Yesterday I was contacted by the son of a former business partner: his father (who passed away last year) co-authored a book with me over fifty years ago about the Loch Ness Monster! This has long been unavailable - even I only have the original galley prints. Amazingly Luke (the son!) has decided to republish the book, and has forwarded the cover to me. I hope to have a copy for my collection in a few weeks!
Norman's turn to drive: we headed south-east to Westleton Heath, where - after a false start - Norman quickly located the long-staying Iberian Chiffchaff. It took a bit of time to get decent photos, but it was calling incessantly, so, with a little patience, we both managed good views. The first of three Nightingales was calling from the car park: none of which surrendered for a photo!
Minsmere was a bit of a slog, resulting in several year ticks (two species of Tern, Whitethroat etc) and a somewhat shy Bittern, but the veggie sausage bap was a suitable reward! A male Ring Ouzel was fleeting, but very welcome! We moved on to the Quarry on the heath, where two more Nightingales, two Cuckoos, Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler, Stonechat and Woodlark were the best we managed.
Photos of the crescent Moon, that is. Last night my favourite crater, Petavius, was showing well at bottom centre: it's the one with a long, thin companion (Palitzsch)
It was my turn to unlock the Church this morning: as always, I took a camera and was pleased to add Common Snipe to the list of birds seen in and around All Saints. A Red Kite and Buzzard were quartering the field east of High Noon Lane..
The beautiful crescent Moon was just above the 'Seven Sisters' (Pleiades) at sunset: below Venus was incredibly bright: the whole spectacle was - to me at least - absolutely stunning!
Now that my live music career is coming to an end, I'd like to pass on a couple of my guitars: I'm keeping my Squier Telecasters as everyday 'players', but it's time to part with my vintage Stratocaster and Fender Sonoran electro-acoustic. (Both with cases)
I bought the Strat new in 1985 or 86 from Cooke's in Norwich: despite forty years of gigging it's virtually immaculate - just a couple of tiny, unnoticeable marks. It has a beautiful tone / action / finish and will only continue to increase in value. The Sonoran is a chunky electro-acoustic with a Strat-type neck: again, it's in near-mint condition and plays beautifully.
Finally: there's a 20W Roland Cube combo amp (the baby brother of the 40W I used for Synergy gigs) It's in immaculate condition, has an excellent range of settings and is a really good bit of kit.
Strat £1000 ONO
Sonoran £120 ONO
Amp £120 ONO
If you're interested in one / two / all three, e-mail me on: david_bryant51@hotmail.com
Sue, Peter, Linda, 'new Sue' and I met at the Church in somewhat gloomy weather to carry out this month's survey. As the sky cleared from the south west, birds began to sing and appear in and around the churchyard: we were all pretty sure we'd heard a couple of other species (notably Whimbrel) but we only log birds we've seen well! Good to see a few butterflies...
I'd love to claim that I've had much impact on the lovely garden that Linda has created over the past thirty years, but in truth, apart from pruning, mowing and maintaining the two ponds, it's all been my clever wife's efforts.. Things are just beginning to colour up and the 'meadow' and 'secret garden' are looking really pretty.
