Herne Bay in the sunshine....NOT!!

Hi folks,

Well with Michael Fish telling me that it was going to be a super day today we did no more than pack and head for the coast..... WRONG. (after 1987 why do we listen to him),

Daisy was so excited about playing on the swings there so in glorious sunshine we headed down the A2 towards the coast and duly arrived to this an hour later.

This is a close up of the beach just to prove I didn't leave the lens cap on. This is what greeted us when we arrived............

Yuck comes to mind, so off we trotted to get some lunch hoping the mist would clear.

Well suitably refreshed we arrived back at the beach to this, a really nice picture of Herne Bay Clock tower in all its glory.

Take a last look at the Pier in the mist as they are about to demolish it.

Right, enough doom and gloom, what about some wild life to cheer us up.

As I am getting into this wild life thing I need to know what this little chap is called, he was going along the waters edge feeding and then took off.

Here he is in flight and had very pretty markings,

We found the monument of the man holding the boat in the water and at first Daisy was scared of it but soon came round and gave him a hug,,BLESS.

We then tried to find the swings on the seafront by the pier but they had all been moved so little legs was not very happy.

How do you cheer a 3 year old up after such a disappointment, well you buy her an Ice cream don't you.

This is a story all by itself, in we went and a very nice man behind the counter took a shine to our Daisy and asked her which flavour she wanted. He did no more than walked her along the row of tubs behind the counter and let her try a few different ones.  After the photo shoot and a clean tub he did no more than give her a colouring book and some crayons, what a nice man he was.

Back in the car without a swing or slide we stopped off in Faversham on the way back to give her a swing and slide fix which really tired her out.

Although the weather was a bit naf we all enjoyed our trip to the coast and had a sing song of  "Wheels on the Bus" on the way home.

Daisy is now fast asleep in her secret bed waiting for another fun day tomorrow.

nite, nite, luv Mike XX

Elmley Marsh Livestock

Hi folks,

After Trev's spectacular blog of yesterday I thought I had better comment and add the scenery to the event.  I felt that this was a bit of an anticlimax after all those birds

Looking out from the Car park across the marsh, this is a wonderful place to go and as you know Trev went back on his own for a second go.

There are quite a few of these four legged creatures roaming the marsh.

Whilst Trev was snapping away I took this.

 Here's my attempt at the swan.

Following Mummy across the field.

Back towards the car park and a long awaited wee.

Short and sharp tonight.

nite nite, luv Mike xx

Dive, Dive, Dive....

Hi folks,

Following on from Tuesday when we went to the Dockyard, not only were there swings and boats there but also a Submarine HMS Osolot. we all plucked up courage and went aboard. There were only the three of us so lots of time to look and take pictures.

She was started on 17th November 1960.

She was launched two years later in May 1962 from No. 7 Slip. Significantly Ocelot was the last submarine to be built in Chatham Dockyard for the Royal Navy.  Ocelot paid off in August 1991 and returned to Chatham Historic Dockyard in 1992.

HM Submarine Ocelot was one of the thirteen Oberon Class submarines built for the Royal Navy between 1959 and 1964.  The Oberon Class were all diesel electric boats which were capable of high underwater speeds of up to 17 knots (20 mph) when submerged.  They also carried improved detection equipment over their predecessor the Porpoise Class, and were armed with homing torpedoes.  (taken from Dockyard website)

Daisy also came even though I was a bit worried that she might not like it as it was so enclosed so we went on the 10 minute walk through.

This was the business end were the Torpedos were fired you can see the 4 tubes, 1 loaded. Was a bit cramped in there but Daisy liked it, so no worries.

Through the  water tight door we went towards the Command Centre. Daisy started talking to the guide who had a daughter six months younger than her so they had a lot in common and he chatted to her throughout the tour.

Up Periscope. (this is how they get to look out as there are no windows he told Daisy).

Sleeping quarters which were very cramped.... then on to the engine room.

Engine room which was very narrow as you can see by the walkway. This place must have been very noisy when they were running.

Back up top. after climbing out through the last hatch into the daylight.

There you are a good time was had by all, will do the longer trip soon when Daisy is not with us as she would have got bored.

bye bye for now, luv Mike xx

"Delightful Daisy"

Hi folks,

Well I'm now back in the land of the living and having a wonderful day with Daisy. The day started with the usual morning coffee with her dad who brings her early Tuesday mornings. after our usual chat, Ian her dad left for work and we were deciding were to go as the sun was shining.

I got the camera ready and thought I would try a few of Daisy before we went out. If you follow this blog you will have seen the banter that goes on between Trev, a good friend and myself re Daisy looking into the camera.

Daisy ended up taking this one of herself.,....

She is nearly looking into the camera, but as Eileen says and I agree it looks better just off .

Well how, did she do it...............

I set the camera up on a Tripod on the lounge table with the sun coming in the windows, I then fixed the remote to the camera, twisted out the LCD screen and revolved it so she could see herself. Set up the camera and showed how to press the remote, snapping away with lots of different expressions.

I started by holding the remote, that didn't work

I then gave it to her and that was it, she took the shot then looked at the result  in the LCD screen and took another. The expression on her face was priceless. After about 40 shots we got it right as in the top pose.

This is an earlier one as she likes to pretend to swim on her plastic table.

If all else fails, turn her upside down so she can't look away, he he

A good time was had by all we then packed our bags for an adventure in the Dockyard, that's for another day.

Little legs is now safely tucked up in bed ready for another exciting day tomorrow,

Phew I'm worn out, nite nite, luv Mike xx

Well, back to it.

Hi folks,

    Sorry for my absence, this was due to a rather bad head cold over the weekend which rendered me fit for nothing. So a lazy weekend sleeping quite bit and really doing nothing.

But, we shall overcome, had a busy day today working in the sunshine with a jumper on all day as I was still recovering.

As I have not taken any images over the last few days and missed the 40s Dockyard bash over the weekend I thought I would put one of our little angel up for good measure.

Will try for a longer blog tomorrow as it's Daisy Day.

nite nite, luv Mike xx

Cheeky couple of hours off

Hi folks,

Well today I finished work a bit early and went on a jaunt to Motney Hill with Trevor, dont tell Sue though as she was working hard in Canterbury.

This is the first time I have tried Birding with my long lens which I think I stretched it to far. We had to walk along a path by the shoreline for about a mile.

Anyway this is a few that I got...

Right not being very good at this my book says it's a Little Egret, Trev and I both got these although they were a long way away.

Trev is into birds in flight so I had a go, it is not as easy as it looks. I think this is a Herring Gull.

There is an abundance of wild flowers out there I took this but I have forgotten it's name no doubt one of the bolgspot group will remind me.

Lots of birds were flocking ready to migrate to warmer climes.

 I got a couple of Waders on the shore line Trevor got one of these is flight. I think they are Curlew with a19cm beak but I stand to be corrected.

Now you can see where we were very close to the power station.

And last but not least another Little Egret.

All in all a great couple of hours we spent and I must admit I could get hooked.

Well that's my first go so I need a lot more practice.

nite nite, luv Mike xx

Chatham Dockyard activity

Hi Folks,

Today is Tuesday, that's Daisy Day so a day out was called for.

First off sort out the house

Exciting day today we started on the bathroom and had a new toilet fitted. You know one of these modern double flush jobs. New bath, washbasin and shower to follow. New tiles and carpet so I will have to work for another 5 years

Nothing like going to the Dockyard for a day out. Daisy made a b-line for the swings at the far end by the berth of the Kingswear Castle which we dont talk about it otherwise is rains.. Whilst on the swings Sue noticed some activity with the trains so we went to investigate.

This loco was having it's cab removed via a folk lift and the rest of the train was shunted back into the yard.

The Loco without it's cab, I think they were doing some major work to it. As it was being shunted, you guessed it, down came the rain so we stayed and watched it being placed over a pit for work to be carried out.

Back in the safety of the workshop and out of the rain, Daisy had a go in the children's play area in the same building and stayed there for about an hour whilst the rain fell down.

Daisy tried to mimic the shunting trains in the play area which I have to say is not that clean as it is in the same shed as the steam trains bit BLACK.

On the way out we found this bird, possibly a young Pigeon sheltering under the hedge row.
There you go my wildlife shot of the day.

Blog would not be complete without a Tuesday Daisy portrait.

Long day with our lovely granddaughter so need a nap now.

nite nite, luv Mike XX

Hempsted Valley, Classic Cars

Hi folks,

What a weekend for photography, Saturday, Leeds Castle and now this on Sunday. We were so lucky with the weather, here's a few taken on Sunday morning.

1st , this was my old favourite as I used to do loads of gearbox repairs on these cars in fact this car was the main stay of my business in the good old days.

I was very impressed with the amount of American cars at the show, this Thunderbird has  wonderful interior.

They dont make them like this anymore, in fact this type of American car was responsible for many deaths due to the steering wheel crushing the driver on collision. The cars of that age had no seatbelts either so you can see how vulnerable the driver was.

Moving into the Savacentre and on a lighter note....

This modern Aston Martin was similar to the one used in the James Bond movie.

Followed by a Jaguar, note the dummy rockets in the grill, I think this boy enjoyed himself as for a donation to the air ambulance you could sit in the car but not drive it.

Back outside...

A rather nice "pimped up" Morris 1000 with loads of chrome, must have cost the owner a fortune.

Wow what a sight under the bonnet.

To finish off, here's one for the children....

I wanted to take this one home for Daisy but no such luck.

I hope you enjoyed my little trip around the show, I had loads more to show but I have run out out space.

Till the next time,

nite nite, luv Mike xx

Jousting

Hi again folks,

As a rider to yesterdays blog and the main reason we went to Leeds Castle was for the Jousting.

Before the event started I got this one called " old and new" which I liked due to the man in the cap with the old style dresses seemed to stand out.

We set ourselves up in seats one and a half hours before the event started to get a good view of the castle and the action. There was a load of big cameras there and not to be outdone I took my Nikon mainly to stop the action, if needed. Well the event started and the King arrived who was also the commentator and looked funny with a microphone, it sort of looked out of place.

Good old Henry and his bit of modern technology.

The organisers involved the crowd at the start and there was a procession around the parade ring which got everyone involved.

I think this little girl was the Knight's daughter some how as she wasn't scared of his helmet.  Like the off the shoulder look, the Knight adjusted it when they reached the line.

The ring was split into two with the blues our end and the reds the other, each part of the crowd cheering for there end, a bit like a football match really.

Right the action was about to start, there are so many images to put up so I chose a few.

The skies started to cloud over and I thought it was going to rain.

Liked the costumes, they set then off very well and of course the beautiful horses.

Blow this one up and look at the end of the lance as it shatters to bits they must be made of weak wood that shatters on side impact although they have to be strong enough to knock the rider off.

Running back to get there swords.

One of the victors celebrating  with the castle in the background.

The blue side which we were on LOST as you can see the reds were the victors.

If you look at the last shot you will see the shadow of the horse just then at the end of the show the sun came out.

All in all a Great event well staged, that's it...

nite nite, luv Mike xx