A flight of Albatrosses

Albatrosses (of the Diomedeidae family) are part of the same order of birds that have Shearwaters, Fulmars, Storm-petrels, and Diving-petrels as members.


To be played whilst reading this particular blog ...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8scHKFwr0og

All Albatrosses have nasal passages that attach to the upper bill called 'naricorns', (though the nostrils of the Albatross are on the sides of the bill). The bills are also odd - split into between 7 and 9 horny plates. The other oddity is that the bird produces a stomach oil - made up of wax esters and triglycerides - that is stored in the proventriculus, (a standard bit of avian anatomy - a sort of glandular part of the stomach that may store and commence digestion of food before it progresses to the gizzard). This oil, so produced, is used against predators as well as an energy rich food source for chicks and for the adults during their long flights. They also have a salt gland that is situated above the nasal passage and helps desalinate their bodies, due to the high amount of ocean water that they imbibe. It excretes a high saline solution from their nose.

I first saw an albatross whilst at sea with Margaret, just off the coast of Ulva Island - a tiny islet off Stewart Island, New Zealand. We spread some cut up dead fish as bait and the birds that arrived to feed were Black-Browed Albatrosses (Thalassarche melanophrysor), 'Mollymawks' in the local jargon. It is the Albatross most likely to be found in the Northern Hemisphere (but this is incredibly rare anyway - on several occasions a Black-browed Albatross has summered in Scottish Gannet colonies - Bass Rock, Hermaness and now Sula Sgeir - for a number of years. Bird experts think the sighting was of 'Albert' - the same bird each time).

It is one of 19 declining species of Albatross - from a total of 21 species in total. It's size is l .. a ... r ... g ...e - see the picture of one seeing off a seagull! The wing span could be nearly 2.25 metres! ... big birds! Their beaks looked like plastic ... and stuck on. Presumably efficient ... its food includes fish, squid, crustaceans, carrion, and fishery discards. It is the most vulnerable to long line fishing. It is also known to steal other sea bird's food!

The second species we were lucky enough to see was the 'Waved Albatross', (Phoebastria irrorata), also known as the 'Galapagos Albatross' and the only member of the family located in the tropics. The name 'Waved Albatross' comes from the wave-like pattern of its feathers on the adult birds. When they forage, the Waved Albatross follow straight paths to a single site off the coast of Peru, about 1,000 km to the east.

The Waved Albatross is, like the Black-browed, only a "medium-sized" albatross, measuring about 90 centimetres long, weighing about 3.5 kg and having a wingspan over 2 metres. The distinctive features include yellowish-cream neck and head, mostly brownish bodies. and very long, bright yellow, bill. They have chestnut brown upper parts, brown upper-wings, back, and tail, along with a whitish breast and underwings and have blue feet. Their lifespan can be 40 to 45 years.

They breed primarily on Española (Hood) Isla in the Galápagos archipelago (the oldest and the southernmost). During

non-breeding season they will shift to the east and southeast to the continental shelf region off the coast of Peru and Ecuador. The steep high cliffs are perfect runways for these large birds, which take off for their ocean feeding grounds near the mainland of Ecuador and Peru abandoning the island between January and March. Landing is more of a crash!

Known to be endemic on the island, Española Isla is the waved albatross's only nesting place, so has the vast majority of the world's population of the bird too. Each April male Albatross return to Española, followed shortly thereafter by their mates. The courtship of the Waved Albatross is a very elusive and spectacular sight to see. It includes:

- rapid bill circling
- bowing
- gaping or yawning
- beak clacking or fencing
- an upraised bill to make a 'whoo hoo' sound (the Sky Moo!).

Mating for life, their ritual begins with the male's annual dance, (to re-attract his mate). The performance can take up to 5 days. We watched one, enthralled, as this happened right in front of us - inches away! It lasted oh, almost ten to fifteen minutes and ended with the female deciding this wasn't her mate, and promptly left! (It's happened to me!).

Copy and paste in a browser this footage. http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4884152789466423754

Once the pair is successfully reacquainted they produce a single egg and share the responsibility of incubation. The colony remains based on Española until December when the chick is fully grown. By January most of the colony leaves the island to fish along the Humboldt Current. Young albatross do not return to Española until their 4th or 5th year when they return to seek a mate.

Perhaps the most beautiful birds in the world ... they glide like angels.

Set list and review - Arctic Monkeys MEN

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fL7O5IcD_Xc



Sophie took me to see the Arctic Monkeys as a birthday treat. We drove over to the MEN Manchester on 2nd November 2011. Parked and walked into Town for something to eat - tried Nandos. Back at the MEN we listened to part of The Vaccines set. Not overly impressed.

The band made their entrance to the sound of "You Sexy Thing" by Hot Chocolate.

They started with

- "Don't Sit Down 'Cause I've Moved Your Chair"

And the backdrop of curtains fell away revealing an array of stage lights
at differing heights hanging down from the stage top - simple but brilliant ... The different colours created a great effect all night.

We benefitted too, from four screens showing the guys via a T.V. Camera .. Excellent.

Then it was "hello Manchester" ... (we got a lot of that during the evening) and on with

- "Teddy Picker"

- "Crying Lightning"

- "The Hellcat Spangled Shalalala"

- "Black Treacle"

- "Brianstorm"

- "The View From The Afternoon"


- "I Bet You Look Good On The Dance Floor"

- "Evil Twin"

- "Brick by Brick"

- "Pretty Visitors"

- "This House Is A Circus"

- "Still Take You Home"

- "Dance Little Liar"

- "She's Thunderstorms"















- "Fluorescent Adolescent"

- "Do Me A Favour"

- "When The Sun Goes Down"

Encore:

- "Suck It and See"

- "Mardy Bum" (Alternative live version)

- "505"

Local Ilkley Moor Wild Life

Just worth noting that in Old English 'mōr' refers to low-lying wetlands! Much of the Pennine moorland area was forested in Mesolithic times and I suspect Ilkley was no different.

The local sandstones underlying the area - all termed collectively "millstone grit" gives the area its acid soil comprising the substance for the heather moorland, and soft water in the Carboniferous period 325 million years ago, was in a swampy area at around sea level with meandering river channels coming from the north.

The layers in the eroded bank faces of stream gullies in the area represent sea levels with various tides depositing different sorts of sediment. Over a long period of time the loose sediments were cemented and compacted into hard rock layers. Geological forces lifted and tilted the strata a little towards the south-east and produced many small fractures, or faults.

Since the end of the Carboniferous time there has been a tremendous amount of erosion and more than a thousand metres of the coal-bearing rocks have been completely removed from the area. More recently, during the last million years or so, Ice Age glaciers modified the shape of the Wharfe valley, deepening it, smoothing it and leaving behind glacial debris.

Flora includes lots of Grasses and Rushes, Heathers and, of course, Bracken. Wavy Hair-grass covers large patches of the highest parts, while the fluffy white tufts of Cotton grass mark the damper spots. The heather comes in three - Ling (Calluna vulgaris), being the most common, but there is also
Bell Heather (Erica cinerea), and Cross-leaved Heath (Erica tetralix), both with larger flowers. In amongst, and becoming commoner, is Crowberry (Empetrum nigrum), which looks very like the heathers. You can tell it by its shiny black berries. On the drier Heather areas you will find plenty of Bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus). Least and last among the relatives of Heather you may find Cranberry (Vaccinium oxycoccus), though only in the wettest places. There are small amounts of hard to see rich yellow spikes of Bog Asphodel (Narthecium ossifragum), and, in a a very few places, Sundew (Drosera rotundifolia), sticky and spotted with the flies it has caught. The small flowers of Tormentil (probably Tormentilla erecta), are everywhere. The lower slopes can be thickly covered with Bracken (Pteridium aquilinum). Among the other more interesting ferns is the attractive upland Lemon-scented Fern (Oreopteris limbosperma), and of course there are trees - Birch, (probably Betula pendula and Betula pubescens), Rowan (Sorbus aucuparia), Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna), Wild Rose (Rosa acicularis), Elder (Sambucus nigra), Bramble (probably Blackberry - Rubus fruticosus), Holly (Ilex aquifolium) and (some plantations) of Pine (Pinus sylvestris).

Birds include Merlin (Falco columbarius), Short–eared Owl (Asio flammeus) and Golden Plover (Pluvialis apricaria), Red Grouse (Lagopus lagopus), Meadow Pipit (Anthus pratensis), Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos), Dunlin (Calidris alpina schinzii), Twite (Carduelis flavirostris), Snipe (Gallinago gallinago), Wheatear (Oenanthe oenanthe), Whinchat (Saxicola rubetra), Redshank (Tringa totanus), Ring Ouzel (Turdus torquatus), Curlew (Numenius arquata) and Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus), Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus), Wheatear (Oenanthe oenanthe), Nuthatch (Sitta europaea), Treecreeper (Certhia familiaris), Blackbird (Turdus merula), Song Thrush (Turdus philomelos), Chiffchaff (Phylloscopus collybita), Fieldfare (Turdus pilaris), Redwing (Turdus iliacus), Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes), Robin (Erithacus rubecula). Hawking for insects, there are plenty of Swallows (Hirundo rustica), Swifts (Apus apus), and House Martins (Delichon urbica), while Carrion Crows (Corvus corone), Jackdaws (Corvus monedula) and Rooks (Corvus frugilegus) are often on the wing looking for morsels. Kestrels (Falco tinnunculus), are distinctive, hovering on the wind..

Other fauna: Lizards, Frogs and Toads may be found and Green Hairstreak Butterflies (Callophrys rubi), whose caterpillars feed on the young Bilberry shoots, are most often seen.

Geology:The rocks of the Ilkley area are Upper Carboniferous (Kinderscoutian), so they are about 320 million years old. These rocks were laid down in deltas on the edge of a large continent, with mountains to the north and south. Sands and muds were deposited by rivers in shallow water. Because the continent was close to the equator, the climate was warm and wet so that tropical rain forest flourished. Dead plant material became trapped in stagnant swamps between river channels. Over geological time it was buried by muds and sands as the rivers in the delta changed position and built up more deposits. The water, oxygen and hydrogen were driven out of the plant remains, leaving only the carbon in coal seams. After the sediments were formed close to sea-level, they were buried by hundreds of metres of sediment and compressed. As the sea water was squeezed out, it carried minerals which cemented the sand and mud grains together to make rocks called sandstones and mudstones (shales).
The rocks were tilted into a large north-south trending fold, called the Pennine anticline, shortly after they were formed. However, the rocks in the Skipton area were also folded into east-west trending folds, probably because of the effect of older rocks of the Yorkshire Dales, which formed a resistant block bounded by the Craven Faults, which lie only a short distance north of Ilkley. The sandstone forming the Cow and Calf Rocks is called the Addingham Edge Grit. Higher up on Ilkley Moor are other sandstone beds, such as the High Moor Sandstone and the Doubler Stones Sandstone, which were deposited after the Addingham Edge Grit and therefore lie above it. All the sandstone beds vary in thickness and probably represent flood deposits in the delta area. Between the sandstone beds lie beds of mudstone (shales) which were deposited in marshes or swamps between the rivers on the delta. The pale grey mudstones sometimes contain fresh-water shells. During the Carboniferous period the sea-level changed regularly, because of glaciations in the southern hemisphere. Therefore the delta was sometimes drowned by sea-water which meant that dark mudstones were deposited above the delta sediments. These marine bands contain marine goniatite and bivalve fossils which can be found in some local mudstones. Because this change in sea-level happened regularly there are many alternations of sandstone and mudstone in West Yorkshire’s Carboniferous rocks. Because of later plate movements, the rocks here have been tilted to the south at a gentle angle, which results in the steep northern slope of Ilkley Moor, which overlooks the Wharfe valley.

Cross section to show the geology of the Cow and Calf Rocks, Ilkley
Sandstone is shown in yellow and is Addingham Edge Grit. Mudstones are shown without colour, underneath the sandstone. North is to the right and obviously South to the left.

Rocks and Landscapes of the Bradford District - Geology of the South Pennines

Spent a day with the West Yorkshire Geology Trust sponsored by Pennine Prospects on Friday 21st October to learn something about the local geology.

The short walk we undertook after an overview of the Watershed
OS GRID REF. SE 130 391

The Rough Rock forms a natural exposure 500m long in crags overlooking the wooded eastern slopes of Loadpit Beck. Scattered exposures of the Rough Rock Flags and the shales below occur in the beck itself. There are many fallen rocks in the slopes below the crags.

Shipley Glen was laid out for recreational pursuits during the Victorian era. There is a long history of use as a park and fairground, which only ceased in the 1990s. The exhibition in the Bracken Hall Countryside Centre adjacent to the site has photos and text documenting the history of the Baildon Moor area.

With a wide range of geological features and the proximity of the Countryside Centre, the site has high potential for educational use. Baildon Moor and its geomorphological and industrial features can be seen from the top of Shipley Glen. There are footpaths in the woods to the base of the crags, so that the sandstone textures and features can be seen easily. Paths to the exposures in Loadpit Beck are narrower and slippery but can still be reached by groups of all sizes.

The whole valley is wooded, so has interesting flora and fauna. There are extensive paths, many of which are very quiet, especially in the upper part of the valley. The views from the top of the crags towards the moors are excellent.

The South Pennines form part of the Pennine ‘backbone’ of England. This narrow range of hills, over 2,000 feet at the highest point, stretches 250 miles from the Peak District of Derbyshire to the Scottish border.

Millions of years ago, when river deltas covered this part of Britain, grit, sand and silt were washed down and deposited here. These became the gritstones, sandstones and shales of the South Pennines. As the conditions changed, these layers were covered by other sediments – forming rocks such as coal.

The Pennines formed in a great upheaval of the rocks, caused by a distant collision of continents. After the uplift, the land may have been as high as the Alps are today! But the softer rocks on top of the Pennine dome were gradually eroded away – once again exposing the harder gritstones beneath.

During successive Ice Ages, great glaciers gouged out wide valleys. As the ice retreated, meltwater torrents continued to deepen some valleys dramatically, leaving side streams to cut their way down steeply to the new valley base below. This abundance of powerful, fast-flowing stream water has had a profound impact on the industrial development of the area.

The South Pennines’ own Millstone Grit and the deposits of limestone left behind by the glaciers have also helped to shape the area’s traditional buildings and industries. They have provided stone to build local farms, homes and mills; rocks to build characteristic drystone walls; and limestone for the production of lime in kilns for use as fertilizer.

Millstone Grit

This term is used for a series of sandstones, siltstones and shales (mudstones) which date from the Namurian epoch of the Upper Carboniferous period and are about 320 million years old. The area that is now northern England lay in a subsiding basin between high mountain ranges. Rivers carried sediments which compressed under pressure of overlying rocks to give a rock sequence which is about 1,700m thick. Deltas of sand built out over deeper waters in which clay and mud was deposited. Sea-level fluctuated because of global temperature changes, so alternating beds of mudstones and sandstones are found. River and delta sediments contain plant fossils, whereas mudstones contain marine fossils, particularly molluscs such as goniatites (like the WYGT logo) and shells.

Coal Measures

After the Millstone Grit rocks were deposited the seas became shallower and deltas built out from the coastlines. Sands and muds brought down by rivers were deposited in huge channels, much like the present Amazon Basin. The continent was close to the equator, so the land surface was covered with luxuriant vegetation, such as tree ferns and other spore-bearing plants. In stagnant lakes and marshes, plant material decomposed without oxygen, so that carbon was retained in the muds. Carbon was locked into coal seams during later burial by sediments. Tree branch and root fossils are very common in river sandstones, whereas marine shell fossils are found in mudstones which were deposited in shallow seas, as sea-levels continued to fluctuate.


Geomap

Stratotable

Permian Rocks

The Permian period followed the Carboniferous period about 290 million years ago. Plate tectonic uplift of southern Europe formed large mountains, so that northern England lay above sea-level in a hot, arid climate. Wind erosion produced blown sand so the first Permian rocks are dune-bedded desert sands called the Yellow Sands Formation, found in a few places in the east of the county. In Late Permian times the land was flooded by a shallow, salty sea called the Zechstein Sea, which dried out regularly because of high evaporation and sea-level fluctuations, leaving precipitated carbonates and other salts behind. The carbonates have been altered to yellow dolomitic limestones during later burial, inter-bedded with reddish mudstones. Fossils are rare, because not many forms of life could survive in such saline waters.

FURTHER READING

Rocks and Landscapes of Huddersfield, available from Huddersfield Geology Group http:/www.huddersfieldgeology.org.uk

Yorkshire Geology by Paul Ensom, 2009, Dovecote Press ISBN 978-1-904-34964-8

Yorkshire Rock by Richard Bell, 1996, British Geological Survey ISBN 978-0-852-72269-5

Sources -

http://www.pennineprospects.co.uk/south-pennines/geology

http://www.wyorksgeologytrust.org/westyorksgeology.html

Blogging ...

Dragonflies

The egg stage - a male and a female will mate - while they are flying & the female will lay her eggs, usually on a plant in the water. Once the dragonfly eggs hatch, the life cycle of a dragonfly larva begins as a nymph. A nymph, (or, in the case of dragonflies & damselflies more correctly termed naiad), looks like a little alien creature. It hasn’t grown its wings yet and has what looks like a crusty hump hanging onto its back. Nymphs live in the water while they grow and develop into dragonflies. This part of the life cycle can take up to four years to complete, and if the nymph cycle is completed in the beginning of the wintertime, it will remain in the water until spring, when it is warm enough to come out. Nymphs live in ponds or marshy areas where things are calmer than say in a faster running stream or river - though sometimes they can be found in calmer backwaters. Nymphs may eat smaller nymphs as they develop but usually feed gnats, mosquitoes, and other small insects like flies, bees, ants, and - very rarely - butterflies. .

Once the nymph is fully grown, and, if the weather is dry & sunny, it will


metamorphosise into a dragonfly the imago stage ... by crawling out of the water up the stem of a plant or stone. The nymph will shed its skin dry out, becoming an adult. (more strictly it undergoes Hemimetabolism or hemimetaboly, which is also termed incomplete metamorphosis). The exoskeleton/skin left behind is called the exuvia and can often found some time after the dragonfly has left it.



The adult dragonfly will hunt for food and begin to look for a mate and the cycle start all over ...

Adult dragonflies only live about two months.

A weekend in London - July 2011

Margaret & I spent the weekend in London on 29th through to 31st July. Down by mid afternoon we had a meal before the theatre - a magical production of 'All's Well That Ends Well" at the Globe. The cast were Michael Bertenshaw as Lafew; Sam Cox as the King of France; Sam Crane as Bertram, (a difficult role but played as a callow youth quite well), Naomi Cranston as Diana, (excellent), John Cummins as the Duke of Florence & Rynaldo; Janie Dee was brilliant as the Countess of Rousillon; and James Garnon superb as Parolles. But ... best of all .... I thought was Ellie Piercy, as Helena - the heroine, quite believable and feisty ... though the question remains "why Bertram?" left me puzzled! I hadn't realised that this difficult play was based on part of 'The Decameron' by Giovanni Boccaccio.

This production had gained some rave reviews - for example ...
Time Out - "Stonkingly impressive...pacey, romantic coming-of-age story that not only ends well but also has you cheering that happy conclusion all the way."
The Independent - "With so much to praise, it is hard to prioritise, but here goes..."
The Times - "A tale in which the women win through cunning, virtue and a striding spirit which embraces disguise, cross-country travel, defiance and bedroom swaps. There is always in [Janie] Dee's appeal something regal and maternal ... her anxiety and grief touch your heart."
Observer - "Now that the Globe has pulled off All's Well That Ends Well it has proved - against the baying of its detractors - that it can do pretty much anything."

We were staying in the Rembrandt Hotel, (Thurloe Place, South Kensington) - a Paul Harris recommendation ... and it was great value and a very convenient location near Chelsea and Knightsbridge, and very close to the museums ... of Natural History, the V&A and Science. The next morning though, rather awkwardly but what can I say (?), I took us to Russell Square and the British Museum. I wanted to look at some of the Egyptology artifacts as well a quick look at the Greek and Roman exhibits.


So, we looked at the Rosetta Stone, an ancient Egyptian stele inscribed with a decree issued at Memphis in 196 BC on behalf of King Ptolemy V - in three scripts - Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics, Demotic script (Ancient Egyptian), and Ancient Greek - hence being the key to the modern understanding of Egyptian hieroglyphs. The stele was probably moved during the early Christian or medieval period, eventually used as building material in the construction of Fort Julien - near the town of Rashid (or Rosetta - hence the name), in the Nile Delta. It was rediscovered there in 1799 by a soldier of the French expedition to Egypt. British troops defeated the French in Egypt in 1801, and the original stone came into British possession under the Capitulation of Alexandria and transported to London.

I guess the Egyptian Government's pressure ... on the British Museum, to return the Rosetta Stone has eased since the Arab Spring just as the financial crisis in Greece has probably reduced the pressure for the return of the other controversial exhibit in the Britihs Museum - the 'Elgin Marbles' or Parthenon MarblesAs we left - with a few stops in front of cases showing intricate gold and silver jewellery - and a promise to return to do justice to the Jade Collection, we passed something not looted - the Sutton Hoo helmet!

At 1pm we were due to meet John & Margrit, Gerard & Nicoline and Heinrich - in 'The Spice of Life' Cambridge Circus.

We succeeded and after lunch ducked into the Palace Theatre next door for a matinee performance of "Priscilla, Queen of the Desert". It's loud, brash and tremendous fun ...



Then it was back to Chelsea and John & Margrit's flat for a glass or two of bubbly before walking to Ken Lo's "Memories of China" and a lovely meal.





A great weekend!

Krakow

Meant to have written this up long ago ... but in May 2005, Paul & Ann fly with Margaret & I, to Warsaw from Manchester early on 13th. We changed in a rainy, rather cold Warsaw to an air screw aircraft for the short hop to Krakow - got there at mid-day. We walked a park into the market square (Rynek Glowny), and had lunch. On the way back to SAS Radisson we booked at a rather promising looking restaurant on the square.


That night we ate in 'Restauracja Wierzynek', overlooking the square - in an old building which boasted of some famous diners. Paul had picked it - looked wonderful, lots of wood etc.

We entered a stone flagged hall which lead to a wooden staircase at the top of which were three or four rooms with old tapestries / oil paintings hanging on stone/brick walls timbered with a light auburn larch wood frame. We stepped down a half floor to wooden platform on which was a beautifully set round table - complete with candelabra and white linen cloth. To our amazement we had a wonderful meal sat in a glorious setting, (perhaps it was the Knight's Hall - a sort of half floor?). The starter I had is still memorable - a sort of cylindrical bread cake roll with smoked salmon as filling cut as a slice through the cylinder and topped with a generous portion of caviar. Wonderful. Full marks Paul.

The next day we got a taxi out to Auschwitz.



This blog entry ends here ... what can you say?

Restaurants with great views ...

Will be adding to this as we go ...

The inspiration for this blog article - Il Gatto Nero, Cernobbio, high up, overlooking Lake Como

Skyline Restaurant, Queenstown - a spectacular 220 degree panorama with breathtaking views of Coronet Peak & The Remarkables, over Queenstown and across Lake Wakatipu to Cecil and Walter Peaks ... but much better to go without lunch or pack a picnic and travel by Over The Top's Eurocopter EC 130 B4 - it is awesome!


Strofi, Athens - in a wonderful mid-war house and is located amidst stunning scenery under the sacred rock of the Acropolis, just a few steps away from the Odeon of Herodes Atticus.

Adventure Dining - Jaco on the Western coast of Costa Rica - it's an open air dining platform overlooks the Bijagual waterfalls and coastline.

Sirocco Restaurant - Bangkok - fine dining under the Bangkok sky, on the 64th floor with views of Bangkok and the Chao Phraya river,

Sierra Mar - California - Looking over the ocean

Breeze at The Samaya - Bali
Watch the sunset

Al Mahara - Dubai, UAE
An aquarium with over 70 species of fish (no, you can't order one of the fish!)


Ngorongoro Crater Lodge - Tanzania
Mammals everywhere - some eating! Bob Kirkham and I hope to do this in April next year.

Hosteria il Pino - Praiano
Amalfi coast! Food's good too.


Top of the World Restaurant - Las Vegas
Across Las Vegas and (like The Byrds sang ...) turn, turn, turn.



Isabela on Grandview, Pittsburgh
Had a great time on 'Light Up Night', November 18th (quite a few years ago now!).



The Oxo Tower Restaurant - Ken Gilkes and I had a good meal here in 2010.

Bright Eyes

- O2 Academy Leeds 13th July 2011

Sophie & I went to this gig last night - ("Leeds? Its kinda like Omaha?" thinks Conor!). This gig was added, (with two others), to add to the tour supporting latest album "The People's Key."

It was an OK concert!

Set List

Another Travelin' Song
Four Winds
Bowl of Oranges
Something Vague
Trees Get Wheeled Away
Lover I Don't Have to Love
Shell Games
Approximate Sunlight
Arc of Time
Falling Out of Love at This Volume
Jejune Stars
Beginner's Mind
If The Brakeman Turns My Way
Old Soul Song (For The New World Order)
Land Locked Blues
Hot Knives
Poison Oak
The Calendar Hung Itself...
Ladder Song

Encore:
Gold Mine Gutted
Wrecking Ball
(Gillian Welch cover, with Jenny and Johnny)
http://www.setlist.fm/setlist/bright-eyes/2011/o2-academy-leeds-leeds-england-3d349ef.html
Road to Joy
One For Me, One For You

State Capitals of the USA ... in memory of Ken McDonald

Alabama - Montgomery
Alaska - Juneau
Arizona - Phoenix
Arkansas - Little Rock
California - Sacramento
Colorado - Denver
Connecticut - Hartford
Delaware - Dover
Florida - Tallahassee
Hawaii - Honolulu
Idaho - Boise
Illinois - Springfield
Indiana - Indianapolis
Iowa - Des Moines
Kansas - Topeka
Kentucky - Frankfort
Louisiana - Baton Rouge
Maine - Augusta
Maryland - Annapolis
Massachusetts - Boston
Michigan - Lansing
Minnesota - Saint Paul
Mississippi - Jackson
Missouri - Jefferson City
Montana - Helena
Nebraska - Lincoln
Nevada - Carson City
New Hampshire - Concord
New Jersey - Trenton
New Mexico - Santa Fe
New York - Albany
North Carolina - Raleigh
North Dakota - Bismarck
Ohio - Columbus
Oklahoma - Oklahoma City
Oregon - Salem
Pennsylvania- Harrisburg
Rhode Island - Providence
South Carolina - Columbia
South Dakota - Pierre
Tennessee - Nashville
Texas - Austin
Utah - Salt Lake City
Vermont - Montpelier
Virginia - Richmond
Washington - Olympia
West Virginia - Charleston
Wisconsin - Madison
Wyoming - Cheyenne

Worth noting too, is the fact that from 1774 to 1800, the US Congress met in numerous locations; per the following, so these cities can be said to have once been the United States capital:

First Continental Congress - Carpenters' Hall, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: September 5, 1774 to October 24, 1774

Second Continental Congress - Independence Hall, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: May 10, 1775 to December 12, 1776 / Henry Fite House, Baltimore, Maryland: December 20, 1776 to February 27, 1777 / Independence Hall, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: March 4, 1777 to September 18, 1777 / Court House, Lancaster, Pennsylvania: September 27, 1777 (one day) / Court House, York, Pennsylvania: September 30, 1777 to June 27, 1778 / Independence Hall, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: July 2, 1778 to March 1, 1781

Articles of Confederation - Independence Hall, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: March 1, 1781 to June 21, 1783 / Nassau Hall, Princeton, New Jersey: June 30, 1783 to November 4, 1783 / Maryland State House, Annapolis, Maryland: November 26, 1783 to August 19, 1784 / French Arms Tavern, Trenton, New Jersey: November 1, 1784 to December 24, 1784
/ City Hall (Federal Hall), New York City, New York: January 11, 1785 to Autumn 1788

United States Constitution - Federal Hall, New York City, New York: March 4, 1789 to December 5, 1790 / Congress Hall, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: December 6, 1790 to May 14, 1800 / United States Capitol, Washington, D.C.: November 17, 1800 to December 8, 1815 / Old Brick Capitol, Washington, D.C.: December 8, 1815 to 1825 /United States Capitol, Washington, D.C.: 1825 to present

Goodwood 'Festival Of Speed'

Via a night on Chelsea, we turned up at Goodwood, (08.30), on 2nd July to enjoy our first 'Festival of Speed', ('we' being John Phillpotts, Michael Midgley and yours truly).

As we walked up to catch the tractor/trailer to the top of the Hill Climb (the finish and where the rallying was taking place) we passed this little beauty! Red Bull's awesome F! car.

The 50th anniversary of the Jaguar E-type was marked with an jaw-dropping 28 metre-high sculpture of this most iconic of British sports cars.


Saw a Lotus 88 (*see footnote) - wonderful - what a car? On Saturday I saw it do 51.84 secs. But the 2011 Festival highlight was Sunday’s thrilling Top Ten timed shoot-out finale against the clock, with Dan Collins bringing this year’s event to a stirring conclusion with an epic performance in his Lotus 88B. He cut the timing beam at just 48.52 seconds!


The 2011 Festival of Speed had the largest celebration of Indy Cars outside of Indiana - to honour the centenary of the Indianapolis 500. Drivers present included the winners of the last five Indy 500 races, not least the 2011 Indy 500 winner Dan Wheldon and Dario Franchitti, driving the Lotus 38 that Jim Clark drove to second place in the 1966 race. They even had a few Indy bricks at the start to remind of the brickyard.

Jenson Button appeared on the 1.16-mile Goodwood hill climb, driving the McLaren MP4-12C - pretty impressive! Photo from www.carsuk.net


At the Lotus stand I managed to get a Lotus baseball cap - got to keep the sun off my head! When Roger (Jones) caught up with us, on the Mercedes stand, he suggested we strolled over to see the Alpha exhibition as we would be knocked out by the Alpha 4C - to be launched next year.



Well - judge for yourselves but I thought it stunning! Looks like the skin is tactile - maybe shark-like - it's carbon fibre. You can see the penmanship of the Alpha Romeo 8C in this I think. Gorgeous - and next year - yours for 40k


It was at this point cars were forgotten as some really loud noise from above told us the Red Arrows had turned up in their BAE Systems Hawk T1s ...


They could fly alright, (I suppose you expect that, but ... well, words fail) ...



However .. words didn't fail Michael as we tried to walk past some American motorbikes ... he kept mumbling Dukes of Hazard or something ...

We saw Stirling Moss - recovered from breaking both ankles, four bones in a foot, chipping four vertebrae not to mention the skin damage in an accident at his home when he fell down a lift shaft! He was driving a Ferguson Climax P99 - the only 4WD F1 and the last to win with a front engine (to date!).


John Surtees came up the hill in a Mercedes W165 - v. nice. It had only one outing - the Tripoli Grand Prix 1939, where it was driven to victory ' class - by Hermann Lang. It was a V8 1.5 litre (the Italians introduced this, the 'Voiturette' - half the size of the V12 3 litre monsters - to try to ensure they won the next GP season! Oh dear! They didn't reckon on the Silver Arrows and Mercedes Benz!).


On the hill climb this car gained a lot of attention - and it is only a Nissan Juke (whatever that is?) ... must be the way it was driven ... on two wheels almost literally the whole hill climb. Remarkable.


All in all a great day ... thoroughly enjoyed it. Michael & I drove back after dropping John off at Heathrow, to get into Central London. PS Day before John picked me up in this ...

*Footnote on the Lotus 88. The 88 used an ingenious system of having a twin chassis, one inside the other. The inner chassis would hold the cockpit and would be independently sprung from the outer one, which was designed to take the pressures of the ground effects. The outer chassis did not have discernible wings, and was in effect one huge ground effect system, beginning just behind the nose of the car and extending all the way inside the rear wheels, thereby producing massive amounts of downforce. The car was powered by the Ford Cosworth DFV engine. Lotus drivers Nigel Mansell and Elio de Angelis reported the car was pleasing to drive and responsive. To make the aerodynamic loads as manageable as possible, the car was constructed extensively in carbon fibre, making it along with the McLaren MP4/1 the first car to use the material in large quantity. Other teams were outraged at this exploitation of the regulations and protests were lodged with the FIA, on the grounds that the twin chassis tub breached the rules in terms of moveable aerodynamic devices. The FIA upheld the protests and consequently banned the car from competing.