White Admirals at Strumpshaw

With a sunny morning at my disposal I thought I'd have a walk around the Fen to see if White Admirals were on the wing here - I'd already seen a couple near Hemblington Church.

The walk was very enjoyable, with plenty of the expected butterflies and odonata, but made even better when I bumped into Tina, a former pupil from my days as a High School teacher at Hellesdon. It was great swapping yarns, and made more incredible when Tina realised she'd known Linda professionally for years!

I finished my visit as planned with a stake-out along the Woodland Trail. Sure enough (after a bit of a wait!) I saw one, then two then five White Admirals! (This will not go down well with friend Sue, who has come to consider the species as mythological!)

Finally: just a word to say what a sad loss the sudden death of Fen regular Clive was. Although I can't claim to have been in his close circle, I knew him well and was a great admirer of his photographic output. He was a great little guy and will be missed by many...