We shot off to Dorset for a weekend in Cedric our camper van to walk and to do some birding. Pictures below are from Durlston and R.S.P.B Arne and a distant shot of Corfe Castle. Have to say Guillemots from a distance look like penguins!!!!
My goodness a real hot one today! We managed to get in a delightful early morning cycle ride to Berkeley. The River looked wonderful in the sunshine.
A Great White Egret flew over our house this evening, these birds have followed the more common Little Egret and GWEs are now breeding in many parts of the South West. We have also been serenaded by nearby Oystercatchers – they have chicks on an island on Court Lake here in Frampton.
The title is all about Tuesday’s cricket! What a match! Of course I am referring to Gloucestershire Seniors narrow win up in Warwickshire! Not really! Trent Bridge of course was an amazing Test Match possibly one of the best! We were being given regular updates while we were fielding and the first thing I had to do when I got in late on Tuesday was to watch the dramatic highlights. Wow!!!!
My volunteer bird watching yesterday with young people from South London was a warm one! Did well for raptors with a Sparrowhawk shooting by the Hide at speed. the picture today is one in our garden that Clare took a few years ago, as it ripped apart a Wood Pigeon.Enjoyed my Story Telling tonight at Wick Court. I told the Russian Trick Story again.
An action packed day. An early start getting bird food for Wick Court and then taking the food to the farm. Had to do quite a bit of sorting when I was there. For the third week running I saw Linnets near our Bird Hide.
This afternoon I visited Eastington Primary on my faithful steed Shadowfax to do a workshop on story ideas based on my book Pig The Legend. It did mean a few more books were sold!
I managed to watch some cricket in the gaps and it is bubbling up to a great day tomorrow! I won’t be watching because I am off to Warwickshire to play – we are hoping to bounce back from last week’s defeat.
Thoroughly enjoyable weekend. Yesterday’s picture below is from Trent Bridge yesterday of me and my pals! Although it was New Zealand’s day we enjoyed ourselves and nothing beats watching live sport so much better than the TV!
Today was a gold letter day as we popped down to Exeter to visit our delightful granddaughter. Off to visit a local school tomorrow to do a Story Workshop and promoting Pig the Legend.
I realised I had promised more photos from Pembrokeshire so here they are. Apologies there are two photos of Wheatears but couldn’t decide which photo I thought was the best!
Off to Trent Bridge tomorrow hoping England can get back into the game!
A picture from last week’s outside performance of Between Severn Tides in Newnham – me as hen pecked Bradley responding to “my not very nice wife Lavinia!” It was a lovely setting. I did feel sorry for the audience they had the sun in their eyes!
Just back from Story Telling at Wick Court. I told one of my old favourites a Russian Folk Tale which I add plenty of extra bits and I play with stereotypes. It is only the second time I have told it since the pandemic.
We went for a lovely cycle ride to Nailsworth along local cycle paths today.
Another picture of me and friends in action last week at Kingshill House- we are doing my action story “Deep, Deep, Deep in the Woods– we always have a lot of fun doing it adults and young people!
I did my weekly volunteering at Wick Court today taking young people bird watching. We saw nine Little Egrets on the River and I realised I didn’t know what the collective noun was for Egrets. There are several! Congregation, Sedge, Wedge, Siege, and Skewer! How about that!
My cricket yesterday ended up with us being hammered by Wales we managed to drop nine catches (including me- mine was hammered hard but I couldn’t hold on). Onto Warwickshire next week!
Delightful visit to Quenington today for the Fresh Air Sculptures this is a biannual event. A sample of pictures below. of some of the sculptures. That means I will hold a couple of the Story Telling pictures back for a future blog.
Spent the weekend playing Granddad as we spent the weekend in Maidenhead. My Grandson Owen is growing fast and is great fun! I am very proud of both my sons and their wives for the way they are parenting our grandchildren. I have been impressed by the way books are prominent in their lives of their children. Owen loves his books and will often grab a book for us to read to him.
I thought we were going to lose the cricket on Friday night-what do I know! Joe Root is a wonderful batsmen!
Pictures today are of me Story Telling at Kingshill House Art Centre Dursley on Wednesday Morning. I was sent about 40 photos of me in full flow! I regularly Story Tell at Kingshill House and I am now resident Story Teller! Over the next week or so I will probably put some more photos from past Kingshill gigs (I’ve just been sent February and Halloween pictures!)
I also performed in Between Severn Tides in Newnham -on- Severn last night. This was a different production from last month where we had a stage and a bigger cast. So I had to play an extra part and we performed it more like a radio play with scripts in front of us. (see some of the April blogs about the original.production)
I led Gloucestershire Seniors (3rd team) to a fine win against Somerset on Tuesday. My bowlers did a great job so I always had control of the game.
This morning had a super Bird Watch near the River with young Esther and my pal Gordon. We saw three Cuckoos (2 males and a female) they flew fairly close to us. I looked up the collective noun for Cuckoos it is an Asylum! Great variety of raptors as well at least 2 Marsh Harriers, Red Kite, 2 Buzzards, Hobby and a Kestrel. The pictures be.low are not great but a distant Cuckoo and a flying Great White Egret.
