I took a group of young people bird watching at Wick Court today. (my last session before I return from India). They were full of enthusiasm and I couldn’t keep up with them as they were all pointing in different directions. One group were delighted when a Heron flew over the Hide. I’ve been trawling through my photos so below is a selection of Heron pictures-just gone for Grey Heron maybe another time I will share my Egret pictures!
Just started packing for my India trip. I fly on Thursday. So obviously I am packing my cricket kit first! A couple of action pictures from last year (they have been in the blog before) me just out with a temple in the background! Also me story telling at an orphanage in Mumbai (that crowd grew to about 40 )- we are going back there this year. Hopefully the blog will have a few action pictures over the next fortnight.
It was football yesterday. For me a home game takes near enough the whole day with the travel involved. Not a great game of football as Blackpool came and parked the proverbial bus. It took three quarters of the game before we eventually broke them down and score! A welcome relief after two indifferent away games.- still a glimmer of hope that we might still make the play offs. We have been waiting all season to go on a run-fingers crossed this is the start! COYH!!!!!
One of my favourite songs is Martyn Joseph’s Cardiff Bay it is a lovely song that encapsulates the memorable days of being a parent. I once played it at a parent’s evening on how to help your child-the point I wanted to make was to try to spend quality time with your child. We saw him at Bristol Beacon on Wednesday night and as always it was a delightful mixture of sensitive songs and passionate conscientious ones. A great night!!!
Disappointment for my quiz team last night we lost! Feel we didn’t get the rub of the green with the questions.
Some more pictures from Kings Bromley last week -these are from the evening session where it was a mixture of stories and a workshop.
Yesterday was my regular volunteering slot at Wick Court taking young people bird watching. Nothing special was spotted but the children were thrilled to see a low flying Heron. Also the charity Farms For City Children is celebrating it’s 50th birthday so we were a part of the celebrations- Wick Court is one of their farms.
More birds for me today-it was our monthly bird survey by the river. Plenty of waders on the river but not many small birds on the shore. We got 63 Snipe and 4 Jack Snipe in the field.
My last story telling session tonight till I do one in India!!!
Three photos from last week’s gig at Kings Bromley Primary School. Doing my old favourite “Pirate Pete”. It is an all action story with audience participation.
I haven’t got many miles in on the bike in 2026. So took the chance to get out today (forecast was ok), so rode with my friend Martin. Despite it being a chilly morning we had a good ride and covered many miles!
Yesterday we had a lovely day with my brother Mike and his partner Liz in Porthcawl.
Well I got to the weekend after a really busy week and I am feeling it now! Tuesday involved a lot of travelling on the motorway in heavy rain- I visited the village of Kings Bromley just north of Lichfield. I was storytelling at the primary school in the afternoon and then at the arts partnership in the evening. I mainly told some old favourites.
Wednesday was my weekly bird watching at Wick Court this time with young people from Gloucester. They were a young group who did really well in wet and windy conditions. their enthusiasm was contagious!
Thursday night we did some recording with the Two Severn Bores- we are looking to put together a short promotion podcast to help us secure some new venues to perform.
Friday was all action- storytelling in two schools in the North of the county (it was my third successive visit- always encouraging to be asked back). It provided us with a logistical challenge because the car was in the garage!
Today has been a let down with the Mighty Hatters giving a ponderous performance at Plymouth. I went looking for a starling murmuration to cheer me up but with the strong bitter wind it didn’t materialise!
Just to show off that I am almost up to date I am using Ariana Grande’s song title for today’s blog!!!
I will write about my various story telling gigs in another blog but today’s story is what happened before one of those gigs.
Late on Monday night I was in the bathroom and I had casually pushed the door back so it slammed closed. When I went to open it the latch had somehow jammed so I was locked in! It was now 11.15. A lot of fumbling on my part was unsuccessful so I had to call for help. Clare tried to open it from her side, and she tried to unscrew the handle but still no good. The clock ticked on. She tried looking on the internet for solutions-she slid a plastic card under the door for me to try. The clock ticked on!
I knew had a busy day ahead of me, storytelling with quite a bit of travelling. So blood pressure was steadily rising! I looked around me for warmth in case I had to spend the night in the bathroom- I realised a foot mat and a hand towel wouldn’t keep me warm! The clock ticked on and blood pressure continued to rise. Armed with a pair of scissors I busied myself attacking the latch. Eventually I managed to flick the recalcitrant latch back and red faced with embarrassment I emerged at 12.15 ! Not a good way to prepare for a gig!
Maybe a story will emerge from this in the future!
Busy day ahead! I am travelling up the motorway later. I going to the village of Kings Bromley north of Lichfield. I am due to the school in the afternoon and the arts partnership in the evening. I am off in our campervan Cedric laden with props and puppets!