Early October 2012 - a long weekend in London

Margaret and I went to stay with Stan & Jane from Thursday 4th to Sunday 7th October - though luckily for them we only stayed three nights. We ate in We had gone down specifically to see the Leonardo exhibition - the largest ever of his studies of anatomy and the human body. We got advance tickets to see this at 11:15 Friday.

Leonardo has long been recognised as one of the great artists of the Renaissance, (we also caught the National Gallery's 'Leonardo da Vinci: Painter at the Court of Milan’, at the Sainsbury Wing earlier this year), but he was also a pioneer in the understanding of human anatomy. It seems likely that he intended to publish his ground-breaking anatomical work as a treatise - which would have given him a reputation almost unsurpassed as a Scientist as well as transformed our knowledge of medicine. Typical of Leonardo all remained unpublished upon his death and essentially 'lost to the world for almost 400 years'. Now of course they are among the Royal Collection’s greatest treasures and to be admired! I had booked lunch next day at 'Petrus' but Margaret had me cancel - instead we had lunch at a small Italian style restaurant nearby and then walked to The Mall Galleries and back to Buckingham Palace as we had tickets at 3:30 pm for The State Rooms to take in "Diamonds: A Jubilee Celebration," which Margaret wanted to see .

Ironically the queues were horrendous for the actual exhibition of Diamonds so we rapidly toured it and got out. I was less than impressed with the State Rooms (happily - as I am sure I will never be back!). The over 150 foot 'Picture Gallery' is the sort of thing to won, and was impressive with some truly great paintings. The room was created by John Nash as part of his transformation of Buckingham House into a palace ...for George IV ... in the 1820s.

It has paintings from Titian, Vermeer, Rembrandt, Rubens, Van Dyck and Claude as well as Dürer. Not bad eh? Supper was sea bass and all the trimmings... v. good. The next day we had a leisurely start and set off for lunch at around 10:30am. We went via Canada Water and Bond Street to Notting Hill Gate. It was a lovely day and we strolled to The Ledbury for 12:15 - where we had the set menu for lunch - washed down with a bottle of Carmenere. I think we all had the Bourdin of Grouse with the Veloutte .. Truffle as a starter then Stan, Margaret and I had Neck of Lamb - though the chef - (Brett!) - did something slightly different with it for me that involved an aubergine. Jane had the fish main ... It was my third lunch at The Ledbury and I was not disappointed. Great food and fabulous service ... a real pleasure. We perambulated back to a tube, via Portobello Market on a sunny Saturday, to relax back the Dubecks. Margaret & I set off at 09:30am on the Sunday and got home at about 2:45pm... not too bad.

A chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs) with papillmatosis

Strange sight this morning ... Margaret spotted a chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs) on the flags near the feeder and it looked like it had webbed feet.

I took a photo and then looked up the occurrence on the WWW... only to discover it was probably suffering with a papilloma - referring to a benign epithelial tumour that grows exophytically (outwardly projecting) in finger-like fronds (or warts in humans?) There is no known cause. For more information see http://btoringing.blogspot.co.uk/2009/03/papilloma-in-chaffinches-not-for-faint.html Or for even more information see http://www.rspb.org.uk/community/wildlife/f/901/p/8992/64907.aspx#64907 as pasted below ... Posted by Buzzard replied on 22 Jan 2010 12:43 PM Verified answer Verified by Margaret Gilding Hi Margaret, welcome to the forums. The following information is a quote from ufaw regarding diseases in Chaffinches. http://www.ufaw.org.uk/infectious-diseases.php#id11 Quote: Warts (viral papillomas) Agent: The Fringilla papillomavirus (FPV). Epidemiology: The epidemiology of the disease has not been studied. Species susceptible: Chaffinches and, to a lesser extent, bramblings. In a large survey of birds captured for ringing in the Netherlands, papillomas were found on 330 (1.3%) of some 25,000 chaffinches examined and both sexes were affected. However, cases usually occur in clusters and quite high proportions of local populations may be affected in outbreaks. Clinical signs: The disease causes warty outgrowths on the foot or tarsometatarsus (the bare part of the leg). Usually only one limb is affected. The growths vary from small nodules to large irregular shaped and deeply-fissured masses which almost engulf the entire lower leg and foot and which can distort the toes. Affected birds usually seem in otherwise good health but some may show signs of lameness and hop mainly on the unaffected foot and digits may be lost. The warts grow slowly and may progress over many months. Pathology: The growths have a similar structure to warts in mammals and are due to excessive growth of the keratinised layers of the skin. Risks to human and domestic species: None known. Diagnosis: The clinical appearance is strongly suggestive but other diseases can cause swellings on the legs and feet: infestation with Cnemidocoptes mites (there is some evidence for an association between mange due to Cnemidocoptes infestations and the occurrence of papillomas), bacterial infections (bumblefoot), poxvirus infections. Diagnosis can be confirmed by histology or detection of papillomavirus particles. Impact on populations: It seems unlikely that this disease has an impact on population densities. Impact on welfare: Even birds with large papillomas often appear to behave normally so, in some cases, the growths may be little more than an inconvenience and relatively minor irritation. However, lameness is sometimes observed and this clearly indicates pain. Treatment: None. The outcome of the disease is unclear. Birds may die through being incapacitated or through developing secondary infections but it is possible that in some cases the lesions may regress spontaneously. Control and prevention: The fact that cases occur in clusters suggests that the presence of affected birds presents a risk to others that are susceptible. The mode of transmission is not known but it seems likely that the virus may be spread via surfaces the birds stand or perch upon. If so, hygiene measures and steps to minimise crowding at perching or feeding sites may reduce the risk.

The Standard Model

Hadron - a particle made of quarks. The name was proposed by the Russian theoretical physicist Lev Okun, who wrote: "… I shall call strongly interacting particles 'hadrons'… the Greek hadros signifies "large", "massive", in contrast to leptos which means "small", "light". I hope that this terminology will prove to be convenient." It is in CERN's Large Hadron Collider, a machine in which hadrons are accelerated to high speeds and smashed together, that footprints of the Higgs boson have been spotted. Lepton - a type of elementary particle (examples include electrons and neutrinos), from the Greek "leptos" meaning "small" or "thin." The best known of all leptons is the electron, which governs all of chemistry as it is found in atoms and is directly tied to all chemical properties. Electron - an indivisible quantity of electric charge, proposed in 1894 by the Irish physicist, George Johnston Stoney (1826-1911). Derived from the word "electric" (or the Latin "electrum") plus the Greek suffix "-on". The electron (symbol: e−) is a subatomic particle with a negative elementary electric charge. An electron has no known components or substructure; in other words, it is generally thought to be an elementary particle. An electron has a mass that is approximately 1/1836 that of the proton. The intrinsic angular momentum (spin) of the electron is a half-integer value in units of ħ, which means that it is a fermion. The antiparticle of the electron is called the positron; it is identical to the electron except that it carries electrical and other charges of the opposite sign. When an electron collides with a positron, both particles may be totally annihilated, producing gamma ray photons. Electrons, which belong to the first generation of the lepton particle family, participate in gravitational, electromagnetic and weak interactions. Like all matter, they have quantum mechanical properties of both particles and waves, so they can collide with other particles and can be diffracted like light. However, this duality is best demonstrated in experiments with electrons, due to their tiny mass. Since an electron is a fermion, no two electrons can occupy the same quantum state, in accordance with the Pauli exclusion principle. The concept of an indivisible quantity of electric charge was theorized to explain the chemical properties of atoms, beginning in 1838 by British natural philosopher Richard Laming. Photon - a light quantum, the name derived from the Greek "phos" meaning "light" and is the name given to hydrogen nucleus by Ernest Rutherford in 1920, from the Greek "protos" meaning "first". One or more protons are present in the nucleus of each atom, along with neutrons. The number of protons in each atom is its atomic number. Quark – a fundamental particle that combines to form a range of other particles, including protons and neutrons, the particles that make up the atomic nucleus. The term was drawn from James Joyce's Finnegans Wake by American physicist Murray Gell-Mann in 1962.

Higgs boson - sometimes called the 'god particle' - proposed by Peter Higgs in 1964, is if it exists what gives matter mass. It has also been named the name God particle by American physicist Leon Lederman. Higgs told a newspaper that Leon "wanted to refer to it as that 'goddamn particle' and his editor wouldn't let him…" Scientists working at the world's biggest atom smasher near Geneva(CERN) have announced the discovery of a new subatomic particle that looks remarkably like the long-sought Higgs boson. Everything is made up of atoms, and inside atoms are electrons, protons and neutrons. They, in turn, are made of quarks and other subatomic particles. Scientists have long puzzled over how these minute building blocks of the universe acquire mass. Without mass, particles wouldn't hold together and there would be no matter. One theory proposed by British physicist Peter Higgs and teams in Belgium and the United States in the 1960s is that a new particle must be creating a "sticky" field that acts as a drag on other particles. The atom-smashing experiments at CERN have now captured a glimpse of what appears to be just such a Higgs-like particle. Boson - a class of particles often associated with forces (as the carriers of the force). They obey Bose-Einstein statistics, named after the Indian physicist, Satyendra Nath Bose. The suffix "-on" is Greek, and became standard for newly discovered particles a century ago. Since bosons with the same energy can occupy the same place in space, bosons are often force carrier particles. In contrast, fermions are usually associated with matter - although in quantum physics the distinction between the two concepts is not clear cut. Bosons may be either elementary, like photons, or composite, like mesons. Gluon - a type of boson responsible for the strong force between quarks. The term derives from the English word "glue". It was first proposed in 1962 by Murray Gell-Mann, who suggested the existence of particles composed of a number of gluons, which he called ‘glueballs’. Neutrino - uncharged particles created as a result of certain types of radioactive decay, with a tiny mass even by the standards of subatomic particles. Neutrino means "small neutral one" in Italian. The particle was first proposed by Wolfgang Pauli (1900-1958) in 1930, who gave it the name "neutron". Enrico Fermi renamed it three years later, because "neutron" (from the Latin for "neutral") had by then begun to be used to refer to the uncharged particle present in the atomic nucleus. Fermion - a class of particles, which, unlike bosons, obey Fermi-Dirac statistics. They are usually associated with matter rather than force. They are named after the Italian-born physicist Enrico Fermi, regarded as one of the fathers of the atomic bomb, along with Robert Oppenheimer. While most bosons are composite particles, in the Standard Model, there are six bosons, which are elementary: • The four gauge bosons (γ · g · Z · W±) • Higgs boson (H0) • Graviton (G). Meson - particle made of a quark and an anti-quark. The name comes from the Greek "meso" meaning "mid", because mesons, when first observed, appeared to have a mass somewhere between that of an electron, and nucleons (the particles - protons and neutrons - making up the atomic nucleus). Muon – Is one of a large number of particles named after letters of the Greek alphabet, in this case "mu". It was originally thought to be a type of meson (the mu meson, as distinct, say, from the pi meson), but was later renamed. Mesons came to be understood as particles made up of quarks, while muons are elementary particles. WIMP – are hypothetical particles serving as one possible solution to the dark matter problem. These particles interact through the weak force and gravity, and possibly through other interactions no stronger than the weak force. MACHO - Massive Astrophysical Compact Halo Object, or is a general name for any kind of astronomical body that might explain the apparent presence of dark matter in galaxy halos. Since MACHOs would not emit any light of their own, they would be very hard to detect. MACHOs may sometimes be black holes or neutron stars. Whimsically named as WIMPS came first!

Hepatics or Liverworts

The **Marchantiophyta are a division of bryophyte plants commonly referred to as hepatics or liverworts. Like other bryophytes, they have a gametophyte-dominant life cycle, in which cells of the plant carry only a single set of genetic information. It is estimated that there are 6,000 to 8,000 species of liverworts, though when neotropical regions are better studied this number may approach 10,000. Some of the more familiar species grow as a flattened leafless thallus, but most species are leafy with a form very much like a flattened moss. Leafy species can be distinguished from the apparently similar mosses on the basis of a number of features, including their single-celled rhizoids. Leafy liverworts also differ from most (but not all) mosses in that their leaves never have a costa (present in many mosses) and may bear marginal cilia (very rare in mosses). Other differences are not universal for all mosses and liverworts, but the occurrence of leaves arranged in three ranks, the presence of deep lobes or segmented leaves, or a lack of clearly differentiated stem and leaves all point to the plant being a liverwort. Liverworts are typically small, usually from 2–20 mm wide with individual plants less than 10 cm long, and are therefore often overlooked. Certain species may cover large patches of ground, rocks, trees or any other reasonably firm substrate on which they occur. They are distributed globally in almost every available habitat, most often in humid locations although there are desert and arctic species as well.

Angiosperms

The flowering plants or angiosperms, (also known as Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta), are the most diverse group of land plants. They are are seed-producing plants - like the gymnosperms - but can be distinguished from the gymnosperms by a series of synapomorphies (derived characteristics). These characteristics include flowers, endosperm within the seeds, and the production of fruits that contain the seeds. The ancestors of flowering plants probably diverged from gymnosperms around 245–200 million years ago, and the first flowering plants known to exist are from 140 million years ago. They diversified enormously during the Lower Cretaceous and became widespread around 100 million years ago, but replaced conifers as the dominant trees only around 60–100 million years ago. Flowers are the reproductive organs of flowering plants, and are the most remarkable feature distinguishing them from other seed plants and endow angiosperms by enabling a wider range of adaptability and broadening the ecological niches open to them. This has allowed flowering plants to largely dominate most terrestrial ecosystems. Stamens are the pollen-producing reproductive organs of a flower, typically consisting of a stalk and an anther, which contains microsporangia - typically four microsporangia - which form sacs (locules) in the anther. Each microsporangium is lined with a nutritive tissue layer called the tapetum and initially contains diploid pollen mother cells. These undergo meiosis to form haploid spores. Each microspore then divides mitotically to form an immature microgametophyte called a pollen grain. The pollen is eventually released by the opening - or dehiscence - of the anther. When ready, the pollen is carried by some external agent (wind, water or some member of the animal kingdom) to the receptive surface of the carpel of the same or another flower. This process is known as pollination. After successful pollination, the pollen grain (immature microgametophyte) completes its development by growing a pollen tube and undergoing mitosis. A flower is called an androecium. The androecium forms a whorl surrounding the gynoecium (carpels) and inside the perianth (the petals and sepals together) if there is one. Stamens can be free or fused in various ways. A column formed from the fusion of multiple filaments is known as an androphore. Stamens have become modified through time which prevents self-fertilization, producing further diversification, allowing angiosperms eventually to fill more niches. The closed carpel of angiosperms also allows adaptations to specialized pollination syndromes and controls. This helps to prevent self-fertilization, thereby maintaining increased diversity. Once the ovary is fertilized, the carpel and some surrounding tissues develop into a fruit. This fruit often serves as an attractant to seed-dispersing animals. The resulting cooperative relationship presents another advantage to angiosperms in the process of dispersal. Generally endosperm formation begins after fertilization and before the first division of the zygote. Endosperm is a highly nutritive tissue that can provide food for the developing embryo, the cotyledons, and sometimes the seedling when it first appears. Petala are usually accompanied by another set of special leaves called sepals lying just beneath the corolla. Petals - are modified leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. NB - both sepals and petals are modified leaves. Petala are usually accompanied by another set of special leaves called sepals lying just beneath the corolla. Corolla - together, all of the petals/sepals of a flower are called a corolla. Tepals - petals and sepals of a flower that look similar Calyx (plural, calices, the sepals) and the corolla (the petals) are the outer sterile whorls of the flower, which together form what is known as the calyx. Perianth - The term has two similar but separate meanings in botany: In flowering plants, the perianth is composed of the outer, sterile whorls of a flower - either consist of the calyx (all sepals) and the corolla (all petals), or, if sepals and petals are not differentiated, of the perigone or tepals. In liverworts or the Marchantiophyta** it’s the sterile tubelike tissue that surrounds the female reproductive structure or developing sporophyte. Carpel or Gynoecium (from Ancient Greek γυνή, gyne, meaning woman, and οἶκος, oikos, meaning house) is most commonly used as a collective term for all carpels in a flower. A carpel is the ovule and seed producing reproductive organ in flowering plants. Carpels are derived from ovule-bearing leaves, which evolved to form a closed structure containing the ovules. They did this by folding and fusing at their edges to form a chamber in which the ovules develop. In many flowers, several to many carpels are fused into a structure that resembles a single carpel. The term gynoecium is useful because it refers to the ovule producing structure in a flower, whether it is a single carpel, multiple un-fused carpels or multiple fused carpels. In a typical flower, the gynoecium is the innermost whorl of structures and is surrounded by the androecium (stamens) and then by the perianth (all the petals and sepals). In imperfect or incomplete flowers the androecium and perianth, respectively, may be absent. The gynoecium is often referred to as female because it gives rise to female (egg-producing) gametophytes, however, strictly speaking sporophytes do not have sex, only gametophytes do. Flowers that bear a gynoecium but no androecium are called carpellate. Flowers lacking a gynoecium are called staminate. A gynoecium may consist of a single carpel, multiple distinct (un-fused) carpels or multiple connate (fused) carpels. Each carpel typically contains one or more ovules. During pollination, pollen is deposited on the gynoecium (typically on a stigma). Successful germination of pollen and growth of pollen tubes results in fertilization of ova. There is typically one ovum in each ovule. After fertilization, ovules develop into seeds, and the gynoecium forms the pericarp of the associated fruit. Notes - Undifferentiated tepals are thought to be the ancestral condition in flowering plants. Amborella, which is thought to have separated earliest in the evolution of flowering plants, has flowers with undifferentiated tepals. Distinct petals and sepals would therefore have arisen by differentiation, probably in response to animal pollination. In typical modern flowers, the outer or enclosing whorl of organs forms sepals, specialised for protection of the flower bud as it develops, while the inner whorl forms petals, which attract pollinators. In some plants the flowers have no petals, and all the tepals are sepals modified to look like petals. These organs are described as petaloid, e.g. the sepals of Hellebore. Undifferentiated tepals are common in Monocotyledons. In tulips, for example, the first and second whorls both contain structures that look like petals. These are fused at the base to form one large, showy, six-parted structure. In lilies the organs in the first whorl are separate from the second, but all look similar, thus all the showy parts are often called tepals. Usage of the term 'tepal' is inconsistent - some authors refer to 'sepals and petals' where others use the word 'tepals' in the same context.

Gareth Bale Animation

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRZMjHzWXQc&feature=player_embedded

Three Christmas Gifts ...

Gold is a chemical element and a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow colour and lustre traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidising in air or water. Chemically it is one of the least reactive solid chemical elements and therefore occurs often in free elemental or native form, as nuggets or grains in rocks, in veins and in alluvial deposits. Less commonly, it occurs in minerals as gold compounds, usually with tellurium. Gold resists attacks by individual acids, but it can be dissolved by the Aqua Regia, (nitric and hydrochloric acid), so named because it dissolves gold. Gold is insoluble in nitric acid, which dissolves silver and base metals, a property that has long been used to confirm the presence of gold in items, giving rise to the term the acid test.

Frankincense is tapped from the very scraggy but hardy Boswellia tree by slashing the bark, which is called striping, and allowing the exuded resins to bleed out and harden. These hardened resins are called tears. There are numerous species and varieties of frankincense trees, each producing a slightly different type of resin. Differences in soil and climate create even more diversity of the resin, even within the same species. Frankincense trees are also considered unusual for their ability to grow in environments so unforgiving that they sometimes grow directly out of solid rock. The means of initial attachment to the stone is not known but is accomplished by a bulbous disk-like swelling of the trunk. This disk-like growth at the base of the tree prevents it from being torn away from the rock during the violent storms that frequent the region they grow in. This feature is slight or absent in trees grown in rocky soil or gravel. The tears from these hardy survivors are considered superior for their more fragrant aroma. The trees start producing resin when they are about 8 to 10 years old.[1] Tapping is done 2 to 3 times a year with the final taps producing the best tears due to their higher aromatic terpene, sesquiterpene and diterpene content.

Myrrh is the aromatic oleoresin, (an oleoresin is a natural blend of an essential oil and a resin) of a number of small, thorny tree species of the genus Commiphora, which grow in dry, stony soil. Myrrh resin is a natural gum. When a tree wound penetrates through the bark and into the sapwood, the tree bleeds a resin. Myrrh gum, like frankincense, is such a resin. When people harvest myrrh, they wound the trees repeatedly to bleed them of the gum. Myrrh gum is waxy, and coagulates quickly. After the harvest, the gum becomes hard and glossy. The gum is yellowish, and may be either clear or opaque. It darkens deeply as it ages, and white streaks emerge. Myrrh gum is commonly harvested from the species Commiphora myrrha, which is native to Yemen, Somalia, Eritrea and eastern Ethiopia.

W. H. Auden

‘Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone, Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone, Silence the pianos and with muffled drum, Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come. Let the aeroplanes circle, moaning overhead, Scribbling on the sky the message: She is Dead. Put crepe bows ’round the white necks of the public doves, Let traffic policemen wear black cotton gloves. He was my North, my South, my East and West. My working week, and my Sunday rest. My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song, I thought that love would last forever: I was wrong. The stars are not wanted now, put out every one. Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun. Pour away the ocean and sweep up the wood, For nothing now can ever come to any good.’

Some books to note

Sunny Randall novels 1. Family Honor (1999) ISBN 0-399-14566-4 2. Perish Twice (2000) ISBN 0-399-14668-7 3. Shrink Rap (2002) ISBN 0-515-13620-4 4. Melancholy Baby (2004) ISBN 0-399-15218-0 5. Blue Screen (2006) ISBN 0-425-21598-9 6. Spare Change (2007) ISBN 0-399-15425-6 Philip Marlowe novels 1. Poodle Springs (1989). A completion of Raymond Chandler's last, unfinished, novel. ISBN 0-425-12343-X 2. Perchance to Dream (1991). A sequel to Chandler's novel The Big Sleep. ISBN 0-425-13131-9 Virgil Cole and Everett Hitch Westerns 1. Appaloosa (2005) ISBN 0-425-20432-4 2. Resolution (2008) ISBN 0-399-15504-X 3. Brimstone (2009) ISBN 0399155716 Other fiction • Wilderness (1979) ISBN 0-440-19328-1 • Love and Glory (1980) ISBN 0-440-14629-1 • Surrogate (1991) A short story published in the crime magazine New Crimes 3 ISBN 0-8818-4737-2 • All Our Yesterdays (1994) ISBN 0-440-22146-3 • Gunman's Rhapsody (2001) ISBN 0-425-18289-4 • Double Play (2004) ISBN 0-399-15188-5 • Edenville Owls (2007) ISBN 0-399-24656-8 • The Boxer and the Spy (2008) ISBN 0-399-24775-0 Non-fiction • Sports Illustrated Training with Weights (with John R. Marsh) (1974) ISBN 1-568-00032-4 • Three Weeks in Spring (with Joan H. Parker) (1982) ISBN 0-395-26282-8 • A Year At The Races (with Joan H. Parker) (1990) ISBN 0-670-82678-2 • Spenser's Boston (with Kasho Kumagai) (1994) ISBN 1883402506 ISBN 978-1883402501

Spenser novels

Also see Spenser (character) 1. The Godwulf Manuscript (1973) ISBN 0-440-12961-3 2. God Save the Child (1974) ISBN 0-425-04301-0 3. Mortal Stakes (1975) ISBN 0-440-15758-7 4. Promised Land (1976) (Edgar Award, 1977, Best Novel) ISBN 0-395-24771-3 5. The Judas Goat (1978) ISBN 0-440-14196-6 6. Looking for Rachel Wallace (1980) ISBN 0-440-15316-6 7. Early Autumn (1980) ISBN 0-440-12214-7 8. A Savage Place (1981) ISBN 0-440-08094-0 9. Ceremony (1982) ISBN 0-440-10993-0 10. The Widening Gyre (1983) ISBN 0-440-19535-7 11. Valediction (1984) ISBN 0-440-19246-3 12. A Catskill Eagle (1985) ISBN 0-440-11132-3 13. Taming a Sea Horse (1986) ISBN 0-440-18841-5 14. Pale Kings and Princes (1987) ISBN 0-440-20004-0 15. Crimson Joy (1988) ISBN 0-440-20343-0 16. Playmates (1989) ISBN 0-425-12001-5 17. Stardust (1990) ISBN 0-425-12723-0 18. Pastime (1991) ISBN 0-425-13293-5 19. Double Deuce (1992) ISBN 0-425-13793-7 20. Paper Doll (1993) ISBN 0-425-14155-1 21. Walking Shadow (1994) ISBN 0-425-14774-6 22. Thin Air (1995) ISBN 0-425-15290-1 23. Chance (1996) ISBN 0-425-15747-4 24. Small Vices (1997) ISBN 0-425-16248-6 25. Sudden Mischief (1998) ISBN 0-425-16828-X 26. Hush Money (1999) ISBN 0-425-17401-8 27. Hugger Mugger (2000) ISBN 0-399-14587-7 28. Potshot (2001) ISBN 0-425-18288-6 29. Widow's Walk (2002) ISBN 0-425-18904-X 30. Back Story (2003) ISBN 0-425-19479-5 31. Bad Business (2004) ISBN 0-399-15145-1 32. Cold Service (2005) ISBN 0-399-15240-7 33. School Days (2005) ISBN 0-399-15323-3 34. Hundred-Dollar Baby (2006) ISBN 0-399-15376-4 35. Now and Then (2007) ISBN 0-399-15441-8 36. Rough Weather (2008) ISBN 0-399-15519-8 37. Chasing the Bear: A Young Spenser Novel (2009) ISBN 0-399-24776-9 38. The Professional (2009) ISBN 0-399-15594-5 Also see Jesse Stone novels 1. Night Passage (1997) ISBN 0-425-18396-3 2. Trouble in Paradise (1998) ISBN 0-515-12649-7 3. Death In Paradise (2001) ISBN 0-399-14779-9 4. Stone Cold: A Jesse Stone Novel (2003) ISBN 0-425-19874-X 5. Sea Change (2006) ISBN 0-399-15267-9 6. High Profile (2007) ISBN 0-425-20609-2 7. Stranger In Paradise (2008) ISBN 0-399-15460-4 8. Night and Day (2009) ISBN 0-399-15541-4 9. Split Image (2009) ISBN 0-399-15623-6

Dihydrogen monoxide ...

.. also known as water! It is the only substance naturally occurring on Earth that, simultaneously, is in three distinct states or forms – solid, liquid, and gas. For example on a cold winter's day, snow and ice can cover a field while water flows in a nearby river and clouds drift by, above in the sky. It is a liquid at standard temperature and pressure as well (luckily) as well as tasteless and odourless (in its pure form).

Water is one of the very few substances where the liquid form is heavier than the solid - thankfully - otherwise the oceans would freeze to the very bottom of the sea floor and the Earth would be a frozen planet without life. The maximum density of water occurs at 3.98 °C. It expands to occupy 9% greater volume in the solid state, which accounts for the fact of ice floating on liquid water, as in icebergs. Liquid form has a density is 1,000 kg/m3 liquid at 4 °C whereas solid (ice) has a density of 917 kg/m3).

Another remarkable property of water is its extremely high capacity to absorb heat without a significant increase in temperature. Related to heat capacity is latent heat. Latent heat is the quantity of heat energy in BTU per pound or calories per gram absorbed or released by a substance undergoing a change in phase (liquid to solid and vice versa, and liquid to gas or vice versa) without a change in temperature. The latent heats of fusion and evaporation of water are unusually high as illustrated in the following graph.

The moderate climate in coastal areas is the result of the absorbing by water of huge amounts of solar heat energy during the day and the slow release of heat energy during the night. Inland areas typically experience much wider temperature extremes. The vast oceans on earth - about 75 percent of the surface area - are responsible for tempering the climate on Earth, permitting life to exist.

Heat capacity and latent heat are key properties that allow water - the oceans in particular - to play a major role in "regulating" Earth's climate. Water absorbs solar energy and releases it slowly; thus, larger bodies of water do not change temperature rapidly. Likewise, the high latent heat of vaporization indicates that when water vapour condenses into liquid droplets at high elevations (or high latitudes), the latent heat is released into the environment. It has the highest of all liquids' ability to conduct of heat. Water has a strong attractive force that exists between molecules giving rise to a very high surface tension and therefore capillary forces. These capillary action refers to the tendency of water to move up a narrow tube against the forces are relied upon by all vascular plants, such as trees.

Because water molecules are not linear and the oxygen atom carries a slight negative charge, as distinct from the hydrogen atom - which is slightly positive charge means water is a polar molecule with an electrical dipole moment forming an unusually large number of inter-molecular hydrogen bonds, (4 of them), for a molecule of its size. Next to mercury, water has the highest surface tension of all commonly occurring liquids. Surface tension is a manifestation of the presence of the hydrogen bond. Those molecules of water that are at the surface are strongly attracted to the molecules of water below them by their hydrogen bonds. If the diameter of the container is decreased, the combination of cohesion, which holds the water molecules together, and the adhesive attraction between the water molecules and the glass container will pull the column of water to great heights. Its surface tension is the highest of all liquids. Water is a good solvent - often referred to as the universal solvent. Substances critically that dissolve in water, include oxygen and carbon dioxide. Dissolves more substances in greater quantities than any other liquid.

Water's geometry is such that the electrons are not uniformly distributed throughout the molecule. So the end of the molecule with greater electron density is slightly negative and the other slightly positive. Water and compounds like it are said to be polar, and kind of behave like a magnet. Water generally dissolves other substances that are also polar, but not non-polar substances like oil. Water is quite polar which explains many of its properties like its high melting and boiling points, high surface tension, and why it expands when frozen.

The balance of water on Earth remains constant over time, but individual water molecules can come and go, in and out of the atmosphere, snowfall, ice packs, glaciers, melt-waters, rainfall, springs, streams, aquifers, watering systems, rivers, ocean, back to the atmosphere, through the physical processes of evaporation, condensation, precipitation, infiltration, runoff, and subsurface flows. In doing this, water goes through different phases of solid, liquid, and gas.

The water cycle involves the exchange of heat energy, which leads to temperature changes. For instance, in the process of evaporation, water takes up energy from the surroundings and cools the environment. Conversely, in the process of condensation, water releases energy to its surroundings, warming the environment. The water cycle figures significantly in the maintenance of life and ecosystems on Earth. Even as water in each reservoir plays an important role, the water cycle brings added significance to the presence of water on our planet. By transferring water from one reservoir to another, the water cycle purifies water, replenishes the land with freshwater, and transports minerals to different parts of the globe. It is also involved in reshaping the geological features of the Earth, through such processes as erosion and sedimentation.

In addition, as the water cycle also involves heat exchange, it exerts an influence on climate as well. As the Earth's surface water evaporates, winds move water in the air from the sea to the land, increasing the amount of fresh water on land. Water vapour is converted to clouds that bring fresh water to land in the form of rain or snow (precipitation), falls on the ground, but what happens to that water depends greatly on the geography of the land at any particular place.

Last but not least it also has transparency to light, so some sunlight gets through the sea/ocean surfaces so that algae can photosynthesize in the first few metres of water at least.

60th Birthdays' celebration 22nd April 2012 at Martha & Vincents

We went to Martha & Vincents on Sunday 22nd April, as invited by Rory and Sophie as well as John's side of the Family to celebrate our 60th birthdays. Rory did an invite (which will be scanned in if possible) and we turned up just after 12 noon to a surprise ... JP & Joanne were already there! Dad too, though we had arranged for him to drop off at our house and get a lift down! Katy had picked him up and driven over. Martin and Sophie came with us and soon we were having water or champagne - depending on your taste and whether you were driving. So Sophie, JP, Joanne, Clare and Simon plus John soon supped the sparkly, leaving the others to drink tap water. Rory and Martin soon moved on to beer, and Sophie ordered another bubbly, (but this time prosecco).

JP, Simon and I had Morgan. Starters were mixed - from the 'a la carte' through to the lunch special. Then the main courses - mixed as well with mixed opinions. Most of us wouldn't vote for the food here but the overall 'do' was excellent and most appreciated.

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Oresund

At almost 8km the bridge covers half the distance between Sweden and the Danish island of Amager - the border between the two Countries being located just over 5 km from the Swedish end it has a mass of 82 kilotonnes and supports two railway tracks beneath four road lanes in a horizontal girder extending along the entire length of the bridge. On both approaches to the three cable-stayed bridge sections, the girder is supported every 140 m by concrete piers. The two pairs of free-standing cable supporting towers are over 200 m high allowing shipping 57 m head room under the main span. Even so, most ship's captains prefer to pass through the unobstructed Drogden Strait above the Drogden Tunnel. Its 491 m cable-stayed main span is the longest of this type in the world. A girder and cable-stayed design was chosen to provide the rigidity necessary to carry heavy rail traffic, and also to resist large accumulations of ice. The bridge joins the Drogden tunnel on the artificial island christened Peberholm approximately 4 km long, with an average width of 500 metres. The connection between the artificial island of Peberholm and the artificial peninsula at Kastrup on Amager island – the nearest populated part of Denmark – is through the Drogden Tunnel. The 4,050 m long tube tunnel is made from 20 prefabricated reinforced concrete segments – the most massive in the world at 55,000 tonnes each – interconnected in a trench dug in the seabed. Two tubes in the tunnel carry railway tracks; two more carry roads while a small fifth tube is provided for emergencies. The tubes are arranged side by side.

The Mountain Goats with Anonymous 4 and Owen Pallett at London’s Barbican Theatre 2nd of April 2012

The Mountain Goats (or in truth John Darnielle on his tod) were joined by the vocal quartet Anonymous 4 in a collaborative presentation of selections from Transcendental Youth, a new work by John Darnielle of The Mountain Goats. Anonymous 4 comprise of Susan Hellauer (who, by the way unfortunately, was unable to take part due to illness in the family - Owen Pallett at short notice, replaced her), Ruth Cunningham, Jacqueline Horner-Kwiatek and Marsha Genensky). Anonymous 4 are now celebrating their 25th anniversary, and are apparently well known for their purity of tone and blend, and opened with some harmonies and chants that were medieval in the main, relieved at the end by some American slave songs. All unsatisfactory to Stan & I, who prefer church choirs for one and black American singers for the latter. The concert was better in the next tranche - with), for me anyway), the highlights being John doing a solo session and covering Slow West Vultures, Isaiah 45:23 and best of all Your Belgian Things.

Then the others came back, to cover some songs from Transcendental Youth, which feature new songs from Darnielle, in special arrangements for voices, piano, and guitar by the musical polymath, Owen Pallett. Apparently the songs are about a small community on Puget Sound, Washington, at the foot of Glacier Peak, and are inhabited by the mournful voices of the isolated and the lost in motels and apartment complexes around Snohomish County.

Michael Zonenashvili, April 4th, 2012 Concert Reviews wrote "Before you get to London’s Barbican Theatre, you have to endure block after block of brutalist architecture. Not to offend fans of the style, but after the assault of right angles and imposing buildings, the billing in the Barbican was the perfect remedy.

John Darnielle described the collaboration between him and his idolized vocal quartet Anonymous 4 as “rock wearing classical clothes.” Something along the lines of a prog rock album with grandiose strings behind it. These juxtapositions, Darnielle’s semi-nasal voice and spastic ally strummed guitar clashing with Anonymous 4′s Latin-French vocal harmonies, may seem grating in writing. However, like the speed-metal song with an orchestra, the kitsch and sometimes forced nature of that sort of collage flies out the window and somehow feels natural.

Anonymous 4 is known for their interpretations of medieval music, and John Darnielle’s The Mountain Goats for … well, many things. Walking into the Barbican, we were handed a program with the setlist already laid out for us, and took our seats in front of a stage with seemingly infinite depth. Lining the walls of the Barbican’s stage were beautiful woodwork, striving for acoustic perfection, and the perfect setting for what (the program told us) was about to happen.

John Darnielle took the stage to introduce Anonymous 4, or for the night, Anonymous 3 and Owen Pallett. Sadly, one member of the four was unable to attend but the arranger of the music, Owen Pallett, offered to step in. The first couple of tunes, ranging from Lection to Motet had the three singing in French-Latin while Pallett sat behind them, watching intently. It was clear that he might’ve been a bit nervous to match vocal wits with the three when joining them for “Novuss Annus Adiit.” However, when he stood up and began to sing with them, his distinct tenor fit in perfectly, and it was nice to be able to pinpoint the male vocal against the other three, and it gave the songs more texture. After a couple more tunes, Darnielle joined to fill in the bass part. He seemed endearingly nervous and giddy at the same time, happy to be on stage with some of his idols, but nervous to be singing harmonies that wouldn’t normally be present in a Mountain Goats song. Don’t worry, it worked out very well, especially for the folk-y parting song before the five left the stage.

Darnielle took the stage and sat at the piano, the instrument he claims to be more proficient at because he can “play scales”, and fuddled with some papers. It was almost like watching your quirky English professor get ready for class, but when everything was organized, it all came together. “Hi, we’re The Mountain Goats” he said, and opened with a new tune, “Transcendental Youth” and then moved onto his guitar. A mix of new songs(labeled on the setlist as 2012) and hinted that we’d understand them better in the Fall. Guess we have a new album to look forward to then!

The acoustics in the Barbican were perfect to the degree that no one sang along to ruin the reverberations of Darnielle’s voice in the theater. He went through more Mountain Goats songs, with “Your Belgian Things” receiving the most applause. Being in the Barbican and listening to Darnielle’s vocal style was a lot like the juxtaposition of the brutalist architecture outside and the setup inside. While the acoustics were perfect, Darnielle’s voice and sometimes speak-sung parts of songs were a perfect foil to the original orchestral-catering of the venue. Something about the combination made the night seem perfect, like a successful experiment in contemporary music.

After 10 songs, Anonymous 4 and Owen Pallett rejoined Darnielle to play songs that Pallett and Darnielle arranged for the collaboration. “Lakeside View” was sung a capalla, with Darnielle in the middle, and was the highlight of the show. Darnielle’s hands shook and feet fidgeted in the most passionate way during the song, and it seemed like someone directing a church choir and delivering the most promising sermon you’ve ever heard. At some points the backing vocals of the 4 were just textural, and at some points they were untranslatable Latin that worked with songs like “In Memory of Satan.” At some points, it was like watching four Joan Baez-s duetting with Bob Dylan. All in all, the show was a trip.

Setlist:
Anonymous 4
Lection: Apocalypse 21:1-5
Song: Salve virgo virginum
Molet: Salve virgo regia/Ave gloriosa mater/Domino
Molet: Gaude virgo nobilis/Verbum caro factum/et veritate
Song: Novuus annus adiit
Trope: Gratulantes celebremus festum
Gospel song: Shall we gather at the river?
Revival song: Merrick
Religious ballad: Poor wayfaring stranger
Folk hymn: Parting friends
John Darnielle
Transcendental Youth (2012)
Tribe of the Horned Heart (2012)
Bride (2009)
In the Shadow of the Western Hills (2012)
Slow West Vultures (2007)
Isaiah 45:23 (2009)
Your Belgian Things (2004)
Cut Off Their Thumbs (year unknown but at least 2005)
Genesis 3:23 (2009)
Ezekiel 7 and the Permanent Efficacy of Grace (2009)
With Anonymous 4, songs arranged by Owen Pallett:
Until I Am Whole
Night Light
Spent Gladiator II
In Memory of Satan
White Cedar
Lakeside View Apartments Suite
Counterfeit Florida Plates
Encore:
Enoch 18:14
1 John 4:16
Parting Friends

Latin Descriptors

Alaudine – Skylarks
Anserine - Geese
Aquiline - eagle
Assinine - donkey
Bovine - cattle
Cancrine - crab
Canine - dog
Cervine - deer
Corvine - crow
Cyprine - cypress
Cypseline - Swift
Elapine - snake
Elaphine – deer
Equine - horse
Feline - cat
Fringiline - Finches
Gruine - Crane
Hircine - Goat
Jyngine - Wryneck (bird)
Larine - Gulls
Leonine - Lion
Leporine – Rabbit & Hare
Lupine – Wolf
Murine - Rodent
Myoxine - dormouse
Oscine - sub-order of birds, including songbirds
Ovine - Sheep
Pavonine - Peacock
Pardine - Leopard
Piscine - Fish
Porcine - Pig
Ranine - Frogs
Rusine - East Indian Maned Deer
Rusine - Deer
Serpentine - Snake
Sittine - Nuthatch
Strigine - Owl
Sturnine - Starlings
Ursine - Bear
Viverrine - Civet
Volucrine - Birds
Vulpine - Fox
Zibelline - Pine Marten

Bruges ... A W-I-P

was once a flourishing trading centre and its rich merchants built lovingly and to last. Through time the city declined and slumbered as a forgotten backwater but its rich heritage and picture post­card beauty could not remain hidden for ever.

Inevitably Bruges was rediscovered as an unspoilt treasure. Visitors now flock to explore the cobbled streets and old guild houses in the Market Place
but it is the canals with their ancient humped bridges that create its unique character. Small enough to explore by foot, horse-­drawn carriage or by canal boat, there is much to see ­ museums and art flourish, good restaurants abound and pretty shops sell lace, Flemish tapestry, speciality beers and chocolates.

Things to do, places to see include the Market Place and Belfry, Burg Square, The Holy Blood, ´Lake of Love´, the Beguinage, Church of our Lady, St Salvator´s Cathedral, Gruuthuse, The Market, Michelangelo´s Pieta.

Ex MBA lunch 14 March

The day started inauspiciously - I saw a worried looking Margaret, at Kings Cross. She couldn't find Gordon - and he was on voice mail. I was all for going to the restaurant and she said to give him a little longer. I then saw him awaiting the Leeds train, near a pillar/wall. So I went to the other side and said loudly .."and he hasn't even switched his mobile on!" All was well, and we got a taxi, arriving in nice time for the reservation at twelve. Lois arrived literally after us, and David a little while later.

After being shown to the table and having the girls' handbags hung off the holders, being brought water and offered bread / brioche (I had a brioche of smokey bacon), we got down to the wine & food.

- Glass of champagne - unasked but as a 'thank you' for coming back!
- the Amuse Bouche was pate de gras on a blini
- Starter - faggots of hare with a parsley root purée, a velouté of toasted hay - lovely.
- Unasked for but charmingly given - a delicious small dish of chanterelle mushrooms white truffles and macaroni - fabulous
- Entrees .. I chose the short rib of ruby red beef with spinach, onion, pickled walnuts and horseradish and so did the others, bar Margaret. She chose a fillet of brill with poached mussels, barley and a consommé of roasted shellfish

- Then we enjoyed petit fours and coffee (I had caffè macchiato).

We drank a Fleurie with lunch.



Also see
http://www.westlondontoday.co.uk/content/riot-restaurant-ledbury-has-best-food-london

http://www.westlondontoday.co.uk/content/notting-hill-eatery-34th-world-best

Birds in our Garden

I think we have seen/heard all of these at one time or another in or around 12, Hollingwood Gate ...

Barn Owl (Tyto alba) With a heart-shaped face, buff back and wings and pure white underparts, the barn owl is a distinctive bird - widely distributed across the UK. A nocturnal bird it's usually found in open country, along field edges, riverbanks and roadside verges ... so the ones we get might just fly across the property.



Blackbird (Turdus merula)



Blue Tit (Cyanistes caeruleus)



Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula) The male is unmistakable - with his bright pinkish-red breast and cheeks, grey back, black cap and tail, and bright white rump. They feed voraciously on the buds of various trees in spring so it's worth looking at woodland edges - but they are often in our garden feeding - females too ... they're a stout black bill, black wings, nape, crown and chin, and a white rump, under-tail coverts and wing-bar. Her tail is slightly forked and the legs are brown and she has browney-back and pinkish-fawn underparts.



Chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs) The chaffinch is the second commonest breeding bird in Britain. It's the most colourful of the finches with a patterned plumage on view normally but when it flies, revealing a flash of white on the wings and white outer tail feathers. It does not usually feed on bird feeders, preferring to hop about under the bird table.



Coal Tit (Periparus ater) has a distinctive grey back, black cap, and white patch at the back of its neck. It has a smaller, more slender bill than the blue or great tit so it more successful in conifers. A regular visitor to most peanut feeders, Coal Tits will take and store food for eating later and in winter join with other tits in flocks to roam in search of food.



Collared Dove (Streptopelia decaocto) a pale, pinky-brown grey colour, with a distinctive black neck collar, with deep red eyes and reddish feet. Their monotonous cooing makes them unpopular in our household. Apparently it was only in 50's that they come over to Europe from the Middle East.



Goldcrest (Regulus regulus) tiny - almost the smallest bird; dull greyish-green with a pale belly and a black and yellow stripe on their heads, which has an orange centre in males and a thin beak ideally suited for picking insects out from between pine needles so pine woods/forests are the best places to see them.



Goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis) are highly coloured, with a bright red face and yellow wing patch. Their long fine beaks allow them to extract otherwise inaccessible seeds from thistles and teasels though increasingly they are visiting birdtables and feeders. They are sociable, often breeding in loose colonies, they have a delightful liquid twittering song and call. They are less common in upland areas apparently.



Great Tit (Parus major) and, as the name suggests, it is the largest UK tit. Coloured green and yellow with a striking glossy black head with white cheeks and a distinctive two-syllable song (I think it is similar to the "judy-judy" of the Blackbird. It can be quite aggressive at a birdtable, fighting off smaller tits.



Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major) - about blackbird-sized and striking black-and-white. Its presence is often announced by its loud call or by its distinctive spring 'drumming' display. The male has a distinctive red patch on the back of the head and young birds have a red crown. It has a very distinctive bouncing flight and spends most of its time clinging to tree trunks and branches, often trying to hide on the side away from the observer - usually in mature broad-leaved woodlands, they will come to peanut feeders and birdtables.



Greenfinch (Carduelis chloris) has a twittering and wheezing song. It flashes yellow and green as it flies. Feeds on black sunflower seeds and is a regular garden visitor, quite sociable, but may squabble at the bird table. In the UK it is only absent from upland areas without trees and bushes.



Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea) popular they are NOT! Especially around our ponds ... luckily we think the fish have a decent memory - after we get visits the fish stay well hidden for days ... and we flush away the remnants of the oily substance the heron always leaves behind. This creature has a long beak and has grey, black and white feathers. They can stand with their neck stretched out, looking for food, or hunched down with their neck bent over their chest for hours - immobile. Often see them at the river too.



Hawfinch (Coccothraustes coccothraustes) - the largest finch, with a massive, powerful bill. Apparently always shy and difficult to see, the hawfinch has become even more rare.



House Martin (Delichon urbica) a smallish bird, with beautiful glossy blue-black upper and pure white under parts. It has a distinctive white rump with a forked tail and white feathers covering its legs and toes. It spends much of its time on the wing collecting insect prey whilst it's mud nest is usually situated below the eaves of buildings. They are summer migrants (winters in Africa).



House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) - see big picture on the right. These noisy, gregarious, and cheerful birds exploit man's waste and seem to have colonised most of the world - though they are mysteriously on the decline in the UK.



Jackdaw (Coloeus monedula) It was originally described as Corvus monedula by Linnaeus, but analysis of its DNA shows that, with its closest relative the Daurian Jackdaw, it is an early offshoot from the genus Corvus, and distinct enough to warrant reclassification in a separate genus, Coloeus.



Jay (Garrulus glandarius) are usually shy woodland birds, rarely moving far from cover. The screaming call is usually given when a bird is on the move. Jays are famous for their acorn feeding habits and in the autumn you may see them burying acorns for retrieving later in the winter. I have always thought that Jays and Magpies must be very closely related and it seems there is some linkage genetically.



Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus) a pretty bird, easily recognisable with its distinctive colouring, a tail that is bigger than its body, and undulating flight. Gregarious and noisy residents, long-tailed tits are most usually noticed in small, excitable flocks (or young tearaways as I see them!) of about 20 birds, roving about seeking food.



Magpie (Pica pica) is one of the few animal species known to be able to recognize itself in a mirror test.They are jacks of all trades - scavengers, predators and pest-destroyers, their challenging, almost arrogant attitude has won them few friends but I love them. With their noisy chattering, black-and-white plumage and long tail, there is nothing else quite like magpies & when seen close-up the plumage takes on an altogether more colourful hue with a purplish-blue iridescent sheen to the wing feathers, and a green gloss to the tail. Very pretty.



Mistle Thrush (Turdus viscivorus) is pale, black-spotted and very large, aggressive and powerful. It stands boldly upright and bounds across the ground while in flight, it has long wings and its tail has whitish edges and often seen or heard, perched high at the top of a tree, singing its flutey song.



Nuthatch (Sitta europaea) is a plump bird (about the size of a great tit). It is blue-grey above and whitish below, with chestnut on its sides and under its tail. It has a black stripe on its head, a long black pointed bill, and short legs. It is a resident, with birds seldom travelling far from the woods where they hatch. One of our favourites!



Raven (Corvus corax) a big black bird, (a member of the crow family), is massive - the biggest member of the crow family and is all black with a large bill, and long wings. In flight, it shows a diamond-shaped tail.



Robin (Erithacus rubecula) - the males and females look identical (young birds have no red breast) and sing nearly all year round. Despite their cute appearance they are aggressively territorial and are quick to drive away intruders.



Rook (Corvus frugilegus) Bare, greyish-white face, thinner beak and peaked head make it distinguishable from the carrion crow. Rooks are very sociable birds, and we're not likely to see one on its own. They feed and roost in flocks in winter, often together with jackdaws.



Song Thrush (Turdus philomelos) - likes to eat snails which it breaks into by smashing the shells against a stone with a flick of the head - we find evidence of this all the time.





Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) - smaller than blackbirds, with a short tail, pointed head, triangular wings, starlings look black at a distance but when seen closer they are very glossy with a sheen of purples and greens. Their flight is fast and direct and they walk and run confidently on the ground. Noisy and gregarious, starlings spend a lot of the year in flocks.



Tawny Owl (Strix aluco) about the size of a pigeon with a rounded body and head, with a ring of dark feathers around its face surrounding the dark eyes. It's mainly reddish brown above and paler underneath. Established pairs probably never leaving their territories and young birds have to disperse from where they were born and brought up - usually in the following in autumn. It's nocturnal so it is often heard calling at night - which is the case for us.



Treecreeper (Certhia familiaris) (Certhia familiaris) a small, very active, bird that lives in trees with a long, slender, down-curved bill. It's speckly brown above and mainly white below.



Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes) - a tiny brown bird, although it is dumpy, almost rounded, with a fine bill, quite long legs and toes, very short round wings and a short, narrow tail which is often cocked up vertically. For such a small bird it has a remarkably loud voice and is the commonest UK breeding bird.

March 2012 Ski holiday

La Tania is a ski resort in the Courchevel area of Les Trois Vallees at 1,400m above sea level. We have been here a few times and are looking forward to the 2012 season

Coordinates 45°25′54″N 6°35′43″E
Top elevation 2,732m
Base elevation 1,400m
Skiable area 46 ha of marked pistes (3V has 600km of pistes)
Runs 8
Lift system 7 (3 Valleys has 186)
Terrain parks 1
Snowmaking 83 cannons (3V has over 2,000)

It's connected beautifully to the Three Valleys.


It was developed for the Albertville Olympics of 1992. The village is served by a 12 person Gondola which links to high speed quad chair from where you can ski down to either the Courchevel or Meribel ski areas. There is a series of 2 drag lifts that can also take you from the village to the Courchevel side of the mountain. There are three pistes that wind down through the forest into the village from the top of the gondola - red, blue and green; with the blue and green benefiting from snow cannons for all season access.

We had a fully catered chalet just above the main village in a private wooded location close to the piste, the gondola lift and the village centre and we should be able ski back to the chalet through the trees.

Chalet Elliot is the ultimate chocolate-box chalet, constructed in La Tania in 1998 with reclaimed timbers taken from an old Russian farmhouse and lovingly rebuilt in the Alps. The chalet has an incredible ambience with warm, cosy rooms, old beams and traditional features. This is where out family ski holiday was going to be taken from March 3rd 2012. Rory & Sophie with Gemma and Martin respectively were coming with Margaret & I. We sorted a private transfer out - to and from Geneva.

The chalet itself is divided into two wings (East and West) which can be individually booked (for groups of up to 8 people). Each wing has four twin en-suite bedrooms, a dining area with balcony and living room with vaulted ceilings and a cosy log burner as well as it's own ski room with electric boot warmers / ski racks and outside a delightful hot-tub. Just right for relaxing in privacy and gazing at the stars. We had private dining too ... six of our seven nights - wine included! Often Cal (Callum Jones, our Michelin trained chef) would eat with us and once, Matt, the Resort Director joined us too. Cal normally works in summer at 'The Black Swan' in Helmsley - under Paul Peters - the Aussie Chef there, http://www.blackswan-helmsley.co.uk/ (we'll try it in May!). We all got on well with the 27 year old Yorkshireman, (even if he supported Norwich!). He admired Martin's skill with the guitar, Rory's videoing and skateboarding and Margaret's culinary skills. Probably didn't think about the rest of us!



On the first full day I managed to fall close to the end of the blue run into the village - too fast, too confident and, as I claimed, uneven snow thanks to a Piste Bullen track cutting across into the woods. My nose seemed to suffer the worst as I hit the piste face flat. I bled a bit rather dramatically, onto the snow but my protuberance wasn't broken. I booked a dentist inspection for the Monday when we returned, as Sophie told me that it looked as if I chipped an incisor and got a crack in it. (Turned out it was a tiny crack in the enamel only - quite common - and no one close to me had ever noticed before!).

March 6th I stupidly agreed to go over to Val Thorens with Sophie! We set off and used the drags to get into the link to Courchevel and then went higher to get over to Meribel. I was bushed by the time we got back!