Where's The Snow?

We were promised snow overnight.  There was a flurry and a thin layer on the ground when I awoke this morning.  We were warned of wide spread disruption and chaos on the roads but it hasn't materialised yet.

Don't get me wrong, I don't necessarily want the chaos the snow brings but it does come with some perks.  Snowball fights, sledging and so on.  As it stands we have the cold and ice but as yet no real snow fall.

I must mention England's performance in The Ashes.  The first Test in Brisbane is over and ended in a draw.  England trailing Australia by 221 runs after the first innings managed a total of 517-1 in the second!! 

Alastair Cook made 235 not out and broke the previous highest Test score at the Gabba set by Don Bradman (226). Andrew Strauss made 110 before being stumped and Jonathan Trott managed 135 not out before England declared.

The second Test starts on Friday I might stay up for it!

Freezing!

Winter has arrived earlier than usual.  Temperatures are already in minus figures. A lot of the country has had a fair amount of snow.  Here in central England though we had a small flurry which has quickly turned to ice and stayed put.  We are due some snow later this week.

Due to the weather the weekend was a quiet one.  A couple of unsuccessful geo caching attempts on Saturday and a day at home yesterday.

I'm already longing for the summer and we haven't even got to winter proper yet!!

Mogwai - Free Download

Mogwai release their new album Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will in February of next year.  In the meantime you can download one of the tracks, Rano Pano, by popping across to The Quietus.

They will also be embarking on a massive UK tour.  Nip over to their website to see if they are appearing near you.

http://www.mogwai.co.uk/

Download Rano Pano from The Quietus by going here.

On a completely unrelated note, yesterday I visited friends who introduced me to the world of geocaching.  How have I managed to get this far without hearing about it?  Anyway, my friend signed me up and on the way home I did my first one!

Sandwell Valley RSPB Reserve

As I get older I have started to take more of an interest in the things around me. I think this blog proves it. Birds,  butterflies and countryside feature quite heavily.  Don't get me wrong, I still enjoy gigs, football and so on and I can happily spend an evening down the pub with friends but if I'm not doing that I am quite happily traipsing around fields.

Saturday morning I found myself at Sandwell Valley RSPB Reserve.  I hadn't expected much if I'm honest as Sandwell is surrounded by industry (albeit in decline) but when I got there I was really surprised.  25 acres of greenery and water!

Stopping off at the temporary visitor centre (the original one was burnt down in March), staff gave us a map and told us what we could expect to see.  Everyone was really friendly!

We stopped at the hide over looking the lake.  From here I could see Coots, Mallards, Cormorant, Great Crested Grebe, Gadwall and Grey Heron as well as 3 types of Gull. There were probably more but  I am a novice when it comes to identifying birds and so probably missed loads!!

After the hide we walked around the lake to try and find the Golden Eye (unsuccessfully). As the day wore on it seemed to get a lot colder and the mist that we had hoped would burn off seemed to linger.  We completed the walk around the lake and stopped at the feeders.  Here we saw Greenfinch, Chaffinch, Goldfinch, Blue Tits, Great Tits and Pheasant.

We headed back to the visitor centre where the staff made us a coffee!  After a chat and a bit of a warm up we headed home.  Stopping off on the way to get ingredients for a stew to warm us up later.

I was really surprised by the size of the reserve and the variety of birds (we only saw a small proportion) and  am looking forward to heading back there soon.  I was also really impressed by the staff who were friendly and helpful. They made a good trip that little bit more rewarding.

Having had such a good day bird watching (I hate to use the term) on Saturday we decided to head back over to Solihull Nature Reserve.  I was planning a pretty early start but on the way out I noticed a Great Spotted Woodpecker on the tree outside the living room window.  The garden was a hive of activity, the busiest I'd seen it.  In the space of about an hour visitors included 2 x Great Spotted Woodpeckers, 2 x Jays, half a dozen Greenfinches, 2 x Redwing, 4 x Blackbird, 2 x Blue Tits, 2 x Great Tits, 1 x Magpie, 1 x Coal Tit, 3 x Wood Pigeon, 1 x Nuthatch and a Song Thrush.

The Trip to the Nature Reserve meant I can add to the list Jackdaw, Starlings, Long tailed Tits and (best of all) a Gold Crest.  Yesterday was not as cold as Saturday but stopped at the small tea room all the same for a coffee and to use their bird books.

I don't think bird watching will ever become a full time hobby but I can see it's appeal.  The Woodpeckers were back again this morning and to see them close up does give you a bit of a buzz.

British Sea Power - Free Download

Living Is So Easy is the first single from the album Valhalla Dancehall and will be available for download next week. However, an edited version is available for download now.

I've had a quick listen and it seems they have taken a more electronic route. I wonder if the rest of the album will be the same?

You can get Living Is Easy from their website below.

http://www.britishseapower.co.uk/livingissoeasy

Birds

This morning Clare and I decided to head for Solihull Nature Reserve to go and see a few birds.  We aimed to get there for sunrise (7.28 am) and so left the house just before 7.00 am.  As we walked through the park with the mist rising and the day slowly dawning it looked lovely. 

The first thing we saw was a Grey Heron flying above us.  Solihull town centre (very quiet at 7.15 on a Sunday morning) had a selection of Gulls, Jackdaws and Carrion Crows.

Once at the nature reserve it wasn't long before we saw a Green Woodpecker.  We watched for ages as he hopped along the field.  After he had flown away we carried on round and soon we saw a Greater Spotted Woodpecker at the top of a tree. 

Having spent a couple of hours wandering round we headed back. As we neared the exit (watching a Heron sitting by a puddle) we saw a Kestrel sitting in a tree.  A nice way to end the visit.  In all we saw at least 28 varieties of bird. We also saw two birds flying over head that looked like birds of prey but we couldn't identify them. 

We got home at around 10.15 and had breakfast.

The Phoenix Foundation Free Download

Pot is a good little song from New Zealand's The Phoenix Foundation. It is their first release in Europe and is taken from their forthcoming album Buffalo which will be released in 2011. They are also arranging a tour apparently.  If this is anything to go by then I will be popping along to see them in the New Year!

You can grab the track off the NME site here.

myspace - The Phoenix Foundation

Red

I really liked this film.  I imagine it will have come in for some criticism but I have thought it was good fun. 

Bruce Willis is a retired C.I.A agent who is struggling with a normal suburban life.  The highlight of his day is when he speaks to Mary Louise Parker, a Customer Service Rep, over the phone.  She also struggles with her job and dreams of a life of excitement.

When Bruce survives an attempt on his life, he kidnaps her (as he believes her life is also in danger) and sets about trying to find out who has ordered his death.  Along the way he asks his old spy pals for help.  These include Morgan Freeman, Helen Mirren and John Malkovic.

This gentle shoot 'em up, if you can have such a thing, matches the age of the cast.  It rolls along at a slow but steady pace and has a good mix of action and laughs.  A great way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

Chairs, Erotic Art and Fireworks

A Good Chair Is A Good Chair is an Ikon exhibition of Donald Judd's work. He is widely regarded as one of the most important artists of the twentieth century. A key exponent of minimalism, Judd (1928–1994) worked across art, furniture and architecture.

With sketches and early pieces by Judd the exhibition shows pieces which are rarely seen outside his home town of Martha, Texas.

I really liked the simple designs and the practicality of the furniture.

On the floor below is an exhibition of Kitagawa Utamaro's wood block prints. The 18th Century Japanese prints are part of the British Museum's collection and focus on the images of women, in particular the courtesans of Yoshiwara, the regulated brothel district in Edo (now Tokyo).

This exhibition is co-curated by acclaimed British artist Julian Opie and Timothy Clark, Head of the Japanese Section, British Museum.

The detail in the prints are fantastic but be warned some of the prints are of a sexual nature.

After lunch at The Green Rooms (the busiest I've seen for ages) it was off to the Custard Factory for a rummage around the vintage clothes shops before heading home.

As the evening approached and the temperature dropped we headed to St Margaret's School in Olton for their firework display.  It's only small but the display itself is fantastic, well worth the £5 entrance fee.  Afterwards we headed to my parents house for baked potatoes and Scrabble.