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I went for a walk in the Chess Valley. It was barely above freezing all day, but that made the walk easier as for the most part the ground was frozen so little or no mud to slow me down. And in the calm sunshine it was lovely and crisp. I beautiful day for the time of year. It was also a novelty taking the tube into the countryside, with woods, farmers fields and rolling countryside seen from a window that normally sees just suburbia and tunnel walls. Chesham station is a dinky little place about as far away from London as you can get on the tube. I then followed the Chess Valley Walk. The first half of the walk wasn't so interesting as I got away from more built up areas, but then the countryside got nicer and was quite pleasant. Eventually I reached Chalfont & Latimer tube station, from where I tubed it home again. The full walk goes all the way to Rickmansworth so I will have to return and explore the lower half of the valley at some point.
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Chesham Station | Following the river Chess out of Chesham (which is the source). | Frith Wood and more of the Chess Valley. Once away from Chesham it really does get pretty. |
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Long range shots of two balloons passing in the distance. | Pictures of the River Chess from near Latimer House, including a 2 shot panorama and a zoom. This was the prettiest spot of the whole walk. |
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A big 8 shot panorama of the River Chess from below Latimer house. | Latimer House. | Looking both ways as I crossing the river Chess by a weir before walking into Chalfont. |
A flock of parakeets settled on a tree at the back of the garden. There were more than 6 in these pics but some were hidden behind the pine tree (cropped off).
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A digitally zoomed shot of two parakeets. | Six parakeets on a tree. | Two parakeets on top of a conifer. |
Chanukah Live at Trafalgar Square. Mayor Boris Johnson joined us for the lighting of the Chanukiah at Trafalgar Square.
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Views of the Chanukiah and Trafalgar Square as I approach in the twilight. | Donuts, and lots of them! Didn't get near them though. Ah well. | The Trafalgar Square christmas tree. |
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Now positioned in the centre of the square, looking towards the platform and Chanukiah. | Boris Johnson speaking and with other speakers including the Chief Rabbi. | A long exposure shot of one of the fountains. |
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Boris lighting the Shamash after a very rickety ride up in the cherry picker! | A rabbi lighting the other lights. | People in the square waving torches (given out to everybody including me) as the lights are lit. | Looking at the Regent Street christmas lights as we head home after the event. |
Miscellaneous.
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2 sheep lying down. Their position gives the illusion of one two-headed sheep. | The batbike from The Dark Knight film, spotted at the Normingham NEC Bike Show. It was a real bike, not just CGI. |
A small selection of pictures from a trip to Kew Gardens with a friend.
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Sculpture. | Tropical flowers. | Keeping the tropical house moist. | Closeup of a cactus / succulent. | Alpine flower. |
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Waterfall splashing on rocks. | Lilly pond. | Fountain. | Autumn Leaves. | Pictures from the tree walk. |
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Peacock. | Autumn lake. | More autumn leaves. | Two buildings in the Japanese area. | Shadows as the sun gets low. | Looking West along the Thames. |
Long range shots of a Kestrel near and on Horsenden Hill. This stretched my A650's 12 megapixels and 6x zoom to the limit! Couldn't have gotten these shots on my old A80. Plus a view of the new artificial hills by the A40.
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Four shots of the Kestrel flying, soaring and hovering, and one of it sat on a roof top. | Another Kestrel at the summit of Horsenden Hill. | Northala Fields mounds from the summit of Horsenden Hill. |
More pictures from Horsenden Hill and Kenton.
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A huge spider web in brambles. | Cows in the grazing field on the Southwest side of the hill. | I bought a Venus Fly Trap! | Cucumber growing in the garden. Delicious! | A cactus flower. |
Pictures from Bald Hill, Aston Rowant. It was a rather windy day. The views were still pretty decent despite the cloudcover. Pictures are slightly grainy as I accidentally had the camera on ISO200 instead of the usual ISO80. There were loads of Red Kites surfing the ridge lift as the wind gets forced up the sides of the hills. On the M40 shot, I was on top of the hill between Bald Hill and the M40, with the huge chalk cutout where the M40 drops steeply out of the Chilterns right below me on the right. A good view from up there. All the other shots were from Bald Hill itself.
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Looking West along the M40 to J6. | Didcot Power Station just South of Due West. | Red Kites surfing the ridge lift on the windward side of Bald Hill. |
A great spotted woodpecker on the top of a Scots Pine tree in the garden in Kenton.
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Great Spotted Woodpecker. | Chestnut Weevil. | Unidentified fly on Ragwort. |
Pictures from a trip to Oversley Wood in Warwickshire. These were taken alongside a lot of butterfly pictures.
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Two hoverflies. | The view from the centre of Oversley Wood. | Two shots of a bumblebee. | Small fly on a stem. |
More miscellaneous shots.
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An unidentified flower in Kenton. | Blackberries on Barnhill are almost ready. | A Barnhill oak leaf covered in curious 'deposits'. |
What happens when courgettes are allowed to grow big? Voila! Marrows! I had 2 marrows on 2 different plants. The first was cut at 13.5 inches long and 1kg in weight. The second is my biggest ever at 15 inches long and 1.28kg in weight. They were both delicious!
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The first 1kg marrow. | The second 1.28kg marrow. |
More flowers and stuff from the garden, Horsenden Hill, Chobham Common and Sharpenhoe Clappers.
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The Buddleia's out! | Courgettes getting big. The left one is over 10 inches long. | Nasturtiums. | Flowers on Horsenden Hill. | The view back to the car park from the top of the hill at Chobham Common. | Sharpenhoe Orchid. |
I took part in the Yids on Bikes part of the Salute to Israel 60th Anniversary parade. We met at Golders Green where we got the bikes ready. Then went in convoy to Hyde Park Corner. En route lots of people honking their horns and waving in support, especially in the Golders Green area. That was cool! The parade went from Hyde Park Corner to Picadilly Circus, then down Haymarket before finishing at Trafalgar Square. The parade was amazing, especially at Picadilly Circus where we crawled along a narrow channel surrounded by a sea of cheering people. Down Haymarket I coasted down the hill engine off as I was overheating. A couple of other bikes broke down. (Bikes aren't designed for parading.) After passing trafalgar square we found our way to the Embankment where we parked and then joined the rally in Trafalgar Square itself.
Thanks to Jake and David for letting me put your pics into this collection.
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Parked up in Golders Green attaching flags and stickers to the bikes and putting the blue bibs on. | Parked up at Hyde Park Corner awaiting the start of the parade. Seems strange standing in the middle of what is normally a very busy road. |
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My bike at Hyde Park Corner. | The floats queing at the parade start point down the road. | Another Hyde Park Corner shot. | Loren's borrowed Yamaha and Meni's Hayabusa. | Another look at the parade start point before we set off. | Waiting for the start. |
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Link to video on YouTube Name: Yids on Bikes and AJEX at Salute to Israel 60th Anniversary. Length: 27s |
Bikes now in formation as we prepare to start the parade. My bike is right behind Meni's 'busa. | Photo taken by Jake Hume as we paused opposite Bolton St on Picadilly. Green Park in the background. | Two shots taken by David Rubin on Haymarket as we passed him in the parade. | A video containing three clips by David Rubin of the bikes in the parade. You can see me waving from my bike in the last clip. |
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Views of Trafalgar Square as we arrive for the start of the rally. | Nick Ferrari from LBC presenting on stage. | Views of the stage from the steps at the back of the square as performers do their stuff on stage. |
Horsenden Hill flies, and Kenton Nasturtiums and courgettes.
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Two lucky shots of a hoverfly hovering around me. | Another fly resting on a leaf. | Two nasturtiums in the garden. Look how varied they are. | Growing courgette. | Female courgette flower. |
A police helicopter taking off from a field adjacent to my office after visiting some local school children.
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Police helicopter taking off from a field in Greenford. |
More miscellaneous pictures from VnA, Horsenden Hill, Barnhill and Park Wood.
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A sculpture hanging from the roof of the entrance hall to the Victoria and Albert museum. | Two of the dreaded Horsenden Hill horseflies bothering me. Caught the 1st one taking off. | Fly sitting on a tiny pile of rubble in Park Wood. | Honeysuckle at Park Wood. |
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Hollow Oak tree on Barnhill. | Lilly on Barnhill summit pond. | Crow on dead branch silhouetted against the sky. | Barnhill meadow in full bloom. | Knapweed flower. | Yellow flower of a plant found in a pond near Fryent Way. |
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Bee feeding on bramble flower. | Hoverfly feeding on flowers. | Harlequin Ladybird larva on leaf. | Glad to see the Jubilee Line is managed with nature in mind. The trees behind the sign are oaks on which I photographed Purple Hairstreaks last year. | Roses growing by the path home. | This pretty feather on Horsenden Hill used to belong to a Jay. |
Pictures from a butterflying trip to Hurst Castle and Seven Barrows.
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The Keyhaven to Hurst Castle ferry. | Ducklings near the Hurst Castle jeti. | Sea Thrift | Hurst Castle lighthouse. | Hurst Castle from the northern end. |
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Looking East to the Isle of Wight. | Crab. | Yaughts sailing past the Isle of Wight Needles. | Return ferry arriving. Spit linking Hurst Castle to the mainland in background. | Pair of Eider Ducks in the marshes. | 1.5cm Flower in Seven Barrows meadow. |
Pictures from Horsenden Hill and Grove Farm. The new camera's extra resolution showing itself with the macro shots that's for sure! The Peace Statue is in Brighton. The snail at Seven Barrows near Hungerford.
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Flowers in a meadow. | Hawthorn in full blossom, with meadow flowers below. | The meadow at Grove Farm. | Batts Field, Horsenden Hill covered in buttercups. |
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Scorpion Fly. | Mating shield bugs. | Harlequin ladybird. | Peace Statue. Both shots derived from the same original. | Stripey Snail. |
Some miscellaneous shots taken during a JWalk.
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Thousands of Bluebells carpetting Holt Wood and Fernhill wood. | Pretty flowers. | More Bluebells. |
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Dandelion seeds. | Cowslip flowers. | A pond west of Waypoint 4. | Cherry Blossom near Burnt Ground Spinney. |
Long range shots of a Red Kite over Lasham Airfield. A Male Chaffinch and a view of London Gliding Club's launch point from Totternhoe Knolls.
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Two long range shots of a Red Kite soaring over Lasham airfield. | A crow mobbing the Red Kite. | A Male Chaffinch on a hedge. | London Gliding Club's launchpoint as seen from the top of the escarpment at Totternhoe Knolls. |
A great looking tree and a hoverfly caught in action by accident. Plus pictures from a walk up Barnhill.
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Huge 200 year old tree in a church yard in St. Albans. | A hoverfly caught in action while photographing a flower (which wasn't uploaded). | Hard to believe this is in a suburban area... | Panorama of Fryent Open Space. Blossom everywhere. Spring is here! |
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A red bee near Barnhill. | More Barnhill blossom shots. I wonder what's in that hole? | It's bluebell season once again! |
My best ever Robin shot! I think it was distracted by a nearby rival so let me get closer than usual. Plus the Red Arrows fly by for the 90th anniversary of the RAF. They had just flown past central London and exited right over Horsenden Hill. They caught me by surprise so it was all I could do to power up and hammer the shutter. Good job the camera was in auto mode. No time to worry about zoom or focus.
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A Robin on Horsenden Hill. | The Red Arrows and Four Typhoons overflying Horsenden Hill. |
I continued to play with the camera back at work, on lunchtime walks around Horsenden Hill. On the 11th I also photographed a surprise butterfly. See the butterfly section for that.
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Magpie on a post. | A very small bird mooning me! | A woody path by the grand union canal. | Digitally zoomed magpie in a tree. | Two shots of a large bumblebee feeding on Blackthorn blossom. (The same bush I saw the butterfly feeding on on the 11th.) |
More test pictures with the new camera in the Kenton area on the 2nd. While on the 6th I managed to get shots of a Robin at Grove Farm. The 2nd Robin shot was a digital zoom experiment. The quality isn't quite as good, but is a lot better than the digital zoom on the old camera, and has much more potential now.
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Crows perched in an old tree on the North side of Barnhill. | Closeup of a wood pigeon in a tree. | Super closeup of heather flowers in the garden. | Peeking through a hole in the shed door. BBQ equipment waiting for the spring! | Ivy on a fence. | Tiny flower on a bush in the garden. |
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Pine cones in a Scots Pine tree. | A flock of gulls flying by my window. | Two super zoom shots of the same Robin at Grove Farm. |
I bought a new camera! I upgraded to the Canon Powershot A650IS. So I took it out at lunchtime to Horsenden Hill on the 30th, and to Grove Farm on the 30th. The 6x zoom and extra megapixels do indeed help get better shots of things like birds and insects but still learning how to make best use of the technology. All of the birds were a good 10 meters or more away and would have been thumbnail size on the old camera. The new camera's faster focus time also helped as those birds barely stopped moving.
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First I had a go at photographing Blue Tits. These shots would have been impossible with the old camera. | The wood on the north side of Horsenden Hill. | Using the zoom at the summit of Horsenden Hill to get shots of the building I work in and looking West along Berkeley Avenue towards Greenford Road. |
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Two shots of a robin at Grove Farm. | Two shots of a bumblebee nearby. | Closeup of a daisy. | Another robin, puffed up in the cool air. |
My first 2008 visit to Barnhill, and some very early crocuses in the garden. Not seen a January crocus before. Looks like a very early spring! I also saw daffodils flowering before January was over.
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A huge ancient oak tree silhouetted against a cloudy sky. | Very early crocuses. |