Tuesday 26 October 2010

Droitwich Branch Canal, Sunday 24th October, 2010.

1) Howard missed out on our last walk along the canal. So he's making up for it today.


2) Female mallard enjoys a moment of respite prior to the arrival of the breeding season.
3) Vicky spots a buzzard circling overhead.

4) Vicky's dodgy knee got her up the olde stone steps OK but will it get her back down again? Interested buzzard circling overhead just out of shot (again).


Monday 25 October 2010

Batsford Arboretum, Wednesday 20th October, 2010.


1) We're come here today in search of some of 'yer autumnals'.

2)
Close, but no cigar.
3) If David drones on about the 'contrasty light' one more time I swear I'll chuck him off this footbridge.

4) A veritable carpet of 'autumnals': albeit 'fallen'.


5) Ruddy fungi-thingies. Growing at ground level. Forcing a bloke who's no longer young to bend down to take a photo. Oh, my poor back.


6) The Holy Grail for 'autumnal' spotters?
7) Oh, very Christmassy.


8) The rear of Batsford House from 'round behind the bins. You don't get to view the frontage unless you've had a Royal Invite or somesuch.



9) A local villager about to get a fuss whether it wants one or not.





10) Where's that cat gone? I only gave it a bit of a fuss.
11) This is as close as one can get to the frontage of the Batsford House without that all-important Invite.




12) Don't come any closer or we'll b*gg*r off!










Worcester walks, 18th-20th October, 2010.

1) Been meaning to take a photo of these berries near Gheluvelt Park for the past few days. Now we have.


2) A walk through Nunnery Wood Country Park. You may think it fanciful that there might be foxes here in broad daylight, but Vicky spotted one at 1:00pm in Droitwich town centre just a few days later.
3) Owls are a tad harder to spot.

4) In search of some 'autumnals'.


5) Ripe for picking?


6) Formation napping after a hard day's walking (for one of these people).




Worcestershire Grasstrack Club, Cladswell Hall Farm, Alcester, Sunday 17th October, 2010.

1) A lovely sunny autumnal day for a spot of grasstrack racing: it's a damn-sight warmer than the July meeting! Let's start with a bit of 350cc action.


2) Yay! It's the 1000cc Sidecars. We like the 1000cc sidecars.
3) We don't think pillion grasstrack racing is going to catch on: too slow by half.

4) And he's off, and it's a big one! Is he alright?

5) He's up and on his feet in no time. They breed 'em tough 'round 'ere.



6) There's a break in the racing so it's time to send Vic off for some scran. Here she comes now. Burger and chips to share. Yummee. It's the food of the Gods, y'know.
7) Gerald Short. Looks like an old man (sorry Gerald) off the 'bike but...............


8)............on it, he's an unbeatable young man again. The rejuvenating powers of 'bikes proven once again.
9) I think we can safely say that these boys have, ahem, 'overcooked' Turn One.


10) Oh, very arty.







Tuesday 12 October 2010

Hanbury Locks Open Day, Sunday 10th October, 2010.

1) Normally the home of Reed Warblers but not today. We did spot one near one of the locks tho'. So why aren't they called Lock Warblers?
2) An extremely rare shot of the two of us together thanks to a kind lady passing by whose daughter had no faith in her Mum's photographic skills.
3) Warbler's-eye view of Number Two Lock.

4) Vicky said 'those flowers are real' so we took a photo (as you do).

5) You could take a canal boat trip or try kayaking but as we have to get to Morrisons before it closes we do neither.



6) The junction of the Worcester Canal with the Droitwich Branch Canal.




7) That reminds us. It'll be Xmas soon and there'll be several chances to watch The Great Escape again. Yippee.



8) All yer narrow boat needs under one roof. Very handy.





9) Our Great Uncle Vitaly didn't navigate the waterways of Great Britain just to sell you......etc etc.







Monday 11 October 2010

HSCC Finals, Silverstone, Saturday 9th October, 2010.

1) The BBC said today would be 20 degrees with sunny spells. Read the details in this shot for the true picture (excuse the pun).

















2) This F5000 Lola isn't racing today. Perhaps they need a driver? Howard is ever-hopeful.





3) Having emailed Sidge the best we can offer is that these two-thirds sized multi-coloured tennis balls stuffed down the trumpets of a Ford Anglia's engine are there to keep anything nasty from getting in whilst being worked on. Could be.

4) If it wasn't for the 'last minute' nothing would get done, eh?

5) A happy marriage of olde and new technology.
6) Vicky's Uncle Stan had a car like this. Guess which car we will be supporting in the Saloon Car Race?
7) The track is nice and greasy now (yes, it's drizzling - so much for those 'sunny spells') and nippy little European cars are harassing big lumbering American ones around the twisty bits. It's tantamount to cheatin', you know.
8) This year's obligatory shot of a rather splendid Lola T400. This one...........shock-horror...........is being driven by a woman (Judy Lyons)!
9) Some of us are still able to smile in the face of a stiff-easterly and an ongoing lack of 'sunny spells'. But only just.

10) Oh it's alright for some (Alexander Boswell). Drifting their Costin Nathan (whatever that is) through Becketts in a nice comfy-cosy enclosed cockpit.
11) It's gone five o'clock and the few hardy souls remaining are looking forward to leaving Silverstone in search of those elusive 'sunny spells' the BBC confidently predicted this morning.
12) When we get home Emlyn is standing guard over his auto-feeder-thingy. He's had two meals from it already and he knows another one's on the way: and he's not for shifting.