At my Nature Reserve (Paxton Pits) we have just about got through our Nightingale Festival in one piece. It's a big strain on all of us, especially volunteers because we have huge numbers of visitors from dawn to dusk and beyond. This week we also had a visit from the BBC show "Countryfile" which will be aired on the 29th. I must admit, I still get a kick out of all of this. You can read all about these things on my work blog (see the link to the right).
Today I learned that my entry for the BBC Wildlife Magazine Travel Writer of the Year competition didn't win, but it was short-listed. I'm really pleased. You can read the story here.
It's about a New Year we once spent, deep in snow at Old Faithful in Yellowstone Park.
Nick is in another creative spell, despite having to hold down a full time job. He has to complete an exhibition for a gallery in Ludlow next month, but he's also playing a few gigs. Last weekend he was in Cheltenham and this weekend it's Brighton.
Dan's favourite activity is going to the movies. He has seen almost every suitable new movie that has come along but there isn't much on at the moment. Next week there will be yet another (how many is that?) Pirates of the Caribbean movie. I think he will like it. However, the theatre is always a much better experience. Despite it being more expensive, I never feel ripped off like I do at the cinema.
Four of us went to see Avenue Q at the Cambridge Arts Theatre and we loved it! If you haven't seen it, check it out on Youtube or buy a ticket for the current tour. It's Sesame Street for adults; really quite rude. We were almost rolling on the floor. The music (all live) was memorable and full of harmonies. Catchy anthems included "It Sucks to be Me", "Everyone's a Little Bit Racist" and "The Internet is for Porn". The cast was up to West End or Broadway standards. I actually thought that this was a tour by the American cast, but the programme revealed them all to be Brits! Dan absolutely loved it.
It takes a special movie, or a special occasion to get Hanna and I out to the local multiplex. The noisy adverts and previews of films you couldn't pay me to watch make me want to run screaming to the doors before the main event. So we never saw "The King's Speech". It came out on DVD this week and we watched it on Hanna's Macbook in bed. I'm sure you've seen it, but, if not, you can borrow ours. It's awesome.
The evenings are still quite short but we ventured up the motorway to Stamford one evening to see the tail-end of the pasque flowers at Hills and Holes Nature Reserve. Last year we caught the green hairstreak butterflies on the wing and they are out now, but you have to be there when it's warm. The drought seems to be taking it's toll on the flowers, but if it rains we can expect a procession of orchids and butterflies through the summer.
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