Kew Gardens 1

A couple of weeks ago, Harriet and I joined a Cambridge Camera Club outing to the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew.  I hadn't been there for ages, and it was lovely just wandering around in the enormous grounds in the warm spring sunshine.

I'm not quite sure what Harriet was doing in a bush, but maybe she'll tell me one day?

There were a couple of "guardians" in period dress at the main entrance to Kew Palace, and they were not keen on me going inside because of the tripod strapped to the side of my backpack.  As a result I was forced to wander around outside instead.

What follows is a random collection of specimens (animal, vegetable and mineral) in no particular order.

The last couple of pictures from this set are of bark from a rather beautiful eucalyptus tree.

More excitement from Kew to follow...

All aboard "Kitty"

The sun was shining when we boarded Kitty, but the strong breeze meant there was a distinct nip in the air.  The direction of the wind, along with an incoming tide, meant that we had several false starts before we were finally able to pull away from the quayside.  In the end it took some good old-fashioned pushing and shoving to get us on our way.

Some examples of Homo photographicus, all looking out for "the decisive moment".

By the time we were out in the middle of the estuary the sun had gone in and the wind was absolutely freezing.  Martin - who was significantly more "manly" than me - decided to turn up wearing shorts and sandals.  Needless to say, his goose-pimples were visible at 100 yards!  Other people simply wrapped themselves up as best they could; or, if all else failed, went down below for a hot drink and a piece of cake.

Ken appeared to be looking for divine inspiration.  Not sure whether he received any...

We came back to port under sail, which was a wonderful experience: so quiet and smooth.  As we were returning, Hydrogen was just setting out.

There was also a rowing crew out practising.  Note that the heavy work is being done by women, with the men either chatting or taking pictures.

The crew were a hardy bunch, but even they looked cold as we were docking.

An excellent trip, thoroughly enjoyed by everyone, and it only took about six hours to thaw out completely.

Maldon, Essex

Way back on the 10th of April, Harriet and I joined other members of Cambridge Camera Club and the RPS East Anglia Region for a trip to Maldon in Essex.  The principal aim of the visit was to spend the afternoon on Kitty, a Thames sailing barge, but the morning was occupied wandering around the town and taking in the sights.  The barges looked splendid in their moorings, although at the time I took the pictures they clearly weren't going anywhere!

The statue is of Byrhtnoth, who died in 991 at the battle of Maldon.

There was some bird life around on the mud: mainly gulls of various flavours and black-tailed godwit.

There were also some rather unsavoury examples of Homo photographicus around, but we managed to avoid them - most of the time, anyway.

Back on the quay we spent a while looking at the boats moored there, including an old tug and several Thames barges.

Although the sun was shining it was rather bracing, so we retreated into a pub for a bite to eat before the scheduled sailing time of 14:00.  Look out for the next exciting episode...