Davenpete

Remember going to St Ives in the small dark room (only lit by the cueing/record box lights) - I was chatting away to a mate (think it was Daz Dakin or Mad Mick) got up to have a dance, sat back down and continued my conversation for a couple of minutes until I realised he had gone for a dance himself and someone else had sat down in his place. The back room at The Fleet in Peterborough was much the same. Dx

Love this, heard it at my one and only trip to Stafford (went on to there on a scooter after doing Loughborough on the Friday and kipping(ish) in a car park - a LONG round trip from Oxford, though I did Morecambe from Oxford on a scoot too - didn't go more because I was at college in Hull on the opposite side of the country and could only afford one nighter a month, so usually went down to Peterborough with Martin Midgley from Bradford and Striker from Hull on our scooters). I used to have a Main Chnage (my most expensive purchase at the time - £100 in 86 somewhat less than it is now!, came with a printed sheet with info on all the people involved in the record) - in the end I could never get over the vibe destroying slow break though and sold it to Mark Sargeant - but the rest of it still fills me with the joy of discovering Northern Soul. One guilty pleasure I still have is Rain 'Out of my mind' - because it's the first specifically 'Northern' record I ever bought (quickly followed by Alfie Khan and Barnaby Bye - oh dear : ) ) - I still have that original poxy Axe reissue today. Dx

Felt a bit rough post-jab 2 (not as bad as last time) so have spent all day lying around the house. Anyway here's tonight's sunset across the meadow from downstairs at home. Dx

Last night's hike - from Stonethwaite in Borrowdale, up over the back of Castle Crag (1000 very steep feet up through the trees - nearly killed me!), over the top past Dock Tarn and down to Watendlath, then back up and down past Rossthwaite. Total about 6 miles - didn't get back to the car til about 7.30pm. Never seen Borrowdale quite so lush, the greens are almost fluorescent. Dx

A true gentleman with real class - me and Pete always had massive respect for him. RIP Dx

Wanted a decent walk and didn't fancy the central Lakes on a Bank Holiday so re-walked round Ennerdale Water - but this time rather than skirting round it lower down via Robin Hood's Seat I went up and over Fisherman's Crag (given I've been doing little other than salmon fishing - unsuccessfully - for the last month I HAD to really) - I then stayed high-ish on what petered out into no more than a deer track in the fabulous ancient woods. Ennerdale really is one of the prettiest of the lakes - but it was damned hot - over 20ºC. Dx PS Interestingly the high fells above Fisherman's Crag (the final pic with the sun on it) were full of Cuckoos - I heard at least four separate birds (doing their usual call, the roadrunner oil can glug noise and the rasping call) in the sparse spread of trees just below the tops - strangely none at all in the woods. Try as I might I didn't see any of them, even though they were calling to each other all the time.

Thanks - it literally IS a close-up of the sparrow hawk as it's with a cameraphone and NO ZOOM - I could literally have put out my hand and patted it on the head - it had crashed the bird feeders (they do it a lot - must say it's a bit barbaric the way they drag what they've snared through the caging) and was sat on the railings for about 15 minutes - I was worried it was injured - went to the window, it didn't move, went to the patio doors and opened them - still didn't move - I ended up this close - after a minute or two it flew off quite happily. Dx

First Linnet I've seen on our feeders in a long time. We're very very lucky with our birds here - These are what I've seen ON our feeders or ON the patio - (not including birds 'seen from' like Barn Owls, Egrets, Hooper Swans and Snow Geese): Rook, Jacdaw, Magpie Greater and Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers (unfortunately we don't get these now as I've had to switch to caged feeders because of the rooks) Blue, Great, Long Tailed, Marsh and Coal Tits Robin, Blackbird, Song Thrush, Starling Sparrowhawk, Buzzard, Tawny Owl Chaffinch, Green Finch, Siskin, Brambling, Gold Finch, Linnet Wood Pidgeon, Collared Dove, Stock Dove Dunnock, House Sparrow, Tree Sparrow Willow Warbler and Wren 31 species!!!! I think that's it, but I may have forgotten a couple - interestingly we hardly ever see crows, and never on the patio. We also have bats in the gable covers! Dx

This last shot didn't load for some reason. Dx

Shot out after work and did another hike. This one at the back of Thirlmere up to Harrop Tarn and then on up to Blea Tarn. An amazing water fall draining Harrop Tarn that must fall at least 200m (in total - this is just a little bit of it) - though much of it is hidden in the forest. Dx

Sunset tonight from the balcony. Dx

Disgruntled wet doves on my balcony...

Stayed close to home today at Wedholme Flow a couple of miles from my home in Kirkbride. The skies were wonderful today. Dx

Just pathetic over poxy stocked fish.

Utter scum - it's probably some knobend fisherman thinks the risk they'll eat his pike outways their value - I hear guys up here moaning about otters taking salmon when I'm out fishing - something in reality they rarely do, preferring eels and chub of course. The c**ts up here ragged Red Kite nests to protect their shooting (perhaps it's just as well their reintroduction didn't work in Cumbria). Dx

Quite pleased with myself having done a proper fell today - Blake Fell as part of the Cogra Horseshoe. I'm not really up for doing the tops (more inerested in lakesides and woodland) but in this case the views are staggering - well over 50 miles north to the tip of Galloway and south to the Fylde coast and across to the Isle of Man. Also an obliging Wheatear from only about 20 feet just for you Steve! Dx

I pulled my calf muscle badly on Thursday and its still pretty sore so I initially thought I'd do the gentle walk round Loweswater today (4 miles). I'd finished by 12.30 and hadn't stretched the muscle out so I went on to Ennerdale and invented a walk up over the back of Bowness Knotts (a big spiky bit with the spectacular cliffs at the west end of the lake) and then down and through the woods back. Turned out to be a great walk - nice and varied - though somewhat longer than I'd intended (about 5 miles) due to following the forestry roads lower down (who knew they built dead ends on them?). Weather utterly glorious as you can see - funny my leg hurts more on the flat than it does going straight up! Dx

Must admit I preferred the profile. Dx Went up Rannerdale Knotts today - it's the big spiky thing that you have to drive round at the top of Crummock Water. Quite pleased with myself as it was a very steep climb that beat me last time due to high winds and being -5ºC (at least that was my excuse). Dx

The duck pic is just lovely. Dx

Sunrise off the battlements of Fort Greyhair this morning...

Another fantastic circular walk this afternoon from Caldbeck up to the top of Faulds Brow (a baby sized fell with fabulous views over the Solway) then down along a lovely little river and through a hidden gorge. Only about 4.5 miles all-in and only 12 miles from home! Dx

Over to St Bee's head today as it's too windy and bright for fishing - not too much of a walk as the high winds were effing cold (up to the top of the head and then along the beach). A Stonechat and one of the local Ravens - couldn't get an angle that wasn't directly into the sun as it was on the cliff edge. It's the Isle of Man in the background on the pic the cliff and Scotland on the horizon on the shot looking along the cliffs. Dx

Ennerdale Water today - not been here since before we moved up permanently and still had Corner House at High Lorton as a holiday cottage - so about 27 years. This is a fantastic walk right round the lake - about 7.5 miles, most of it fairly easy, though it's a bit scrambly here and there. Funny last weekend there was thick snow on the tops - now it's like mid summer. Dx

It was a claim to fame of mine in the late-mid 70s that I'd seen a pair of Red Kites in the middle of nowhere in the Upper Dovey valley at the old farm my school had been given to use as an outward bound centre. I also saw 14 European Vultures high in the Pyrennes when on a family holiday around '79 when there were supposed to only be about 20 pairs in the whole of Europe - they were amazing, circling only 30 or 40 feet above us - they really are huge. Dx

Wandering about this afternoon - went and took some pictures of some of the thousands of geese on the marhes first - these are only about 250 yards from the house (hence it being called Greylag) but their favourite field is normally screened from us by a hedge (or swamped out with Hooper Swans) - I popped a short way up the Silloth road and just leant over the gate. Then I went over to Glasson Moss for a quick stretch of the legs. Dx PS I also saw my first Swallow of the year on the wires outside the house - saw two others a couple of minutes later - we tend to get them quite early as the move up the coast before turning inland.