one of the newbies and chose this.

During the last few moments of the walk I bagged a few more shots of some older acquaintances…

 

Manor House (From londontu.be)

A link to my latest post on http://www.londontu.be

INTRODUCTION

I am giving you a link to my latest post on http://www.londontu.be, and two extracts. Please note that the original contains lots of pictures.

AN EXCITING DEVELOPMENT AND A SUGGESTED NAME CHANGE

While on twitter I spotted a tweet about a development called Woodberry Wetlands and being impressed by what I saw decided to do some digging. I soon established that the site is practically next door to Manor House station, and it did not take much longer, having located anofficial website to decide that this was something entirely worthy of my support – cherishing nature while being deep within the capital city. For those who (like me) do twitter, they have a presence there too…

View original...

My second extract is….

 

A SUGGESTED NAME CHANGE

There is historical precedence for name changes on the Piccadiilly line – the name of Gillespie Road station was changed to Arsenal at the request of the club’s then general manager Herbert Chapman. I respectfully suggest that this project outweighs a mere football club in importance and that TFL would be well advised to at least consider changing the name of Manor House station to Woodberry Wetlands (effective from May 1st)….

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Gaywood & The Rookery

An account of a walk that took in Gaywood & The Rookery. Also some mentions of autism related matters to top and tail the post.

INTRODUCTION

Those of you who read my post on Wednesday about preparing for the Positive Autism Awareness Conference that NAS West Norfolk are having on April 15th will recall that I noted the entrance sign to Gaywood & The Rookery. Today I got back there for a proper look…

GETTING THERE

I followed the same route as I had on Wednesday, but this time with no time constraints. I caught a glimpse of a Muntjac (thank you Helen for the ID) but this one proved too elusive for me to photograph, although I did see a few things worth photographing…

Lonely on a rock
This is what happens if you have lined up the shot and the creature decides to move after you have clicked to take it!

GAYWOOD & THE ROOKERY

I ventured in, and was delighted by the place. I will let the photos tell the story of this amazing little piece of woodland that is within walking distance of the centre of Norfolk’s third largest town…

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HOMEWARD BOUND

I had left Gaywood & The Rookery by a different path from the one I entered it by, and now headed home by a different route, save for a very short stretch of path to the bridge over the railway, and thence through the Hardwick Estate, and ultimately on this occasion back to the town centre by way of the river (I could also have gone by way of the cemetery and the parklands).

A circle of tree stumps
Many meetings/ partings
The sole stretch of path that i walked twice.

AUTISM AWARENESS

A bit disconnected from the rest of this post I know, but I have an infographic to share to remind everyone that April 2nd – 8th 2016 is World Autism Awareness Week (courtesy of patienttalk.org)

WAAW

More Than 1,000 Species Found in a Day at Brancaster

Acknowledgements to the Eastern Daily Press for this story of local diversity…

From dusk ‘til dawn, volunteers scoured 25 nature reserves and beauty spots to see how many species they could record there.

And now, with the results all in and analysed, the winners can be revealed: with Norfolk sites in the top two spots. The so-called “Bioblitz” study was carried out by the National Trust at 25 of its coastal sites in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

The surveys were carried out over 24 hours, with volunteers scouring their patches for species, to see how many they could find in the time.

The location with the greatest number of species was the Brancaster estate, where 1,018 were recorded. In second place was Blakeney nature reserve, with 934 species. The Brancaster Bioblitz took place in July. Keith Miller, coastal ranger at Brancaster, said: “We only had 24 hours to survey wildlife. I used every single one. From surveying for owls at midnight to leading bat walks for families the following evening.

Source: Eastern Daily Press

People Need Nature website is up and running

A new development from Miles King, creator of anewnatureblog. I recommend that you visit this site and subscribe to the newsletter as I already have.

I’m delighted to say that the new People Need Nature website is now up and running. You can read about what People Need Nature is, what we are planning to do, and why we think it’…

Source: People Need Nature website is up and running

Buildings and a Petition

Some more pictures of buildings in and around King’s Lynn, plus a link to an important petition.

INTRODUCTION

This post can be seen as a sequel to “Buildings of Kings Lynn” and “More Buildings of King’s Lynn”. However, as you will see, this one has a slightly wider focus.

IN KING’S LYNN

Our first building of the day is sadly not being used for anything. It used, in the days when such things existed to be our main Post Office (we now have the services of a few cashiers at WHSmith instead), and no subsequent use has been found for it.

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Now we have some buildings near the train station…

Portland Street

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The first of the two pictures I combined to make the ‘juxtaposition image’

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The Fenman Pub – there is lots of railway memorabilia inside (it is directly opposite the station)
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St John’s Vicarage

From here, since we are at the start of St John’s Walk, we enter the parkland area…

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The Guanock Gate

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The South Gate.

On our way from the South Gate to the Great Ouse we get a glimpse of the Baptist Church.

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Looking across the river, we get a glimpse of West Lynn Church (one can use the ferry if one wishes to get closer, or walk down to the road bridge and cross there)

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Near Marriott’s Warehouse one can see the Rathskellar wine bar…

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The Rathskeller, with a side wall of Marriott’s in the background.

We finish this section with a few quirky images from the town centre.

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In spite of the size of this poster the map is next to useless – I know the Hardwick Sainsbury’s well, but could not find it using that map.
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The side of Boot’s .
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Close up of the metalwork.
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The top of the guildhall. The green structure projects the light show on to King’s Lynn Minster at night.

GAYWOOD AND PLANNING PERMISSION

My aunt had noticed a cause for concern in a planning application for something in Gaywood, and as we were heading for Sunday lunch with my parents in East Rudham anyway we went via Gaywood. We actually saw no evidence there of the planning application that had caused the concern, but did see another, for an extension of the pub. The original planning application that had been brought to my aunt’s attention was for a small new build, and these photos from the area in question show, a plain concrete box which is what apparently was on the table would have been very inappropriate.

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The planning application that was on display in Gaywood
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Two brick houses with distinctive features.

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Trees that may i danger of being knocked down.
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Not brick and flint, but (like the library) brick and Carr.

A PETITION TO THE GOVERNMENT ABOUT HEDGEHOGS

Dedicated followers of this blog will know that yesterday I put up a post supporting a team4nature thunderclap. I am finishing this post by linking to an official petition to the UK government to give hedgehogs better protection. The petition can be viewed here (note and apology to my international followers – you have to be a British citizen to sign petitions on this site).

Please Support @Team4Nature300 Thunderclap

Support for the tem4nature thunderclap.

I will use @team4nature300’s own quote:

“The number of wild animals on earth has halved in just 40 years! Please share this message: let’s #StandByNature!http://thndr.me/7Wn7Jc”

Three links for you:

The Team For Nature website – still under construction but worth a look.

The well established team4nature blog

And, of course, the full link to the thunderclap: https://www.thunderclap.it/projects/37948-standbynature?locale=en

Please support this campaign!

Enjoying Nature

A post created in support of Chris Packham, and therefore featuring nature. I also have some important links and a great infographic for you.

INTRODUCTION

I am producing this post to offer public support for Chris Packham, who has been targeted by group of hunters/shooters/fishers who call themselves the Countryside Alliance. I hope that you will all enjoy it and that you will share it.

NATURE

It will not be news to followers of this blog that I take a great interest in nature. One of the reasons why living where I do works for me is that as well as having the amenities of a town centre on my doorstep I have open green space within comfortable walking distance and a river with all its associations even closer at hand. The combination of the fact that I do not drive and the scandalous state of public transport provision for out of town areas mean that I have to live in a town centre.

Most days I get out for a walk, and I usually get some good pictures (there is only one kind of shooting that I am interested in, and my weapon of choice is a Nikon Coolpix P530). Here are a few highlights from today…

The first four pictures are from yesterday.
The first four pictures are from yesterday.

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This snail, on the path through Hardings Pits, has a very interesting coloured shell.
This snail, on the path through Hardings Pits, has a very interesting coloured shell.

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An unusual drake, with a white front and a black bill.
An unusual drake, with a white front and a black bill.

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Just in case any of you are not already familiar with him Chris Packham is a naturalist and nature photographer who sometimes presents stuff on the BBC. I included a link to his official website in my introduction, and repeat that here.

The claim made by the Countryside Alliance is that he has violated BBC neutrality. Frankly I would regard being targeted by this group as something to be proud of, and I am adamant in saying that the BBC should stand by him. I finish this section by including the full link to a petition to tell the BBC not to sack Chris Packham:

https://www.change.org/p/bbc-don-t-sack-chris-packham

Please sign the petition and share this link!!

UPCOMING EVENTS AND LINKS

I wish to draw our attention to two things coming up in the near future:

  1. Heritage Open Day, which is this Sunday, and no fewer than 57 sites in King’s Lynn will be opening their doors for the occasion.
  2. November the 4th marks the 125 anniversary of the opening of the City and South London Railway, the oldest deep level tube railway in the world. Those familiar with this blog can probably work out what aspiblog will be doing to mark the occasion!

I have a few other links I wish to share, starting with two that should both make unpleasant reading for the…

INHUMANE DESPICABLE SOCIOPATH

My remaining links are all connected with…

AUTISM

I will start with a link to the website of the West Norfolk branch of the National Autistic Society. Their most recent newsletter includes this quote: “a member has pointed us towards www.autcraft.com the online version of minecraft for people with autism”. As the member who provided the information I am delighted, but I must also assign credit where it is really due – I only happened to know about Autcraft because Autism Mom has written about it in a number of blog posts, such as this one.

Although various social media organizations have verified Kevin Healey, twitter have still yet to do so, and Kevin’s petition about the issue is still running.

My last link is the twitter account through whose good offices I located an infographic in the “Never mind gold, that’s platinum” class with which I shall end this post. They are called identifor and the infographic is this:

TG