It's hard to believe that, just a week ago, we were enjoying springtime in the UK. Hawthorns, cherry trees, daffodils, primroses, all in blossom & the first Barn Swallows already back from Africa & ... the Middle East. Every morning the dawn chorus woke us up, with blackbirds, wrens & English robins leading the harmony of the most beautiful natural music imaginable. When I was a teenager, I tried several times to describe what it was like in words but I failed miserably. So here's a link to just thirty seconds of the dawn chorus (wish I'd recorded it myself):http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0y1W0F59T78
Our first five days were in Wales where Pat was attending a conference (IATEFL or International Association of Teachers of English as a Foreign Language) in Cardiff. It was a huge meeting & very academic in nature but useful for contacts & ideas about setting up an English as a Foreign Language programme which Pat will be doing here next year. I seized the opportunity to do some birding along the Severn Estuary & inland (Cwm Clydach), & managed half a day with local birder (Howard Oates) who showed me some great places for spring migrants.After the conference ended we headed for England & Tiverton (Devon) where we met my sister, Jill, & our brother Steve with his wife Gill. Steve is an architect & one reason for his visit was to give advice on the feasibility of restoring an old Congregational Church in Witheridge which Jill is helping arrange.
Next day was Palm Sunday & we found ourselves visiting another of Jill's churches (which seems likely to close) where there was a procession along with a live donkey & a small congregation.
We travelled on to Killerton House & Gardens (not far from Exeter). This was something of a birding pilgrimage because Killerton was where I cycled frequently as a boy to watch the herons that used to nest there. The beech trees were the same but the herons have moved away. The gardens were beautiful & we spent several hours enjoying the sun & flowers (& lunch).
Next stop was Lyme Regis in Dorset (home of John Fowles & setting for The French Lieutenant's Woman. Also a town frequented by Jane Austen. We stayed there with Jill & were able to spend time with her eldest son, Ian, who is artistic director of the Lyme Regis theatre.
Before heading back to Jill's home in Kingswood we stopped to look at an 11th-century church (now Church of England) in Branscombe.
The last few days were spent in Kingswood with Gail & Thea, Shaenna, Phil, Aidan, & Erin. We even managed to get our teeth cleaned (thanks to Phil).
Our last little trip was back into Wales to Blaenafon where Jill was to take part in the closing of the Congregational Church there. It was a rather sad occasion because it was one of the churches that George had worked so hard to support right up to the time he died last September. Pat & I didn't attend but explored the town (in the mist & rain) & the hills around. Pat discovered an incredibly good cheese shop (see http://www.chunkofcheese.co.uk) & so we stocked up for the next few weeks in Qatar. We were sad to leave but look forward to another short visit to England in May when we'll be in Harrogate (Yorkshire) for Jill's induction as president of the Congregational Federation of the UK. And the dawn chorus will be as beautiful as ever.
