Just had a spate of interest of booking me for the Autumn and beyond! One for November 23! It is for a real variety of venues and audiences to keep me on my toes! Surprisingly not heard from schools yet but that might change when schools go back next month.

The Two Severn Bores are performing at the Great Barn Festival in September where will be doing “River Journeys” a mix of what we did on the Severn plus a sideways look at other Rivers. We also have to bang her our heads together for coming up with a new show for a variety of venues for Autumn and Spring. I am hoping to adapt a couple of stories this week.

I did go to football yesterday and sweltered in the heat as my team succumbed to defeat! Don’t think they are far off getting it right just need to put the ball in the net!

I have been getting up early to get some rides in before it gets silly!

I have enjoyed watching House Martins flying regularly over our house while eating our meals outside.

Thought having talked about Raymond Briggs in yesterday’s blog I will continue with cultural references!

So we will use Jonathan Swift’s book for today’s title although this blog had a political theme because I am so angry which is why I am referring  to Lilliput today.

I mentioned I have visited both my grandchildren this week and have listened to the news as I have travelled to see them. So I have heard plenty of the narrow, stilted and quite frankly off the wall leadership debate to become our prime minister. Where for my grandchildren’s sake is any reference to the climate change, restoring our crumbling public services, improving public transport, looking after the most vulnerable in our society? My conclusion is we have been led by little people (Lilliputians) who can only talk about tax cuts!!!!! (Churchill and Attlee will be turning in their graves!)

The title of course refer to the passing of Raymond Briggs. His wonderful books featured prominently throughout my teaching career- I ordered many copies for the different schools I worked in and enjoyed sharing them with children and adults!. I still vividly  remember that first showing of the Snowman just after I became a Dad.  His books were of course wonderfully illustrated and tenderly written. He has made me cry many times! Looking forward to sharing them with my grandchildren! “Blooming Christmas!”

Talking of grandchildren we visited Owen today. Another delightful day. He was as irrepressible as ever and entertained us  We are both exhausted from our travels of the last two days!

Marvellous picnic by the River Exe today with our delightful granddaughter Ellen. We were entertained by Ellen as well as a Kingfisher and a Common Sandpiper. Distant and not brilliant pictures below!

Weather has meant my Words in the Wild has been postponed which I am relieved about – I think walking around with young people in 35 degrees would be foolish!

Picture of the Mighty Hatters doing their equivalent of Taking the Knee on Saturday at Burnley. Great day out we camped at Clitheroe and caught the bus to Burnley. Found a wonderful pub with a good selection of ales where fans from both sides could mingle. Thoroughly enjoyed the football that hopefully augers well for the season.

I also managed a challenging cycle over the moors in the beautiful Lancashire Countryside on Sunday.

Now busy learning and researching stories.

The title is my Story Telling/ Nature Walk at the  Tewkesbury Nature Reserve next Friday. It will be a mixture of stories and enjoying the natural world with a walk around the Reserve. So playing around developing the stories to fit the venue.

Tomorrow we are travelling North for Hatters on Tour! Never visited Turf Moor (Burnley’s ground) before, although I am not that optimistic but you never know! Also aiming to do some Bird Watching and I hoping to cycle some Lancashire hills.

I had to travel up to Berkshire to look after my Grandson Owen today. We had a lot of fun with plenty of laughter in the local park.  It is a real privilege to be a useful grandparents!

Possibly played my last game of cricket for this season yesterday with the Gloucestershire Seniors (I can’t play in the knock out game in a fortnight). there was some amazing batting from my team- there was some brutal hitting in a 179 3rd wicket partnership with local gardens being peppered! I ended up pulling a thigh muscle making a forlorn dive trying to stop a boundary (you would of thought at my age I would know better!)   My team mates now face a long car journey to possibly Sussex for that knock out game!

Have to knuckle down on some story learning now!

Have to start with the football! Tremendous win by the Lionesses today- the whole game ebbed and flowed. Certainly Wembley  looked a much better place than the fiasco of last year! talking of football I went to watch the Mighty Hatters yesterday ridiculous the season starting in July Sadly we were not sharp enough in front of goal against a poor Birmingham side.

Some recent bird pictures below. The last three mornings taking Jake out I have seen a Hobby perched in a dead tree-one of my favourite birds. Sadly I didn’t have the camera when two Great Crested Grebes came up close with chicks on their backs. Still a Black Swan was a surprise when I did have my camera!   (not great pictures but enjoy!)

The title refers to our lodger for this week who is having his holiday with us. Picture below!

I mentioned it was our monthly bird survey on Thursday. Not that many warblers to be seen but we were fortunate to be by the River Severn when the Bore came up so there was plenty of action. Almost 100 Curlews, plenty of Shelducks, a few Avocets, Dunlin and Oystercatchers. I have written before how fascinating it is to watch the Bore it is different every time! We did see a Tree Pipit only the second time one has turned up on our surveys which we have been doing for almost eight years now.Also at the end there was that flash of electric blue as a Kingfisher sped past!

Off to the “Theatre of Tattered Dreams” tomorrow for the first game of the football season in July because of the stupidity of having a World Cup in November!

Birding themes today!

Couple of great fly past in the garden this week. A Hobby flew over the garden as I was putting the bins out. Think I have only seen one before from the garden. They are wonderful birds to watch especially when hunting dragonflies over water.

We have had at least three Sparrowhawk fly throughs this week, but no kills in the garden. The birds all scatter for cover and it goes quiet for a while. Tomorrow is our monthly bird survey out by the River tomorrow not sure it will be as good as the June survey but you never know!