January 2007

Birthday flowers via Interflora - and the roses are scented! And no need to arrange in a vase - they come in a water bag and I have even left them in their neat matching carrier bag!

To Otter Nurseries, Devon (www.otternurseries.co.uk) for a birthday lunch and then as we were near Sidmouth viewed the container shipwreck MS Napoli from the cliffs above. The crew abandoned ship 50 miles off Cornwall in the big storm of 18th January and there was a very brave rescue performed by a RNAS Culdrose helicopter when the waves were sometimes higher than the helicopter. The ship was then being towed to Portland but began to break up so was beached in Lyme Bay. Controversial as this is part of the World Heritage Jurassic coast. On this day, 28th, the mooring line on the Bigfoot crane barge (which came from Rotterdam) had snapped so the start of removing over 2000 containers had been delayed by a day. See www.mcga.gov.uk for updates plus probably every newspaper's website - this was The Story of The Scavengers as some containers landed on the beaches ..... The tragedy is that guillemots were coming in to start nesting on this coastline and got caught up in the oil slick from the ship. 1300 oiled seabirds have been found.

These are our daffodils which flower before the snowdrops every year. This year it was on 12th January but we have known them flower in late December!

December 2006

A storm with torrential rain on 30 December led to these interesting clouds as the storm passed from us and headed for the New Forest. Good exercise as we rushed around looking for the camera and then it needed new batteries - however the sun light was still there - just - on the buildings and trees. Yet another one that has been published on the www.bbc.co.uk/dorset website under In Pictures - Winter Gallery.

Christmas 2006

Back home where we spotted (but it took us a week) that perhaps the Christmas cheer had affected our spelling ability.

Just over the hill from the last photos. We had a good ramble though it did take quite a while for the Surrey soil to dry on the walking boots! It has now been deposited in our Dorset garden to confuse the archaeologists of the future.

But pan the camera left and there's the countryside! We thought of the M25 as passing through urban areas but in fact it cuts a swathe through some beautiful countryside. And hopefully protects it too because no-one wants to build houses next to such a road so fields and woods are left in peace, along with their wildlife. And the sound of the traffic does not bother them.

And coming down Reigate Hill, the M25 choc-a-bloc with traffic.

And then the M25 on Boxing Day - all off to the sales.

To our family in Surrey for Christmas: this is the M23 on Christmas Day - slightly quieter than usual! As there are no motorways in Dorset, it is always of such interest for us to view the M23 and M25 - when we were young, we used to sit by a road and log the car number plates - quieter times!