Making the most of the weather

The weather has settled down and we are enjoying a spell of dry, bright, 'very' cold weather.  Combining this with B's work shift this week, she completes her shift by noon or a little later, we decided we would take advantage of the weather and go for some winter walks.

On Wednesday, B and I visited  Shugborough  a stately home about four miles from our home, and run by the National Trust.  Because we are members of the NT, we get free admission to the hundreds of sites they are responsible for in the UK  (The Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland is another site in their care.)  We decided to enjoy a meal at the cafe before we went for a walk.  We chose to look at the Formal Gardens, designed centuries ago and neatly manicured in comparison to the rest of the grounds.  With the Sun coming from behind the clouds as the afternoon progressed, it was ideal for getting photographs of the Autumn colours.



A Bridge over the lake which was created to be viewed from the House





Another view of the 'lake' overlooking the parklands, many of the trees still with their Autumn colours.








On Thursday, B and I chose a different type of environment, two different wildlife sites. 

First we travelled to Doxey Marshes, a site managed by the Staffordshire Wildlife Trust, sandwiched between a large housing estate and the M6 motorway.  The only reason it has remained free of building developments is the nature of the land - it would be tremendously expensive to drain, and not very attractive for residential development so its safe for the flora and fauna for the moment.
In spite of the noise of the traffic, it attracts a large number of wetland birds. 

 
    A grey heron waiting patiently to catch its dinner.













                                          Swans , hoping we had some food for them!

B and I then travelled to another wetland site, Aqualate Mere, cared for by Natural England.
A large shallow lake, about one mile long and averaging 3 to 4 foot deep, it is surrounded by reed beds and natural woodland and attracts large numbers of birds and mammals. We particularly wanted to see a Starling Murmuration, so we timed our visit just before sunset. In the Autumn and Winter, tens of thousands of starlings accumulate and put on a spectacular aerial display as they look for a roosting place among the reed beds.

I took still photos so it's hard to imagine the fluidity of the movement of the great mass of starlings.  B took a video using her Smartphone.  We are planning to visit again next week, and this time I intend to take a different camera and hopefully sort out how to take a video.

Highly Recommended - subjectively of course

For several years F. and I have been season tickets holders for the Keele Concert Society.  Keele is a University based about 20 miles from where we live, so it is easily accessible, being closer than Birmingham, where we would need to go to attend  classical music concerts.  Throughout the Autumn and Spring terms, a series of concerts is offered, covering a wide range of styles and all performed by  professional musicians. 

This season started with Foden's Brass Band performing several pieces including the Planets Suite (Holst).  After the performance the audience was invited to visit the University Observatory (https://www.keele.ac.uk/observatory).  The intention was to look at Planets through the 31cm refractor dating back to 1874.  This telescope is not used for current research, the department having more up-to-date telescopes, but members of the public are welcomed at set times during the week to look at the skies with this ancient equipment.  On this night, because the sky was clear and the Moon was almost full, it was too bright to see  the only planets that would have been in view, so the telescope was trained on the edge of the Moon. It was the clearest, most close-up view of the moon that I have experienced, so it was worth the walk to the Observatory, even though it was cold.

This week, the concert was given by an ensemble named Voces8.  If you enjoy 'a capella' music then it is worth looking up their website to get an idea of their travels throughout Europe, North America and Asia.  YouTube provides many videos of their music.  They sing a wide variety of styles including jazz and musicals.  The 'highly recommended' is based on my own enjoyment of the evening - one of the best concerts I have had the privilege of attending.

P.S.For those on the  U.S. East Coast, Voces8, have close connections to Harrisonburg VA, where they are giving a concert at the Eastern Mennonite School at the end of February, 2018.

How times change

It's that time of year when in the UK Guy Fawkes is remembered with bonfires and fireworks.

As a child I recall children going round the streets and knocking at doors asking for a 'penny for the guy', hoping to get enough money to buy some fireworks.  They would have an effigy of Guy Fawkes which they dressed in old clothes, usually transported by pushchair, awaiting his fate on the top of the bonfire.  There were no laws forbidding the sale of fireworks to youngsters. The 'celebrations' were usually a family affair, organised bonfires were a rarity.

We carried on the tradition when we had our own children.  F. took charge - preparing a bonfire in the back garden, buying as many fireworks as he could afford, and being chief of the proceedings.  I had the job of keeping the children safe while the fireworks were being let off, and cooking suitable snacky food - baked potatoes and sausages.  Sparklers were a must and the children enjoyed waving these through the air, watching the patterns they made.  There were some organised firework displays and as we lived on the opposite side of the valley from the local raceway we had a good view of their firework display from the bedroom windows.

Now the family has grown up we don't bother with fireworks and F. sees bonfire night as a good time to burn the garden trimmings that are too large to compost down.  Fewer people have home bonfires and fireworks (a consequence of gardens in new homes getting smaller? ) and organised firework displays complete with funfairs and food vans are well attended.

This year bonfire night happened at the weekend  so there were three nights when people celebrated.  We went shopping to our usual supermarket on Saturday evening and arrived at the car park just as the  people were leaving the display organised by the local Scouts.  The supermarket car park which usually has very few cars at that time of day was crowded with cars that had been parked there by people attending the firework display.  Now families were piling into their vehicles - it wasn't quite mayhem but it was an entertainment watching the manoeuvring as everybody tried to get their car out of the parking space and back onto the road.  We stayed still, watching and waiting till the car park was less busy before we tried to park. 

On Sunday, F went on a journey to the other side of town.  He had to cross the road which runs past the County Showground.  On the return journey, he made a detour because the traffic on the road to the showground was one long traffic jam - people attending the organised fireworks display at the showground  - he didn't fancy driving several miles in slow-moving, bumper to bumper traffic.

It's easy to watch spectacular fireworks displays on the television nowadays for New Year's Eve or Royal Weddings, but I think you don't get the same atmosphere as watching fireworks live. Of course, the best firework display I've attended was the one put on at the Oshkosh Airshow - that was spectacular - but I don't have to photographs to prove it.