A bright sunny morning screams out for a ride on the bike accompanied by a Short Ride in a Fast Machine a 1986 orchestral work by John Adams.
I visited the National Memorial Arboretum today to take some pictures of the new Guards Paras memorial. A beautiful day for the visit but a terrible day for taking pictures, with a harsh bright sun and deep deep shadows. You have to book your visit, and they are keeping the numbers low which makes the visit very calm and gives space for reflection, I spent several hours there and paid my respect to all the fallen with a special regard to our own. Click on the image above to see the gallery.
Dydd Gŵyl Dewi Hapus – Happy St David’s Day
For the second time in four years we are unable to celebrate St David’s Day in the traditional way, four years ago the Beast from the East prevented travelling and this year the Covid-19 restrictions have kept us apart.
The traditional celebration of our national saint is hugely important to all serving and veterans of the Welsh Guards. The Welsh Guards were founded on the 26th February 1915, three days later we celebrated our first St David’s Day as a regiment and barring extraordinary circumstances we have celebrated it every year since.
We cannot be together this year so here is a short celebration in film showing the continuity of tradition and the pride that we have in our saint, our country and our regiment.
Cymru Am Byth
Deer stalking is not exclusively about shooting deer, on an afternoon like this the deer was simply an added bonus. I went to the exact spot the rainbow hit the ground, no crock of gold just a very muddy gateway across a stream
A very small parade to mark the Welsh Guards Remembrance Sunday at the Guards Memorial in St James's Park. Adhering to the rule of 6 with the Regimental Adjutant, The Commanding Officer The Regimental Sergeant Major, The Battalion Padre, HRH Prince Charles's Equerry and His Royal Highness Prince Charles on parade.
There is a full gallery of pictures here.
https://nhr-photography.smugmug.com/Welsh-Guards.../n-7wCfKM
An excellent cay at Croxton Park marshalling a Precision Range & Hunting simulated game and vermin shoot. I had my phone with me so it would have been a shame not to shoot a little myself.
A sad but very special day yeterday when as many are allowed under the Current Covid-19 restrictions gathered to remember and bid farewell to a very special friend, colleague and brother in arms. There are not many people in the world who you could describe as universally liked but Dai Graham fitted that bill and more, Generous in spirit and with a wonderful sense of humour and a genuine warmth for everyone who knew him.
As ever at these events it was good to see and catch up with old friends and colleagues all be it under such upsetting circumstances, but there was also good humour which to be fair was the most fitting tribute there could be for Dai, who seemed to have the knack of finding humour in whatever circumstances he found himself, or indeed led others into.
Farewell Dai, the hole you have left in our hearts will hopefully soon fill with the good memories you have left.
I was out all night last night (no not a dirty stop-out, I was helping out a farmer with a rabbit problem). Driving home at around 05:00 I was treated to the most spectacular sunrise I have seen in a very long time. I only had a little Canon G16 with me and I can honestly say these have had minimal processing just some curve's adjustment to try to compensate for the wide exposure range the colours were truly spectacular, all the more so considering that the exotic location was Rugby, Warwickshire!
Today we picked up Ellie a Sprocker -Cocker cross. She will eventually be going to my mother-in-law to keep one of my retired Labradors company, but we are going to have her for a few months to start her training.
This afternoon we had an interesting “Social Distancing” puppy picking session for my Mother in Law. A very nice litter from a great working Sprocker bitch and a FTCH Cocker dog. Meet Ellie-May
We have just enjoyed a terrific VE Day Street Party with very strict social distancing, I have spoken to more neighbours in the last 2 hours than I have in the 20 years we have been living here, and the strange thing is if we were not in Lockdown, we would more than likely all be in the house or away somewhere. Every cloud has a silver lining
I have had to spend a week in Yorkshire / Cumbria dong some essential work for the Forestry, a great respite from this Coronavirus enforced lockdown.
Stuck in doors today so a spot of cooking was in order. This is my take on Mushroom Duxelles Wellington. It is the thick end of Fallow deer loin shot in Cambridgeshire and butchered at home, the Duxelle is mushroom and onions fried off and reduced with Worcestershire Sauce, salt and pepper, the meat is flashed in a searing hot pan for less than 30 seconds just to brown it off it is then coated in the mushrooms and onions, wrapped in cling film and put in the fridge. I cheated with the puff pastry and bought it from the supermarket, the pastry is rolled and then a layered with ham followed by the loin, then rolled, scored and given an egg yolk wash before going into a fan oven at 180 for 25 minutes.
My guess is that we will be on a full Coronavirus Covid-19 lockdown sooner rather than later, so I am spending as much time as I can self-isolating in the great outdoors and filling the freezer with as much venison as I can in case we have shortages or getting to the shops proves difficult. A stunningly beautiful day, the first warm dry and sunny day in many months.
The guy that built the cattle handling system I was photographing today had his dog, Bolt with him and exceptionally handsome dog indeed.
I had an interesting job today photographing a cattle handling system built and installed by Hal Cooper the owner of TJC Agricultural Engineering in Leicestershire. It is a great piece of work.
The term “Trophy Hunting” is being used in the media a lot at the moment, but what does it really mean. As many of you know I hunt, and if I am honest, and I am sure if you asked any other hunter what their prime reason for hunting is, the answer would be because we enjoy the experience of hunting. Having said that every deer I shoot is eaten, every part of it prepared and either goes in the freezer for us and the bits we don’t eat fed to the dogs. However, if the deer is a fine specimen or is slightly odd I will prepare and keep a “Trophy” although the word trophy is a misnomer as it is not a prize or a reward, it is simply a permanent reminder of an excellent stalk and a tribute to the animal that fed us so well. The trophy is a simply a by-product in exactly the same way your shoes are a by-product of the steak you may have eaten last night.
An early 04:00 hrs start to the day for the drive to Bedfordshire. When I arrived I was greeted by this glorious sunrise followed by an great stalk ending with a couple of Chinese Water Deer for the freezer.
I had an excellent weekend in Windsor celebrating Saint David's Day with the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards. It started with a Band concert on Saturday night in Holy Trinity Garrison Church, followed by a lively night in the Mess. The day started on Sunday with a church service including a rededication of the Falklands Cross, and then the parade at Combermere Barracks were the traditional leeks were distributed by Major General Christopher John Ghika CBE
There is a full gallery of pictures HERE :
At the Welsh Guards annual Saint David’s day service on the 1st March, the Falklands Cross was rededicated and placed in its new home at the Garrison Church in Windsor. The cross was one of the simplest yet most poignant memorials of the Falklands War: a roughly hewn wooden cross, carved and erected by the boys to honour the 32 fallen comrades killed by an Argentinian air strike on the Sir Galahad. The cross, which was first erected at Bluff Cove in the Falklands Islands in June 1982 was blessed, rededicated and installed in the garrison church in the Battalion’s new home in Windsor.
There is a full gallery of pictures HERE: