You can ring my bell!

As Linda and I were enjoying the work of some local artists (and a selection of delightful home-made cakes!) at Hemblington Church yesterday, friend and warden Catherine asked us if we'd like to ring the church bells. That is not an offer to refuse! We both had a go, coached by Catherine, and found it surprisingly difficult: timing is everything: you sort of have to apply just the right 'pull' on the upstroke of the bellrope.

Hemblington Church: June wildlife survey

Today Linda, Sue, Peter and I carried out the monthly count of birds and other wildlife at Hemblington Church, coinciding this with an exhibition by local artists.

The morning started sunny and warm, but as the wind moved round to the west the clouds rolled over and the temperature dropped. Nevertheless, there were enough birds to keep us interested, including several raptor species. Worryingly, we saw just a single species of butterfly and just two dragonflies...

Mark Cocker - but not that one!

Linda and I enjoy collecting bird and wildlife art: we have quite a gallery, most of which were produced by local artists. Recently, at the regular Black Barn Farmers' Market, Linda 'discovered' Mark Cocker, an amazing and very modest guy who works with inks and fine black pen. We already own four of his works and whole-heartedly recommend him!

Snowie enjoys the summer sunshine!

Time for Snowie the little snowman to make an appearance! Since he last emerged from the freezer he has acquired some new arms and has reverted to a right-handed guitar stance!

The peculiar spring weather we had this year has held back lots of the garden, not least the insectivorous plants: however, a spell of sunshine has made all the difference.

Where does the time go?

The oldest guitar in my collection (I only have seven at the moment, having 'rationalised' last Autumn) is a black US Standard Fender Stratocaster. I bought this brand new at Cooke's in Norwich when I started playing with Serious Risk: it cost less than £200 I recall. I don't tend to use it for Synergy gigs for a couple of reasons: firstly whatever set-up you use it tends to sound like Hank Marvin! Secondly, it's immaculate apart from a couple of dings on the back, made when the Risk's lead guitarist Howie borrowed it when he broke a string mid-gig. I didn't notice until too late that he was wearing a belt made from bullets!

Tim, the incredible lead player with Synergy, asked me how old it was: this is easy to establish by referencing the serial number on the headstock. It turns out that it was made in the USA in 1988 for export to Europe (hence the 'EE' prefix) making it 36 years old! A scan through the online auctions reveals that it's probably worth £1200 or so... Will I play it at gigs in the future? I might well do, just for nostalgia's sake - but I might need to help it out with a distortion pedal!

Sunspot update

The Sun is still very active, with plenty of small sunspot groups scattered across the chromosphere.

The night sky in June!

Here's a condensed version of my broadcast on Suffolk Sound today. The lovely Jules Button has kindly invited me to become the station's regular astronomy 'expert', so you can get a monthly astro-update at 11.30 on the first Wednesday of every month!

A morning in the Brecks

With rain forecast for the afternoon, Brian, Norman and I headed south, originally intending to search for Tree Pipits at Mayday Farm. In the event we never arrived there, being waylaid by Stone Curlews and a beautiful Hare at Weeting Heath, followed by a detour to Lakenheath.

The first bird we encountered was a Nightingale singing literally a couple of yards from the path: despite a half-hour vigil we never caught a glimpse. The walk round the reserve gave us flight views of numerous Bitterns, a single Hobby, a Kingfisher and half a dozen Cuckoos, while a flock of recently-fledged Long-tailed Tits oozed cuteness! 

Last stop was Santon Downham where, despite a long walk to the road bridge and back, all we managed was a lone Grey Wagtail that refused to pose for photos! Plenty of Banded Demoiselles along the river bank, to add to the Variable Damsel from Lakenheath.

Suffolk Sound: back on the radio!

You might have wondered what happened to my monthly astronomy chats on 'Suffolk Sound' radio: my host - the lovely Jules Button - has been in hospital with pneumonia! Regular readers of my blog will know that I can totally empathise with poor Jules, having experienced double pneumonia just before my birthday a few years back...

Anyhow: the broadcasts start again this coming Wednesday, June 5th at 11.20 am. I'll be following the usual format, with a heads-up on what you can see - if the sky ever clears this month!

Noctilucent clouds

Cygnus and Vega

Aurora over the Heath!

More Aurorae on the way?

The sunspot group responsible for the unprecedented auroral display two weeks ago has returned to face the Earth: it just might produce another show this week...