Still struggling with my head cold but this image cheered me up. It came from Julie, her group had done spiral dancing in the morning, in the afternoon they walked up to Hurley Beacon which isn't somewhere I know on the Quantocks. Looks a lovely walk up there on a lovely spring day. I'm too tired to write anymore, but glad Julie's having a good time.
I wonder when it was that a hot chocolate could only be served with a fancy design on the top? The last time I was here the lady serving me tried to do a swan. Today it's more Fred Perry logo than avian illustration. What this doesn't show is it was raining, more fine mist but definitely raining. I was desperate for some fresh air over lunchtime and headed out for a wander just as the blue skies of the morning packed their bags and shuffled off. I didn't mind sitting in the drizzle, it gave people walking past something to talk about, and the drizzle only lasted ten minutes.
Julie and Gingernut doing what they love best. Julie potting on seedlings and sowing seeds, while his lordship sits watching what's going on. Those orange ballerina tulips are fabulous too. They've been in the lawn for four or 5 years and now naturalised, disproving the theory that tulip bulbs don't last more than one year. What a lovely day too, sunshine, very little wind and about 18 degrees, the first day this year that it's really felt warm, properly warm. Lots of butterflies on the wing including my first orange tip. A day to stop and just unwind.
This has to be the most complicated form of hopscotch I've ever seen. Over the weekend within the BBC complex and along both Belgrave Road and Whiteladies Road these survey marks have appeared. For three years now the original Broadcasting House in Bristol has been threatened with closure. Television moved out to a modern facility at Bridgwater House leaving only local TV and radio plus us in Network Radio on site. Less than 100 people. 90% of the site is mothballed, and for three years and alternative site fou us has been saught in Bristol. Now there's a suggestion we'll stay on site but in a much more restricted way. Which makes me think are these marks everywhere part of that process? Only time will tell.
As for this cherry tree it is inside the grounds of BBC and once part of a garden and always beautiful for a day or two around now. The light wasn't great today but I tried my best to capture its beauty. I often look at at thinking poor thing growing in a carpark. But it seems happy enough. If our move happens I'll not see this tree again.
Quite strange. Not the wheelie bin, but these traffic lights. Yesterday some cones were put out along part of our road. I chatted to one of the workers who said they would be repairing a manhole, and needed to erect traffic lights and it would take two days. But, importantly, the traffic cones were not operational until 9am today. Sure enough as I headed off to work just before 9, road signs were up, lights installed and I left them to it. I got a text from Julie around 2pm. She was home but all the lights, signs and cones had gone. That was at most 5 hours of work. It almost took longer to put the cones out on Tuesday I'm assuming the manhole is repaired as I can't hear the regular clink clunk as cars drive over it, but it is odd to think all this activity for few hours work. No wonder our council tax is so high, this must have cost a fortune.
Two unconnected images that became loosely connected. The fizz was given to me by Clare Balding last autumn. It was a thank you for everything I'd done for her over the years while she was on Ramblings. A lovely gesture. Julie and I decided to open it this evening for a belated birthday celebration. The vineyard Chatham in Kent was very close to where my Uncle Ken lived at Chatham Hatch. I thought of him as I opened the bottle. It's rather nice, very lemony in taste but extremely drinkable.
I was drinking glass number 2 when a WhatsApp message appeared, my Goddaughter Sarah gave birth to a baby girl, Lucy this afternoon. Lucy was actually due on April 1st which would have been a wonderful 60th birthday present. But five days later, and one day after Sarah's own birthday is perfect. It doesn't seem that long ago that I held Sarah in my arms at her christening. Now she's a mother herself, time really is passing. Such lovely news, which I was able to celebrate with some English fizz.
Just heard tonight that Nigel Tucker died back in February, he was 75. I've grabbed this image off his website. He was a phenomenal birder but I got to know him when I first began at the BBCs NHU as he was then the Sound Library's sound recordist. Employed purely for capturing sound on NHU programmes we'd also send him off to record the odd sound we did not have in the library, often surprisingly British species. He was a maverick in some ways but kind. We'd go birdwatching occasionally and he'd happily pass on his knowledge to me. Nigel was also the first person to show me Chew Valley Lake as I forget thirty years ago having just arrived in Bristol I didn't know Somerset at all. I hope he's up there having a fag listening to the summer migrants arriving. R.I.P.
I'm writing this at 11pm, it's torrential rain out, the sound of which is quite calming actually. Which is what I need as I really can't cope with the thought that tomorrow I'll be 60. Scrapheap time. I enjoyed turning 50, I took five weeks leave, on the actual day I visited London. 55 sort of came and went without comment. But 60 is grim. I'm feeling my age now. This afternoon we walked 6.1 miles along the strawberry line from Congresbury to Nye Lane. Not far, but I struggled and this evening my legs have been so stiff I could hardly move. I'm not old of course but this ageing process is absolutely rubbish, don't let anyone persuade you otherwise. I can't do anything about the clock ticking over to 6-0, but I don't need to like it. The walk was actually nice and we helped an elderly couple find their dog which had run off. We saw it in the fields after speaking to it's owner who had stopped us, and with the help of another lady and her son Memphis was reunited with his owner. I missed the actual reunion but Julie was there and there was lots of tail wagging. I like to think my bellowing of his name brought him back safely.
11.10pm, signing off now for the last time in my fifties.
Dodging showers today on what turned out to be a 7 mile walk. Easter has arrived, or at least Good Friday. Weather wise we are still experiencing sunshine and showers, the latter of which are hefty. Julie suggested a walk today, from Winscombe to Axbridge then around Cheddar reservoir before returning to Winscombe. To be honest I wasn't sure if I was going to enjoy walking that far but we set off just after 1pm, coinciding with a hefty rainstorm, accompanied by gusty winds. An hour later we'd reached the reservoir as the sun emerged, handy as there's no shelter. I don't think I've seen the water so high, which in this wind was lapping just like waves at the sea, providing a sound of the seashore as we walked.
Arriving at the Almshouse cafe in Axbridge at 3.20pm, the break from walking was welcome as was the delicious freshly made pea and mint soup I was allowed to try after food serving had ended at 3pm. Back on the road and by 4.40pm we were back to the car, just shy of 7 miles. I enjoyed the walk very much, good then that Julie persuaded me to do it.
Well aside from being Julie's 65th birthday, today really was an end of an era. This image was sent to our work WhatsApp group at 5pm to record the final time my boss Kate Chaney leaves the BBC Bristol building after 41 years at the BBC. And I missed it as Julie and I were in Lyme Regis celebrating her birthday. Due to various reasons unbeknown to me I said goodbye to Kate last Thursday at her leaving party with after a hug the words 'see you on Monday'. It's a truth in life to always grab those moments as due to my being poorly and Kate too on Monday and Tuesday, this image above will be closure, and I'll probably never talk to her again. And that's a strange thought. L to R Chris, Toby, Polly, Alasdair, Kate, Camellia, Robin, Emma and Maggie.
As an aside at around the time Kate's leaving photo was taken this image of Julie and I on the Cobb was being recorded. There's a webcam on the RNLI station which I log onto now and again, just to get a glimpse of Lyme Regis. Today we'd spent 4 hours here, very nice it was too, freezing though in the hail showers, better in the sun though. But by 4.30 we'd had enough when standing on the Cobb I said shall we try and capture ourselves on the webcam? It's not a great image to be sure but I'm there (in beige) holding my phone attempting to capture the live stream as it comes around to us. Julie is leaning in to see. It's interesting to see both images taken at roughly the same time with a connection through me, but miles apart. Life is interesting.
I've not been out for a walk to the village for months. Each year I count the rooks nests in a tree over the road. Over time more trees have been captured by the rook nest- builders. I seem to recall last year there were 33, or 34 nests, today, 43, and it looks like a few are still building. Good to see these corvids doing so well, there's enough doom and gloom in nature to not have a little positivity at times. It's also good to be outside at lunchtime, I spend too long indoors these days.
Animals are sensitive. I woke at 4 am not feeling great, and I was right. Definitely a recurrence of my gluten intolerance (though I'm not absolutely sure, my suspicion is stress). Whatever the cause the result is mindbogglingly entertaining and after 3 hours it was all calming down again. But I felt like a wet flannel being wrung out in a mangle. I had to accept defeat and stay in bed. Julie was great supplying me with copious drinks, chocolate and milkshakes to keep me going. No solids though. But for the entire time I was in bed Gingernut slept next to me. He doesn't sleep on this bed normally today then was an honour-for me. I finally got up around 4 pm and staggered downstairs after a nice refreshing shower. Gingernut followed me down but stayed nearby all night until I headed back upstairs at 8.30 am. Such a strange day after the lovely day we'd had on Saturday.
It was my boss Kate Chaney's leaving party tonight. Initially I didn't want to attend but I did and for once a leaving do that was okay. Speeches by Colin, head of production, Clare, ex head now BBC Studios, Graham head of all BBC radio and finally Kate herself. The speeches were funny, followed by music and chat. I'm never very good at these events as I struggle with small talk but I have to say I found tonight very pleasant. On Monday I'll work with Kate for the last time. She leaves on Wednesday after 41 years at the BBC. We've all signed her leaving book.
