R and I went to Stratford this lunchtime, for dragons, walking, and a picnic lunch by the river. I had the same problem at Lucy’s Mill today as I had yesterday at Croome, with the Migrant Hawkers being antsy and uncooperative in the swirling wind, but today they were under extra pressure because there were simply too many of them (at least seven at the point when I took this) competing for territory over the same small clumps of reeds. In the end, the only thing that got me photos was the fact that hunting and fighting in these conditions was so tiring that different individuals kept having to land and recharge a little before rejoining the fray, and though their perches were usually too far away in the reeds for photos, on occasion, as here, one would come down quite close to me.
The only other thing I have to say about today is that the new Marks & Spencer egg mayonnaise sandwich with mustard and spinach – which they describe as the best they’ve ever produced, is beyond any doubt the best I’ve ever tasted. R and I have debated the use of epithets involving dogs and badgers, but having dismissed them as unseemly for publication, I’m simply going with the word exceptional.
R: L2, C11, D12.
