Wonder Warble

The general consensus of opinion amongst friends and others of around my age seems to be, that as we get older the ability to keep our eyes open, when we want to, seems to diminish. If that is not bad enough, unfortunately the ability to sleep, when we really, really, would like to, also seems to escape us.

So it was, that in the early hours of the morning, as I lay awake first listening to the rain falling and then to the opening bars of the dawn chorus, that my mind started to wander.

What would be the subject of my next blog post, buzzed in and out of my brain like an angry wasp defending it’s nest, while the usual hornet thoughts of where am I going, what have I done, what could I have done differently (you know all the usual rubbish that invades your head, when all you really want to do is snuggle down and sleep for another few hours) circled my mind.

The rain and spring arrivals (hirundines, swifts, warblers, hobbys, cuckoo and even a black tern) - the obvious candidates that have dominated events of the last month down at the nature reserve – have all been well documented in the new, improved, FoHESC blog , which now has three authors. Whilst Imperfect and Tense  had beaten me to the post regarding the bluebells and other new flora and fauna at Little Linford Wood (he has an unerring knack of seeing and identifying, more species of birds, insects and plants, than I am able, which sums up his skills and my current position on the learning curve).

An unusual sight, not the Sedge Warbler, the fact it's not raining.

Is the appointment of Roy Hodgson as the new England Football Manager (clearly a side effect of my earlier post, Harry’s Game) worth a mention? Certainly along with the appointment of Stuart Lancaster as England Rugby Manager, it is a distinct pleasure to see people running our national teams that are both erudite and eloquent, in their ability to convey their thoughts and ideas. Although in the cases of Messrs Rooney and Terry one does wonder, regarding the value of such traits.

Whilst on the subject of sporting plaudits, well done to Northampton Saints for reaching the Premiership Play Offs (a game too far?), Olney Colts for reaching the final of the Oceanic Cup and Northampton Town for avoiding relegation from the football league (again). Commiserations and best wishes to Olney First XV for next season in a more suitable league.

Serenity, GC Grebe knows how.

Then the last worry of all, why do I find it so hard to find new music that I like - am I turning into my father?

I have a distinct memory of watching The Old Grey Whistle Test and seeing Yes performing the still fantastic Yours Is No Disgrace. As a sixteen year old, I was thinking, this is the best ever, whilst Dad just said "they're making it up as the go along, no one can write this stuff". I off course knew better and vowed to keep an open mind regarding the progression of music through the years and to never call bands rubbish, just because I don't like their music. But recently, I even think that at least 50% of Jools Hollands guests are rubbish!

So at last, having let my mind wander where it will go, I knew where I was going. Finally the wasps and hornets had left the nest and it was time to turn over and go back to sleep, well after all it’s just a wonder warble......

All photographs taken by and © Tony Bedford