A Hungry Baby Blackbird
I heard this furious chirping today so cautiously searched the garden and found that the noise was coming from this baby Blackbird whose parents were nearby. I couldn’t set up on a tripod so had to make do with a zoom lens rather than my 600mm mirror lens.
For a little chap he certainly could make his presence known. He flew away when he spotted me. One less “chick on the ground” to worry about.
Filed under Photography | Comment (0)Cat on the Prowl
This cat has become a frequent visitor to our garden. As a kitten he used to visit occasionally and try to get Tim (who adopted us years ago and now sleeps most of the day) to play with him. He has grown into a big bruiser of a cat and while Tim snoozes he has the run of our garden. I think he is the reason why the birds are not seen as frequently this year as in previous years .
My main worry about this cat is that the birds (Robin, Sparrow, Blackbird, Blue Tit and, of course, the Magpies) that have a nest in various parts of our garden all have chicks. We can hear them chirping away and the Magpie Nest certainly has a chick in it – the noise it and the parents make can only be described as cacophonous. The Magpie nest is hidden from view by the foliage and they are very difficult to catch entering or leaving their nest so I have no images to show.
I am now on “chicks on the ground watch” as this cat was, I think, responsible for killing a Blue Tit chick (Try saying that three times!) last year.
He must not be allowed to do the same this year!!
F1, Drawing. A Pleasant Weekend!
I have been a long time in doing this but I have eventually got to the Pen and Ink stage of this Caricature.
A rainy Bank Holiday enabled me to stay indoors and watch F1 and complete this stage. It was the “Oh No” stage. You know, the bit where everything is going smoothly then a slip of the pen or a careless stroke and all the work is ruined and it is back to square one. I have had plenty of those but not this time – thank goodness. I left the wine unopened until all the drawing was done (A nice Shiraz Cabernet it was but it kept it’s body and nose until I could test it with mine!) and then I could sit back, admire my work and drink to my heart’s content. All in the name of good Health you understand, excellent for that particular organ so it is – and I will not hear otherwise!
So, a reasonable weekend was had in spite of – no, because of the rain.
Filed under Caricatures | Comment (1)Forgotten Caricature and Scalextric
Clearing out my studio this week to make room for a scalextric track (for the Grand-children you understand) I found this long forgotten caricature of Kenneth Clarke MP.
I did this when he was Chancellor of the Exchequer between 1993 – 1997. He is a great character and I watched him on TV delivering a Budget. This was his favourite stance when answering questions. I was a bit unkind to him – but he has lost weight recently!
I am aiming to set up a huge (my wife thinks otherwise) track and have it linked to a PC for proper racing. The GC’s are old enough to appreciate that the fun of scalextric is not to see how fast you can make the car spin off the track!
I see that a new digital scalextric track is out. Now, that would make a brilliant Birthday/Christmas present.
I wonder what I have to do to get one?
Filed under Caricatures | Comment (1)Practice for Perfection!
I have spent the last week with Pfizer Wind Orchestra recording our second CD to commemorate the orchestra’s 5th year. It has entailed a lot practice during the preceding weeks to make sure the ‘fiddly’ bits were note perfect. The piccolo, being the smallest instrument of the woodwind section, has to be played with confidence as it can be heard above the orchestra when it blows in it’s top octave. My Piccolo is a Yamaha YPC62 (wooden) and has a lovely tone. I love it!
We were in a professional studio and recording to a tight schedule. It was fantastic experience requiring lots of concentration and attention to detail. The music played went from “The Lion King” and “Lord of the Rings” to “New York, New York” and includes “Carmina Burana” (which must be one of the most stirring Intro’s into an opera there can be). I would love to let you hear a sample but I haven’t got access to any of the recordings yet. I will post a sample for you to listen to when I do. (providing I can learn how to cut and paste a section of a recording).
I said earlier that I have done lots of practice to be as note perfect as I could. For all you budding musicians reading this – practice does make perfect. For any complicated fingering sections (and there are plenty) start by playing the troublesome section slowly until you can play it at that speed correctly, then gradually speed up to the tempo required ensuring at each stage you are playing it right. A word of caution though; try not to end a practice section having played it wrong. Your brain will remember it as a mistake but your fingers won’t!.
Anyway, I will let you know when the CD is available but in the meantime here are several dates for your diary.
Sun 29th June will find us playing at the Bandstand in Broadstairs. Sunday 6th July we have our Summer Concert at Pfizer’s Sports Ground and on the 22nd November is our Gala Concert at the Theatre Royal, Margate. Tickets available for the Summer and Gala Concerts through our WebSite
I hope you can join us.
Filed under Flute | Comment (0)