lesley-jane

Saying good bye to La Somme – Amiens to Peronne

Written in haste while we had the wee-fee (wi-fi) to upload it all) I have mentioned that Amiens was a curate’s egg. The good parts were the architecture, the parks; les Hortinollages and their passerales; (I’ve got another 30 photos of these if anyone is interested . . ) the Cathedral; (absolutely HUGE, twice the sizeContinue reading “Saying good bye to La Somme – Amiens to Peronne”

Saint-Valery sur Somme to Amiens

(Comments in italics from the silent one) Up early (groan from one member of crew) bearing in mind we had moved forward to French time, to be at the sea lock by 0730 as instructed for the one 30 minute slot of the day to pass through. An éclusier appeared through the morning mistsContinue reading “Saint-Valery sur Somme to Amiens”

The voyage from Portsmouth to St Valery sur Somme

(Comments from the minimal one in italics) Having mastered six months winter berthing at Haslar marina bouncing up and down on 10 foot tides twice twice a day we felt ready to face the challenges of la Manche. Pilot Ray and super-lookout Hilary joined us at 8, stowed away their kitContinue reading “The voyage from Portsmouth to St Valery sur Somme”

Calliope out of the water

We have had Calliope out of the water 3 times over the last year (simply for inspection and cleaning purposes) and thought that others might be interested in seeing where we did this. ON THE THAMES 1. The Grid, Strand on the Green, Chiswick – booked through Port of London Authority; arrive at highContinue reading “Calliope out of the water”

Connor Coot

CHAPTER ONE “Oooh! What’s going on out there?” chirped Connor Coot, peeping out from under his mother. He was in the fluffy cosy nest his parents had made from soft dried grass, feathers and reeds. “It all looks SO exciting!” “Behave yourself Connor” Mother Coot said. “It’s best if you just sit still until yourContinue reading “Connor Coot”

Living aboard in Portsmouth Harbour – October

I can hardly believe that we have already been here for 4 weeks! In some ways it is strange to be here – the choppy sea instead of the calm river; the gulls and fish instead of the coots and herons; the warships, ferries and yachts instead of the narrow boats, barges and sculls. ButContinue reading “Living aboard in Portsmouth Harbour – October”

Calliope goes to sea

Our voyage from the Thames to Portsmouth Harbour [There are far too many good blogs about barges and their voyages for me to compete, so this is just a snippety illustrated version of our (very exciting for us) journey.] . September 22 : last night on the non-tidal Thames Our last night, forContinue reading “Calliope goes to sea”

Coot Scoop

Unique photos of newly hatched coot chicks at Shiplake Lock A serenely serendipitous situation; we had just tied up at the lay-by for Shiplake lock, and were obviously in for a bit of a wait, so catching sight of yet another pair of coots building a nest just a few yards from the lay-by I pickedContinue reading “Coot Scoop”

There once were some ugly ducklings ….

…. with feathers all stubby and brown But, and sorry to use such a trite word, they are so cute! They are amazingly fluffy with their baby down, not yet able to shed water as they will do from their future feathers. We have been lucky enough to see them at many stages of growth,Continue reading “There once were some ugly ducklings ….”

The Great Coot Exploration

My strategy for enjoying the Thames this summer did not include coots, but I have become ridiculously absorbed and fascinated by these cute feisty birds. It began a few months ago as I noticed them building their nests, working in pairs to make a safe haven for their eggs and their young. CapturingContinue reading “The Great Coot Exploration”