Planes, trains animals and automobiles
6th August 2018
For a nice change, this update isn't about the build, but some of the things we've been doing to enjoy ourselves in the Cotswolds and Cornwall!
Before the digging started, we had a trip back to the Cotswolds to spend the weekend at Gill (Andy's sister) & Ian's to celebrate Gill's 60th birthday and watch RIAT (Royal International Air Tattoo) 2018 at Fairford from a nearby field.
Hard to beat the Red Arrows
Ian with camera in hand, Andy with beer...
The Spanish equivalent of the Red Arrows
The Battle of Britain Memorial Flight - Lancaster, Dakota, Spitfires and Hurricanes - a spectacle of sight and sound
I missed the getting the Dakota fully in shot, but quite like the sun reflecting off the wings of the rest of the group
They weren't really about to fly into the power cables...
Airbrake...up!
The Great War Display Team, flying replica aircraft, including a Fokker...
A surprise, not scheduled, visit by a Stealth bomber - more surprising that we could see it to photograph it...
One of the most impressive sights of the day was the A400M, military airbus. It takes off at a (seemingly) slow speed but the rate of climb is quite astonishing for such a large aircraft.
We're still very much enjoying living in The Stables, watching the wildlife in the garden and in the fields beyond. We even have a proper stable door...
A good variety of birds still visit the feeder, including robins, green finches and our favourite colourful goldfinches.
Juvenile robin
Buzzards regularly perch on the power poles at the edge of the fields, frequently calling. We've also seen a fox a couple of times, a stoat and on Saturday, whilst relaxing in the garden before a barbecue, we were startled by a bird of prey having a take-away from the bird feeder in the form of one of the sparrows. It was so quick, we can't be sure what bird it was but it was smaller than a buzzard, possibly a sparrowhawk or hobby. Having grabbed the sparrow, it landed in the grass at the edge of the wall less than two metres from where we were sitting and was off again in a matter of seconds.
Andy has bought a strimmer that has additional attachments for brush cutting, pruning and a small chainsaw. He used the brush cutter to clear some of the 'meadow' that had sprung up on the upper levels of the plot (in what will be the garden), although that may have been unnecessary as there will be some spoil to remove from there.
Whilst Andy had his chopper out, I spotted a number of butterflies, including some common blues which are quite, well, common on Carnmarth.
My attempt at an arty shot with the background out of focus
On the Monday after our weekend at Fairford, the annual Stithians Show, held in a showground just a few fields away from The Stables, provided another very enjoyable day out. We do like a nice beast.
The Texels look like they've been dipped in saffron, proper Cornish!
Quite clever these Cornish goats and sheep, they can drive and read
That's going to make some omelette
One more for that omelette
Other that the fact the white end is pecking, it was hard to tell which end was which
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There were also a few classic cars, including this lovely MG:
Another weekend event was the Cornwall Motorfest also held at Stithians Showground.
Couldn't resist taking photos of both the back and the front of the Jag
An old TreVoR
Tiff Needell driving a custom built Toniq
Austin Healey (frogeye) Sprite
Aston Martin DB4
Finally, with the exception of a weekend of wet & windy weather, the hot and dry summer continues which is great for sitting out (in the shade), barbecues and generally just making the most of what Cornwall has to offer. The downside is the proliferation of flies. As you'll see, Andy has caught flies in his Johnson - well, less painful than the other way around...
