Spellbound and Stunned

My heartiest congratulations to gymnastic troupe Spelbound for winning the fourth series of Britain's Got Talent. I am not a fan of talent shows or reality tv programs but I do (try) to watch the finals but only of the former. Hopefully, the ones that reached the finals were the most talented (?). I just couldn’t bear to see these people going through the auditions making a fool of themselves.

But kudos to the 13 spray-tanned young gymnasts who propelled themselves to victory. The spectacular acrobatic routines which culminated in one of their members being thrown over the judges' heads, vowed and were voted for by the public as ITV talent contest's winners ahead of nine other acts. They were totally different from the others.

Before that, in the early days of June, the nation was stunned with the news that shocked us all. On the 2nd, Derrick Bird, a self-employed 52 year old taxi driver killed himself after going on a shooting rampage in Cumbria which left 12 people dead and 25 injured. This was Britain's worst mass shooting since the 1996 Dunblane’s tragedy.

There were so many speculations about why it happened but we will never know. Bird have already taken the motive for his killing spree to the grave with him. Just what turned him into a one man killing machine may never be fully understood. There is no sense to it, and no reason, and no explanation.

'Babylon in all its desolation is a sight not so awful as that of the human mind in ruins’

Scrope Davies (1782–1852)

My two cents will be why do you need to own a gun. Guns should only be in the hands of the armed forces and police. Should enjoying the killing of animals be called sport, or should this identify the very people who should not have guns!!! Yes, the gun laws in this country is one of the toughest in the world but that doesn’t mean anything to those who lost their loved ones. We owe it, at least, to the dead to have another look at the gun laws.

This massacre happened in a sleepy Cumbrian town. A place where people kept pigeons, where hedges were trimmed and catalogues delivered to your door. There were alleys and cobbled streets, an idyllic setting. The Old England that I used to read about. My condolences, prayers and thoughts go out to families and friends of those affected by these horrific incidents.

I was off work on Thursday afternoon and Friday due to hay fever. I did go on Thursday morning but I was sneezing like no tomorrow, with puffy and watery eyes and I could feel a splitting headache coming. I took the afternoon as sick leave and went home. I put in a prescription for antihistamines at the surgery and went to the pharmacy to stock on Paracetamol, vapour rub and cough syrup. It didn’t work!!!.

It got worse on Friday. I spent the day in bed trying to sleep using Babe’s recliner. The weather was gorgeous that day and I’d to stay indoors, recuperating. Not fair !!! Babe went out to Brandon Marsh to take advantage of the lovely weather and look what he found. A very beautiful male Banded Demoiselle (Calopteryx splendens)

But not for long. On Saturday, I just need to get out and get some fresh air. As we were driving along Brandon Lane, I spotted this beauty. I was eating a pear and wanted to feed the pips to her. Unfortunately, it fell on to the nettles below as she opened her mouth. Just look at those teeth!!! I felt soo bad cos she kept following me.

We went for a slow, gentle walk into the reserve. It was so humid that even the natives don’t want to come out and play. We walked through the forest where it was much cooler. Birdsongs echoed around us but they were well camouflaged. We went to the Baldwin Hide and spotted the Redshanks with chicks, terns nesting on the island, a Pied Wagtail and Little Ringed plover.

At the pond, we saw loads of the Common Blue Damselfly (Enallagma Cyathigerum) couples mating furiously. Check out this very handsome Four-spotted Chaser (Libellula quadrimaculata) sunbathing. We also managed to spot a dragonfly larva on one of the reeds. Gosh, he’s going to metamorphosis soon but unfortunately the process will take a long time and we won’t be around to see him.

I only managed to walk a quarter of the route that I usually took on Sunday. I was sweating profusely and decided to turn back. Still not 100% fit. I’d a leisurely breakfast of cheese and mushroom omelette on the bench in the garden while reading the Sunday papers. Still more stories on the Whitehaven massacre.

The weather wasn’t as bad as predicted so we decided to checkout Ryton Pools. We saw various birds, among them, Goldfinches, Whitethroats, Dunnocks and Green Woodpeckers. We walked through the woods when Babe spotted this flower beetle. Just look at those thunder thighs.

We were deep in the woods when Babe heard thunders. A thunderstorm was predicted today. Not a safe place to be so I quickly donned my rain coat while Babe has his wrapped over his camera. You can guess where his priorities are :-). We had a nice walk in the rain and even the natives came out to enjoy the rain. Don’t blame them cos it was much cooler.

I started work in Warwick in June 4 years ago. I have been through a lot since and I bet there’s more to come. I really relish the challenge that I encountered and friends that I made and lost along the way. Somehow, it made me stronger. Here’s to many more years to come… a sprig of Common Spotted Orchid from Ryton Pools.

My colleagues and I also said howdy to JR, a mature Masters student from the University of Arizona. She’s here on a 3-week internship and she’ll work on the digitised Marandet Collection. So far, I haven’t had the opportunity to even have a chat with her. Soon, I hope.

And this Little Grebe angel is dedicated to the people of Cumbria.

May Allah look after all of us, always.