The Flower Cemetery is at Max

It looks lovely in there, with a great diversity of species in there at the moment. Despite the last couple of days being really really cold, I've started to notice the first worker bumblebees going about their work; tree bumblebees and today what might have been a white tailed bumblebee, I didn't get to see it for long enough.

There's a lot of flowers out along the cycle track too, with the first ragged robin now appearing in its ghostly pinkiness. There was also a large orange-yellow flower like a mega buttercup, but not a marigold.

Never seen it before along here!

After two games of cricket over the weekend, with 17 overs bowled, I was exhausted today, and I could barely run!

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 08.05.17

Conker Candles, Cricket, and a Taste of Asia

A rather bitter taste, as it turned out, as we were battered out of sight by a talented and professional Pakistani side. But at least it was a fraction warmer than yesterday, I even had to take my sweater off when I was bowling.

It was still a bit cold for our New Zealand player, making his debut, who decided to bat in a hoodie. But I digress.

Yep, they were talented as anything. And after us from the word go. I opened the bowling and managed to get away with it for a few overs, causing problems and getting their opening bat, who I bowled a fairly awful slower ball too, which he swiped hugely at only for the ball to roll down the back of his bat and off his legs onto the stumps.

The keeper even apologised. Still, it goes in the scorebook as "Bowled Simon" and no-one will ever know how it happened. I was ashamed, but still stood there with my arms spread like Andrew Flintoff.

After that, it was fairly non stop ball whacking, as their number 3 bat got a modest 178. I was spared most of this as I hid in a quiet spot on the field after I finished my opening spell, but after getting another wicket caught and bowled (I celebrated by merely running a lap of the ground screaming), I had him caught on the boundary. This time I lay on the ground screaming. I might have waved my legs in the air a bit.

God I love bowling. I love taking wickets.

They got 280 odd, but our very young team plus old crocks such as myself never stopped trying.

We realised we had no chance of winning the match, and just batted our own game, pretty well at first. I couldn't go nature hunting straightaway, as I had to stand on the field and count 6 pebbles out over and over again. Square leg umpring, gah.

You never saw Dickie Bird wearing a padded plaid shirt on TV though.

WHen I did get to go and search, I went and had a close look at some of the horse chestnut trees around the ground, which are now in full "candle", the tall stalks of blossom that appear in spring. They make the conker trees look like huge leafy candelabara.

The flowers are oddly plasticky looking.

Herons and cormorants flew over the ground, and swallows were about too. Sadly, no swifts on view for me yet.

I went into bat at 9 eventually against bowling far too good for me, and got 0 after getting far too early on the ball and spooning up an easy catch. I want to do well at batting, but as El Presidente says, maybe I should settle for good bowling and fielding. We nearly batted the whole 40 overs though, which was good.

The Sketching of the Frustrated Cricketer

First day of the new season, out at the beautiful Thurgarton Priory ground on the way from Southwell to Nottingham.

I find myself back in the third team this season, after an influx of talent returning to the club from various exiles. Either that or the second team skipper is glad to get rid of a piece of hopeless deadweight.

I feared I would be having a sort of "bat number 11, don't bowl" sort of day, but luckily El Presidente skipper decided to give me the new ball. I did my best, I really did, but no amount of bowling as quick as I've ever bowled in my life could change my luck - a few chances were missed off me per usual - and also the fact I have a bad habit of throwing in a few full tosses for reasons I don't understand. Invariably these get smashed into the far distance.

It's not that I'm trying to bowl them!

The other thing I notice is how amazingly banal a lot of chat on the cricket field is when someone is bowling. "Oh yeah, loving it", "Oh yes!", "Oh yeah, every day there", or "Oh yeah yeah yeah yes!".

Maybe I'll write a book about it.

Luckily we have bowlers who are luckier than me, and don't bowl full tosses, and so we kept the opposition to 230 for 8. After a hearty tea - I much prefer bowling first - the simple resignation of the fact that I would be batting at 10 or 11 meant I could wander off and photograph the ground, and even do some sketching even as the day got colder and chillier.

The trees and massive priory, now luxury flats attached to the church building, makes for a natural amphitheatre, and the smack of leather on willow echoed round the ground in the most satisfying way. A team mate reckoned this was because of the stream running along the edge of the ground, and whether or not this was true under the trees there was carpeted with wild garlic and was stunningly lovely.

I went in there to fetch a ball and came out smelling of garlic.

We were in with a good shout of winning the game at one point, but our batting rather subsided and I felt rather gratified to score 1 not out, somehow, especially as I was initially clueless facing their quickest bowler.

I just wish the sun had been out.

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 06.05.17

Running to Vote

Not that I suppose many people will be on council election night, as opposed to the General Election Thursday. But I find it offensive not to vote on any occasion I can, even though we only had a choice of two candidates here.

If you want to sound really pious, voting is something that many folk around the world cannot do, that we take for granted.

Soapbox down, pious mode off. I ran 7km to get to that polling station, on a clear crisp evening, across fields and bridleways, and enjoyed the sight of the moon in the darkening sky.

That's about it.

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 04.05.17

Civil War Funs

We've been re-enacting The Siege of Newark again here. Luckily no-one's the town is being insensitive to the relatives of the dead from the conflict by doing it.

There were parades in town, a living history event in the castle grounds, and a skirmish battle with hundreds involved firing little cannons at each other. I missed this impressive vent yesterday because of cricket, and missed it today because my bike got a puncture (5th in 10 days, on two different bikes) and it had finished by the time I arrived.

Marvellous.

Still, the castle grounds exhibit was very popular and busy, and I liked they had telescopes and a large sign telling you about syphilis, a warning that frankly many of our current town dwellers would do well to heed. There was the smell of cooking, and a blacksmith bellowing things.

All very interesting, and all very colourful!

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 01.05.17