Last of the Summer Shine

The weather took a turn when Storm Debby brought in days of torrential downpours and fierce winds, with forecast maps showing a wall of rain heading to Britain. The tail-end of the Storm swept in from the Atlantic, mixing with low-pressure, raising temperatures and causing heavy rain. Thunderstorms and torrential rain hit the country signalling an end to the heatwave that had gripped the country in recent weeks. The continued rainfall and high tides brought risk of travel disruption and damage to family homes.

We kept an eye on the weather forecast as we’d a few things planned in our diary. Thankfully, there was a break in the storm and we managed to venture out. We checked out the Poppies: Weeping Window sculpture  by the artist Paul Cummins and designer Tom Piper. It was presented by Middleport Pottery, Stoke-on-Trent City Council and 14-18 NOW, the UK’s art programme for the First World War centenary, as part of the UK-wide tour of the iconic poppy sculptures, Wave and weeping Window. Middleport had been selected as one of only 16 locations featuring a ‘Weeping Window’ across the country. It was also the last tour venue for Weeping Window before it moved to its final presentation at Imperial War Museums in London. At the end of the tour, the sculpture, along with Wave, will become part of the Museums’ collection.

As our timed visit was for 1 pm, we left the casa at 10.40 am. It was bright and sunny with the mercury reaching 18C. Thankfully not much traffic for a Saturday morning.  There was no public parking at the venue but a temporary car-park was available for visitors. After paying £3, we had a 10 minute walk to the site. But as usual, it took longer for us as we stopped to take photographs of the old industrial buildings and warehouses that overlooked the Trent and Mersy Canal with its hump-back arched bridges.  The route was also decorated with broken pieces of China that was assembled into the walls.

Finally, after about 30 minutes later, we arrived at the venue. Middleport Pottery’s historic Grade II* listed site was built in 1888 for a well-known local ceramics company, Burgess & Leigh Limited. It had maintained unbroken pottery production since its Victorian inception. In June 2011, The United Kingdom Historic Building Preservation Trust (UKHBPT) stepped in to restore Middleport Pottery after the buildings had fallen into disrepair, and embarked on a £9 million, three-year project to regenerate and revitalise the site. In June 2014, HRH The Prince of Wales opened the refurbished Middleport Pottery, now containing the Burleigh factory, a visitor Centre, tea rooms, shop, activity areas and workshops and offices for creative businesses. Today, Middleport Pottery was a thriving visitor destination, and continued as the last working Victorian pottery in the United Kingdom.

Stoke-on-Trent was officially recognised as the World Capital of Ceramics, and Middleport Pottery has been operating since 1889. During the First World War demand for the ceramics goods made in the area greatly increased. These included tableware for hospitals, homes and the military; propaganda-ware, including small ceramic tanks and battleships; plates with patriotic designs or messages on them; and ceramics to mark both the early stages of the war and the Armistice at the end.

It was very busy as it was also the Heritage Open Day weekend. There were a few stalls, exhibitions and showrooms dotted about the place but we headed straight towards the sculpture, walking on the beautiful well-trodden cobbled streets. And when we turned a corner, we were met with a cascade consisting of eleven thousand handmade ceramic poppies were seen pouring from the heights of the Middleport Pottery's Grade II* listed Bottle Oven, to the ground directly below. The bottle oven was one of only 47 left in the Potteries.

It provided a wonderful setting for visitors to reflect on those who made the ultimate sacrifice. This dazzling, reflective and nostalgic arrangement, was originally displayed at The Tower of London from August to November 2014 where 888,246 poppies were displayed, one for every British or Colonial life lost at the Front during the First World War. Weeping Window was from the installation ‘Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red’ in conjunction with Historic Royal Palaces.  Stoke-on-Trent was integral to the original installation where a locally based company Potclays provided the clay that the ceramic poppies were created from, and advised the artist on technical aspects of the clay. Johnson Tiles, who were also based in Stoke, were approached to assist and contracted to produce hundreds of thousands of the poppies.

We waited patiently for the crowd to clear before we were able to creep closer to the installation. It was also a challenge to photograph due to shadows from the surrounding buildings and also the position of the sun. Thankfully, we managed to get the shots that we wanted. It was very poignant to think that each poppy represented someone who had died during WW1 and this year marked the centenary of the Armistice that brought the bloody conflict to an end.  The cascading poppies were a tribute as we reflected, honoured and remembered the sacrifice of our nation’s servicemen.

Then two WW1 enactors dressed in military costumes turned up and posed in front of the sculpture. Quite a few visitors took turns to pose with them. We decided to explore Middleport Pottery in all its glory, especially when it was free for the Heritage Open Day event. We walked on the passageways that were just wide enough for a cart to get through. The historic buildings was filled with stunning original features. There were work rooms  where visitors learnt about the history of ceramics and discovering the traditional craftsmanship used today to produce the potteries. We walked  past a huge storehouse of mould that were used.for the potteries.

Middleport Pottery had been the Home of Burleigh since 1889. The brand was famous for its blue and white floral tableware, which was made by hand. We browsed the factory shop located in a 1930’s wing where the seconds and discontinued pottery were sold. I was hoping to purchase something as a souvenir but everything was so expensive. I just did a walkabout and drooled . In the end, I went out to one of the pop-up stalls and bought a lovely poppy shawl for only £5 which was usually retailed for £15. Then it was time to walk back to the car.

Since we were already in Stoke, we decided to pop over to see the monkeys at Trentham Monkey Forest which was just 20 minutes away. We’d been here before in 2014 and it would be lovely to see them again.  Set within 60 acres of the beautiful Staffordshire woodland, Monkey Forest was home to 140 free-roaming Barbary macaques. These species were upgraded from vulnerable to endangered on the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature & Natural Resources) Red List of Threatened Species.

Opened in July 2005, it was the 4th park owned by the de Turckheim family. The other 3 parks were 2 in France and 1 in Germany. One of the aims of the parks was to raise public awareness on the plight of these macaques by creating and preserving an invaluable genetic pool with the population from these parks and strengthening the wild population by re-introducing entire groups of monkeys. Over 600 Barbary macaques (from the other three sister parks) had already been successfully re-introduced into their natural habitat in the Atlas mountains of Algeria and Morocco. 

We weren’t surprised that the car-park was full. It was a lovely day to be out and about after the storms. After paying the entrance fees, we made our way through the turnstiles and then joined the queue to get into the fenced compound. Here we were given a short briefing of do’s and dont’s. Food and plastic bags weren’t allowed in and there were lockers where you can store them. As we entered the park, it felt like we were walking in the Atlas mountains of Algeria and Morocco, the setting where these macaques were familiar with, thick forests with pine, oak and cedar trees.

We adjusted our eyes to get used to the shady path, looking around us hoping to catch a glimpse. We didn’t have to wait long because they were everywhere, rustling in the trees and crashing through the branches. We followed the 3/4 mile winding forest path that took us through the woodlands where the monkeys lived. We came across an open field and there were monkeys roaming freely around us. We just don’t know where to point our cameras. They were swinging from the trees, lounging on the grass and combing the grass for food. Guides were situated along the path to explain the monkeys' behaviour.

I was hoping to see a few babies but unfortunately they’d grown up to be youngsters. They were already fully weaned at 6 months and were ready to face their first winter. A few were having a wonderful time having a tumble with their older siblings. Grooming sessions were dotted here and there. These activities kept them healthy as well as reinforced social structures and bonds. Usually, a lower ranked or younger individual was more likely to groom a higher-ranked individual and in return received protection and greater acceptance and standing in the group. Because all the grooming benefitted each individual and engendered bonding between individuals, it facilitated and mediated social interactions within the group, which allowed for the group to live together.

There were plenty of guides about keeping an eye on the visitors if they get too close to these monkeys. Any contacts made them more aggressive and also stopped them engaging in grooming. Worse still, when visitors tried to interact or touch them, it really stressed them. No matter how close they were to us, we kept our distance. There were no fences in place to stop the monkeys from interacting with the visitors, and it was against park rules to touch the animals. The monkeys were provisioned each morning with a mixture of fruit, vegetables, wheat, sunflower seeds and primate pellets. There were hourly feeding sessions where seeds and fruits were scattered so that the monkeys come out into the open and made it easier for the visitors to see them. This also brought the ducks, pigeons and squirrels out for a slice of the action.

The macaques were all identified with a unique tattoo on the inner thigh and all demographics of each individual was known. In order to control the population size, a number of females received contraceptive implants so that a limited number of babies were born annually (5-15 at each site). It would be interesting to know how many babies were born this year. We continued walking where a second group were in residence.  The woodland trail allowed visitors to walk amongst these monkeys and immersed in their everyday antics. But we didn’t venture further as it was beginning to rain and decided to call it a day.

We stayed local as Storm Ali and Bronagh lashed the country with severe winds. Ali was the UK’s first named storm of the season. It brought widespread strong winds and heavy rains, with the strongest gusts being recorded in Ireland, Northern Ireland and Western Scotland. Coming hot on the heels of Storm Ali was Storm Bronagh, blowing in overnight with blustery winds and heavy rain resulting in gales that reached 76 mph. We checked out our favourite playground when there was a respite from the wet and windy conditions as the pressure began to build again.

I was so pleased that the natives weren’t blown away by the two aggressive storms. We spotted this Common Blue Male with its violet-blue upper wings and grey-beige undersides. This must be the second brood as they tend to lay eggs in June and then August/September. The caterpillars hibernated and pupated in April and May and became adults in May and June. It was basking in the sunshine, feeding on the nectar of the small, pink flower clusters of the aromatic Wild Majoram.

We continued walking into the reserve and saw a few Common Darter basking on the sunny path, Further along the path, Babe spotted this handsome Southern hawker basking on the brambles. This large, inquisitive dragonfly was usually seen patrolling the waters and hawking through the reed-beds. Hawkers were the largest and fastest flying dragonflies, catching their insect-preys mid-air. They do this by hovering and also by flying backwards. They will still be on the wing through October.

We stopped at Baldwin Hide and Babe a beeline for the corner near to the island on the left hand side. He slowly opened the shutter and sssshhhhh, a female Kingfisher was perched on one of the overhanging branches. All you could hear were our cameras rattling away. We were so close that we could see the stunning colours. The brightly coloured plumage of its orange underparts, turquoise blue wings and electric blue back and rump were unmistakable. Suddenly someone came in and closed the door with a bang. It startled the bird and immediately  flew off, flying rapidly, low over the water before disappearing into the creek, a flash of electric blue in flight.

... Under the bridge and gone

Yet bright as a bead behind the eye

The image blazes on

~Phoebe Hesketh~

We left the Hide and headed to East Marsh. Halfway along the path, under the overhanging Ash branches, we heard loud, rapid series of piping notes "chit chit chit-chit". We looked up and saw this handsome Nuthatch foraging on the tree trunk. It climbed up, down and around the tree trunk and branches using its powerful toes. Nuthatches fed mainly on nuts and seeds, such as acorns and hazel nuts, in the autumn and winter, and insects, such as spiders and beetles in the summer. Then it flew right above our heads that we could see the black eye stripe, which gave it a bandit-like appearance.

At East Marsh Hide, we made ourselves comfortable. I was hoping to see the Otter family which Babe had seen earlier during the week. Otters had been regularly spotted in the reserve but they didn’t get the memo when I was there. The otter was one of our top predators, feeding mainly on fish (particularly eels and salmonids), water-birds, amphibians and crustacean.  The resurgence of the Otter, which was also on the top of the food chain in river environments, was an indicator that English rivers are at their healthiest for more than 20 years, according to the Environment Agency.  Unfortunately, this news had not delighted everyone as anglers had reported Otters decimating stocks in fishing lakes

Suddenly, a Grey Heron flew past the hide with its slow-flapping wings and its long legs held out behind it and there was a fish in its beak. I wonder what the anglers thought when they saw this   Apart from fishes, they also hunt small birds such as ducklings, small mammals like voles and amphibians. We watched it landing on the nearby island, dropped the wriggling fish before stabbing it with its sharp bill and swallowed in one piece. After the meal, it rest near the water with its head between its shoulder in an hunched up position.

Meanwhile, a Mute Swan was chasing away a youngster around the lake. He was arching his wings over his back and charging at the poor youngster. Once the cygnets were old enough to look after themselves and fly off, the parents cut the parental ties with them and chased them away, sometimes quite aggressively, before the next breeding season began. The parents intentionally distance themselves from the offspring. This was done by swimming away from them and not beckoning them to follow, or, if the cygnets kept staying close to them, the parents started pecking them and approaching in a threat posture, with raised feathers and wings, like they dealt with intruders into their territory.

At first, these ‘chasing off’ motions were gentle and un-sustained, but as time passed, the parents were more aggressive in their actions and the off-springs needed to get the message ASAP. Their time with the parents had ended and they needed to fly off. The reasons for the parents chasing off their offspring that they had cared lovingly for the past 6 months, was that spring was approaching and they needed space and resources to start the breeding cycle again. Also at this age, the youngster was a potential target for an aggressive cob wanting to clear the area of any other swan that wasn’t part of his family and attacked with the intention of killing youngsters from another family. Once they left, the youngsters normally joined the first flock of swans they encountered where they usually stayed until they mature. They then commenced their search for mates and the breeding cycle began.

The Autumnal Equinox brought with it a very nice surprise.  It was the moment summer ended and autumn began in the Northern hemisphere, when the sun crossed the Earth’s equator from north to south. As well as signalling the start of a new season, the Autumn Equinox had a spiritual meaning for pagans as it was when day and night was most equal and the earth was balanced. After the equinox, the night became longer than the day and daylight hours shortening. Crowds flocked to Stonehenge to celebrate but twitchers, photographers and nature lovers flocked to a tiny reservoir in Warwickshire to catch a glimpse of a rare bird.

A pair of Grey Phalarope had landed in Napton Reservoir and had been seen feeding for a couple of days on the mudflats. I kept my eye on my Twitter feed to make sure it was still around when we visited during the weekend.  We’d been here once before and somehow, we drove past the entrance. We parked at the small car-park that was at the base of a steep embankment, beyond which, lay the reservoir itself. Thankfully, one of Brandon’s regular just walked down the steps and told us where it was. Whoop … whoop. Thank you, kind sir.

Unfortunately, it began to rain and we quickly walked along the embankment of the Southern Pool, with our eyes peeled on the waders by the reed-beds. We met a couple who was standing at the end of the foot-path and they told us where it was. One of the beauty was feeding right below us!!!! I couldn’t wipe the grin of my face. The little tinker was happily picking small prey items from just beneath the surface. It was such an active bird, bobbing up and down and rapidly changing directions. It was quite hard to photograph even when it was just below us as the weather was grey and miserable.

Both birds were youngsters and in their first winter plumage with dark streaks across their backs, wings and caps. Their full grey plumage had yet to emerge and both birds possessed a light apricot buff on their necks and parts of their breast. Soon,they will moult into a full grey winter plumage before acquiring their spectacular red breeding plumage next spring, when they were back in the Arctic. These birds had flown all the way from Arctic Canada or Greenland and from their utter indifference to us, had probably never seen a human before.  Soon they will head south, to overwinter off the coast of West Africa before heading back north. It was a privilege to have seen this beautiful bird.

We ended the month by picking the last figs that had miraculously ripened all at once. It had been a bumper year for us as we’d been picking them on alternate days. We’d this tree for nearly 15 years and had moved with us from Wales, Scotland and now in Coventry. I am glad that I planted it in a huge pot. Although considered a fruit, the fig was actually a flower inverted into itself. Originally native from Turkey to northern India and the Mediterranean, it was amazing to see it doing so well in a grey and wet England. Bonn appetit.

Not the way to Amarillo

Autumn looked set to get off to a good start, with high temperatures dominating the weather, with warm, dry and sunny days in the beginning of September.  The scorching summer had given way to an autumnal ‘above-average’ temperatures. Record heatwaves across the country, drought conditions and sporadic rain had hampered this year’s harvest, leaving farmers to count costs and consumers to count their pennies. There was a pause in the Indian summer as a low pressure swept in from the East of England, bringing 30 mph wind gusts and heavy rains. And conditions worsened when the remnants of tropical storm Florence hit the UK. While Florence wasn’t expected to pose any danger, hurricane Helen was swirling across the Atlantic, getting caught up in the jet stream which meant another wet and windy weather. 

We celebrated the meteorological autumn with a visit to Slimbridge WWT. For meteorologists, summer came to an end on August 31 and autumn began on September 1, running until Thursday, November 30. But for astronomers, summer ended on September 22 in the northern hemisphere and autumn began on Friday, September 23. According to the Met Office, the meteorological seasons consisted of splitting the seasons into four periods made up of three months each. These seasons are split to coincide with our Gregorian calendar making it easier for meteorological observing and forecasting to compare seasonal and monthly statistics. We headed straight to Rushy Hide where a Greenshank greeted us.

Greenshanks were medium-sized slim waders with olive-grey above and silvery-white below, with dark streaking on the breast. They’d long, slightly upturned grey bills with striking grey-green legs. They fed in the shallow water, pecking at the mud, water or vegetation as they walked and caught fish by using a dash-and-lunge technique. They were passage migrants and scarce winter visitors and tend to be solitary when feeding. They frequently bobbed up and down when standing and flew off in a low zig-zag pattern when disturbed, appearing dark above with a prominent white rump and contrasting black underwings.

We’d a fun time playing spotting the Common Snipes. These cryptically coloured waders were seen foraging in the vegetated fringes of the mudflats and skulking under the overhanging shrubs. These superbly camouflaged waders were seen probing under the moist substrate for insects, earthworms, crustaceans or spiders with their elongated bills. Food on the surface were located by sight and picked up, but prey under the mud was located using the touch-sensitive sensory pits at the tip of the flexible bill.

We then checked out the rest of the hides. Unfortunately, the tack piece was empty except for a few sleeping Tufted ducks, Shelducks and Mallards. A large, inquisitive Southern hawker was patrolling the ponds and hawking. through the reed-beds. Hawkers were the largest and fastest flying dragonflies, catching their insect-preys mid air. They do this by hovering and also by flying backwards. They will still be on the wing through to October.

We then heard the bulging calls of the Common Cranes from the Dumbles. We headed for the multi-storey Holden tower overlooking the spectacular River Severn and saw a pair feeding on the mud-flats. There was also a Little Egret hunkering down in the reed-beds. Unfortunately, they were too far to photograph. Plenty of birds were seen flitting in and out of the trees. I was chuffed to see this adorable Chiffchaff moving restlessly through the foliage and sometimes briefly hovering over the branches for insects and spiders. It needed feeding continuously to put on extra fat for the long migration flight back to Africa.

Then we walked back into the grounds walking through the boardwalk. We walked past the enclosure containing the Eider ducks with their flirtatious ‘whoa whoa’ calls. At the end of the lake, there was bedlam where a large gathering of Black headed gulls were scrambling over bird seeds that visitors had thrown in the lake. They had lost their chocolate-brown hood for winter, leaving just 2 dark spots. They were bold and opportunistic feeders and it was so noisy as they scrambled over each other for the food.

We left the bedlam and walked towards the very peaceful enclosure of the Andean flamingos. The ‘fostered’ chicks had grown successfully and were seen wandering around the sand pit. Their parents kept a close, protective watch on their chicks as they explored their habitat. The chicks began to grow their flight feathers after 11 weeks. At the same time, the bill began to hook, allowing the chicks to feed itself. They lose their juvenile grey or white colour gradually over 2-3 year period, at which time their pink feathers began to show.

Then we checked out Hogarth Hide where a Ruff was feeding quite close to the hide. It was feeding on the soft mud, probing or searching by sight for edible items. It primarily fed on insects, especially in the breeding season, and consumed plant material, on migration and in winter. Virtually all wintering Ruffs in Britain were males as they were able to tolerate colder winter conditions because they were larger than females. They stored fat as a fuel and used lipids as the main energy source and kept warm by shivering.

Nearby, a few dozen Black Tailed Godwits were also feeding in the shallow water.The black and white stripes on their wings were visible and now in their winter greyish-brown plumage. They were sociable birds, forming large flocks when feeding, probing the mud with their bill for shellfish, marine snails, worms and shrimps. The female’s beak was longer than the male’s which meant they don’t compete for the same food. Black Tailed Godwits were migratory and spent the non-breeding season in wetland sites in Spain, Portugal and West Africa.

I was chuffed to bits when we spotted the Crane family at the end of the reserve. We’d been following Bart and Ruby since April when she was seen incubating her eggs on the South Lake duck marsh reed-beds. The 2 eggs hatched around 26th May and the two chicks were often spotted around the lake as they foraged for food. Bart and Ruby had done well, protecting their chicks from predation and teaching them how to find the food they needed to grow. Common cranes foraged on land or in shallow water, probing around with their bills for any edible organisms. They were omnivorous largely eating plant matter and animal foods such as earthworms, insects, snails and rodents. They dug in the soil for food items and uprooted tufts of grass to access any invertebrates to feed on. Both juveniles were fledged by late August and their antics provided quite a show for the visitors.

We took the scenic route on the way out and was pleasantly surprised to see one of my favourite butterfly, the Painted Lady, feeding on the Buddleia. It was a long distance migrant which was the most spectacular butterfly migration observed in the UK. They don’t hibernate here and soon will be migrating back to Northern Africa as they couldn’t survived our winter. Although a bit tattered, its pale buffy-orange background colour to the upper wings was still vibrant. The underwing colouration and eyespots had amazing details which was visible from close quarters. On sunny days, they were very active feeding but as soon as the sun disappeared, individuals tended to leave the nectar source and find a bare patch of earth, stone or rock on which to bask and absorbed the heat with their wings spread wide open.

We also came across the last of the new additions to the Giant Lego® Brick Animal Trail in the Puddleduck corner, being surrounded by real ducks. Skye the stork was one of the fourteen individually-designed 1.5m Lego® brick animals that formed a wild adventure trail for kids (and big kids) to inspire them to build a better future for nature. Each sculpture was built by professional Lego builders, taking hundreds of hours and using no less than 253,728 bricks and it took  6,328 bricks of those to build Skye. It was an amazing way of putting the spotlight on some really important species, many of which were endangered. We left Skye with her admirers and walked back to the car.

We also partied at the 20th anniversary of Europe's biggest free festival, the Godiva Festival 2018 which took place between Friday 31 August and Sunday 2 September. It was the largest family music festival in the UK, and was made up of two fields; a Main Field and a Family field, which each offer a different experience in the 12-acre site in Coventry's War Memorial Park. Other features of the festival included the Family Field, an Acoustic Stage, a Paradise Tent, food stalls, a Hilltop bar, craft stalls, an Urban Youth Tent, a vintage market and a fairground. In the Family Field, were  attractions such as a petting farm, charity village, Community Stage, Lives and Times area, Greenspace area, Make Space tent, a funfair, cycle training, falconry and visits from local groups such as the Coventry Bears and the Fire Service, alongside displays from dozens of community groups, local scout groups and wildlife organizations.

Although it was a 3-day event, we only went on the Sunday. There was already a queue to get into the parking site and there was a large crowd lingering at the turnstiles. We were early as the gates were only opened at 12 pm. We also wondered whether we were allowed in as we brought along our DSLR cameras which was categorised as professional-looking. I did tweeted/emailed the organisers but I didn’t receive any reply. When the gates opened, we were allowed in, no questions asked. Phew…

The sun was shining throughout the afternoon keeping the crowds in good spirits. We headed for the Family field and made a pit stop at the BBC Coventry & Warwickshire stage which we thought was much smaller than before. The stage was dedicated to showing local and up-and-coming talents, demonstrating the Festival’s commitment to its home origins. The Notables was again present to accompany the performers with learning disabilities. These were professional musicians, formed in response to a request from learning disabled adults to make music as a group.

The Hawkwise Falconry was back again and we managed to get close and personal to the various birds of prey. We then went into the Vintage tent which was heaving that we walked out again. The crowds were beginning to arrive that we decided to head to the main arena walking past a huge funfair with a range of rides for the thrill seekers. There were already hundreds of people milling about, staking their places, having picnics and enjoying the fantastic sunny weather and atmosphere. We cooled down in the Rhythem tent where the main theme was Bhangra to Bollywood: the sounds of South Asian Britain. Vocalist Abi Sampa was on stage with her own unique sound, combining Western popular music elements with qawwali, carnatic and Hindustani classical music.

Then we headed to the Main Stage for the act I wanted to see, Tony Christie. I know there were amazing acts such as Professor Green, Gabrielle, Jonas Blue and Ronan Keating being headlined but somehow this silver-haired crooner took my fancy. I blamed it on Peter Kay who was credited to the resurgence of the single ‘Is this the way to Amarillo’. The song was re-leased on March 14th 2005 to raise money for Comic Relief. There was a buzz when Christie went on stage and when he sang that song, everyone stood up and did the ‘walking on the spot’ scene, clapping and singing along. It was amazing. We left after his set was over as more people were coming in to see Ronan Keating, who was closing the show later that night.

I was still high with adrenalin when I got ready for my 3 day conference in Edinburgh, Scotland. My colleague and I flew via Fly-be but our flight was delayed due to the aftermath from Storm Florence that hit the area. The airport was closed causing travel chaos as the airport authority tried their best to clear the backlogs. It was chaos when we finally touchdown at the airport but I’m glad that we arrived safely, albeit 1.5 hours late. We took the taxi to the university and it was another slow ride as we encountered the rush hours. But what greeted us made up for it.

Unfortunately, this wasn’t our accommodation. I could just see Rapunzel letting her hair down for her Prince Charming from one of the towers. This was a mid-19th century St. Leonard’s Hall which could be hired for weddings. Our home-away from home was Chancellor’s Court, located at the foot of the Royal Holyrood Park and Arthur’s Seat. After dumping our luggage, we went for a short walk to check out the town. We’d coffee and cake at a very hipster coffee house and then went to the  pre-conference meet-up in the Summerhall Bar. The cafe bar was once the Small Animal Hospital of the Dick Vet School and we were surrounded by an eclectic mix of wall decorations. Unfortunately, I left my camera in my room which was a shame. We introduced ourselves and joined in the fun. It was a fabulous way to break the ice and let our hair down before the conference began.

The Cataloguing and Indexing biennial conference was held at the John McIntyre Conference Centre. This year conference ‘Metadata : Create, Share and Enrich’ showcased the continued need for quality metadata in a data dominated world and those who created, shared , enriched and used it’. The first day was full on with presentations on collaborative cataloguing, metadata revolution, Dewey development, RDA, institutional repository, discoverability in archives, legacy data, metadata mapping, data migration and Marc Edit. There was so much to take and thankfully a lot of these wasn’t new to me.  The break was a blessing for our brain to rest before the next assault.

A lot of us wasn’t happy with the seating arrangements because we were crammed so close together and there was no place to put our laptops. It was quite difficult to work without a table. By the end of the day, we made gaps between the chairs so that we could sit comfortably. After a long day, a few brave delegates including moi, decided to climb Arthur’s Seat which loomed behind our accommodation. My room faced the hill and I slept with my curtains opened. When I woke up at around 6.30 am, I saw quite a number of people up there waiting for the sun to rise. I was envious and wished I was up there with them.

Arthurs Seat was the highest point, an ancient dormant that sat 251 metre above sea level with excellent views of the city.  It was also the site of a large and well preserved 2000 year old hill fort with a diverse range of flora and geology making it a site of Special Scientific Interest. It was described by Robert Louis Stevenson as

“a hill for magnitude, a mountain in virtue of its bold design.”

Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to climb up the hill. After about 10 minutes of walking up the very well trodden and eroded path through shrubs and gorses, I was breathless and decided not to continue. I asked the others to go ahead while I waited for them at the bottom. I spent the time people watching and from the edge, there were great views down over Holyrood Palace, the Scottish Parliament, the white roof of Dynamic Earth, and further afield to Leith and the Firth of Forth. From time to time, I did looked up to see figures of the climbers at the top silhouetted against the skyline but I don’t know whether they were my mates. After about an hour, I heard and then saw them climbing down safely. From their photos, it really looked amazing up there.

The 2nd day was the keynote address from Professor Melissa Terras on using library metadata as a discovery in publishing history. She highlighted this when she did a research for her book “Picture-book professors: academia and children’s literature”.  After her very informative talk,  it was back to cramming topics such as MARC, zine cataloguing, serials standards, World Cat, subject headings, NBK, metadata memory, cataloguing art objects, Linked Open Data and ethical issues in catalogue content standards from some very knowledgeable presenters . Some of these were new to me and it was something which I would like to learn more about.

The highlight of the conference was the dinner at The Caves. We dressed up in our party frocks and walked about 30 minutes into town. The Caves had been magnificently restored from its original 18th century stone vault storage complex, part of the legendary Edinburgh Vaults, a distinct series of chambers formed in the 19 arches of the South Bridge. It was an eerie venue, right under the bustling city of Edinburgh. When we arrived a glass of wine was freely available to everyone but those who don’t drink had to pay £3 for a glass of orange juice. I was furious and put that on my feedback form. Then we walked 3 floors underground for our 3-course meal. Since I opted for a vegetarian option, my starter was Roasted tomato soup which was ok. The main meal was beetroot with chickpeas and artichoke mush which was really a let down. It didn’t even come with any salad or roast potatoes. Pudding was a salted caramel torte which was so-so. I didn’t enjoy my meal but thankfully, the conversations and ambience made up for it,

The third and final day of the conference was the day that everyone was looking forward to. RDA Day covered the latest developments in the RDA cataloguing standard, providing a forum for discussion, learning and sharing. There was focus on the latest developments in the RDA standard and the Toolkit which unfortunately led to more questions than answers. We were lucky that our library was one of the first users of RDA when it was released in 2010 and felt sorry for fellow cataloguers who were just about to adopt it. It would take a lot of time and patience to get used to. Unfortunately, we couldn’t stay till the end as we’d a plane to catch and we don’t want to get caught in the Friday evening rush hour. We arrived with plenty of time to spare. Kudos to the CIG committee members for a fantastic conference.

After a 3-day conference, I needed something relaxing to do. Babe suggested checking out the Midlands Air Museum which was just down the road. The Midland Air Museum was started in 1967 by a small group of local aircraft enthusiasts as the Midland Aircraft Preservation Society (MAPS). In 1975 a lease was secured which laid the foundations for a permanent museum. MAPS changed its name in 1977 to Midland Air Museum (MAM) and became a Charitable Trust with Educational Charity status following in 1979. Following the arrival of the Vulcan bomber in 1983 and the Argosy freighter in 1987 the museum  moved onto its present site and establishing the Sir Frank Whittle Jet Heritage Centre. MAM became one the first independent aviation museums to achieve the government's Museum and Galleries prestigious registration status in 1990.

After parking, we entered the reception area into the Sir Frank Whittle section where we learnt and absorbed the history of the jet engine and saw and touched examples of one of his early designs. We managed to watch a very cheesy propaganda film with him talking about how to apply for a patent of his invention. On leaving this area, we walked around inside the cramped hanger and climbed up the meteor cockpit and stuck our noses in to the Canberra cockpit. We also heard the typical start up and sortie in progress. We then wandered upstairs in to the gallery display area and checked out artifacts from WW1, WW2 to a full on Saphire jet engine. Although the place tiny, it was a maze of corridors to explore all packed with exhibits. On climbing down the stairs, via the display cabinets we read about the history of the RAF and its Coventry and Warwickshire associations plus a  close up on some jet/rocket/piston engines.

Local aviation history was strongly featured in the Wings Over Coventry gallery on the mezzanine floor of the main hangar, showcasing products from local manufacturers which included aircraft exhibits. Most obvious was the huge Armstrong-Whitworth Argosy which dominated the external display area and was the largest airframe; AWA also built many Meteors, Sea Hawks, Javelins and Hunters and an example of each was on display. Also in recognition of the local area's contribution to the war effort, there were WWII related exhibits which included a rare Bristol Beaufighter cockpit section (built locally) and a rear fuselage section from one of the more than 1,800 Armstrong-Whitworth Whitley bombers built here at Baginton. Unfortunately no complete Whitley airframe had survived which was a shame.


From the hanger, we ventured outside, a field filled with aircraft. We headed straight to our favourite aircraft, the Avro Vulcan B.2. It was incredible to see the vast futuristic delta shaped design this close. I bravely climbed the steep steps into the cockpit of this classis V bomber where a very enthusiastic guide explained all of the interior and exterior details. The pilots seats weren’t open to visitors as they were very cramped and contained very fragile safety equipment but I was allowed to sit on the rear seats. It gave me the shivers as the guide relived the lives of those crews that flew it during the Cold War. It was hard to imagine how they sometimes spent nearly 20 hours flying the plane on long distance trips.

Five people could fit in the tiny cramped space not much larger than a London taxi cab as the rest of the plane was dedicated to its war function. Protected under a metal panel was the switch that thankfully was never used to drop the nuclear bomb. While performing conventional combat missions, the Vulcan could carry up to 21 1,000 lb (454 kg) bombs inside its bomb bay. From the 1960s, the various Vulcan squadrons would routinely conduct conventional training missions and the aircrews were expected to be able to perform conventional bombing missions in addition to the critical nuclear strike mission the Vulcan normally performed.

The Midland Air Museum's XL360 was the only preserved Vulcan with a name - City of Coventry. It was only given the name after it had left RAF service. Even when in service very few Vulcans were ever given names. She entered service with 617 squadron on the 1st of March 1962, then served with 35 squadron, 230 OCU and 44 squadron before being flown into retirement at Coventry airport on the 26th of January 1982. Although this one didn’t participate in that famous Black Buck raids, the fame of these astonishing machines were secured during the Falklands War.

After getting our fill of this fantastic machine, we got close and personal with the rest of the aircraft on display. From the Vulcan, our next largest aircraft was the locally built Armstrong Whitworth Argosy Freighter, the civil version with the nose door, as opposed to the RAF version, with rear clamshell doors. The main purpose of these doors was for quick loading and unloading. We climbed in the freight hold and moved forward in to the cockpit under the supervision of a guide, who explained the history of the aircraft.

On leaving the Argosy we wandered around the aircraft on display outside which was behind barriers. The only problem for us as photographers were that they were too close together that they photobombed each other in the photographs and the rope barriers was always in the way. The jet aircraft exhibits ranged from the rare Swedish SAAB J29 Tunnan  which was the first post-war European swept-wing jet fighter and the only one in the UK; the Dassault Mystère IV A, a first French swept-wing fighter; the English Electric Lightning which was the only all-British Mach 2 fighter, and the mighty American McDonnell-Douglas F-4C Phantom II which was a genuine MiG-killer with combat history over Vietnam.

The incredible variety of designs produced by the British aircraft industry in the 1950s and 1960s was represented by an equally wide range of aircraft from carrier-borne types such as the Hawker Sea Hawk, de Havilland Sea Vixen, Fairey Gannet and Sea Harrier to RAF fighters such as the Vampire, Meteor, Hunter, Javelin and Lightning. The jet bomber force was represented by the English Electric Canberra and this was a rare reconnaissance version and the huge Avro Vulcan 4-engined nuclear bomber. There were also several military trainers including the American Lockheed T-33, the Polish PZL Iskra and the British Vampire T.11. At the back, we walked past more aircraft of a bygone era including two Lightnings and some American cold war aircraft. At the bottom of the site was Victor Nose section the Vickers Viscount aircraft and the Robin Hanger where restoration work was carried out.

And the Wright brothers said they thought they had invented
something that could make peace on earth
(if the wrong brothers didn’t get hold of it)

when their wonderful flying machine took off at Kitty Hawk
into the kingdom of birds but the parliament of birds was freaked out
by this man-made bird and fled to heaven

And then the famous Spirit of Saint Louis took off eastward and
flew across the Big Pond with Lindy at the controls in his leather
helmet and goggles hoping to sight the doves of peace but he did not

Even though he circled Versailles
And then the famous Yankee Clipper took off in the opposite
direction and flew across the terrific Pacific but the pacific doves

were frighted by this strange amphibious bird and hid in the orient sky
And then the famous Flying Fortress took off bristling with guns
and testosterone to make the world safe for peace and capitalism

but the birds of peace were nowhere to be found before or after Hiroshima
And so then clever men built bigger and faster flying machines and
these great man-made birds with jet plumage flew higher than any

real birds and seemed about to fly into the sun and melt their wings
and like Icarus crash to earth
And the Wright brothers were long forgotten in the high-flying

bombers that now began to visit their blessings on various Third
Worlds all the while claiming they were searching for doves of
peace

And they kept flying and flying until they flew right into the 21st
century and then one fine day a Third World struck back and
stormed the great planes and flew them straight into the beating

heart of Skyscraper America where there were no aviaries and no
parliaments of doves and in a blinding flash America became a part
of the scorched earth of the world

And a wind of ashes blows across the land
And for one long moment in eternity
There is chaos and despair

And buried loves and voices
Cries and whispers
Fill the air
Everywhere

~Lawrence Ferlinghetti ‘History of the Airplane”~

Was it worth the £7 each fee entrance? We thought it was because you only needed to visit it once, unless a new amazing exhibit was added. It took us about 3 hours to do everything and we photographed all the planes there and took the time to listen to the very enthusiastic volunteers. This was a place where aircraft retired and then restored lovingly by enthusiasts. A lot of money, sweat and tears were poured into these old planes and the Museum had done well.

We also checked out Bradgate Park to see what the natives were up to. Bradgate Park was renowned for its fine herds of deer and was the only remaining enclosed medieval deer park in the East Midlands. The park was home to a large herd of Fallow deer and Red deer. Unfortunately when we were there, the Red deer was AWOL. As we walked through the park, we spotted small herds of Fallow deer dotted here and there. Some were chilling out under the shade, ruminating while chewing cud, watching the visitors checking them out. For most of the year, males and females were in separate single-sex groups, and large herds aggregated in open areas where there was plenty of food.

The fallow deer went extinct in Britain during the last Ice Age, and was re-established by the Normans for hunting in the 11th century. They subsequently escaped from deer parks and were today the most common deer in England. They were grazing animals and their preferred habitat was mixed woodland and open grassland. Throughout a large portion of the year the sexes remain separated and only congregated during the mating months. The male fallow deer was known as a buck, the female was a doe, and the young a fawn. The breeding season, or 'rut' occurred between October and November where the males made a loud belly belch to proclaim their territory and fight over the females.

Outside the rut, bucks lived in small bachelor herds, separately from the does and fawns. Only bucks have antlers, which are broad and shovel-shaped (palmate). In the first two years, the antler was a single spike. The Fallow was the only British deer with palmate antlers. These increased in size with age reaching up to 70cm long when the adult was 3 - 4 years old. It was found that males with larger antlers had higher mating success, while asymmetrical antlers did not. Large bucks may stop feeding completely during the rut and lose condition as a result, whereas younger bucks hanging around on the fringes continued to eat as normal.

The name Fallow was derived from the deer's pale brown colour. Much variation occurred in the coat colour, with four main variants: common, menil, melanistic, and leucistic – a genuine colour variety, not albinistic.  The white was the lightest coloured, almost white; common and menil were darker, and melanistic was very dark, sometimes even black. In summer, their fur was usually reddish-brown, with lighter spots, while in winter it was thicker and greyer, with less distinct spots. A distinguishing feature of the Fallow deer was the tail area which showed a black border surrounding a very pale, almost white area of rump hair. The black often extended along the length of the tail. We spotted this pair in between feeding bouts, laying up in to ruminate and chewing the cud.

We turned back after checking out the herd in the main field. It was a shame that Lady Jane Grey ruins wasn’t opened. We walked along the grassy path and was chuffed to see a Small Copper. A tiny but dazzling butterfly with bright orange forewings, dark brown spots and a thick, dark brown margin. It had dark brown hindwings that were banded with orange. Once-common butterfly, it joined a growing list of shrinking species, despite no discernible habitat loss in recent years, suggesting climate change was having greater impact than previously thought. This sun-loving butterfly was nectaring on the dandelions. It later basked on the bare ground absorbing the sun's rays. Due to the recent good summer, the Small Copper may have several generations between April and October, with the last generation overwintering as a caterpillar

Along the River Lin that flowed through the middle of the Park, a Common Darter was also basking on the stone wall. A summer and autumn species, this dragonfly could be found well into November and may be one of the last on the wing in the UK. The Darter was a red, narrow-bodied dragonfly that  hovered around all kinds of waterbodies, darting out to surprise its prey. As their name suggests, Common Darters darted forward suddenly from a hovering position to catch their insect-prey. They then take their catch to a favoured perch to eat it. It was able to remain active in lower temperatures than other species, partly by seeking out sunny spots to warm up in..

As soon as we reached the entrance, we spotted this pair stereotypical “spotty’ Fallow deer crossing the road. Everything stopped in their tracks to let them through. People were pointing their fingers and taking photographs via their telephones and cameras. All eyes were on them as they disappeared in search of food. The Fallow deer’s diet consisted of a range of vegetation and ground plants such as grass and heather. Fresh shoots of holly and bramble bushes were also eaten along with low hanging shoots of trees such as beech and oak. During the winter months when food was scarce they also fed on acorns, fallen nuts and fungi which were plentiful in the Park.