Seal Sanctuary

I mentioned the National Seal Sanctuary (in Gweek) the other day, because they also have Asian Otters.

Surprise, surprise, there are also seals at the seal sanctuary. While we were there we saw the feeding - including a cheeky fish-stealing heron - and I thought I took a load of photos. After we left I was reviewing my images though and realised I really didn't take too many. Oh well, never mind. Here's my favourite from the day out.

Nikon 80-400 VR at 220mm, f/5.6, 1/250sec

New look

I've had a couple of comments on the site redesign - thanks to Neil and Asian Butterfly.

I'd been thinking about trying to make things look cleaner for a while when I saw the latest Buzz post on how to add a header picture to a standard blog. I tried it and kind of went a little crazy. A few hours later and the old three column template (adapted from 'Minima Dark') has been changed back into a two column template with colours and a style I really like.

Just in case you are wondering about the photo used in the header, its a view from the ferry between Wellington and Picton in New Zealand, on an overcast, rainy day in November 2005. Here's another couple from the same day - both taken with my old D70 and the 18-70mm kit lens I had back then.

Eden Project - Flora

You may have wondered from the last two posts why I went all the way to the Eden Project - basically a glorified garden - and, up until now, only posted pictures of the architecture. Truth is I actually found that more interesting.

While I enjoy flowers and plants for their aesthetic qualities, I don't hold much interest for learning their names or for spending too much time growing and nurturing them. I do like a nice tidy looking garden, and have spent some time mucking around in my own, but I would much prefer for it to handle itself.

I didn't completely ignore the flora at Eden though. Here are my favourite shots from the day out - an orange flower (see, no idea what its called and no qualms about that), an Arum Lily (my absolute favourite photo from the day) and a fern leaf.

As usual, click the thumbnails for a larger version of each.

Eden Project - Inside

A couple of shots from inside the Eden Project buildings. First, inside one of the biomes, and secondly, inside the Core Centre.

 

Eden Project - Outside

The Eden Project in Cornwall is on the site of an old quarry. Back in 1998 it really was just the remnants of the quarry - an open pit devoid of anything but mud and stagnant water. By 2001 the pit had been transformed into a lush valley full of plants and two odd looking structures called the biomes.

The biomes are huge, bubble-looking things that are fully climate controlled in order to create an environment suitable for the plants inside. One biome is full of Mediterranean flora, and the other is much hotter and more humid, containing what could literally be called a jungle.

Below are some photos of the biomes, showing their construction and just how large they are.

Facebook

I may have briefly mocked it, but thanks to Neil I've discovered Facebook.

I joined because I pretty much have to join every site I come across and I have to take advantage of the firewall being broken at work while I still can.

I've also just discovered that there are eighteen other people with Facebook accounts that I share a surname with. This may not be news to your common-or-garden surname-holders, but for me, with the surname Licence, this is a bit of a revelation: apart from people in my direct family (of which none have accounts), I've never met anyone with the surname Licence, or anyone else who has (apart from the check-in girl at Gibraltar airport, but that conversation was so weird I've put that in the 'I may have been dreaming' category).

I've also just run a surname search (thanks Helen) on the Surname Profiler Project, where you can track the distribution of your name between the 1881 and 1998 censuses, and found that there are only eight Licences in every one million people in the country - still pretty unique.

Anyway, feel free to join me on Facebook - I'm reasonably sure you'll easily be able to find me through a name search.

Asian Otters

Both the Paradise Park and the National Seal Sanctuary in Cornwall have Asian Small-Clawed Otters.

Asian otters are a lot smaller than the European variety - probably only half the size. They make up for this by making much more noise - squeaking and meeping amongst themselves all the time.

The first two shots below are of the otters at Paradise Park, while the two in the shot at the bottom are at the Seal Sanctuary during feeding time.

 

Red Panda

Although Paradise Park in Cornwall houses mostly birds, they also have some otters (more on those later) and a couple of Red Pandas.

I've seen a Red Panda before - in the zoo in Washington D.C. - but these ones were a little more active. They are usually fairly tricky to photograph as they like to sit up in trees, hidden by the shadows under the branches and leaves. Fortunately, this one poked his head out enough for me to see.

More from paradise park

There's not just owls at Paradise Park in Cornwall. Here's a few more of the hundreds of birds they have there - first two kingfishers, second another colourful little fella (sorry, I really need to start writing down the names of the things I photo so I can at least let you know what you are looking at) and lastly two flamingos in the rain.

 

Kitesurfing

The stretch of coast between Hayle and Gwithian in Cornwall is popular for water sports, especially when its a little windy. The day I was there two weeks ago it was more than a little windy and the kitesurfers were out in force, with the view over to Godrevy lighthouse full of power kites.

Towans and dynamite

In the late 19th Century an explosives factory (the National Explosives Works) was built in the stretch of dune land - called the Towans - near Hayle in Cornwall. The factory survived until 1919, but explosives were still stored in the area until 1960, in various 'huts' dotted throughout the dunes.

Now those huts are ruins, and when walking the Towans between Hayle and Gwithian it is quite common to spot a few roofless concrete structures poking up between the dune grass.

Both pictures taken with the Nikon 12-24mm wide angle lens.

Owls - they've got your number

While on a visit to Paradise Park in Hayle, Cornwall last week I had a great opportunity for some owl shots. Owls can be tricky - during normal wildlife centre opening hours they tend to just sit at the back of their aviaries asleep, or as close to being asleep as makes no difference. The owls here put on a bit of a show though - all the ones shown here look as if they know exactly who you are and are on to whatever you've done wrong.

I have forgotten the name of the first little guy, but next to him we have a horned, or eagle owl and a snowy owl.

All shot with the Nikon 80-400mm VR lens. Click the photos for a larger version of each.

Tickets: transaction fees, services charges and postage?

A little bit of a rant coming up. Apologies.

Before going on holiday last week I bought some gig tickets from Ticketmaster and as well as adding a £3.00 service charge per ticket to the transaction price, they also wanted £2.00 to deliver the tickets ... by email!

Yesterday I was looking at tickets for another event and the charges were similarly offensive - £2.50 service charge per ticket, plus £4.95 for postage. A fiver? For an envelope (stuffed with adverts no doubt) and a stamp?

Funnily enough, this practice has been in the news today (and, more humorously, here). Maybe something will be done, or maybe its just a politician making some noise to get noticed and look cool. In the meantime, your best option is to shop around - if you can get to the box office and pay cash it will probably be cheapest, otherwise there are a number of on-line agencies available, for example See Tickets, Express Events and (the cheapest for the ticket I was looking for at least) Ticket Web.

Update (just in case you're wondering)

I've not gone. It may have been more than a week since I posted, but I'm still here. I've been in Cornwall (where a lot of people seem to think their county is, or should be, a separate country for some reason) on holiday - on maybe the wettest week this year. There are a few photos to follow I promise!

Me and Mrs L just got back home this afternoon to a nice, clean, and non-burgled house (since I had my bike stolen last year, having things stolen seems to be a psychological concern - if I was American I might consider counselling) and since then we've watched last week's Lost (hey Neil - it's great!) and a bit of Eurovision (hah! we almost came last!) and I've drunk straight Smirnoff (like James Bond) and listened to music.

Tip Top.

In fact I've just rediscovered Inspiral Carpets - excellent band. I've even gone as far as ordering Revenge of the Goldfish from Amazon - I attest that this is the one of the best album covers ever. Care to argue? Do you have a better one?

Bluebells

I said yesterday that I went to Ashridge at the weekend to see if there were any bluebells about. The deer were just a lucky coincidence so I guess I better post some photos of the flowers themselves for good measure.

Nikon 105mm VR micro, 1/60sec at f/8

 

Nikon 105mm VR micro
1/400sec at f/5                                     1/180sec at f/4