* The thrill of learning that Britain is the home of the third largest whirlpool in the world was somewhat dampened (as if we were not wet enough already) when I discovered that whirlpools are not the all powerful entities that Hollywood Blockbusters would have us believe. i.e.giving black holes a run for their money as they suck in large ocean-going liners like they were a light training snack for Adam Richman (Man Vs Food)....
Fortunately the rest of the trip offered an abundance of wildlife including dolphins, red squirrel, otter (about time I saw one – up yours otter pimpernel), mountain hare, a pine marten (It always sounded like some sort of tall tree dwelling bird to me - especially when I thought it was a martin), deer, umpteen birds, including Mrs B breaking her owl duck** with not just one but three varieties of the formally elusive Strigiformes – barn owl, short-eared owl and a tiny owl.
** No, that is not some new variety of Owl , although how awesome would that be? An owl with huge webbed feet landing on an ice-covered pond – I’m getting visual flashes of Roy Hodgson (current England football Manager or ex-England Manager if you are reading this in the future) entering “Dancing on ice” after having a few too many drinks beforehand in order to boost his confidence.
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| The recently discovered Owl Duck Looks like a wise old bird but guaranteed to waddle through any football tournament before crashing out early.... |
The Norfolk part of our break saw us meet up with our friends Hugh (Farmer), Catherine (Teach), Joe (Stunt Cock),Kirsty (La Terriere) and Alfie the dog (CEO of Xupes).
We got to climb up the inside of a wind turbine, with the promise of views over the Norfolk countryside (well, there would have been if the day had not been full of dull brooding clouds awaiting the opportunity to spew another reservoir's worth of water on us .... It was quite interesting as a one-off experience, unlike the two gentlemen who joined us, who claimed (with excitement) that this was their 10th flight (OK, I guess 300 stairs - 600 if you include the return trip- can be described as a flight) and talked rather too passionately for my liking, about getting frequent-flyer status...for god's sake get a life....
We visited Sandringham, where Queenie and the rest of the royal family spend Christmas and New Year. I learned a number of things, including –
- It pays to be inside when it is pouring down with rain.... I kind of already knew that...
- The Queen likes to do jigsaw puzzles – I saw her more of a Grand Theft Auto type of gal....
- Her Maj likes to hang her own Christmas Tree decorations - I suspect this is a throwback to the days when her predecessors had the joys of hanging us commoners on the slightest whim– I guess some habits are hard to break....
I managed to help educate one of the room guides – they were in the Ballroom (which also doubles up as a cinema room – I wonder if I could convince Mrs B that we really need a ballroom?). Sandringham has annual exhibitions in the Ballroom when the house is open to us commoners....This year it was dedicated to the royal dogs who have lived at Sandringham. I was chatting to the guides and the subject of Crufts came up. I managed to inform the guide that Queen Victoria had been a winners of Crufts, as a breeder not an actual contestant. Although in her latter years she could probably have passed herself off quite convincingly as a breed of giant Pug....
The BlackLOG gets BlackBALLED
For some odd reason many of my recent comments on Blogger sites, especially in the US, are being frogmarched directly to the Spam section and dumped unceremoniously – “Ouch, that hurts”. Admittedly many of my comments are uninformed drivel but it is well intentioned, uninformed drivel and deserves better than being left on the scrap heap of word life that the spam file represents...
Oddly enough Wordpress and other blogging arenas don’t seem to be taking the same hard-line approach as Blogger, which happens to be my blog engine of choice....I wonder if Blogger is trying to tell me something and this is the start of its eviction attempts on BlackLOG.....
If you are a regular target for my misinformed prose and are wondering what has happened to your regular dose of ignorance, check out your spam area first before filing a missing commenter's report ....
Watch of the Week....
The regular section in support of Joe (Stunt Cock) and his growing watch business Xupes. Joe mentioned that they had been getting a number of hits via the BlackLOG. Xupes has been trading for over 2 years and Joe has recently developed some great contacts in the trade which enables him to pick up surplus stock and sell them at great prices. Mrs B is a regular purchaser from his jewellery section, going self-service once she finally realised that her husband is not the jewellery buying type…
Audemars Piguet Limited edition Black Carbon Ceramic
Bumble Bee Royal Oak Offshore Chronograph
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PRICE £18,495
RRP £25,480
SAVING £6,985
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Record of the week
Here Comes the Rain Again by Eurythmics
Rain in the Summertime by The Alarm
Why Does It Always Rain On me? by Travis
With A Little Help From My Friends by Wet Wet Wet
Photo finish
Scotland and Norfolk as seen by The Beast in the gaps between the many rain showers....
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| A Pine Marten part tree, part bird all mustelid ... |
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| Otter just makes it to the bank for early closing |
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| The new Puffin range is waterproof which proves ideal for reading in the bath..... |
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| Mrs B's Russian routes showing through.... |
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| If only he could talk I bet he could tell us a tall tale |
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| Is that a gun in his pocket or is he just please to see us..... How embarrassed is he going to be when he finds out his flies are undone, lets hope he hasn't lost his nuts.... |
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| This misguided little fellow seems to have taken a short cut and has ended up going down the wrong branch of the evolutionary tree. |
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| Mission Mmpossible V - (Bark worse than bite) Tom Cruise (as Nathan Hunt) takes on his arch enemy Secret Squirrel - possibly the only co-star to be shorter than the diminutive Mr Cruise |
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| Oops, I think I may have just shot Bambi's Mother ? |
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| Dolphin porn Don't you just wish they would get a room .... |
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| "Suicide Hare" It's always embarrassing when you have to wait ages to be...road kill ------ There is allegedly a cafe on Route 66 in America called The Road Kill Cafe - that cooks your road kill for you. A case of - "From your grill to their grill" Depending on your driving skills you could find yourself dining on Squashed Nosh Splatter Platter Sauteed Squirrel Big Bagged Stag Highway Hash Possum Pie Baked Badger and not for the faint hearted Human stew Best to eat it all in one sitting after-all "No evidence, no conviction" |
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| Possibly the world's first rechargeable Kestrel..... |
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| This is some sort of fancy fly trap - I wonder if we should warn that flashing squirrel... |
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| Scottish lakes - just like English lakes except they have a billion more midges ... |
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| He might look cute but don't be fooled. This is half of the infamous body snatching gang - I'm not sure where Burke has got to? |
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| Great Scottish cuisine No. 23 Roast hare on a bed of heather...... |
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| Looks like David Cassidy had let himself go no wonder they cancelled "The Partridge Family." OK this would have worked a lot better if it had not been a Grouse or if the series "The Grouse Family" had made it into production..... |
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| Here is someone who is not looking forward to the Glorious 12th |
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| Another Scottish lake, another billion midges... Still it gives you something nice to look at while you are being eaten alive.... |
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| Blackbird singing in the dead of night.... or would have been if he wasn't frightened of the dark . |
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| Meet the Marti Pellow of the sparrow world Wet, Wet, Wet "Wishing I Was Lucky" It's not a case of luck but proper planning he should have brought a brolly...... |
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| The weather looks better than it was, honest. Windy Miller will be spinning in his box |
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| View from the flight deck On a clear day you can see probably see the next wind vane..... |
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| Alfie CEO of Xupes I think he might have dropped the ball!!! |
Pop in next time for Paloma Faith, my patriotic jacket and possibly me in my London Ambassador uniform (Although I'm not sure I'm ready to reveal all yet.....) and as I've had a few enquiries some highlights of the wedding that I photographed....I.e not the full 1700 shots....
