Men in Black

I need another hobby like an MP needs another scandal, but it would seem that I have one any way. As you know by now, I do enjoy a little fly fishing and because of our lifestyle, getting "flies" has been a challenge at times and so, out of frustration, my new interest was born. I have equipped myself with a basic fly tying kit, in order that the next time we are in the back and beyond and I lose my favourite fly, I can replace it without an expensive and time consuming expedition. My knowledge of fly tying is even less than that of fly fishing but I have given it a little go and here are the first two that I tied. It would seem that it is customary to name flies and so I called these "Men in black" because they are dangerous things, rather like the men in black that profess to run the country in our best interests. These are very basic and I have some doubt as to their effectiveness, but, at some time in the future, I will give them a try. Having got a bit of a taste for it, I then tried something a little more elaborate. This fly is tied using Guinea fowl feathers that have been dyed in various colours, to make them more attractive. It would be fair to say that this was a bit of a fiddle, but perseverance paid off in the end and I produced this somewhat attractive little thing that looks quite harmless. In reality, it will probably be of less use than an audit into MP's expenses claims, but at least it looks good. The name, "Election manifesto" comes from the fact that it looks OK, has a very nasty hidden bit, is intended to deceive and probably won't work anyway. This new pass time has already given me a good deal of pleasure as well as topping up my fly box, and who knows, I may even end up filling a cabinet.

The Long Mynd

For the last couple of weeks, this has been the view that we have had the pleasure of waking up to. We have been staying with a friend of my brothers, in a village not far from Churchstoke in Shropshire. With the exception of walking we have been quite idle except for the last couple of days. The recent warmer weather has prompted some much needed spring cleaning of the truck interior. We have stripped off all of the upholstery and washed it, removed the winter carpet and replaced it with a new one, cleaned all of the walls and ceiling and touched up a few small areas of chipped varnish. Recently, on my morning walks with Meg I have noticed an increase in birdsong, yesterday, I saw a red kite and I noticed that the crows have begun nest building, so at last it seems like winter is fading a little and I for one, will not be sad to see the back of it.

Rain dancing

This morning we arrived at the MOT test centre first thing and waited while our ageing truck was given it's annual health check. Funny how I don't mind making the payment in return for a pass certificate and yet for a failure it feels rather like being mugged, fortunately today all was OK and we departed with that most precious print out. We then made our way to Welshpool and took a leisurely stroll around the town, walking only on the sunny side of the street, we bought fish and chips and made our way back to the car park to indulge in our treat. We were parked close to the canal, (incidentally, motorhomes can stay here overnight for free, 1 night in 7) where a number of ducks were splashing about and showing off as if enjoying the sunshine. I picked up my camera and with greasy fingers fumbled to change lenses, I had to try and get a shot of the back lit frolics that were being so skillfully displayed. I tripped on the dog in my haste to get out of the door but thankfully recovered well enough not to damage camera or my body. I managed to get a couple of shots off before a little girl caused a duck stampede by throwing in handfuls of bread. Happy enough, I went back inside to finish eating my lunch.

Moving on

Over the last few months we have moved very little, but yesterday we made a fifty mile journey into Shropshire. Our stay in this area is intended to be quite brief, but having no firm plans we will wait and see what happens. We are located adjacent to the Shropshire Way and so Meg and I have done a little leisurely walking taking in the change of scenery. We walked to some nearby high ground and stood for several minutes, taking in the view across the Shropshire plain all of the time being watched by a Buzzard riding the thermals on this pleasant spring day. Every now and again this buzzard let out a loud mew, as if objecting to us intruding on his privacy. As we walked back toward the truck the sun seemed to be sinking fast, the air began to chill and I could tell that tonight there would be another frost. When we arrived at the site the sun silhouetted the trees on the horizon, I took a few shots, getting very muddy feet in the process but it was worth getting moaned at for leaving mud on the carpet again.