ABC Wednesday - I

I is for Inversion.

Above the clouds on Black Combe, a sturdy round hill of 1970 feet on the outlying south west corner of the English Lake District overlooking the Irish Sea.

Here comes the science bit - a temperature inversion occurs when instead of the air being warmer near the Earth's surface a warmer air mass moves over it. Normally occurring in winter these photographs were taken in early February a couple of years ago.

I think it is unusual being over the sea rather than land however all I really know is whenever and wherever it happens it is quite magical.

Looking out over the Irish Sea and Duddon Estuary

Now it has almost disappeared.
The last time I experienced one was more dramatic as it was in the middle of a mountain range so you could see miles of clouds with just the peaks of the hills showing through. Rather like the following clip of 'Paragliding Above An Inversion' however my feet were firmly on the ground. Looks like fun



To Indulge in more I go to ABC Wednesday

Q & A by Vikas Swarup

A darker story than its film spin off 'Slumdog Millionaire' but with a similar structure of the question asked and then the story. The experiences Ram Mohammad Thomas has had in life enables him to be able to answer the questions as he takes part in the Indian version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire. Arrested by the police he has to prove he is innocent of cheating by recounting how he knows the answers to the questions because, as an orphan slum dweller, how could he know. As he says "The brain is not an organ we are authorised to use. We are supposed to use only our hands and legs"

Modern India as experienced from he bottom of the pile travelling from Mumbai, Delhi and Agra backwards and forwards in Ram's life. (differing from the film which is a linear story). Confronted by dacoits, employed by aging Bollywood stars, exploited, shown kindness and friendship, discovering love and tragedy. All these things make Ram the person he becomes, an extraordinary everyman.

This is a pacey book with a compelling narrative looking at the underside of society but ultimately it is that old fashioned thing a fable of good triumphing over evil.

Verdict - Good read

Cherry Blossom

The cherry blossom has arrived this week. Hurray. The world is spinning towards the sun and spring is starting to arrive. If I lived in Japan perhaps I would be getting ready to go blossom watching and light paper lanterns at night but as this is the north of England it will not be such an event. Perhaps a haiku from the Zen master Basho will do instead

Spring night
cherry -
blossom dawn

Lets hope for another sunny day to see the fragile beauty of this flower at its best although it does brighten a rainy day.

ABC Wednesday - H

H is for Herdwick Sheep -

a hardy breed, native of the Lake District whose oily wool waterproofs it against the wind and rain in the wettest part of England. The name is derived from 'Herdwyck' meaning sheep pasture. When they arrived is not know but it is thought possibly somewhere in the 10-12th century.

Wherever you walk on the fells whether it is at 1000 or 3000 ft you will come across them steadily munching the grass or whatever else takes there interest. I have know some of the bolder ones taking an interest in sandwiches. In the following picture taken on Wetside Edge on the Coniston fells the farmer has supplemented their feed (although they don't seem too interested) so my sandwiches were safe.

Bred for hundreds of years to be territorial they are 'hefted' to the fell this means they will not wander off their traditional patch and stick to a particular territory. Hefted flocks are seen once a year when they are brought down to lamb.

Beatrix Potter won prizes for her Herdwick sheep (she bought farms with money from her Peter Rabbit stories) and in her will stated that they must always be stocked with this breed.

Alfred Wainwright dedicated one of his fell walking guides to "the hardiest of all fell walkers, the sheep of Lakeland, the truest lovers of mountains, their natural homes and providers of their food and shelter"

H is also for Hat
sometimes made of wool but not taken from Herdwick sheep as that is usually used in carpets. Here is Ron refusing to have his picture taken by hiding in his hat.
For a host of Hs go to and enjoy ABC Wednesday

ABC Wednesday - G

G is for Groyne. Used to prevent longshore drift and coastal erosion. The wooden groynes are the cheapest but only last for 15-20 years. These are the remnants of the ones on my local bay where more robust measures involving big rocks have had to be put in place.


Some pristine ones below at Whitstable in Kent in the more benign south. Good for sheltering from the wind in the British summer while pretending it is warm.

Here the waves coming in.

I have always lived on the coast and love the sea in all its moods.

I think John Masefield must have felt the same:-

"I must go down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide
Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied;
And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying,
And the flung spray and brown spume, and the sea-gulls crying."

For a galaxy of Gs go and take a look at ABC Wednesday

The Outlander by Gil Adamson

"At nineteen Mary Boulton has just become a widow and her husbands killer" so says the blurb on the jacket of this book. The year is 1903 and Mary flees from the Alberta prairies towards the Rockie mountains pursued by her two avenging brothers-in-law. She runs, escaping with no plan or direction in mind. Her very survival in the wilderness is in question but at each point when either hunger or disaster threatens she is helped on her way by the people she meets. Things happen to Mary rather than her influencing them as we start out, but her story gradually filters through as she journeys and we realise that she has had little love and affection in her young life but in this escape she may have found both but her life is still in jeopardy.

This is a great adventure story with luminescent prose bringing both the wild country and the people that inhabited these regions vividly to life. A tough heroine who can battle winter weather, illness and injury but whose character unfolds and develops in this page turning book.

I think the quote from Ann Patchett sums this book up "The Outlander deserves to be read twice, first for the plot and the complex characters, which make this a page-turner of the highest order, and then a second time, slowly, to savor the marvel of Gil Adamson's writing. The novel is a true wonder"

This is Gil Adamson's first novel. I hope she writes more.

Verdict: Highly Recommended

ABC Wednesday - F

F is for Feather

New species of giant bird leaves feather on Tarn Hows? Only in my imagination.

This is Caroline Dalton's contribution to the FRED art invasion last October. Unfortunately instead of floating ethereally about the tarn it is looking a bit worse for wear after a week of wind and rain and then the arrival of a "complex, active frontal system" which treated us to over 2 inches + of rain in 24 hours. These pictures were taken on the following day which was a beautiful sunny one.

Other famous feathers? The falcon's feather that Dave Scott of Apollo 15 took to the moon in 1971 to demonstrate gravity. Here he is doing the experiment



For more Fantastic Fs go to ABC Wednesday