Bills Posts

We have two bird tables, the second, the one I am writing about today is a cheap one that I bought, that I have never really been satisfied with. The main reasons for my dissatisfaction are that it’s too short, and it’s too unstable. I has a tendency blow over. I’ve looked for a replacement on Amazon, e-bay and the RSGB and surprisingly I can’t find what I’m looking for.

Not unreasonable then to ask, what am I looking for, and are my expectations unreasonable? Well, I am a bit conflicted. Open top, or with a roof on? if it’s open top and it rains, presumably it’ll have to be cleaned off. Do I have to accept that I am going to have to commit time every day to this?

Another problem with bird tables is that birds are messy eaters, very messy. I have watched starlings eat under a shower of seed wind downdraft from their wings, especially when they take off enmass is surprisingly powerful.

Now, I haven’t really talked much about it because I am a bit ashamed of it, but I don’t do DIY. I am incredibly good at being bad at it. Anything DIY that I do either fails miserably, or comes out more botched than a botched job. I therefore stay away from it if at all possible.

But, I am seriously considering having a go at building my own. I have an outline plan in my mind, but I am aware that jobs like that jobs like this are much easier if you have the right tools.

I’ll keep going with what I have for the time being, but something is going to have to change.

This then is my first post after the 366 project. It feels strange, but pleasing. Let’s keep this going, I’d really like to reach a 1,000.

I’m really sorry, but this post is completely self-indulgent. For 366 days, apart from 1 time 116 days ago, when I messed up timing I’ve done it, I’ve made an entry every day. I can’t tell you how pleased that I am with that. The timing is correct, I wrote 1/366 on 14 Aug last year. I had no idea whether I would be able to sustain the effort. I certainly won’t say it has been easy. There have been somedays when the block has almost chronic. I am really pleased with the idea of writing about the block. It may have been pure waffle, but I was writing, and that was the main thing.

It think it is also very, very important to say that it has never been a chore – perhaps on one or two occasions when I almost forgot, suddenly remembering just before bedtime. Perhaps some of those weren’t my best writings. I can honestly say, that at no point was the moment when I said I don’t want to do this. I have enjoyed doing this. I think there are two questions;

How much of a habit is this?

Why a blog? Why not a private diary?

With regard to the first question, they say that if you want to form a habit, repeat it for 21 days. I done the 21 days about seventeen times to my reckoning. If that isn’t habit forming, I don’t know what is – let alone the desire to keep it going.

Now the second is slightly more complex and goes to my writing history. I’ve said before that I have notepads, and journals and there are pages, and pages of writing that in comparison to the previous 366 days is a mass of incoherent ramblings. Now, that isn’t to say that the last years writings have been any less comprehensible. But, writing in public has forced me to think more about what I am going to write.

It really has helped me. I want that to carry on. Here’s to the next 365 days.

They’ve chopped down a tree on the high street. This is what is left of the stump;

I must admit that the tree did lean at an awkward angle across the high street. I can see how it could be a hazard. But, I would also hazard a guess that most people in the town were aware of the tree and do what was needed to avoid it. So, I hope it’s removal wasn’t merely because “it could be a nuisance.”

Having cut it down, they’ve left about four feet of trunk. Unless they remove that, I would assert that they have left more of a hazard than if they had removed the trunk. That would be awkward, it would mean a fair bit of work, as you can see the surrounds, it will mean a fair bit of effort to remove the root system, thereby significantly increasing cost.

So, what are they going to do with the stump? My thought was perhaps they could have shaped the trunk turning it in to a seat, or even a small table (I can’t remember if it is outside a restaurant – I’ll check in the morning). I do hope that cutting the tree down was required.

I did a salinity check at the Cockleponds. Previous tests have been consistent at around 39%, today’s level was pretty much bang on 35% which is about normal for seawater.

I have two new devices; a PH meter, and a TDS (Total Dissolved Solids) and Electricity Conductivity (EC) meter. Now, these two devices are not expensive, together they were less than £10. And they need to be used advisedly. When I read this; https://www.hydroviv.com/blogs/water-smarts/tds-meters-and-testers0.+ I almost decided not to buy them, but having read them, I reached two conclusions; that I am only doing this as a bit of fun, and that I would take the readings with a pinch of salt (how appropriate).

When I was discussing what I was planning to do with the #Breakfastclub, I wasn’t met with ridicule, far from it. But one person suggested that rather than going down to put the devices in the water, I should put a beaker on the end of pole and get samples from a but further out. Now, that really did put an idea in my head, which I am now investigating.

Gosh, that was so much better than my first attempt which I ditched after three paragraphs, because it was rubbish. The penultimate article of the 366 project really does deserve something better. This is that better thing.

Having a number in the title has been useful for me to keep track of where I am going. It’s obvious from the title that after this post I am only two days away from the end of Project 366. I can remember wondering when I started it whether I would be able to keep it going. I know one thing that when I finish entry No. 366/366 I do not want to stop.

When I first signed up to wordpress, quite a while before I started doing The Project, I wanted to write, but I didn’t know what to write, and I was to a degree scared of actually committing anything to the blog. Of course, the last year has been a massive eye opener for me, and it has taught me that I can write – I don’t know if it is any good, certainly I don’t have many readers, but to all of you who do read me regularly, thank you. I really do hope I have brought some pleasure to you.

It is certainly my intention to carry on after this coming Friday, and as you can imagine I have been giving some thought to enumeration. It would be a bit silly to go to 367/366 – that doesn’t work, but like I said I want to keep some form of numbering in my title. So, for the time being I am going to do something really simple, the first post after 366/366 will No. 367. Let’s see how that goes.

You’d think that the boardwalk part of this picture would be a waste of space, taking away from the picture. Whilst it doesn’t add a massive amount it is a part of the picture. As is the huge bank of cloud that was delivering some relatively gentle rain over Bembridge on the Isle of Wight – I knew that, because my friend who was managing the radio net (the #Breakfastclub – it was 6:15AM, so not surprising that he was still in bed, listening to the rain). When I get home after my morning walk, I take a look at my pictures, every so often, one grabs you, and I allow my self to say I like that one. Well, I like this one – can’t tell you why though.

Normally, in the mornings I try to get the sun behind the Spinnaker. I was trying to get the Wight Link Catamaran which is just visible in front of the lipstick building. This is another picture that pleases me. I’m doing well today.

I went for my lunchtime walk today. I have routinely been walking down Weevil Lane, around the building at the far end of the Forton Lake Bridge. Today, I wanted to walk to the waterfront, it’s nice to see it at different times of the day.

The walk was OK, the waterfront to be honest was at it’s best. It’s only a short stretch but it was sunny and warm with practically no wind, there were seats to relax (I didn’t), and the prom, for a stroll. The water in the harbour was calm. The Victoria of Wight was coming in through the harbour entrance, and there were several small boats moving along the small boat channel. It was just a really lovely scene. I could quite understand why and how someone would just want to sit and take in the scene. Lovely.

Woke up early to the sound of pounding rain, and a massive clap of thunder. I got up when it was relatively quiet,to the point where I thought that it might not be raining. It was difficult to tell from the bedroom, so I went to the conservatory, a steady pounding there. I wasn’t going to go for a walk this morning.

I managed to get out at lunchtime. I needed to go to the post office, so it was a lunchtime walk in to town. I had another go at doing some street photography. I think this one is not too bad. There’s definitely something about it.

I did try it in B&W, but I think the colour version is the best.

I’ve now tried to start this paragraph three times. This last time I’m going to mention very briefly that I am now in the last week of a project that when I started, I had no idea how long it would go on for, except to hope that I would reach the end. I am now so close. For the last few days I have been thinking about what I want to do from 367/366 – Well, I’m not going to do it that way, but I have been thinking about enumerating my posts from next Saturday.

I might just do the date thing, or just start another year – not sure yet.

By 9AM it was absolutely chucking it down. A check of the forecast indicated 100% rain in Gosport between 9 & 1. There were a couple of times when the rain eased off almost to the point of stopping, I even had my shoes on at one point – the rain started again. I decided give up going out before 1PM.

The rain stopped and the sky cleared a little earlier than that. I decided to go at about 1230. I got as far as the Yellow Edge gallery, where I stopped to look at the pictures. The gallery is not big, it used to be a shop. There’s space for about a hundred pictures, very nicely presented. Featuring local artists. Some nice pictures. none that I’d want to buy.

When i came out of the gallery, it was more sunny than I expected. I didn’t want to carry on the walk without a hat and my sunglasses and a hat – I was probably about half a mile from home, so I decided I’d go back for them.

I haven’t done the iron bridge for a while, so I decided to go that way. Having got there, I thought I would carry on down and once I reached the Haslar turn it seemed a bit churlish to not go and spend ten minutes at the Sea Wall. There were quite a few people there, including several fishermen – they weren’t having much success, but seemed as happy as a pig in pooh. I sat at the ledge for 10 minutes, just soaking in the scene. It was really nice.

The road alongside Haslar hospital is one of the most soulless I have ever walked down. Bordered on both sides by brick walls either 10 or 15 feet tall for most of its length. This time of year it’s a heat trap. Add in a stiff wind blowing in the right direction and it becomes a wind tunnel.

There wasn’t much going on in the harbour, and the promenade had some people but wasn’t that busy. As I was walking past the low block of flats at the southern end of the promenade, I was thinking that they had a lovely view across the Marina, but like today, when there was a bit of breeze (actually, it was quite gusty) the wind was making the cables on the yachts clink & clank – a lot. I’m pretty sure it would drive me up the wall. The flats might visually be in a nice place, but audibly a nightmare – would you get used to it? I’ll probably never find out.

The high street wasn’t busy either. Strava is telling me that I walked just over 6 miles – Happy with that. Also, it was a very nice walk.

I spoke to the people who were sailing these last week. The captain of the Gosport Model Yacht Club Laser Class, Chris, he very kindly offered me use of the clubs demo model.

I turned up as agreed at 10 this morning. Now it had been raining very heavily not long before, and whilst the sky was starting to clear, there was still the chance of rain so I was wearing my raincoat – as it happened, I didn’t need it, but I was prepared.

The model took about 5 minutes to get seaworthy; Keel, battery, rudder. The models come with three main sails of different sizes, used depending on how windy it is. A slight adjustment to the middle sail as it was a bit windy. Chris then put it in the water, and gave me the control.

There are only two channels, one to control the rudder, and one for the sail. The chaps were shouting instructions to me, especially as at one point I had the boat jammed against the opposite bank. Luckily I managed to free it. The terminology was slightly confusing, there’s more than one word for the same thing relating to how the sail works. The sail needs to be adjusted dependent upon whether you are sailing with or against the wind.

Sailing with the wind is fairly straightforward. Sailing against the wind is lets just say, a tad more complex. I guess once you get the technique, it’ll get easier – hopefully.

I was walking down the high street when I saw these, shapes, lines and colours I thought that might be an interesting picture. So I stopped and grabbed it. Admittedly, I have done a little bit of cropping. I like the shapes and the colours, with even the bars being blue. I can’t tell you why I like it I just do.

On a scale of one to 1000, I would say that my knowledge of the rules of composition, understanding colour and light are probably at around 40-50. In other words not a lot. Therefore, any picture that I (that’s me, alone – no one else) would class as good, can only have been taken by chance. I didn’t apply any thought of composition, I saw balloons behind a security grid and grabbed the shot, I didn’t get down low to see if the angle is right. Chance, or luck?

How well would I improve my good to bad ratio, if I was better educated in respect of photography. Early on in the 366 series, I said that I was going to ignore photography books. That was not because of an arrogance in thinking that I knew everything, I know (knew) I didn’t. So, what do I do? an online course or a book? Actually, I have an idea – The Gosport Unofficial Camera Club – GUCC. It’s a Facebook group. I know exactly what I am going to do. I’m not going to tell you now, but I will work on it.

It is a bit ironic that even though I live in Gosport, one the pictures I most regularly take is of Portsmouth’s waterfront. This morning is a good example of that. As soon as I arrived at the waterfront, of of the features I look at is the sky, and what that does for the skyline. As you might expect, even when it is a clear blue sky, there is always something to make its appearance unique. Cloud formations are the best. You might see something similar, but you will never see that same sky in exactly the same way again.

The other thing that you can never tell is the shipping movements. Normally, I would expect to see a Brittany Ferry, one or two Wight Link ferries, and a wight link cat, and of course the Gosport Ferry. There are though a number of other ships that could come in; The Whitchampion or the Janey W are both bunkering (refuelling) ships – actually, that’s worth a brief diversion, why are they called bunkering ships? Well, it’s a hangover from the Steam Ship days that needed coal, which was stored in coal bunkers, hence bunkering.

Back to ship types; we get container ships quite often. Not big, and the containers are all refrigerated, bringing in produce; fresh fruit (especially bananas) and vegetables.

We did used to get the occasional fairly small cruise ships coming in. Since the channel and harbour were dredged to accommodate the Navy’s Aircraft Carriers we are seeing mid-sized cruise ships, recently, Virgin’s Scarlet Lady has been based here, and has been moving about a lot.