Volcanic dust over Kent

Yesterday was a beautiful sunny day on the ground and as we needed to go to the hangar for a maintenance job we decided to go for a quick evening flight. At only 2,000' we could start to see the murkiness of the volcanic dust cloud above us. OK so it's not unusual to have haze cutting down the visibility, nor is it unusual to have a dark smudge in the sky at the *inversion level especially this close to London, but this did seem excessively grotty for want of a better term, particularly as you don't normally see the inversion layer when looking towards the sun. I know some countries, and even some parts of our country have it far worse than this as we are just on the edge here.

*The inversion is a level in the atmosphere where two masses of air sit on top of each other. The layer below will be warmer air trapped my a layer of colder air on top. You often get a layer of cloud here but on blue cloudless days you can often see a dirty smudge just below this layer when looking away from the sun. This is all the dirt, dust and pollutants that get mixed up in the air and have risen in the warm air to the top of this level just like smoke floating to the ceiling of a room. You don't normally see it looking towards the sun even though it's there due to an optical illusion just like you can't see a rainbow in that direction, but on this flight we could see it in all directions.

PG Tips Decaffeinated - Not Such a Good Choice

Some of you will know that I had to give up caffeine about a year ago because I discovered I was sensitive to it and it was the cause of chronic indigestion. Having given it up I thought everything was fine, no more indigestion and I had found some decaf products I was perfectly happy with. That is until someone mentioned to me that certain methods of decaffeination were actually harmful to health. I took this initially with a pinch of salt but decided to research it for myself anyway. Wikipedia was most helpful on this listing all the various ways caffeine could be extracted from tea and coffee http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decaffeination and true enough there were some very bad ways as well as healthy ways such as the Swiss Water Process.
Next I decided to look at the labels on my products. For instant coffee I use Nescafé Gold Blend Decaf and I was very relieved to see they proudly claim to use the water process for removing the caffeine from their beans. Full marks to Nescafé but I only have one cup a day of that so it wasn't the most important. In the evenings after my main meal I have a cup of ground coffee and for that I use Lavazza Decaffeinated Caffe Espresso. There was nothing on the label about the decaffeination process and nothing on their web site. As there is no e-mail contact information I have had to write to them for details. I'll let you know if they reply.
The most important drink for me however, is tea. I drink 6 mugs of tea a day, two mugs at a time made from 1 bag so 3 tea bags a day. The brand I used was PG Tips Decaf as that had the best flavour, hardly any difference from the non decaf version. Once again there was nothing on the packet to say how the tea was decaffeinated and nothing on their web site. There was a contact form on their web site so I e-mailed them asking about the process. This was the initial response -

Dear Sally,

Thank you for your email.

The solvent extraction process for decaffeination involves the tea leaves being 'washed' in a solvent that removes almost all of the caffeine. The tea leaves are then dried and packed in the ordinary fashion.

If steam treatment is used to remove the caffeine, it is inevitable that some of the other water soluble components will be removed at the same time, notably the water soluble antioxidant flavonoids which contribute to the taste and the leaves' antioxidant activity. We intend that the black tea leaf blend in PG Decaf provides you with a tea infusion that has the taste you would expect to find in cup of standard PG tips tea. Similarly, we intend that PG Decaf continues to give you a brew that is rich in antioxidant flavonoids. While taste is obviously a matter of personal preference, we know we could not make any claim about antioxidant flavonoids if the caffeine had been removed from the leaves using a water based steam treatment.

As I am sure that you will appreciate, the exact process carried out by PG is commercially sensitive but I do hope that this gives you a better understanding of the methodology and our reasoning.

Kind regards,

Zaheed Khan
Careline Advisor

I then e-mailed back asking them which solvent was used in the process and the reply was as follows -

Dear Sally,

Thank you for your continued correspondence.

I can confirm that the the typical solvent of choice for PG tips is Dichloromethane.

If I can be of any further help or assistance, then please do not hesitate to contact me.

Kind regards,

Christopher Fortune
Careline Advisor

Dichloromethane is a carcinogen. There are loads of references to it so it seems strange that they would use it to remove caffeine on the grounds it saved the anti-oxidants when at the same time it could potentially cause cancer itself. I am now searching for a new brew and would welcome any suggestions. In the mean time I will revert to normal tea and try steeping the bags for 30 seconds to remove the caffeine myself, throwing that water away and re-steeping the bags to make my tea.

In fairness, at least PG were honest and did reply; I've yet to hear from Lavazza.

References...
http://healthmad.com/nutrition/why-buying-decaffeinated-tea-bags-may-not-be-the-best-choice/
http://antoine.frostburg.edu/chem/senese/101/consumer/faq/decaffeinating-coffee.shtml
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methylene_chloride
http://teahousekuanyin.wordpress.com/2009/11/18/
http://www-teahousekuanyin-comearl-grey-decaffienated-htmlfeinating-tea/
http://imsdd.meb.uni-bonn.de/cancernet/600316.html
http://www.teeccino.com/decaf.aspx
...the list goes on and on.

P.s.
I tried the seeping method as a DIY method for removing caffeine from normal tea at lunchtime today and so far it seems to have worked...no indigestion...yet!

Tuesday 2nd March 2010 - Tetley and Typhoo Decaf Teas
I've been checking around for other brands of decaf tea.  most manufacturers don't say how they process their tea on the packets so it is a matter of contacting the companies concerned and asking them direct.  today I got replies from Tetley and Typho who also both use the same solvent as PG.  Here is their response to my enquiry.

Tetley

Dear Sally

Thanks for your email.  In answer to your query, we decaffeinate our teas using dichloromethane, which is removed by heating the tea leaves to 40°C.  It's checked by our labs and the level of residue left is well below 5 parts per million, the level required by legislation. We believe this method delivers the best tasting decaf blend.

Dichloromethane is still widely used in the food and drink industry because it can so effectively be removed from products due to its volatile nature. Product safety and consumer concerns are a top priority for us at Tetley and we regularly review our methods and look at alternative processes of decaffeination.

Kind regards

Sue
Tetley GB Consumer Services

Typhoo

Dear Ms Turner

I am writing in response to your query regarding the decaffeination method that we use.

Typhoo currently use the widely used method known as Methylene Chloride for decaffeination. During this process the tea is 'washed' with Methylene Chloride, which is highly selective for caffeine, and is therefore thought to give a better flavoured decaffeinated tea than by using some other methods.

The caffeine is dissolved into the solvent. Tea is treated to remove the solvent by gentle heating - Methylene Chloride has a low boiling point of approximately 41 C and is therefore evaporated off and collected separately. Caffeine can be recovered from this solvent and purified for re-use.

All teas are made with hot water (70 C-80 C or more), ensuring that any minute traces of solvent remaining in the decaffeinated tea (normally less than 1 mg per kg of dry tea) will evaporate before the tea is drunk.

Recent research has shown that the healthy antioxidants in tea are not removed during decaffeination using Methylene Chloride.

Kind Regards

Lynsey
Consumer Relations Advisor

N.B. Dichloromethane and Methylene Chloride are the same thing. The references listed above say that this chemical cannot be fully removed from the tea and so will be ingested.

On the plus side I have discovered, but not yet tried, a decaffeinated tea by Taylors of Harrogate who claim their tea is decaffeinated using CO2, perfectly harmless.
I am currently trying Clipper Organic Decaf Tea Having e-mailed them asking about their decaffeination process they informed me they use CO2 aswell. Here is their reply.

Thank you for contacting clipper

It was good to hear that you are interested in our Decaffeinated products and would like to know which process we use to decaffeinate them.

The information is as follows:

How is Clipper tea and coffee decaffeinated?

There are essentially two types of decaffeination process: one that uses solvents such as ethyl acetate, and one that uses harmless carbon dioxide gas and water.  All Clipper decaffeinated products use natural spring water and supercritical Carbon Dioxide (CO2) - the same natural gas used to add bubbles to mineral water, but pressurised.  This method does not use any harmful chemicals and is approved by the Soil Association.

Thank you for contacting us; if you have any further queries, please do not hesitate to contact us again

Kind regards
Penny Knapman
Customer Relations
Tel: 01308 863344
Fax: 01308 861249

Thursday 4th March - Response from Lavazza Coffee

Lavazza got back to me today to say they use the CO2 method of decaffeination. This response was via a scanned document so instead of attaching the e-mail I've inserted an image of the document sent to me here. Just click on it to see it large.

Bl**dy Royal Mail!

I'm not a fan of our postal service as one of my earlier blogs might have let on but now they have dropped to an all time low in my opinion. We have been waiting for a package from the US for over a month now. Such items normally only take 7 - 10 days max but i gusee this got held up in the postal strike. Yesterday I got a card through the door to say I owed the Royal Mail £12.56 in duty. I thought that seemed a bit steep as the product value was only about £40. I went to the sorting office to collect it today and discovered the duty was just £4.56 and the rest was a handling charged levied by the Post Office. "for what purpose?" I asked, and was told it getds levied on all international mail. "funny" I said, "I've never had to pay it before. Surely the cost of postage is the handling charge?" "Well that's what catches people out, you might think you are buying something cheap from abroad but then you have to pay import charges." Of all the cheek, this guy is now making an assumption on the contents of my package and my mentality. I glared at him which resulted in him saying "If you want to know more you'll have to phone this number" while pointing to a telephone number on the label.
I went home and phoned it. I needed to negotiate 6 different switching options before I actually managed to speak to a human who, unfortunately, was very polite and nicely spoken. it's very difficult being annoyed with someone when you really feel like taking him a cup of tea, giving him a hug and saying "There, there I'm sure it will be alright." No doubt that was why he had that job. Anyway this guy informed me that the charge was because the Royal Mail had had to pay Customs the £4.56 out of their own funds and the remaining £8 was a charge to cover that service! SERVICE, you've got to be kidding. I told him that and he at first blamed it on Customs and Excise so I politely pointed out that I was not the least bit concerned about paying the £4.56 duty and they were only doing what was right. Having realised I wasn't going to take that piece of bait he then decided to try and blame it on the banks, after all everyone wants to hang them out to dry these days don't they? Wrong again, I was not having that either, Bank charges might seem excessive in some instances but charging £12.56 for a £4.56 outlay amounts to almost 300% and I don't know any bank that outrageous. In the end all he could say is that was how things were done at the Royal Mail.
I feel like I have been fleeced. After all, it's not as if I had a choice, OK I could have refused to pay it but then the package would have been sent back and we would have lost out completely as the company who sent it would not have been liable to give us a refund on those grounds. At least if it's an upfront postal charge you know what you are paying there and then but this was a totally hidden one. the sooner another company has the right to handle small items of post in competition with the Royal Mail the better. the way things stand at present we are at their mercy and can't do a thing about it.

My Hunting Rant

With the national election fast approaching the pro hunting lobbyists have been raising their voices again like a pack of baying hounds. Apparently the Conservatives have promised to over turn the ban. Great, isn’t there more important things to be fighting this election on? I happen to feel they would be the best party to get this country out of it’s current mess but I’m not in favour of over turning this particular ban. I do agree that it is a pig’s ear of the law and need refining but I see no reason to throw the baby out with the bath water. Apparently 75% of the nation agrees.

It’s not that I’m totally anti-hunting. In principle I can’t see much wrong with hunting foxes in this manner to a point. If it was just a matter of chasing foxes caught out in the open and killing them with the hounds then it is little different from any natural predator / prey hunt found in the wild. Where I draw the line is in the digging out of foxes that have gone to ground and the throwing of them to the hounds. Surely once the fox has outwitted the pack they should be left in peace. This is supposed to be a sport after all and digging them out or chasing them out with terriers is not being very sportsman like, is it?

As for the argument that the hunt is providing a service in keeping the fox number down, well that’s a total joke. Far more foxes get killed on the road by cars than any hunt could knock off. Then there are people who go out shooting them. They also take more than the hunts. The hunts response is they only take the weakest as the strongest get away. Well that might be true if they didn’t dig them out.

Foxes are very successful and adaptable animals and like any animal that is clever and successful we human tend to hate them. They are indigenous to the UK and have every right to a life just as much as we do. They pose no serious threat to our survival. Their numbers are high only because there is plenty of food available. Killing a handful of foxes only allows a better opportunity for the next generation to take their place. Foxes actually provide a very useful service as they help to keep the rabbit population down.

Persecuting the fox in the countryside has encouraged them to take up residence in out towns. The hunt can’t get them there and here they have found a much easier and wormer living. We humans are very untidy and leave scraps of food all over the place, especially around fast food joints. All the fox needs to do is to overcome its natural fear of man to get at it. Something it has done very easily. Added to that, raiding gardens of pet rabbits and chickens is easier in towns than chasing them in the open. In the countryside the fox poses little threat but in a town it can be a real pest, although personally I find them quite endearing. Hunting has helped to create this problem and can’t do anything to put it right.

So why do people hunt? Because it’s jolly good fun. There is no other sport that allows such freedom to gallop en-mass over such a variety of private land. There’s the thrill of not knowing where the hunt will take you and what obstacles you and your horse will need to negotiate. Then there is the sheer adrenaline of the chase. Added to that, many humans have a blood lust, a desire to kill. It's a remnant left over from when we were hunter gatherers and no different from the actions of our pet cats when they kill birds they don't eat. I love to ride and would love the opportunity to join in something that exhilarating provided there was no actual living quarry. None of this is ever admitted to as a reason for keeping the hunt going but it is the only true reason.

When the ban was first being brought in the hunting community said it would see hundreds of people out of work and thousands of hounds would have to be destroyed. Well none of that has happened. Hunts can still hunt by drag hunting. The hounds just follow an artificially laid scent. Hunting is now more popular than it was before. The hunt leaders say this is in support of hunting as it was but it could also be that equestrians with an aversion to killing foxes now feel free to join in the fun.

The law as it is needs improving as it is very difficult to bring a conviction if a hunt does break the ban. Hence, few cases get to court. Most laws are refined by case law but that requires cases being prosecuted in court first and then going to appeal. If cases are not being brought in the first place there cannot be any appeals so the law won’t get refined. Something needs to be sorted out here but I don’t see a need to completely throw it out just because a minority of people think it’s wrong.

In a Rut

Now that the evenings are drawing in and weatehr is not always up to much it is easy to get into a rut and let the just days slip away. It's easy to get motivated in spring and summer as the lengthening days almost seem to make us want to do stuff but once the clocks go back it seems to put me in winter mode. This year I decided to change all that. I'm determined to try and make the most of any good days that are offered. Autumn can be glorious if the weather holds. Today was one such day so I packed up my camera, grabbed Brac, and headed off for Knowle Park to watch the Fallow deer.

It's actually a bit late in the season for the rut these Fallow deer were still at it. All was calm until one of these stags suddenly appeared almost from out of nowhere chasing a doe. He stumbled straight into another herd and was instantly challenged.

Next year I want to make a point of going to Richmond Park for the Red deer rut, I still tempted to go this year as even with the rut virtually at an end the stags will still be looking impressive.

The Selfishness of Unions

All the post office workers in the UK went on strike today. They will be on strike again tomorrow and threatening to go on strike on several more days in the near future unless the Post Office agrees to their terms over conditions and pay. We, like the rest of the world are in a recession and there are currently 3 million unemployed in the UK; a number that is growing by the day. These strikers ought to think themselves lucky they still have a job. How selfish can they be? While they are on strike many small businesses are missing out on cheques and deliveries vital for keeping them going. Personally I'm not that effected as yet, touch wood, but as Christmas orders for portraits increase it will no doubt be a different story.
I hope the Post Office and the Government don't give in to the Unions demands because I don't agree with bully techniques and am really annoyed that the Unions state that they are doing it to "protect services for the nation". What a cheek. I wish the Government would legislate to open the postal service up to competition so that we could send our letters via some other company. As it is, if they don't go back to work as normal, I simply won't bother sending any Christmas cards this year...after all, what's the point, they won't get there in time?

When I first spotted this distant poppy filed I was impressed. Normally only part of a filed gets a concentration like this. I had to find the filed to take a closer look. I love poppies. When i got to the filed I was in for a surprise. Rather than these poppies growing up amongst a regular crop the poppies were the crop. Initially I assumed it was a filed that had been left fallow and the poppies had taken over as early colonisers. Even so, that didn't account for such an even spread. The give away was the fact that there were crop lines present where an irrigator had been pulled through the field and also, the poppies were planted in rows. You can see this clearly from this shot below.

How wonderful to be able to see fields like this. I can't imagine there will be a big call for such fields though as the only commercial use I can think of for this crop would be for poppy seeds used for toppings on breads. I must admit, though, I didn't realise they used filed poppies for that. anyway, I hope this is a success for the farmer so that maybe we shall see a repeat in following years.

Last week I broke the LCD on my mobile :-( I loved that mobile so I was gutted. I tried making some enquiries about getting it repaired first at my phone dealers and second at a mobile phone spares shop and they wanted shed loads of money to do it. I thought it might have to be consigned to the bin. In a last hope attempt I tried searching on Google for a repair and low and behold I found my saviour on e-bay. Spectrum Mobiles based in Barking, Essex, UK were happy to do it for just £20 including postage. I hurriedly sent it off and 6 days later my phone has been restored. I can't say it's perfect as there is a small amount of flare at the bottom of the screen but I'm more than happy and it comes with a 6 month guarantee so what more can I ask? If any of you suffer a similar problem just drop me a line here and I'll pass on their details to you.

Christmas countdown

It's only when I reach mid December that I really begin to get into the feel for Christmas. I simply can't stand thinking about it before December and even once December starts it still feels too early. It's not that Christmas feels a long way off, far from it, it's more that it simply doesn't feel that long ago since the last Christmas! Consequently I start to feel pressured, that I've not allowed myself enough time to get things done and that has an even greater dampening effect on my Christmas spirit. Still, for all that, I have finally finished writing my Christmas cards and got most of my present shopping done so maybe now I can start to look forward to it a bit. I probably won't be putting these deccies up today though, still too soon for that..."bar hunbug" :-)

Bad day

I had a bad day again yesterday. seems I'm not quite over the caffeine withdrawal after all. I had a headache all day despite regularly taking paracetamol to combat it at the advice of my GP. They made no difference. To be honest, it wasn't a thumper but I was concious of it and found it hard to concentrate on anything much because of it. What if really hate about such niggling headaches is how they seem to affect my whole day. I couldn't find anything to smile about and everything seemed to go wrong. OK, I know that's just a warped perception of the day building negative energy and causing me to look at the black side of things rather than the seeing the positives but knowing that didn't help.
I could have just grabbed a cup of normal tea of coffee and cleared my head but I was determined to stretch it out longer. I knew I had gone 72 hours before between caffeine fixes so I needed to make sure I went at least that this time. the trouble was that would mean the next time I could have a caffeine fix would be my after diner coffee and that would likely cause me another sleepless night. There was nothing for it but to stick it out until this morning making it a good 80 hours between 'fixes'. As I woke this morning my headache was nestled in well behind my left eye and throbbed at me as I sat up. No matter, I was going to have two mugs of normal tea with my breakfast...Yes!
Breakfast was 2 hours ago now and my headache is 90% better. Not totally banished I have to say but I'm sure it will be soon. At least I feel more positive today which is good because I have a lot of work to get through.

Downside of being caffeine free

Yes, that's right, I can now claim to have beaten the caffeine thing. Once I got the hang of it, it was all quite painless really. The downside is that last night I made a cup of filter coffee after my dinner as usual only I accidentally used the wrong coffee. Normal coffee rather then decaf. I didn't think much of it at the time as one cup of caffeinated coffee wasn't going to kill me and probably wouldn't make much difference to my digestion. It was not until I went to bed that I realised the difference. It took me at least 3 hours before I finally went to sleep. I couldn't believe it, I'd never had problems sleeping after coffee before and always thought people who said coffee kept them awake were exaggerating but there I was wide awake and concious that I was going to have to get up in another 4 hours. Best not make that mistake again.

Sciatica & Caffeine Withdrawal

OK, enough was enough, I still have the 'Sciatica' or what ever it is so I went to see my GP this morning. He didn't know what was causing it but has ordered some x-rays but he thinks what ever it is I've had it a long time but the pain has been masked by the caffeine I'd been taking in my tea as caffeine is an analgesic. This is why it has become a problem now I'm almost totally decaf. I'm beginning to feel like I'm falling apart.
It will be over a week before I can get the x-rays done and then another 3 weeks before my GP has the results. Hey Ho!

Addendum

I had to have a normal cup of tea this morning as I woke up with the beginnings of another headache. Still, that's OK because it was 45 hours since I last had a caffeinated drink. I must be almost there.

Caffeine...who needs it?

We spent the weekend in the New Forest visiting my mother-in-law. I managed on just normal tea on Saturday morning and a normal coffee Sunday mid morning when the first signs of a headache returned. Apart from sciatica that came on Friday night and which I don't think is connected, I've not had any other adverse effects. I have not had any caffeinated drinks since the coffee on Sunday so I think I've probably got this sorted now although I did fall asleep after lunch today. I simply could not keep my eyes open. My indigestion has improved since being off the caffeine so now I just need to get rid of this sciatica!

A little of what you fancy

07.55 am
Didn't sleep that well last night. Kept waking up with my headache. Not only that but now my right eye aches as well and both feel sore. I'm now having a normal cup of tea in the hope that the caffeine in it will abate my headache and allow me to get on with my day. I'll be back on the decaf for the rest of the day or at least until my headache returns, assuming it goes away in the first place. I can feel my stomach objecting to the caffeine already but if it is going to be a battle between my head and my stomach I'm afraid my head wins, at least temporarily.
Mind you, I have to say, this normal tea that I have enjoyed all my life, suddenly doesn't taste that nice any more.

09.20am
OK my headache has gone, my eyes are no longer sore and I generally feel fine. Even my indigestion only got to a 'low simmer' for the present. All-in-all the trade off was fine. I'm sure if I can keep off the caffeine for the rest of the day I should be able to keep both my head and stomach happy. Fingers crossed :-)

10.50pm
Well I got through the day without any more caffeine. My indigestion kept niggling me but nothing too serious. I do have very achy joints and my head ache is just beginning to return but all that can wait until the morning when I may have another cup of proper tea. If I can leave it a little longer still I will as it will likely increase my indigestion to a more uncomfortable level if I do.

Caffeine withdrawal is no fun

I was diagnosed with a hiatus hernia a few months back which had been causing me constant indigestion. Since then I've been taking some medication to help but little had changed, I still had indigestion. On returning to my GP I was told I would need to give up caffeine. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a coffee addict but I do like tea and have about 6 mugs of it a day. No worries, I thought, I'll buy decaf. That was two days ago and today I have had a headache all day despite taking analgesics to get rid of it. Not only that but I feel listless but restless as well. Foggy in the head (I know there are some that would think that was normal) and blurry eyed. I can't concentrate on anything much and I'm either cold or flushed.
I assumed it was due to the medication I was on being increased but then, as I was about to make myself an after dinner coffee I suddenly realised it was the lack of caffeine that was the most likely culprit.
I Googled caffeine withdrawal and to my dismay discovered these symptoms can last a week of more. I don't know why my GP didn't warn me of this. I'm now thinking that going cold turkey on caffeine is not the right way to go about this and think I will allow myself one cup of proper tea tomorrow even if it does result in the return of my indigestion which, btw, has improved.

Reaping Rewards

There is a long story to this photo so I hope you are sitting comfortably with a cup of tea or something a bit stronger :-)

The fields behind our house have been bought by a new farmer who intends to grow just salad stuffs but as he wanted to get them planted quickly he planted wheat in all but a few. The land is transected by a road and the fields on the far side are more picturesque as they are gently undulating. As the wheat ripened this year I hoped to get a good shot of them reaping in these fields with the north downs in the background. I walked Brac over there every day as the time approached but on a day when I walked in the morning, they managed to cut all of that side in the afternoon! They must have had several machines going at once to get it done. Anyway, there were still the fields on my side of the road and as our house backs right onto them I would be sure to hear if any reaping was going on.

The weather turned bad from that point on. Barely a day went by without some amount of rain or if not it was damp. No reaping could take place until the crop dried out or it would rot. As the weeks went by a black mould started to appear on the husks so something had to happen soon. Finally we had a dry day followed by another but it was not until that night that the combines moved in. I laid in bed listening to them working through the night.

The forecast was for more rain in the morning. When I woke up it was raining and had been for some time. I took Brac over the fields and was relieved to see that there were still two fields they had not managed to get done. I was still in with a chance.

Ok, so back to walking Brac over the fields every day with camera in hand only now, as the fields left were the least interesting photographically, I was only taking my little sony P&S camera as I didn't feel it was worth the effort of carrying my very heavy D300. Another week went by and nothing happened. Then, one day I went out with my Sony in my pocket and as I entered the fields I could see the dust rising in the distance. They were reaping. At last I could get some shots. I walked over to the field they were working on and got my camera ready only to discover I had left the memory stick in my PC! AAAAH! That's it, it's just not meant to be. I finished Brac's walk in disgust.

When I got in I thought about it some more. that was likely to be my last best chance of getting such a shot as from now on they will only be growing onions and lettuce over there. I had to go back. I grabbed my D300 and headed out knowing that they were 2/3rds finished when I saw them last.

Brac couldn't believe his luck; two walks straight after each-other!

As I headed out in a hurry now a neighbour who's wife had not been well for some time was in his garden. I knew it would be rude of me to just pass by so I had to stop and ask after her. It was a longer conversation than I really wanted but what could I do?

Finally I head off into the fields. By the time I got to where the combine was there was only a few strips of wheat left to reap. No matter, it would be enough. The tractor was parked at the end of the rows and the combine was going to it to unload the grain into its trailer as the field was quite small so no need for them to work in formation. I positioned myself at the other end of a row and waited for the combine to come towards me. As it approached I started snapping moving around for a different angle. I than saw the combine extend its arm and to my express delight the tractor pulled up along side. They decided to transfer the grain in formation and I'm sure it was for my benefit. To make matters even better the sun decided to poke it face out for those few minutes too. When they got to the end of the row the combine driver gave me a wave as he turned to go back.

If I had remembered to check the memory stick in my Sony I'd never have got these shots. I guess it was meant to be after all.

Catch of the day

Dried cod is one of the main sources of income for the people of Finnmark. We passed loads of fishing huts with racks of fish drying in the air like this. It's hardly any wonder that cod stocks are so depleted in the North Sea. Who knows how the local economy will fair when the cod stocks are exhausted.
Below is a photo of some cod fishing boats, you can see more racks of fish drying behind them.

Taking to the Air

Now we have the aircraft back Paul is desperate to get up-to-speed again with flying it before we go on holiday in it at the end of the month. For this reason we spent the weekend going places in it. On Saturday we flew to Shoreham airport which is near to Brighton on the south coast. This is a charming airfield as the terminal building was an original 1920 Art Deco building with all it's original features. The airfield is also located so close to the town you can walk there and get straight down onto the beach.
Yesterday we flew to Old Sarum airfield which is next to Salisbury in wiltshire. We me his parents, sister, and niece Bethany there for lunch. Paul gave Bethany and his dad a joy flight while we were there. There is a large Iron Age hill fort next to the airfield that you fly right over on the approach. This was later turned into a Norman bailey and mote castle and when that fell into disuse the stone was taken to build a cathedral. You can see the ruins of both in this image. Apparently when this cathedral was built it was so exposed and cold that no one wanted to worship there. A decision was made to relocate the cathedral and so history books record that an archer fired an arrow from the mound and where it fell was where they erected the current cathedral. However, it seems extremely unlikely that any arrow could have ever made it that far. You can just about make out the spire of the current Salisbury cathedral in this photo and it's a very long way.

Bloggers Catch 22

The big trouble with blogging is that when ever I have time to blog I never have anything much of interest to say. When ever I have plenty to tell you, I don't have the time to blog! It's the Bloggers catch 22. I've not been blogging lately because I've been so busy but now it's all old news. I'll tell you some snippets but I'll break them up into separate blogs because long blogs can be a strain to read. :-)I'll also space them out a bit so they won't appear all at once.