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I invigilated an exam today, for the first time since last summer. I have to admit that I was severely out of training. A few months ago an HR person at one of the two schools where I had been … Continued

It has been a very good year for ladybirds so far – or maybe it’s just that I’m more observant this spring than I’ve been previously. But certainly I’ve been seeing a lot of the nation’s favourite beetles, including several … Continued

During the Stourhead meet-up yesterday we got into a discussion about macro photography, and Emma Davies asked if we’d ever tried simply reversing a prime lens. I hadn’t, although I knew the theory – but I’d only ever heard of … Continued

Sorry – what was that? You think it’s a little excessive, me having a glass house just for my pelargoniums? I hope you’re not telling me that you don’t…? No wonder your pelargoniums are sulking. OK – enough of that. … Continued

Specifically I think it’s a female Banded Demoiselle. Certainly the extra is a male Banded Demoiselle – though when the first one (of many) flew past me I thought for an hysterical second that it was a huge moth or … Continued

I had to go to Evesham at lunch time for a routine mammogram – which led me to ponder two things as I walked away from the Community Hospital along the river: 1. How very lucky we are in this … Continued

Today I discovered the down side of spontaneity. I was in Stow-on-the-Wold having my hair cut, and planning to swing round via the Cotswold Lavender Farm on the way home, when on a sudden whim I decided to visit the … Continued

Although today was supposed to be all about office work I did quite a bit of photography too, including a bug hunt and a walk all the way round the village, snapping various sections of verge as possible shots for … Continued

This morning my disinclination to waste good photography time on gardening met my mounting stress over the state of the front garden head-on, and lost. Luckily, knowing that my hands are quite rheumatic at the moment, R insisted that he … Continued

I don’t have any fascinating news to share with you today, except that I logged a couple of species of hoverfly this afternoon which I’d never seen before. I know – the excitement is almost overwhelming, isn’t it?! But let’s … Continued