Sunday 30 March 2014

We Need New Names

I spent the weekend catching up on my reading for my book-club. This will be my first attendance this year which was very bad. I’m very selective about the books that I wanted to discuss. I don’t read historical romance or fiction, autobiographies and western.  We Need New Names was the debut novel of expatriate Zimbabwean writer NoViolet Bulawayo and was shortlisted  for the 2013 Man Booker Prize. The coming-of-age story gripped me from the start, as ten-year old Darling narrated her life with her friends Godknows, Stina, Sbho, pregnant Chipo and Bastard in a soul-crushing ghetto called Paradise. Through unconventional and smartly written dialogue, these characters came to life and the pace was set from the first page.  There was a palpable anxiety to cover every "African" topic such as child soldiers, genocide, child prostitution, female genital mutilation, political violence, police brutality, dictatorships, predatory preachers, dead bodies on the roadside and even the Chinese take-over was mentioned. Around CoventryDarling was given an opportunity to leave these behind and live with her extended family in Detroit, Michigan, or as the children call it, "Destroyedmichygen".  Here, the teenaged girl lived and consumed the worst of American youth culture. She found out that, despite the material wealth, what she dreamed of didn’t come true. She lived the life of immigrants with menial jobs, the obligation to send money home and the impossibility of trips home for the "illegals".  Like the thousands of people all over the world trying to forge new lives far from home, this new home brought its own set of challenges - for her and also for those she left behind. To me, We Need New Names was a beautifully written and heartbreakingly entrancing story of growing up and facing your fears and I thoroughly recommend it to anyone.

In between readings, Babe and I checked out Coombe Abbey Country Park because there was several sightings of a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker near the hides. After grudgingly paying the exorbitant parking fee, we made our way to the hide walking past clumps of spent Snowdrops. It was surprisingly very quiet that we managed to disrupt an amorous couple :-). Hmmm…they left ASAP. There was plenty of activity at the Heronry. We saw Cormorants and Herons ferrying in sticks for nest-building. We waited and waited and waited but except for a few Blue and Great Tits, the woodpecker forgot to turn up. After about an hour, we left. Coombe  Abbey CP - Early spring

As we walked on the causeway past the main lake, we spotted a delightful performance of an albino male pigeon courting a female. It was one of those beautiful things that happened all around us and we often hear the cooing of a male pigeon in his courtship but we seldom see the display. It was quite comical to watch. Usually the female was busy eating or minding her own business when a male comes over to her and started fanning his tail and dancing around her. It seemed very pushy and desperate – especially when the female ignored him.  Among pigeons it was the female who does the choosing. Coombe  Abbey CP - Early spring

First, the male strutted around the female spreading his tail and dragging his tail on the ground, a process called tail-dragging. Then he puffed out his neck feathers, bowed several times while circling around the female. He ran closely behind her to move her away from other males. And then came the interesting bit when she put her beak (bill) inside the male’s beak (bill). Then the two birds moved together in rhythm, bobbing their heads up and down. Billing happened just before mating. The female bend down and the male hopped on top of her and flapped his wings to keep his balance. Coombe  Abbey CP - Early spring

We’d a good laugh because it was unsuccessful for the first time. After the 2nd successful try, the female came closer to the male and tried to put her beak inside the male again but he doesn’t want to know. I guess he already has done his bit :-). We waited for the display flight where after mating, the male will fly up and clap his wings together over his back which make a clapping sound. But he was more interested in eating. Typical … Coombe  Abbey CP - Early spring

Say something, I'm giving up on you
I'll be the one, if you want me to
Anywhere, I would've followed you
Say something, I'm giving up on you

Coombe  Abbey CP - Early spring

And I am feeling so small
It was over my head
I know nothing at all

Coombe  Abbey CP - Early spring

And I will stumble and fall
I'm still learning to love
Just starting to crawl

Coombe  Abbey CP - Early spring

Say something, I'm giving up on you
I'm sorry that I couldn't get to you
Anywhere, I would've followed you
Say something, I'm giving up on you

 Coombe  Abbey CP - Early spring

And I will swallow my pride
You're the one that I love
And I'm saying goodbye

Coombe  Abbey CP - Early spring 

Say something, I'm giving up on you
And I'm sorry that I couldn't get to you
And anywhere, I would have followed you
Oh-oh-oh-oh say something, I'm giving up on you

 Coombe  Abbey CP - Early spring

Say something, I'm giving up on you
Say something

~Great Big World & Christina Aguilera~Coombe  Abbey CP - Early spring

At the car-park, we spent a bit of time checking out the many ancient oaks for Little Owls which had been spotted roosting in the hollowed trunks. We walked up and down straining our necks, but to no avail. Instead, we came across quite a large flock of Redwings resting on one of the trees. I think they were bidding time to fly back to their northern breeding territories, where they nest low down in boggy woodland and birch forests. We could hear their continuous chatter of squeaks and warbles as they argued the best time to depart.Coombe  Abbey CP - Early spring

“Birds of the same feathers flock together, and when they flock together they fly so high”

~Cecil Thounaojam~

We later made a pit stop at our favourite playground to see what the natives were up to. The Clarke’s mining bees were very busy on the sandy slope by the path to Baldwin Hide. Also referred to as digger bees, these black and yellow flying insects were solitary bees which nests in burrows in the ground. Unlike many social wasps and bees controlled by a queen, each female dug an individual burrow to rear her own young. Although they were solitary bees, if soil conditions were ideal, many bees nest near to each other. I wished the Trust fenced up the area to stop people from stepping on them.Brandon Marsh - Early spring

We were so caught up with the mining bees that we decided just to stay at Baldwin Hide. At first, it looked very quiet when suddenly we heard the piercing cry and then a flash of blue whizzing past the hide straight under the bushes. It was just too far for a good photograph. A pair of Shelducks were bobbing up and down in the middle of the lake. Then a flock of Canada Geese flew in with their V-formation, honking loudly, disrupting the peace. As we watched them landing gracefully on the lake, we spotted an odd-looking one. Hang-on, it was a Barnacle Goose. Whoop…whoop.Brandon Marsh - Early spring

We also checked a new reserve, the RSPB Sandwell Valley, just down the M6 motorway. I wanted to see the Ring-Necked parakeets that had made the reserve their home. We stopped at the temporary visitor centre by the entrance to ask for information and off course, where can I find the parakeets. We parked beside the severely damaged burnt-down visitor centre and headed towards the railway line where the parakeets were supposed to be. Unfortunately, they knew we were coming and went AWOL. Grr… Thankfully, this Greenfinch kept me busy.RSPB Sandwell Valley - Early spring

We walked back to the car-park and scanned the bird-feeder situated at the back of the burnt-building. By the way, the Trust had received funding and a new visitor centre will be built soon. The bird-feeder was buzzing with at least a dozen Bullfinches and more feeding on the ground. The males were looking their best at the moment with their pink chests and jet black heads. A male brambling was sighted earlier during the week but not today. A wood-pecker was drumming in the woods but stopped as we got closer. We have been spotted.RSPB Sandwell Valley - Early spring

We walked towards the hide and was disgusted by plastics of dog mess hung on tree branches. Why??? That really bugged us. And it made worse when we came to the most noisiest hide we’d ever stepped in. We tolerated the noise and looked out the windows to see the usual culprits. There were Galdwall, Teal, Shoveler,  Mallard, Tufted ducks, Lapwings, Black-headed gulls and Great Crested Grebes. Unfortunately, the sun was shining straight into the hide. We left when the volume was so unbearable that we couldn’t even hear each other. We walked a bit further to see more of the  660 acres of woodlands, meadows, pools and streams. For about half an hour, we didn’t see anything at all except for this Comma fluttering past us, that we decided to turn back and go home. We will come again, most probably in winter or when a rare sighting was alerted.RSPB Sandwell Valley - Early spring

We went back to our favourite reserve again to see what was about and we were glad we did. We met Kay and Andy on the path towards Baldwin Hide. We didn’t have time for any chinwags because a Tree-creeper was flying in and out of the reed-borders. I made myself comfortable and all you could hear was our cameras rattling away. We think that it was building a nest here because it had nested here before. And presto, it flew in carrying a tiny, weeny stick, oblivious to the lens focusing on it. 

Brandon Marsh - Early spring

The tree-creeper hustles

Up fir’s rusty bark;

All silent be bustles;

We needen’td say hark.

Brandon Marsh - Early spring 

There’s no song in the forest, in field, or in wood,

Yet the sun gilds the grass as though come in for good.

~John Clare~Brandon Marsh - Early spring

Then we headed to East Marsh Hide. Peacocks, freshly emerged from hibernation, were basking along the path. Cetti Warblers were singing from the undergrowth, as usual heard but not seen. The hide was packed but thankfully, we managed to find a seat. A Great Crested Grebe was cruising along the lake. We spotted 2 pairs of Oyster-Catchers flying around the reserve with their cackling calls trailing behind them. Little Ring Plovers were busy feeding along the mudbanks. A Redshank flew in and was immediately chased away by the Lapwings. We left as more people poured in.Brandon Marsh - Early spring

We continued to Carlton Hide where most of the Brandon regulars were making themselves at home. They were waiting for the Marsh harriers where a pair was sighted earlier during the day. The Harriers didn’t turn up but a Kestrel hovering very close to the hide took their attention. It was like being at war as cameras with impressive lens were poking out of the hides and rattling hundreds of shots. The Kestrel wasn’t too bothered by all these attention and continued to hover with its speckled red-brown back grey head perfectly still as it continued searching the ground below for signs of small mammals, a vole perhaps.Brandon Marsh - Early spring

While the big boys were busy trying to out do each other to get the best angle of the Kestrel, a water snake was slowly making its way through the pool towards the hide. No one spotted it except for moi. Sometimes called grass snakes, they fed in or near water, and often leave their aquatic environments only to bask in the sun or to mate. They were at the mercy of the thermal environment and needed to overwinter in areas which weren’t subject to freezing. That was why I’m not impressed with the Conservation team clearing an area where they were known to hibernate.Brandon Marsh - Early spring

Long tailed tits kept us entertained as they flitted in the reed-beds. We could hear the loud whining courting trill of the Little Grebes but we can’t see them. We scanned along the reed-beds and one emerged from under the kingfisher pool. Smallest of the grebes, the Little Grebe or dabchick was rounder and dumpier than their congeners. It was in its breeding colours, with a bright chestnut throat and cheeks and a pale colour gap patch. Then another one skulked out from the undergrowth. They pair were swimming buoyantly before disappearing back into the reeds.Brandon Marsh - Early spring

Their abrupt departure into the reeds flushed out the very secretive and difficult to observe water rail. We have heard the pig-like squealing, grunting and screaming  from deep in the reed-beds and we knew they were around. Their slender legs and toes were adapted for walking on floating pond weeds, allowing them to slip quickly through the marshy vegetation without being seen. It made a very brief appearance before fluttering off with its actively jerking tail and trailing legs  back into the reed-beds.Brandon Marsh - Early spring

The piercing cry of a Kingfisher whizzed past the hide. So far, I’d never seen it perched on the pole. I think this was because the dreaded New Zealand pygmy weed had begun to spread again. The Conservation team had cleared the pool in October last year but I think it might need to be done again.  Another Brandon regular came in and told us that he’d seen a ruff at East Marsh pool. Since we were leaving, we made a brief stop and spotted it feeding among the redshanks on the mudbanks of Willow Island.Brandon Marsh - Early spring

I had the most wonderful surprise during the week when I was informed that I got through my risk assessment tests. I was awarded a Level 2 Award in Risk assessment from the British Safety Council.  I had attended a very intensive one day course which provided knowledge and understanding of the risk assessment process and the skills required to undertake a suitable and sufficient risk assessment. After completing the course, I’d to submit an assessment task on a specific workplace and test the application of learning. I’d been working on it for a month, tweaking here and there and finally submitted on the day when I’d the most awful headache. Frankly, I expected to re-sit it again. After receiving my certificate, I volunteered to be one of the library’s risk-assessor. That should be exciting. The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 required every employer and self-employed person to make a suitable and sufficient assessment of health and safety risks. Shots from Warwick University

One of my colleagues, SLA, is a vegetarian and she was complaining that she’d not found any decent restaurant that caters to her needs. So we were on a mission to find one and we thought of Browns which was now under a new ownership and management, the Alan Edward Higgs charity. In 2012, this restaurant caused national outrage after turning away two grieving soldiers because they were wearing their military uniforms. The 4 of us descended on this quirky restaurant after a day of thunder, lightning and hail. We climbed up the stairs and took a table with impressive views of the Coventry Cathedral. SLA was delighted with the menu that she had a hard time to decide which one she wanted to try first. I guess it was a hit then. I chose the spinach, mushroom and smoked cheddar lasagne, cauliflower cheese and courgette provencal with new potatoes. Nom…nom..nom. What a lovely way to end a working week.Around Coventry

How did you celebrate Earth Hour? What were you thinking about during your moment of darkness? I switched off the tv and the lights. A candle smelling of sweet lime wafted around the room. It was pleasantly warm and the patio door was opened. A blackbird was still singing its heart out on top of the tree. It was time to contemplate and join in the big switch off as part of the annual green campaign. It was coordinated by the WWF to raise awareness of climate change and other environmental causes. It was time to switch off, turn off and tune out.  Shots from our Home and Garden

“Don’t underestimate the value of doing nothing, of just going along, listening to all the things you can’t hear, and not just bothering.”

~Pooh’s Little instruction Book~

Monday 24 March 2014

♫All of Me♫

Brandon Marsh - Early spring

What would I do without your smart mouth
Drawing me in, and you kicking me out
Got my head spinning, no kidding, I can't pin you down
What's going on in that beautiful mind
I'm on your magical mystery ride
And I'm so dizzy, don't know what hit me, but I'll be alright

Brandon Marsh - Early spring 
My head's underwater
But I'm breathing fine
You're crazy and I'm out of my mind

Brandon Marsh - Early spring

Cause all of me
Loves all of you
Love your curves and all your edges
All your perfect imperfections
Give your all to me
I'll give my all to you
You're my end and my beginning
Even when I lose I'm winning
Cause I give you all of me
And you give me all of you, oh

Brandon Marsh - Early spring

How many times do I have to tell you
Even when you're crying you're beautiful too
The world is beating you down, I'm around through every mood
You're my downfall, you're my muse
My worst distraction, my rhythm and blues
I can't stop singing, it's ringing in my head for you

Brandon Marsh - Early spring

My head's underwater
But I'm breathing fine
You're crazy and I'm out of my mind

Brandon Marsh - Early spring

Cause all of me
Loves all of you
Love your curves and all your edges
All your perfect imperfections
Give your all to me
I'll give my all to you
You're my end and my beginning
Even when I lose I'm winning
Cause I give you all of me
And you give me all of you,oh
Give me all of you

Brandon Marsh - Early spring 

Cards on the table, we're both showing hearts
Risking it all, though it's hard

 Brandon Marsh - Early spring

Cause all of me
Loves all of you
Love your curves and all your edges
All your perfect imperfections
Give your all to me
I'll give my all to you
You're my end and my beginning
Even when I lose I'm winning
Cause I give you all of me
And you give me all of you

Brandon Marsh - Early spring

I give you all of me
And you give me all of you, ohh

~John Legend~

Brandon Marsh - Early spring

A  very beautiful song to accompany the elegant courtship dance of a pair of Great Crested Grebes. We have been very lucky to get a front row seat of one nature’s great water ballets. We watched in anticipation of them performing a beautiful and intimate courtship dance. The pair were now in their stunning summer displays with their striking head feathers forming a ruff. We have heard them calling to each other with their cackling “kek-kek-ke-ke” or a harsh howling “ker-ker-ker”.Brandon Marsh - Early spring

In the middle of the lake, the male approached underwater and emerged suddenly. Mutual head shaking followed, mirroring each other. There was a lot of head shaking and fluffing out their head crest feathers, where the black crests and chestnut and black tippets came into display. The male dashed away, the retreat display, only to suddenly turned and faced its pursuing partner. They performed synchronised dives and emerged holding a clump of pond weed in their beaks. The courtship ended with both lovers rising up on the water, chest to chest, feet paddling like crazy, presenting each other with the pond weed. If the dance was successful, the pair formed a lasting bond and will find a private corner to mate.  I could watch this again and again. I was so engrossed that I’d forgotten to take any photographs. These amazing sequence were taken by Babe. Thanks, darling.Brandon Marsh - Early spring

I took a day off to celebrate my birthday.  Another candle on the cake and I think I needed a bigger cake to fit all these candles:-). I am thankful to be blessed with good health, a job that I enjoyed and a wonderful husband. Life was good. Syukur alhamdulillah. We started the day with a trip to the beautiful Victorian spa town of Leamington Spa. After parking at our favourite spot, on the top floor of the Parade, we walked along the wide boulevards admiring the stunning Georgian and Edwardian architecture. Our first stop was the London Camera Exchange because Babe wanted to send his Sigma 120-400 lens for repair. We crossed the road to photograph these stunning floral displays which had earned the town three consecutive medals in the Heart of England in Bloom competition.Lovely Spring Day in Leamington Spa

Then we walked towards the shopping district  because I wanted to check out the eclectic emporium,Blighty Bazaar. We were searching for a metal pot-stand but I was lost in the vintage, retro, handmade nostalgic and yesteryear memorabilia. I was blown away by the veritable feast of loveliness housing over 90 individual stalls with a tearoom brimming with dainty vintage china under one roof. Babe sat down in the tearoom while I browsed the labyrinth of rooms. It was like taking a walk down memory lane, an Aladdin’s cave of British social history. We didn’t find any pot-stand but I did came out with a box of vintage buttons and an adorable retro brooch. It was impossible to leave empty-handed. I will definitely come again.Lovely Spring Day in Leamington Spa

As we were walking around the town, we were accosted by beggars, Big Issue sellers and chuggers at every corner. It was a turn-off for us. I was searching high and low for the Gaia Co-op because I wanted to get some environmentally friendly stuff. Unfortunately we couldn’t find the place which was a pity. The statute of Queen Victoria outside the Town Hill caught our attention. The statute was moved an inch off its plinth as a result of bombing in WW1. Queen Victoria visited in 1830 and gave the town its ‘Royal’ prefix in 1838. A busy market was on and we bought a few bits and bobs for lunch.Lovely Spring Day in Leamington Spa

We strolled to the Grade II listed Jephson Gardens at the bottom of the town situated beside the River Leam. As we reached the fountain, a flock of pigeons flew towards us because they thought we were going to feed them. It was quite an experience to feel the close brush of the wings as they flew past us. We sat on a bench and had an alfresco picnic in the sunny afternoon keeping an eye on the marauding pigeons. A very friendly squirrel came bounding begging for some scraps. After our lovely lunch, we enjoyed a horticultural experience and walked past the sensory garden, temperate glasshouse, refurbished boathouse and the stunning weir from where the river was cascading.Lovely Spring Day in Leamington Spa

We crossed the beautiful Grade II listed Victoria bridge towards the other end of the town. We glimpsed the All Saints Church with its Gothic revival architecture and made a promise to check it the next time we were here. As we walked past the magnificent Royal Pump rooms, a wedding entourage spilled out. Traffic stood still to allow the happy couple and family cross the road to the Jephson Gardens. They were posing by the fence and it was an opportunity for us to take some photographs. We wished warm congratulations to the lovely couple. May you always find in each other the love, laughter and happiness that only partners in life share.Lovely Spring Day in Leamington Spa

But I couldn’t help thinking of this quote. It was priceless :-).

Attending a wedding for the first time, a little girl whispered to her mother, “why is the bride wearing white? “Because white is the colour of happiness, and today is the happiest day of her life.” The child thought about this for a moment, the said, “So why is the groom wearing black"?”

~Unknown~

We checked out Ashlawn Cuttings again to see if the frog-spawn had hatched. It was another sunny afternoon and the reserve was full of bird-songs and butterflies. Brimstones and Commas were fluttering past, too busy to strike a pose. Colourful Goldfinches with black and yellow wings and red face were twittering rapidly above us. We were surprised to see that quite a lot of spawn had disappeared. There was less than half in the pond. I hoped no one had taken them. It would be very sad if that was to happen. There wasn’t that many frogs too and they’d stopped croaking. I just loved it when they come close to check us out.  Ashlawn Cutting - Early Spring

There is no place in a city that can’t be better.

There is no toad that can’t be a princess,

No frog can’t become a prince.

~Jaime Lerner~

Ashlawn Cutting - Early Spring

Then a quick stop at Draycote Waters to check out one of my favourite summer visitor and passage migrant, the stunning Northern Wheatear. It was an adult male. Check out the blue-grey above with black wings and white below with an orange blush to the breast, a black cheek. In flight, it showed a white rump and a black ‘T’ shape on its tail. They wintered in Central Africa. and make one of the longest journeys of any small bird, crossing ocean, ice and desert just to be here. They appeared in Britain during March, making it one of the earliest summer visitors. Dratcote Water - Early spring

The Anglo-Saxon origin of the name ‘Wheatear’ was believed to mean ‘white arse’ and referred to the conspicuous white rump displayed in the bird’s flight. Their clear ‘wee-chat-chat’ call could be heard as it moved jerkily along the ground, wagging and fanning its tail on occasion. We could see the bobbing of the head as a robin approached.  It was hunting for morsels among the pile of rocks that had been dug by the rabbits.  Dratcote Water - Early spring

“The wheatears come in early spring

And sits on tufts of higher ground

Bobbing smartly as they sing

Synchronously with the sound”

~Robert S. Morrison~

We also checked out Brandon Woods which was just across the road from our favourite playground. There was an open day at the reserve and we knew that they were very popular with the local community and the hides will be full. As we squeezed past the styles, we could hear the cat-like mewing of a buzzard. When we looked up, a pair was soaring above us riding the waves. They were circling closer and closer to where we were standing and all you could hear were our cameras rattling away. Brandon Marsh - Signs of Spring

We crossed the bridge over the railway line as a Virgin coach rattled below us. We spent sometime trying to interpret the map which we think was pointing the wrong way. Brandon Wood was quoted in the Doomsday Book as woodland in 1086 and was now a designated Planted Ancient Woodlands Site (PAWS). We walked through natural broad-leaved woodland with carpets of bluebells poking out of the soil. These would looked amazing when they flower. Pussy Willows and Blackthorn put on a fantastic flowering display with the large yellow male catkins proving very popular with the newly emerged Commas, Peacocks and bumble-bees.Brandon Woods - Early springI would love to walk further but Babe was feeling the heat. We will definitely come again especially when the Bluebells flower. The explosive ‘gergock’ calls from the male pheasant greeted us as we crossed the railway bridge again. It was hard to believe that these birds were introduced to the UK, since they were now so much part of the countryside scene. We walked past a field where a herd of horses and Shetland ponies were grazing by the fence. We’d a good laugh when one of them was rubbing its bottom against the fence.  Aah….Brandon Woods - Early spring

At work, my coleagues and I had a heated discussion about setted sets of books. They were a series of volumes either by an author or about one subject. As information specialists, we arranged the books according to their subject headings unless they were published in a continuous numbered sequence. But, the Maths Institutes requested that all lecture notes regardless of subjects be given or dumped in one class number QA9 which was for general works, treatises and textbooks. Unfortunately, mathematics was not a subject solely for one department. It was also used by other departments as well and it will be confusing for them if we allow this to happen. In the end, the Maths Institute agreed that we classed the books according to the subject headings. They have their own library and will shelved the lecture notes all in one section for their users.

I’d been off work for 2 days due to a flu-like symptoms. I was feeling a bit stuffed when I got up in the morning but I still went to work. As the morning went by, I began to get worse. I was sneezing like a trooper and had a very busy wood-pecker in my head. I croaked to my manager that I am going home before I passed my goodwill to everyone else. In fact, a few of my colleagues had fallen ill earlier in the week. I called Babe and was home before lunch. I spent the days recuperating on Babe’s reclining chair with Paracetamol, vapour rub, lots of water and a hot-water bottle for company. I left the patio door open to let in some fresh air and fall asleep to the tweets, chirps and cheeps of my feathered friends.Shots from Home

“Some days there won’t be a song in your heart. Sing anyway”

~Emory Austin~