Fantastic Fritillary

I didn’t post an update last week. I was flying back from Poland and I just didn’t have the time. But I was able to enjoy Friday and the weekend.

Did you have a good Easter?

The weather was really nice, most of the time, and we got out and walked in the Cotswolds.  The birds are slowly changing the guard from the water birds to the warblers. There is plenty of birdsong filling the skies and it is still relatively easy to find the bird making the noise as not all the leaves are on the trees yet.

One particularly beautiful song is that of the Sky Lark. This bird has an unusual habit of a bi-plane like ascent into the sky straight up, followed by a sharp plunge down to the ground. See the link below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFdra5lfa44

We stayed in the Cotswold Water Park for a couple of days. This whole area is constantly changing with more and more building taking place. However, the gravel pools remain in situ and therefore the birds still congregate. There are plenty of unusual birds to be seen and some that we don’t see very often – such as the Linnet.

The hotel itself is ok but on a good weather day it is quite special, situated right next to a large pool with beautiful views and strolls atop the boardwalk.

Interestingly the boardwalk is showing its age to the point of needing some maintenance so if you take kids beware of the loose and sometimes missing boards. I nearly had an early bath.

While we were out walking we visited a nature reserve called North Meadow near Cricklade. It is the best year in most people’s lifetime for Snakeshead Fritillary. There are thousands of them on display and no picture that I could take would do them real justice. However, I have tried and the photos that follow do at least feature some of them!

Cerney House Gardens

On Monday we managed to get another walk in, but this time around a local house gardens. What a find!

The Cerney House Gardens are part of a private house complex that includes various out houses and extensive gardens. It is a real trip back to the time before commercialism with an honesty system for entry, tea and cakes, and a grocery and pottery shop. Now when was the last time you went somewhere that relied on honesty to that extent?

After surveying the tulips, wandering amongst the bluebells and visiting the pond we felt suitably relaxed. They also produce one of the world’s top goat’s cheeses and grow their own forced rhubarb.

This forced me to abandon my diabetic induced diet and succumb to a portion or two of rhubarb crumble and custard, which tasted just as good as I remembered it.

Why not pop in this weekend if you are close it is really worth a visit.

http://www.cerneygardens.com/

Cerney House Gardens

Our cats are now spending almost every hour outside. One minute you can’t get them to go outside, the next minute they never come in.

This has the instant effect of causing a severe change in their shape. They lose about a quarter of their body weight and they look lithe and hungry again – just in time for the birds to fledge!

We’ve not seen anything yet, but you know it is only a matter of time when you see the local bird population finding building material and strutting their funky stuff.

Sadly, two blackbirds decided to build their nest in the bush next to our porch. They did this last year and effectively brought up a collection of feasts for the cats. This year we have frightened them away and my better half has put a plastic bag in the bush to stop them coming back – for now!

Chocolate Egg

As it was Easter I bought my wife and her sister a couple of chocolate eggs. Interested to know the history of such a gift, I looked it up. This produced some interesting facts. 

• The first chocolate Easter egg was produced in 1873
• The producer was Fry’s chocolate factory located in Union Street in Bristol
• At the start of world war I, Fry’s was one of the largest employers in Bristol
• In 1919 Fry’s merged with Cadbury’s chocolate and became British Cocoa and Chocolate Company
• The Fry’s division moved to Somerdale, Keynsham in 1923 – with 5,000 staff
• Being Quakers the site was built to give the community social benefits too – similar to Bourneville near Birmingham
• The Fry’s name was lost in 1981
• The Somerdale factory was lost in 2011, despite the new owner promising as part of the takeover that the site would remain open
• Most of the chocolate products previously made by Fry’s in Bristol are now made in Warsaw, Poland
• Elizabeth Shaw was created by an employee from Fry’s in Bristol in 1881, called H J Packer
• This rival business also moved to a grand new site in Bristol at Greenbank in 1915
• Elizabeth Shaw was owned by various different people during the last hundred years but is now owned by a Polish company, Colian

It seems that Bristol and Poland are inextricably linked when it comes to chocolate, and sadly all the chocolate production has now left the city.

A red accent still works for this beauty!

The weather forecast for the weekend is consistently cloudy. This makes it good gardening weather, or an excuse for a decent bit of fresh air.

We will probably be bombarded with election information so I hope you manage to avoid this.

On this day in history, one Robert Smith was born. As lead singer and principal songwriter for the Cure he penned many hits including one vaguely wildlife related one in the link below. A classic example of the miming culture of top of the pops in the mid-80’s.

https://uryoutube.com/watch?v=zNVYuzEsdXs

This second track is a personal favourite.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjvfIJstWeg

His heavy make-up and lipstick look that made him iconic in the 80’s continues to this day, although at 58 it now has a slightly more scary feel.

Have a great weekend!

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