A Blackbird and a 450 Year Old Horse Chestnut Tree

I fell in love with this old chestnut tree whilst staying in our Norfolk yurt last week. It repeatedly drew my attention and got me exploring it on numerous occasions. If ever there was an enchanted tree, then this was most definitely it!

Sunrise at the 450 Year Old Chestnut Tree

Sunset at the 450 Year Old Chestnut Tree (pictured on the left)

I also fell in love with a characterful Blackbird that was nesting in this tree. He really was a bit of a chatterbox.Unfortunately, I did not manage to photograph him but you can hear his dawn chorus call here and in the clip below you can hear the slightly different call he made each evening:

The Blackbird's evening call was apparently made to deter other Blackbirds from entering and roosting in its territory. This magickal tree was its domain and he was intent on keeping it that way! :)

Elm Hill, Norwich

June 19, 2019

My daughter took me on a tour of her favourite places in Norwich last weekend, during which she led me up Elm Hill. This is without doubt the most picturesque street in the city. Indeed, its scenic beauty has led it to being rated as the seventh prettiest street in the whole of the UK!

Elm Hill, Norwich

The street is probably most famous for being used as a set location for the classic fantasy film based on Neil Gaiman's excellent novel Stardust. You can view some great pics of the street being transformed for the movie here.

Horsey Wind Pump, Norfolk

On our way to Horsey Gap the other day we stopped off at this impressive building - Horsey Wind Pump.

Horsey Wind Pump is a drainage windmill situated on the Norfolk Broads. It is a Grade II listed building. Its current structure was built in 1912 and the construction was carried out on the site of the original 18th century Horsey Black Mill. It was designed to drain water from the surrounding land that that it could better be used for farming. The windpump remained in working order until 1943, when it was struck by lightning. The National Trust is currently managed by The National Trust.

Horsey Wind Pump

The building is said to be haunted by the sounds of playing children who drowned in the nearby waters and the fact that the wind pump leans to the west is explained by a lovely piece of folklore.

Horsey Wind Pump

A man, desperate to own some of the land adjacent to the wind pump, wagered his soul to the devil in a rowing race along the nearby waters. The Devil easily won the competition but the fearful loser raced from his boat where he took refuge in the wind pump, bolting the door closed behind him. The Devil, furious at the man welshing on his bed, beat and pounded and pushed at the wind pump for the entire day and night before finally giving up and moving on in search of other souls. When the terrified man left the wind pump the following morning, he saw the building now leaned curiously away from the front door.

Norwich Outdoor Market Field Recording

A Norfolk Dawn Chorus

Whilst holiday in Norfolk for my birthday weekend, we were woken early each morning by incredible dawn choruses. The lead vocalist amongst them, an extrovert blackbird, even perched on top of the yurt we were staying in to blast out his song! Here is an audio recording I made of the little fella and his choir. It's long but is beautiful in the complexity of all the different birdsong recorded!

 

Sea Palling

Our third and final beach visit last Saturday during our weekend holiday in Norfolk was Sea Palling. This was the least scenic of the trio of beaches we spent the day exploring but it was also the most popular (due to the numerous cafes and amenities at the edge of the sand). Here's an audio recording I took whilst there, which should give you a decent sense of the place:

 

Whilst in Sea Palling, I spotted this lovely poppy in flower near the car park that I thought I would share with you all :)

Horsey Gap

We chose Horsey Gap as our second beach to visit in Norfolk on my birthday. Not as pretty as the nearby Winterton-On-Sea, but we did get to see some wild seals. Now, as anyone who had read my novella Lore (shameless plug) will know, seals are not always all things sweet and nice but it was great fun seeing these guys enjoying themselves so close to the beach :)

Seals Engoing The Waves at Horsey Gap

It was difficult to make an audio field recording here but I did manage to get some brief audio of the waves by tucking my Tascam DR-40 recorder down amongst the rocks at the base of this beach groyne:

Winterton-On-Sea

Whilst in Norfolk visiting my daughter for my birthday, we took a lovely stroll along Winterton-On-Sea. It is a beautiful bay and is listed in the Rough Guide' top 30 places to visit in the world. The beach forms part of the Norfolk Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and is also a Nature Reserve.

Winterton-On-Sea

Winterton-On-Sea

Whilst there, I was happy to find this lovely single specimen of seaglass too :)

This was the first of three beaches we visited that day, the other two will feature in following posts...

Norwich Cathedral

I visited Norwich Cathedral over the weekend. It is a beautiful and serene place. Whilst I captured a few sounds and images I experienced there for this post, it was, unfortunately, beyond my means to share the gorgeous scent of frankincense that pervaded the cathedral with you :(

Norwich Cathedral Main Stained Glass Window Reflection in Copper Font

Votive Candles, Norwich Cathedral

Norwich Cathedral Cloisters

Berserk! Writing Chapter 10

Berserk! Starting Work on Chapter 10

Berserk! Story-boarding Chapter 10

That Eureka! Feeling :)

Four months into writing Berserk! and half way through the first draft of its penultimate chapter, my confidence in finding a satisfying ending to to the book was beginning to wane. The denouements of my tales are seldom on my mind as I start a new writing project. Indeed, the main fun I have in creative writing is that of solving the mystery of how things are going to work out, for the characters and situations in my tale. It is like a jigsaw puzzle where you aren't even aware if you the last few pieces to slot into place but you keep plugging away at the piece in the hope of a happy conclusion.

While I never know the ending to the stories I write when I start work on them, I have grown pretty confident in my ability to locate those out of sight final jigsaw pieces as I progress through the telling of the tale. But, as I have already noted, my belief in my ability to find a rewarding conclusion to this particular novella was, I have to admit, was becoming questionable. 

But last night, during a bout of insomnia that had me wide awake well into the small hours of the morning, my tale of Vikings, death metal and werewolves finally all snapped together in that lovely eureka moment that is one of the most satisfying moments of my writing, equal even to finally holding that final published paperback copy of the completed book in my hands.

So, I am happy to report this evening that I  have that much desired ending for Berserk! It's denouement suprised me greatly, as I hope it will surprise readers of the book when it is finally published, which I now hope will be before the end of this year. To make the denouement believable and satisfying will involve a little extra work in the second draft of writing and involves a slight tweak in the protagonist's thought processes as well as some careful dialogue editing. But it is work that will be satisfying. For the first time since this particular tale came to mind earlier this year, I am happy to report that the end is in sight :)

Completing the penultimate chapter of Beserk! 

Berserk! Work on Chapter Nine Continues

Stuck in the middle of the penultimate chapter of my latest book:

Morning Gusts

It was very windy here this morning. It seems like we are having another typical British summer :(