Rotton Yarns: Lost at sea while navel gazing

Last week turned from being very busy to very manic ending in a lovely weekend which seems to have vanished in a puff of smoke.

I suppose I will have to start this blog by making mention of my celebrity spot on Thursday. While having an informal meeting in the London Wetlands Centre at Barn Elms, two people came into the room with various items of equipment. Quickly glancing up from my computer and conversations, one was none other than author, TV presenter and naturalist Simon King. That was certainly an unexpected surprise, although I'm a bit miffed he never asked for my autograph :o). The day finished in the evening with a nice pint of Fullers Black Cab and a nice, inexpensive but filling Thai style meal at the Churchill Arms pub in Notting Hill.

The weekends lovely weather bode well for a nice walk on Saturday with members of the local wildlife group. It was a brisk walk past the nearby River Ivel and up into the woods to the east of Sandy. This is where I became so engrossed in looking at and photographing the plant Navelwort, at its only Bedfordshire location, that I missed the group disappearing off into the distance without trace. All was not lost, as I continued to look around the area, taking in the flowering gorse looking so resplendent in the sunshine, before then heading down into the town centre to rendezvous with the group for lunch at the China Express.

Navelwort - something to gaze into (c Rotton Yarns)

Sunday was another bright and lovely day, if not a little windy and cold to spend standing around watching the bird ringing session at Beeston. But stand around I did, well at least some of the time but it was nice to see some really lovely birds at close hand. One being my old mate the house sparrow. The day was highlighted to by the sheer numbers of bee orchid in leaf and the mistletoe. I didn't hang around it too long for fear of being snogged by a sailor!