Postcards from Sussex

Rain at sea and Pagham Harbour

2012-01-30T19:30:00.000Z

On Saturday we saw interesting rain effects out to sea. After lunch we visited Pagham Harbour reserve and managed a short walk and admired the gorse in flower. Later we enjoyed home cooked fish and chips follwed by home-made orange ice cream at Tom & Jill's - delicious.

On Sunday I attended a club metal detecting dig. I didn't find anything interesting - an 1881 halfpenny and a 1954 threepenny bit (with the portcullis).Sue said "I might have spent this during its life". It was discontinued when decimalisation was implemented in 1971.

Wisley wonderland

2012-01-27T12:44:00.016Z

Achilles Morpho, Morpho Achilles

To view a Slideshow, click here then choose Fullscreen (top right)

Mark called me Wednesday to say he was planning a visit to the Wisley butterfly display again on Thursday so I immediately agreed to join him. Sue and I went last year and enjoyed the wonderful display of tropical butterflies in the glasshouse. Yesterday was a good day as many fresh butterflies were on the wing. I made a mistake by not taking my Sigma macro lens, instead I had the 70-300 zoom, which turned out to be a great choice as it pulled in the distant butterflies. Next time I will take both lenses. I also used the compact Canon G9 in macro mode.
last years visit: http://colinknight.blogspot.com/2011/02/wisley-butterflies.html

Asian Swallowtail, Papilio lowi

Asian Swallowtail, Papilio lowi female

Asian Swallowtail, Papilio lowi male

Asian Swallowtail, Papilio lowi female

Asian Swallowtail, Papilio lowi male

Asian Swallowtail, Papilio lowi courtship

Asian Swallowtail, Papilio lowi mating

Blue Morpho, Morpho peleides

Blue Morpho, Morpho peleides

Blue Morpho, Morpho peleides

Clipper, Parthenos sylvia

Common Mormon, Papilio polytes

one of the many beautiful Orchids in the galsshouse

Emerald Swallowtail, Papilio palinurus

Emerald Swallowtail, Papilio palinurus male

dead specimen of Giant Orangetip, Hebornia glaucippe

Great Mormon, Papilio memnon

butterfly eggs laid on leaf

Indian Leafwing, Kallima paralekta

Indian Leafwing, Kallima paralekta wings closed

This is the most amazing camouflage I have seen on land

Malachite, Siproeta stelenes

Malay Lacewing, Cethosia biblis

Owl, Caligo memnon

Pink Rose, Pachliopta kotzebuea

Tailed Jay, Graphium agamemnon

Tree Nymph, Idea leuconoe

Sunrise and sunsets

2012-01-25T21:36:00.000Z

The sunrise above and the sunsets below were taken on January 12th

Nigel Kennedy, musician extraordinaire

2012-01-24T12:18:00.005Z

We went to Brighton Dome last night with Jackie to see the last concert of Nigel Kennedy's current tour. Bea and Brian saw him in the 80s and thought him fantastic. We agree! He has played all over the country this month. With his orchestra he played an eclectic range of music including jazz and rock. His new interpretation of The Four Season was brilliant, as was his new piece Four Elements of which he played ‘Erf’ and Water. Many of the musicians were Polish – he lives in Kraków. The four singers and violinists included beautiful young ladies who he made a great fuss over, especially Lizzie Ball. His style was entirely informal as expected and he wore a punk outfit for the first half. It was obvious he enjoys a wonderful relationship with the members of the orchestra as everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves and this came over in the music. They had obviously played together a lot and the most anarchic sounding pieces had an underlying sense of unity. One moment we were all tapping our feet and the next there was silence as he started another beautiful violin solo. The changes in pace added a lot to our enjoyment of the evening. There were standing ovations and multiple encores. We agreed that this was one of the most enjoyable musical evenings we have ever experienced. We are now looking at booking for Croydon in May when he plays Brahms with the London Philharmonic Orchestra.

Nigel Kennedy is a Brighton lad who comes from a long line of musicians and was a child prodigy taught by Yehudi Menuhin. He has followed his own counsel and is very articulate and outspoken about the music industry:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2011/aug/13/nigel-kennedy-violinists-bach

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/classicalmusic/8734595/Nigel-Kennedy-My-plan-to-put-Vivaldi-to-an-electro-beat.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nigel_Kennedy

Concert dates 2012: http://www.nigelkennedy.com/concerts.htm

Fan site: http://www.nigelkennedyonline.com/Kennedy_Experiences.html

http://www.kennedyjazz.com

Concert Reviews:
Barbican:
http://www.classicalsource.com/db_control/db_concert_review.php?id=9881
Usher Hall, Edinburgh:
http://www.scotsman.com/edinburgh-evening-news/the-guide/music/review_nigel_kennedy_usher_hall_1_2054593
York: http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/lifestyle/review_nigel_kennedy_1_4165419

This is the blurb on the net about this tour:

‘Following the staggering success of his UK performances of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons last season, including a stunning, sold out show at London’s Royal Albert Hall, Nigel Kennedy is soon to be touring the UK in January, again performing his exhilarating and unique take on Vivaldi’s Four Seasons as well as his own brand new composition, the Four Elements.

This marks the world premiere of the Four Elements. Composed for the Orchestra of Life and voices, the Four Elements is a highly descriptive composition, inspired by the elements of earth, water, air and fire, which takes the listener on a journey of exhilaration, contemplation and celebration.

For over twenty-five years, Nigel Kennedy has been acknowledged as one of the world's leading violin virtuosos and is, without doubt, one of the most important violinists Britain has ever produced. His virtuoso technique, unique talent and mass appeal have brought fresh perspectives to both the classical and contemporary repertoire. He is the best selling classical violinist of all time.

Kennedy released his first Studio album via Sony in September 2011, his own brand new original composition ‘Four Elements’, which he will be performing in full as part of his show.

Nigel says "I couldn’t be happier to be bringing my new orchestra back to the UK for these dates with the Four Seasons and my new work - they are brilliant young players at the top of their form. It’s great to include my band members to the Orchestra of Life. For the Four Seasons, we have also brought in Massive Attack’s percussionist, Damon Reece – I am very excited by this new approach to the Seasons!" ‘

William III halfpenny, second issue

2012-01-16T16:57:00.007Z

We had a club dig yesterday. It was cold but not frosty like Saturday and I was glad to have my hat with ear flaps. The pasture was easy to dig and lots of bullets, and cartridge cases came up. Nothing exciting was found. I had a William III halfpenny dated 1699, the second I have found. The date is part of the legend around the border instead of being in the exergue (the space on a coin beneath the main design) which makes this a second issue coin.
The obverse legend is GVLIELMVS TERTIVS (Latin for Willam third). blue indicates the letters are visible on the coin.
The reverse legend is BRITANNIA 1699

Here is an image of the same coin in good condition:

I also found some large plain buckles, 2 Victorian pennies (186? and 1906), a mineralised hammered coin, part of a star shaped copper ornament, probably from a harness, a harness mount with scroll initials and an ornate part of a buckle, 5 buttons and some musket balls both whole and flattened.

Madame Lambard, Leonardo and a hare

2012-01-11T20:45:00.017Z

La Belle Ferronnière

On Sunday my metal detecting club had a dig, but it was not productive. I found a very old copper label with MADAME LAMBARD on the front. On the rear:

ACME LABELS

JOHN PINCHE

CROWN BUILDING

CROWN STREET

CAMBERWELL S

Madame Lombard is a rose, and it looks like a label for a plant and was found in an area where the owners still tip compost with modern flower labels. Perhaps LOMBARD was misspelled LAMBARD? Or was it the name of a favourite cow on the farm?

On Tuesday I went to London on my own to see the Leonardo exhibition at the National Gallery. Sue had bad arthritis and Jackie was laid up with a bug so no travelling companions to burden me, I mean, share the experience with. It was an excellent exhibition, though very crowded. You have a time slot and I marched straight into the Sainsbury Wing where it was held. I didn’t bother with most of the drawings which were very small and had lots of people queuing to see them. I just viewed the ones on the audio guide. What an amazing draughtsman da Vinci was. He captured so much tone with his fine implements. I hadn’t realised there were only 20 paintings that he finished. The Milan paintings were all here. I was amazed by the portrait above, La Belle Ferronnière and kept revisiting it. I have seen the Mona Lisa twice and much prefer this portrait. It looks as fresh as if painted recently and the details and light effects are superb.The poster portrait for the exhibition, The Lady with an Ermine, was also very fine, but looked to me like a portrait, whereas La Belle Ferronnière was alive and felt as though the young lady was right there in the room with you. All the portraits were magnifique, and the exhibition paintings can be viewed at
http://www.digitalhen.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-13334287

The Sainsbury Wing

This morning, following another superb sunrise, I attended the first Heyshott Escarpment work party of 2012 and we had the biggest bonfire so far, mainly clearing previously cut wood. Afterwards I joined Neil on a walk to Heyshoot Down and Graffham Down to view potential Duke of Burgundy (butterfly) territory to check out in the season (May). Neil also pointed out where he has seen Purple Emperors here. I saw my first hare in ages and a March Tit. I also saw the tumuli on Graffham Down.

The clearing is growing

Mark hard at work

Neil also working hard

interesting fungus (6 inches long)

view towards Blackdown

potential new Duke of Burgundy territory

new sign

Tumuli

view from a tumulus

The Duke surveying his kingdom

Sixpence and a sunset

2012-01-05T19:27:00.001Z

This morning a strong wind whipped the spray off the top of the waves. This afternoon I wandered down to the beach with the detector and found £1.41 and a 1939 silver sixpence. This used to buy a lot of sweets when I received one for my pocket money in the 50s!

A drinker, eggs and a gall

2012-01-04T19:12:00.003Z

larva of The Drinker moth Euthrix potatoria

This morning started with another of those superb sunrises. I had arranged to meet Mark at Heyshott Down to hunt for Brown Hairstreak eggs as part of Sussex Butterfly Conservation's survey of this butterfly in the county. Mark soon found the egg of a Blue-bordered Carpet moth, and the only Brown Hairstreak egg of the day. He also spotted a Bramble Stem Gall by the path and pointed out Fallow and Roe deer spoor. We then moved on to Harting Down where he found the caterpillar of The Drinker moth 4 feet up a Blackthorn stem where I assume it was hibernating. It was a fine day to be out with a cold wind blowing.

Fallow deer prints by phone

egg of the Blue-bordered Carpet moth, Plemyria rubiginata

Brown Hairstreak egg

both these eggs were pinhead-sized

Bramble Stem Gall Diastrophus rubi where the larvae of the Small Black Gall Wasp live

More info here: http://www.bugsandweeds.co.uk/galls%20p1.html#BramSt

The top of Harting Down, part of the South Downs Way

We saw quite a few ladybirds

Me looking for Brown Hairstreak eggs!

Owler Top

2012-01-03T22:06:00.005Z

Owler Top

To view a Slideshow, click here then choose Fullscreen (top right)

Yesterday morning after walking Ollie for the last time this trip I headed into Derbyshire and managed to find a parking place by the Longshaw Estate. As this was the last holiday for many people there were hikers and family strollers everywhere so I headed off to Owler Top where there were few people. I then made my way down to the Woods and Burbage Brook which runs through them.

Heron in Endcliffe Park

Longshaw Estate:

Burbage Brook

Over the Snake

2012-01-01T17:37:00.001Z

view over Glossop

This morning we visited Aunt Bea the other side of the Snake Pass. It was an easy journey, not much traffic on New Year's morning. The garden looks lovely, even in winter. Bea served us a lamb pie, bubble and squeak and sprouts followed by Bramleys and custard - yum yet again. And some lovely Christmas cake and dates with marzipan and cherries.

Moorland

Fat Cat rules

2011-12-31T17:56:00.004Z

Kelham Island Museum as seen from the car park of The Fat Cat

We paid an overdue visit to The Fat Cat at lunchtime with Danuta and Ken. Everything was just as we remembered it. In the old days when it started in the early 80s it had the only no-smoking room in a Sheffield pub and 8 guest beers. Now the old no-smoking room is our favourite room. It's a cosy lounge with a real fire and old photos adorning the wall. It was also good to be recognised by the landlady even though we haven't visited for two years. We had Kelham Island Bitter, brewed at the premises, a favourite of mine since they created it in the 90s. The steak pie was great and the apple crumble and custard excellent as always. It was more difficult to get to as the road system has completely changed, However, there are signs to the Kelham Island Museum so we followed those.

You can drool over the full range of beers here:http://www.thefatcat.co.uk/beermenu/beermenu.htm

The Fat Cat - our favourite pub

New development by the museum

The nuthatch is the only bird visiting the feeder that isn't fazed by me standing a yard away behind a window. All the others fly in and do a mid-air about turn and fly off.

Milly and the Heron

2011-12-30T18:41:00.003Z

Milly

Last night we were invited to dinner by Jim and Claire in Ranmoor (steak pie, mash, carrots, sprouts, green beans, cheeses - wonderful).
Today started with an interesting walk with Ollie in Endcliffe Park. We came across a heron which obligingly caught something large in the middle of the stream. We left for Hull at 10am and had a lovely lunch (chestnut casserole, parsnips, mashed potato, trifle, fruit salad and Polish cheesecake - delicious), We met Milly, Dan & Gabi's American Labrador pup.

who's a cutie then?

Nuthatch and friends

2011-12-29T17:31:00.000Z

Nuthatch

The bird feeder has been moved very near the dining area window so we get wonderful views of the continuous activity.

Yesterday we visited York to see Keith, Janet, Tom and Charlotte. Lovely food and met some interesting people at their mulled wine evening. This is their Ollie who would definitely not be a friend to the feathered ones.

Ollie

Torben Larsen, master story teller

2011-12-27T22:27:00.001Z

I have just finished reading Hazards of Butterfly Collecting. We were privileged to hear Torben Larsen give a talk recently at Sussex Butterfly Conservation's AGM. His subject was Butterfly diversity and conservation in tropical countries. This fascinating man has led a charmed and exciting existence travelling to some of the world's most exotic places when it was still safe to do so and some of the forests still existed. These short stories were originally published in The Entomologist's Record and Journal of Variation and cover Torben's adventures from the 1960s through to around 2000. He has a good sense of humour and is a great story teller. If you enjoy reading Gerald Durrell, James Herriot and David Attenborough then I am sure you will enjoy this volume. It is still available from a few sellers. I got mine from Amazon (<£15).

Ken and I crept out of the house while lunch preparations were in process today. We ended up at The Sportsman at Redmires. A wonderful welcome from the landlord, a lovely pub and as we were in at early doors we got seats with a fabulous view. Timothy Taylor Landlord bitter was excellent too. We were back in time for lunch with guests Kathryn and Jennifer.

This is Scooter and she lives in the guest room we are occupying. She looks innocent enough but if your toes leave the protection of the duvet during the night she delights in sharpening her claws on them. She also makes an infernal racket using the cat flap in the the room in repeated, successful attempts to wake us up.

A new born babe

2011-12-26T16:37:00.000Z

We were delighted to see our new grand niece Eleanor Margaret yesterday. Alex and Nadine are obviously pleased with their new family member. Champagne put us in the mood for the gluttony that followed. It was great to see 13 family and friends round Danuta and Ken's table and the turkey and trimmings were enjoyed by all.

Eleanor

Ollie

Danuta joined me for Oliie's walk in Bingham Park

Walkies

2011-12-26T16:15:00.000Z

Since arriving in Sheffield Christmas eve I have resumed my Ollie walking duties. Our usual twice daily amble takes in Endcliffe Park with a few variations on the exact route in and out. Christmas morning we had the place pretty much to ourselves. On the first walk I heard a voice say "Hello Colin" and when I looked up saw Rachel with a beaming smile. So we chatted and I changed our route to maximise our exchange of news. Definitely not a hardship when you have a lovely young lady by your side.

a year ago there were icicles beside this waterfall

jogger with Santa hat

Ollie walking me

Incredible sunrise

2011-12-24T08:19:00.000Z

Our day started with this amazing sunrise

over East Beach Café

Heyshott work party and Short-eared Owls

2011-12-22T10:33:00.007Z

To view a Slideshow, click here then choose Fullscreen (top right)

Yesterday morning I joined other Butterfly Conservation members for the last work party of the year at Heyshott Escarpment. We outnumbered Murray Downland Trust members for the first time. Cleared woodland was joined to the chalk pits higher up where large numbers of Duke of Burgundy butterflies have been counted. Hopefully the Primulas will show themselves next spring and entice the Dukes into new territory and encourage a population explosion.
Afterwards I visited Waltham Brooks and observed two Short-eared Owls hunting. I managed to get within 100 yards of one in flight and 50 yards from one on the ground. Still not the close views I want so I will have to continue visiting this lovely reserve. The sunset was outstanding.

James working hard

Mark (James' Dad)

Neil and Roger in foreground

Neil pointing to the gap joining with the chalk pits

John is tireless

Billy and James

Neil tossing the caber

Dr Dan Hoare, BC Regional Officer, SE England

7 weeks work has cleared a huge area for the Duke of Burgundy to expand

looking the other way

This area may eventually host the Dukes

Short-eared Owls at Waltham Brooks

Cormorant

Short-eared Owl roosting

Two owls

What has it seen?

Casual close sighting by the car park - I walked some way for distant sightings!

Kestrel

A fine start to the day

2011-12-20T09:10:00.000Z

I glanced out of the window this morning at the right time and grabbed the nearest camera for this shot. By the time I had fetched a wide angle lens a few minutes later the intensity had gone. As I was driving along Sunday morning I had noted the wonderful light behind a stand of Sussex pines at 8:15 and vowed to select a spot to capture that moment.

Swinging Queen Vic

2011-12-19T19:50:00.005Z

Yesterday we had a club dig on a cold but dry morning. John provided mince pies and sloe gin which set everyone up for the morning. I found a fine bronze harness pendant swinger with the head of the young Queen Victoria. The shaft has a crude figure of a man on it.

weight = 33.32g, length = 67.1mm, width = 30.7mm, thickness of face = 4.22mm,

top of shaft = 5.85 x 7.46 mm.

man figure on shaft

30 quarter, half and whole hammered coins and an Anglo-Saxon sceat were also found by others, probably a club record for one day.

Those owls again

2011-12-17T20:45:00.001Z

This afternoon I visited Waltham Brooks again to try for some better photos of the Short-eared Owl. This being Saturday the car park was full and whole area was flooded with enthusiasts with cameras and scopes. I'm getting a better idea of the best vantage points now so next time I hope to be nearer the owls for some close-ups with my 300mm lens.

water fowl

Waltham Brooks

Flying Ducks were very fashionable in the 50s

Kestrel

Bird watchers

Water birds

2011-12-17T14:32:00.001Z

Swan

I walked by the Oyster Pond and the River Arun to go shopping this morning. The light was amazing and water birds featured a lot in my photos.

Gull by The Oyster Pond

Pelican by The Oyster Pond

The Oyster Pond

Swans on the Arun

Cormorant

Short-eared owls at Waltham Brooks

2011-12-16T18:21:00.002Z

Late this afternoon we headed off to Waltham Brooks hoping for a sighting of the Short-eared Owls that have been a feature there recently. We were rewarded with two of them working the grass covered bank and reed beds on the west side of the river.
Apparently they come from the cold north and the continent, and this year has been a good one for voles, an important food source. excellent video: http://vimeo.com/32278778
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/nov/21/country-diary-waltham-brooks

We moved from our first position by the railway bridge to the car park by the river and had a better view with a couple who had set up a scope. All the while a wonderful sunset was continually changing on the horizon.

Short-eared Owl

Maldives videos

2011-12-15T09:46:00.005Z

This excellent 21 minute video was made by Anthony Murdoch during our Maldives trip at the beginning of November. Anthony has been on our annual Maldives trip many times. I particularly like the Napoleon Wrasse sequence at 14:37, and of course me in photo mode during a night dive at 11:50.

Adel's video of the Manta Rays at Lankan Reef:

Abdulla's video of the male and two female dolphins:

The Three Musketeers at Heyshott

2011-12-14T20:19:00.001Z

Neil, Mark and myself from Butterfly Conservation - Sussex joined Murray Downland Trust members to continue clearing the woodland area for the Duke of Burgundy butterfly. This is the seventh week and the cleared area is looking very impressive. Contrary to the forecast, it was a lovely day with a cool wind, useful for the fire and cooling us down once we had started work.

tossing the caber past Neil

an impressive result