Sunday, November 25, 2007

Power birds and the Michelin Man

Lord H and I have spent a marvellous day admiring the birds at Dungeness. Which were stunning, I must say. New birds spotted today: a smew (they're sooo lovely - all white with tracings of black. Wonderful!); a goldeneye; a hen harrier; Bewley's swans; possible divers, though it was hard to say; and a barn owl. The latter being an extra special treat as I navigated us along the wrong road on the way out and we saw it as we turned round. Goodness me, what a star I am indeed. It was all planned of course.

It was also an interesting day, in that I wore two pairs of socks, two pairs of trousers, seven layers of tops (comprising chemise, tee-shirt, polo-shirt, two jumpers, a fleece and my golf jacket), two scarves (one of which is my snood, so keeps my head warm too), a pair of gloves and a woolly hat. Really, m'dears, I had to be rolled out of the car and towards the bird hides, much like the Michelin Man. And I was still cold. Good God, this country!!! I think I am going to invest in some thermals. Don't tell Lord H ...

We also had lunch in a cafe in Dungeness Tourist Railway Station which appeared to have been almost perfectly preserved from the 1950s. That included the staff. And which produced the foulest mug of coffee I have ever had the displeasure of attempting to drink. There be strange folks in Dungeness, you know ... Though the fish are surprisingly large. And cook themselves. Dear me, how scarily handy!

Back home, I have caught up on the thrills and spills of "Strictly Come Dancing". Ah, Letitia, my angel, you are still in!! And how shit-hot and sexy was Matt! Oo-err, missus indeed. Also lovely to see that empty-headed, mean-hearted slapper, Kelly, taken down a peg or two. Oh how I wish she'd been chosen to go out. That would have been a real result!

I must also dash and watch "Cranford", as otherwise my week will be meaningless. The Thorn in the Flesh edit will have to wait ...

This week's haiku (which shows how terrified I can be by the sudden appearance of decorations):

The nursery tree
is all lit up tonight. God,
it must be Christmas.

Today's nice things:

1. Birds, especially the smew
2. Cheering for Letitia
3. Cranford.

Anne Brooke
Anne's website
Goldenford Publishers

8 comments:

Sue said...

If you don't like the sudden appearance of decorations, keep away from my blog!

Sounds like you had a great if not freezing time. I really wish you'd taken a picture of yourself with all those clothes on. It sounds like that advert for a brand of washing powder or conditioner (can't remember what), where she puts on all her clothes because they smell yummy.

Sue xx

Anne Brooke said...

Tee hee! It might terrify me enough to write another poem though, Sue - on both counts!

:))

A
xxx

Lexi said...

Anne, I had a Saturday stall at Covent Garden for years. I know all about dressing for the cold.

Beware Damart - it works, but if you move at all briskly you may boil, steam and expire. Buy one of those nifty charcoal-burner handwarmers, and/or battery-heated gloves. If part of you is warm, you can tolerate the rest being chilly.

They say real fur Russian hats are good, but I never managed to get hold of one.

Have you read 'Keeping up Appearances'? Terrific freezing bird-watching scene.

Anne Brooke said...

Ooh, good tips there, Lexi - thank you! Love the idea of battery-heated gloves - must go and search for some!

:))

A
xxx

Casdok said...

Ive never been there, sounds interesting!

Anne Brooke said...

It certainly was, Casdok - like being in another world entirely!!

A
xxx

Jackie Luben said...

Would you believe I sat with the book of instructions in front of me, trying to record both instalments of Cranford (as we were going out) and the machine would not do what I told it to at the very end, and though I tried several times to work out why it wouldn't, I couldn't influence the wretched machine, and when I checked this morning, sure enough, it hadn't recorded.

Anne Brooke said...

Oh noooooo - poor you!!! But I'm sure they'll bring it out on DVD soon!!

:((

A
xxx