I mentioned we camped in Silverdale. We have been going to this area for many years because it is ideally placed for visiting one of our favourite bird reserves Leighton Moss. We always park up and use our bikes to get around. Sadly because of the world we live in only four hides were open. The day we went to the two hides near Morecambe Bay (one of them is named after a famous Hatter Eric Morecambe) we did get a right soaking! The pictures below are typical of the Bay. One is the view across to Grange Over Sands (we cycled back the 20+ miles  from there one day-we caught the train out!) The other is one of the many Curlews on the extensive miles and miles of mud. More pictures to follow in future  blogs over the next few days.

Must mention the football today. What a start to the season for the Mighty Hatters. As there can’t be any crowds for some time I am able to watch the games on the internet and we won with a real cracker today!

Apologies for no blog for over a week! We have been away “Up North” in our wonderful camper van Cedric. We stayed at our favourite campsite in Silverdale and it is true that lots of people are doing a staycation because the campsite was full and this when the schools went back. Weather was mixed but the break did us the power of good.

Will blog more about our adventures over the weekend-hopefully with one or two pictures.

I had a lovely morning with young Esther we were bird watching out by the River. I misjudged the tide times so the tide was already up when we arrived which was a pity. However we saw a Wheatear stopping off on it’s Autumn Migration. We got very excited when we thought we saw an Osprey in the distance, we decided to get closer for a better view. We eventually identified it as a Buzzard although it was almost white in colour. We also saw some Avocets flying towards Slimbridge.

After much difficulty my final story for the Library Service I managed to get successfully transferred. Sometimes it has been an endurance test! Later this month I am aim to do some thinking on about how I adapt on the Story Telling front because it does appear unlikely that there will be much opportunity for pub/village hall type gigs and schools have enough on their plate at the moment! Just had a December gig with the Two Severn Bores cancelled. Wick Court where I have my regular Story Teller in Residence slot is currently dormant and unlikely to see children till next summer.  So watch this space for developments!

You can probably tell from yesterday’s blog I enjoyed playing cricket yesterday!

Cricket report! Went up to near Stourbridge today and arrived at a delightful ground with a church in one corner, Hagley Hall on another side and a Deer Park! The location had echoes of country house cricket. Actually found the middle of the bat today but ran out of partners. Thoroughly enjoyed my time in the field with stops and catches and a diving save on the boundary. We lost on the last ball of the game!