Members of a huge flock of Dark-eyed Juncos were Partying-Like-It's 1999 until this gatecrasher arrived.

FOY

"Gatecrasher"

Attenborough NR

If you go down to the woods today, You're sure of a big surprise! Just as the party was getting underway, we had a visitor. Can I join in please?

ɪ ʜᴏᴘᴇ ᴡʜᴀᴛᴇᴠᴇʀ ɢᴏᴅ ʏᴏᴜ ᴘʀᴀʏ ᴛᴏ ᴄᴀɴ ʜᴇᴀʀ ʏᴏᴜ ɴᴏᴡ

๖ۣۜღ Body๖ۣۜღ

メ [LEGACY] Meshbody (f) Perky Edition [+] Petite (1.4) // by Legacy in Mainstore

メ Head // LeLUTKA Ceylon Head 3.0 // by Lelutka in Mainstore

メ Hair // DOUX - Yuka hairstyle // by DOUX in Mainstore

メ Skin // Not Found - Jo Skin // by Not Found in Access

๖ۣۜღ Apparel๖ۣۜღ

メ Outfit // ERSCH - Gatecrasher // by ERSCH in Tokyo Zero Event

メ Gloves // Vincue / Pattie Gloves - Noir // by Mug in The Warehouse Sale Event

๖ۣۜღ Accesories๖ۣۜღ

メ Collar // [CX] Sila Collar - Silver // by Cerberus Xing in Mainstore

メ Scythe // ::GB:: Death scythe // by Gabriel in AZARAN in Mainstore

Black-tailed Godwits and the odd gatecrasher tailing an Avocet.

Photography taken by Inveniet Mia and is sponsored by:

❀ Goddess Karma Backdrop by The Bearded Guy

✿ Gatecrasher -megapack- by ERSCH

For more details of the credits of the sponsors visit my blog findinveniet.blogspot at Post #773 you can find the URL- LINK to my Blog in my flickr page info "ABOUT ME"

maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Templemore%20City/139/22/31

At Anthem

- NU EARTH - Butter Board. Prune. Decor

..::THOR::.. Porch Bench

..::THOR::.. Folk Pillow Floral - Bonus

..::THOR::.. Lime Bowl

..::THOR::.. Limeade Board

..::THOR::.. Porch Hanging Plant - bonus

..::THOR::.. Porch Folding Table

dust bunny . potted wisteria . blue

At FaMESHed

[Rezz Room] Highland Calf Animesh (Companion)

At Equal10

BROKEN ARROWS - Buzios Hook Rack V.2

At Kustom9 ~

..::THOR::.. Rolled Blanket

..::THOR::.. Wicker Pouf - bonus

At Access ~

..::THOR::.. Weekend Cooler Bag

..::THOR::.. Food Containers

..::THOR::.. Food Plate

Other items used ~

HISA - Potter's Cottage

HISA - Floral Bouquet Vines - F - Blue

HISA - Floral Bouquet Grass - Blue

BROKEN ARROWS - Tatham - Vase - Light

[Rezz Room] British Shorthair Adult Animesh

Atelier Burgundy . Burgundy Farm Crate Worn I

.spruce. meir portable lantern {cream}

.spruce. aloe vera plant {seafoam}

Elm. Emily Console Decor ~ Book Stack

..::THOR::.. Glazed Jar - sage

..::THOR::.. Glazed Jar - cream

..::THOR::.. Spring Decorative Window

+Half-Deer+ Hydrangea - Blue - Big Tall

+Half-Deer+ Wisteria - Blue - Medium Vine

+Half-Deer+ Wisteria - Blue - Branch (R)

FINCA - Aloe Vera tall spotted

FINCA - Aloe Vera spotted

Mithral * Hoya Lacunosa Laos Speaker (Light Wood)

{vespertine} - market mesh bag w/oranges.

Nutmeg. Country Rug

zoehpiaggio.blogspot.com/2022/09/883-piaggio.html

BODY:

Skin: [a.b] - Christina @Dollholic

Left Hair: [no.match] - NO DISORDER @Salem

Right Hair: [FAGA] - Pucca Hairstyle @Tres Chic

Nails: [LIVIA] - Shattered Onyx

ACESSORIES:

Earrings: [RAWR!] - Musiq Earrings

Pose: [OMY] - Jessa

APPAREL:

Left Outfit: [ERSCH] - Gatecrasher

Left Boots: [Pure Poison] - Simina Sandals @ACCESS

Right Outfit: [ADD] - Melissa Bodysuit @Kinky

Right Boots: [Essenz] - Minnesota @Salem

Playtime at the bottom of the garden, and well..the teddies just had to come too!

Mid way through the tea party we were joined by a gatecrasher, I'll post that photo later!

What was going to be a picture of flowers until Freyja jumped in!

Ducks have a habit of gatecrashing my river reflection photographs. This one was being pursued by two fervently amorous drakes. It seems, Spring has arrived, at last.

I wish I could say that including the bee in the frame was planned, but it just gatecrashed the shot.

F.L.Y. = First Love Yourself

“This is love: to fly toward a secret sky, to cause a hundred veils to fall each moment. First to let go of life. Finally, to take a step without feet.”

- Rumi

Soundtrack : www.youtube.com/watch?v=dI30hRorelY

ONLY TO FLY – CHRIS REA

Zebra fly, zebra fly

what are you doing here

where are you going on this fine day

in your striped pyjamas

watching the panorama

can you hear the sea come in

to our little bay

have you been up to London

in your pin-striped suit

tell me was it busy

did you have a hoot

did you take your car

or did you just commute

Zebra fly, zebra fly

with your new Doc Marten boots

how I love the retro vibe

it's trending now in hot pursuit

with your big and stylish sunglasses

tinted red do you imbibe

a Pimm's and High Tea on the lawn

will you take a bribe

or can I gatecrash anyway

and join you on the bench

a Summer's day is here to stay

to leave is such a wrench

Zebra fly, zebra fly

please do mind the gap

at the station there are signs

next to the Underground map

you're looking good against the wood

you seem so cool; relaxed

your wings transparent, clear and bright

shining like they've just been waxed

Zebra fly, zebra fly

one more thing before I go

can a zebra really fly

an urban myth or no ...

- AP - Copyright © remains with and is the intellectual property of the author

Copyright © protected image please do not reproduce without permission

Happy Flyday and a Beautiful Weekend dear friends <3

The view from McMahons Point Wharf, Sydney.

One of my "go to" places on the harbour to sit down and chill, taking in the changing sights & sounds of Sydney harbour.

However, sometimes the scene at McMahons Point Wharf can be "gatecrashed" by random party boats with their disco music, etc.

So I drove into the city from the Hills District and managed to get parking along Blues Point Road right outside the 'Delicado' Spanish Restaurant. I then wandered down to the harbour at twilight, as the lights from the city buildings (across the harbour) were starting to reflect on the water near McMahons Point Wharf.

Now to the music!! Well probably disco music is the most apt for this 'Party Boat', but I am thinking 'Green River' by CCR.

BUT here is a very cool cover version of 'Green River' by the amazing American singer, Eileen Jewel. Check it out - it is awesome!!!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1oM5bDAlXk

Perfect for listening to on Spotify, via Bluetooth headphones, whilst sitting on McMahons Point Wharf at twilight.

My Canon EOS 5D Mk IV with the Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS II USM lens.

Processed in Adobe Lightroom and PhotoPad Pro by NCH software.

This one joined us on a picnic bench! Arachtober 21st Have a great weekend ;0) (Maybe best viewed large)

Gatecrashing the Tea Party...

Another quickie from me. I need to go back to bed :-( Blasted bugs aaargh! I am sure I will be okay tomorrow as I am now craving McDonalds of all things! Not sure it's a good idea though lol.

Firstly, the location - . There is an event going on here - Easter Joy Event and Hunt. I haven't done the hunt - yet! It is on until the 21st April so if hunting is your thing, head on over. Now for the FREE. Deets below:

#Tiffany Designs has yet again been uber generous and is giving away a 300L$ Gift Card with No Group Join Needed! I was shopping on hyper speed with mine, but even so I think I would have picked this outfit nonetheless. Perfect for Spring and Summer. It was 250L$, leaving 50L$ on my Gift Card which I may go back tomorrow and check out what else is available in store. Outfit is called - Summer Jeans Outfit and it is a fatpack with lots of prints and different colour denims for the shorts. Fitted for: Erika, GenX, GenX Curvy, GenX Curvy 1, Kupra, LaraX, LaraX Petite, Legacy, Maitreya, Maitreya Petite, Perky, Reborn and Waifus - .

Enjoy peeps! xxxx

UK & International Landscape Photography Workshops & Tours

www.melvinnicholsonphotography.co.uk/photography-workshops

Aurora Hunting (and failed), Derwentwater, Lake District

On Saturday evening (11th Nov 2023), my good buddy Chris Astley and I ventured up north to the Lake District in the hope of having me finally witness the aurora in the UK for the first time and also to capture it on camera. Sadly, no aurora was visible but we still enjoyed our time out in nature in the dark.

So, we firstly rocked up at Castlerigg Stone Circle near Keswick but it was almost as busy as Piccadilly Circus on a Saturday afternoon so after thirty minutes, we drove down to the road to one of my favourite places in the world, Ashness Landing Pier.

I would like to say that it was blissful and peaceful there (as you perhaps would imagine) but alas, there was a family enjoying a picnic in the dark and sat beside the pier (they were lovely and did not mind us gatecrashing their private party).

Once set up on the pier, a few shots were bagged before a group of young ladies arrived from the local hostel completed with glasses of wine in hand. Thanks to their understanding, they patiently waited a few minutes until we were finished before making their way onto the pier to enjoy the 'peace and solitude', lol.

Our final destination for the evening was the landing stages and the boats down at Derwentwater. This shoot took us up to 23:30 after which we made our way back home so I was in my chair enjoying a cup of Tetley's finest and a small fruit dessert in a bowl that I purchased in Takayama, Japan in April.

So here is just one image from my time in the Lakes. I hope you enjoy.

Fancy joining me next autumn in the Lake District? CLICK THE LINK below for details and/or to book.

melvinnicholsonphotography.co.uk/photography-workshops/la...

Nikon Z8

Nikon Z 20mm f/1.8

f/1.8

30"

ISO500

SIGN UP FREE for my regular NEWSLETTER

www.melvinnicholsonphotography.co.uk/newsletter

Official Kase Filters UK Partner melvinnicholsonphotography.co.uk/kase-filters

Website: melvinnicholsonphotography.co.uk

Facebook: www.facebook.com/melvinnicholsonphotography

Instagram: www.instagram.com/melvinnicholsonphotography

Threads: www.threads.net/@melvinnicholsonphotography

YouTube: www.youtube.com/c/melvinnicholsonphotographycom

Tripadvisor: Search for Melvin Nicholson Photography

“That looks like him.” Lee summoned up a piercing whistle in the direction of the figure by the shore that reduced my left ear to a bout of whining tinnitus, scattering a nearby group of oystercatchers into the air as he did so. It was helpful that Lloyd was in photographer mode, because it instantly gave him away when all we could really remember from our previous meeting was that he was quite tall, and he didn’t have the trademark beard that we had been expecting to identify him with. We all do photographer mode, and it’s what separates us from everyone else; edging back and forward, from side to side and peering intently at something that nobody else can see as we weigh up our compositions. “Should I stand here, or three inches to the left? Should I go forward a bit, or back ten feet? Should I have the tripod fully extended or belly down on the sand?” You don’t often see the selfie stick brigade taking quite so much care over where they’ve put that rock or whether they’ve lined up their repeating diagonals before they hit the shutter button.

I wasn’t sure I was going to be around for Lloyd’s visit, but the big plans to go far north to the Highlands and Islands had been parked for the time being, meaning a get together at Godrevy was now on the agenda. I’m always ready for a reason to go to Godrevy after all. Lloyd had already been here for some time, and you’ve probably seen the image he took before we arrived. We saw it first on the back of his camera so there. Just saying. It’s definitely his in case you were wondering.

Initially we headed for a spot that not many people make it to, on the rocks below a small cliff near the lighthouse, where it seemed we’d gatecrashed a party of one solitary seal, basking in the sunshine and watching us interestedly. I messaged my friend Katie, who in her spare time is a member of a sea life rescue group. Somehow in her busy life she manages to squeeze rescuing stranded dolphins, whales and seals among other aquatic mammals in distress, as well as photographing the underwater world and finding all sorts of fascinating things I never even knew existed. Who knew there was so much to see below the dark waters off the coast of Penzance? “Yes we’re monitoring it,” came the reply. “We think it’s just enjoying living there at the moment.” I looked again at the seal, which gazed back at me in return, almost smiling. I decided she was probably right. What wasn’t right was the light; we were here too early and retreated back up to the cliff path, watched as we went by a pair of black eyes that still seemed to smile. I never tire of watching the seals here – they usually come and watch me with interest as I pitch my tripod on the rocks just above the water here, no doubt wondering what on earth I’m up to. It always feels like a shared moment.

Back at the clifftop near the bench, Lloyd had a plan for sunset and made himself ready for the killer shot, while Lee eventually wandered away to the west, presumably in search of distant lone figures on the beach to stalk at two hundred millimetres. Meanwhile, I headed back down to the water’s edge where our new friend regarded me once more with those smiling black eyes, and giving it as wide a berth as it could I found my spot on the rocks, just in time for the sun to drop below the bank of cloud and illuminate the receding tide. Sometimes you just know you’ve got a shot that’s going to make you happy. After a while I decided I’d had the best of it, and returned to the top of the cliff, exchanging one last grin with those ever watching eyes as I went.

Lloyd was already at work behind the camera, and I joined him on a wide rocky shelf where we discussed the joys of photography and his plans for the rest of his visit. He was on a family holiday, and we all know that you can only get away with so much roaming around on lonely clifftops with your camera bag when your loved ones are with you. We stayed until dusk, neither of us sure when to give up and put the cameras away. It’s always like that when I’m alone here, and when you’re with someone who works in a similar way, that certainty in when to finish is often further fogged. But it had been a successful visit and we both left that clifftop feeling we’d got a shot or two worth sharing. We said our farewells and looked forward to Lloyd’s next visit when photography would be the central focus for him here. He’s rather good at it too.

I headed back down to those rocks a week later. The seal was gone. Maybe a pair of black smiling eyes were watching me from the water, but I didn’t see them.

It was long after closing hour and all the other visitors had gone home. The sheep and goats at Tierpark Sababurg were having some sort of a get-together for all their offspring born this year when I spotted this fellow lurking in a ditch. My guess would be that he wasn't really invited to the party. :o)

Well it seems Oink and Moo have got their way into the sheep field here , but I am not sure of what their plans are now they have got into the field !! I have to say , Oink & Moo are not their real names - they are in fact Napoleon and Ermintrude .

Shot taken for Saturday Self Challenge 15/06/2024 - Subject & Context !!

I think I have met the challenge with this shot , there is often a hay bale figure or two here and with these two as a subject it made a scene to meet the Saturday Selff Challenge . Now the theme for the challenge is Subject and Context and with Oink & Moo being the subject and the general scene of the sheep in the field making the context . This is the first sight any visitors see when coming to visit Bocketts Farm Park near Leatherhead .

So for a musical note I have gone with Pink Floyd and my choice being Sheep , could have done pigs or something from Atom Heart Mother or even as chosen by ssomeone who will remain nameless " One Of These Days " !! Totally inappropiate in this case and there is only one line of lyrics in that tracck !!

Anyway " Sheep " -- youtu.be/3GE-sfEbJ7I?si=gQ8d9HH8WlSYmbyF

This arcade off of Piccadilly Circus, Quadrant Arcade, has been boarded off more often than not. But it's open now for the first time in a long time. Stopping to take some photos in passing I didn't notice the people outside it taking photos of this young woman walking around it. So for a few moment I gatecrashed their photoshoot... but she seemed quite happy about it!

... no apples this year :-(

This Chameleon spent the whole night at my friend's party and before that went to a bar in town with her son. Had a drink (water) and returned to the party. There it ate a few stick insects and other night flying insects. In the morning it was still there so my friend and her son decided it should go back to its own habitat and managed to persuade the Chameleon to climb a tree. Eventually it went off to find another party to Gatecrash.

Costa Tropical, España.

This Web was trashed when this Hornet flew into it to steal this lunch! The Artist of the web came down to see off the intruder, took one look at the Hornet and quickly retreated up and out of the way! Once the Hornet had worked it's lunch free it flew off with it. Fascinating to watch. HWW

I used to think that people just went for a walk in the woods. Bill Bryson went for a walk in the woods – he walked large chunks of the Appalachian Trail with his dissolute friend Stephen Katz, in the suitably entitled “A Walk in the Woods.” Bears, hypothermia, shotgun wielding hillbillies, and most frighteningly of all, people who wanted to talk about hiking gear weren’t enough to put him off - although they frightened me a bit. I myself have twice walked pretty much the entire length of the east bank of Loch Lomond, twenty miles or more along a heavily wooded section of the West Highland Way. The most brutal section of the entire long distance trail in my opinion - but also possibly the most rewarding. Despite the occasional break through open ground where the mountains filled the backdrop to the opposite bank, I definitely felt that I was having a walk in the woods. Miles from anyone, with the exception of a few other long distance hikers gradually making their way north.

But it seems that I was wrong. Now I’ve learned that what we’ve all been doing is having a bath of sorts. We’ve been forest bathing in fact. Amble along peaceably, stop and cuddle the odd oak here and there, feel the love and then be interviewed by an outdoorsy type of celebrity for a spot on Countryfile. “Outdoorsy” didn’t cause the spellchecker to go into overdrive by the way. Who knew? I’ve always been suspicious of passing fads – terrified that I might stroll through a forest and bump into Gwyneth Paltrow hugging a Horse Chestnut or Will Young baring his soul to a Beech. But what I do find rather soothing is the sound of endless birdsong and the gentle rustle of life somewhere up in the canopy. There’s nothing quite like it. It seems I’ve been in the bath too – it’s just that I never realised that’s what I was doing. I’d better not accidentally bump into Paltrow as it seems that can turn out to be a rather expensive thing to do based on recent events.

Like many of you, each year I produce a calendar using images from the adventures of the last twelve months, and rather than simply compiling twelve shots from the September adventures in Iceland, I prefer each month to be represented by an image taken at the appropriate time. It’s not something I’ll ever be bothered to try and do commercially though, so sorry I can’t take orders – besides which yours is probably far better anyway. Just a dozen or so for family and a few close friends. A few days ago we turned over from Madeira in March to April’s feature and remembered that it’s almost a year since Ali and I took the van to the New Forest to do some forest bathing of our own. I’d forgotten how much I liked this picture. It was one that I’d intended to share at the time but somehow never did. On a still sunny afternoon, one of those when you knew that spring had truly arrived, we took a long circuit through the Ashurst Forest towards the heath, stopping here to enjoy the silence and snaffle a ration or two. Neither Paltrow nor Young appeared to be present, and nor did anyone else for that matter, famous or otherwise.

Of course I’d taken the camera with me, and the long lens did exactly what I hoped it would, eliminating the sky and blurring the background as I focused on the nearest subject. I tried a few compositions, but having the space filled with brown trunks against the yellow floor and the leading subject somewhere around the left hand third seemed the most pleasing version to me. Woodland photography is so often a struggle, but here it seemed simple enough with the regular forms before me disappearing softly into the distance, and the odd spring of fresh green growth to gatecrash the colour scheme.

And what better place to take a dip than in one of the most famous baths in the nation? Room for plenty of people to find their inner wotsit as they search around in the deep end for the soap and the loofah. A space in which to switch off and drop out for a while. Not that we were exactly over exerting ourselves in the first place of course. We’re retired and enjoying the golden years after all. But then again, there’s always another slow lane in which to ease down a gear, put up our feet and watch the rest of the world race by.

Barnacle Goose (Branta leucopsis)

Born in Kingston, Jamaica, Freddie Notes launched his career on the famous Vera Johns Jamaican talent show and promptly went onto cut his first record for Studio One Records. Immigrating to London in 1964 success soon followed when his band The Rudies recorded for Trojan Records. Hits came thick and fast: “Return from South Vietnam”, “Down on the Farm”, “The Bull” and the global smash hit “Montego Bay” making The Rudies the most in demand reggae band of the day.

In a golden age for the London music scene Freddie started a weekly residency at Soho hotspot The Cue Club run by fellow Jamaican musical pioneer and entrepreneur Count Suckle. Everyone came through there; Otis Redding, Ike & Tina, Small Faces, The Stones, The Beatles and Freddie was at the heart of it. He soon became lauded as Jamaica’s No.1 Entertainer, famed for not only his songs and voice but his electrifying dancing. So much so that he was once asked to leave the stage at Brixton Odeon whilst opening for James Brown, for fear he’d upstage the Godfather of Soul! “Mr. Brown doesn’t like that” a heavy handed security guard remarked at the time.

Little Richard offered Freddie a job as his dancer. Much to soul legend, and new found friend, Ben E King’s disgust Freddie turned the offer down. National tours ensued with The Kinks, The Nice and Arthur Brown. One famed night the founder of be-bop Dizzy Gillespee gatecrashed the stage to play mouth-harp with them. Mick Jagger befriended the band and invited them to perform at his wedding to Bianca. Then, just when it seemed they could do no wrong, The Rudies split. Freddie continued a solo career and went onto have an international success with his hit “Walk A Mile In My Shoes”. Under advice from his Wardour Street booking agent he turned down a role in Jesus Christ Superstar and set sail for the far-east, where he’d repeatedly perform ‘Montego Bay’ for the next few years.

In 1982 Freddie returned to the UK. Disheartened by the state of the country and lack of opportunity for kids to progress in life he set up the Ethelred Estate Community Youth Club in Kennington. Now into it’s 30th year he has seen off attempts by Lambeth City Council to forcibly cease the site to build flats at the High Court. His work has been endorsed by the Metropolitan Police and HRH Prince Phillip, and proudly, unfunded, Freddie still runs the club to this day.

I've been visiting a local loch after work for a while (with many failures) to capture a nice sunset. As it happens nearly two nights running we had some great sunsets. The light was short lived but the clouds were almost navy blue and the light was extremely vivid and golden lighting up the grasses beautifully. Spot the gatecrashing duck!

This has actually happened a couple of times in the last year and on both occasions by a sweet little kid who gatecrashed the shot at the last second.A great little runner she is too!

New post incoming for the amazing ERSCH!

This post features a older release in which can be found at the ERSCH Mainstore. I am wearing the full "ERSCH - Gatecrasher" outfit.

I adore this outfit soo much coming in the form of- Lingerie, Shirt/harness, Garters & Collar pins!

First off I love the garters & collar pins I believe they are alien bunbuns in UFOs! These accessories come with the godlike HUDs that ERSCH is known for. There are color options for the glowing buns & a good group of colorways for the leather of the garters!

The lingerie is fitted beautifully to the body and will be purrfect just on its own for making a tone of other looks. Coming in a great range of sizes including- Legacy, Perky, Lara, Petite, Kupra, Reborn.

This lingerie set comes again with godlike HUD's for the colorways with many options for colors which is great for mix & matching (in the fatpack of course).

The shirt.. Oh my gosh the shirt! I love the combo of half shirt & half harness on the one side. In the fatpack/ megapack the items are copy/mod, therefore I decided to go in and make the shirt part a little more seethrough for this look. The shirt comes in body sizing for- Legacy, Perky, Lara, Petite, Kupra, Reborn!

I highly suggest getting the megapack for this set, not only is it discounted in price but it opens a world of variation options for many different looks!

Taxi to the ERSCH Mainstore:

maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Lyrics/15/71/33

Taxi to the ERSCH Marketplace:

marketplace.secondlife.com/stores/167799

To see more shots and close ups as well as a list of items used in this post see my main blog here:

monimonimoni-ester.blogspot.com/2022/03/a-half-moon-brigh...

At first it was quiet. There was a large British party at the back of the terrace, and a young couple behind us speaking German, but apart from that, the place was empty. Of course the fact that most of the other tables appeared to be reserved should have given us a hint. We placed our order - one Zakynthian beef special and one Chicken Souvlaki, and filled our glasses. With water unfortunately, but then again I needed to drive back down to Alykanas after the meal. “Yamas!” grinned a charismatic waiter as he arrived with three unordered shots of something laced with cinnamon and cloves. The third was for himself. I smiled, while almost teetotal Ali grimaced at the ingredients as we drained our glasses. Well one tiny one wouldn’t hurt would it?

And then a distractingly beautiful young woman in a purple evening gown appeared and made for one of the tables on our half of the terrace, where she was rapidly joined by two friends in equally colourful and glamorous attire. That was just the start, as within moments a veritable flood of well dressed locals of all ages and sizes appeared, seemingly from nowhere, and quickly filled every table in the taverna. We’d inadvertently gatecrashed a wedding party. So many beautifully presented people, while we’d crawled in shedding sand wherever we went and looking like the bedraggled survivors of some freak accident in the middle of the Namib Desert. “Yamas!” cried our waiter friend as he visited the large British group and toasted them, along with one for himself of course. He was quite clearly enjoying his role. He reminded me a little of a children’s TV entertainer from my own childhood - one of the much loved and happily untainted ones of course. An avuncular amalgam of John Noakes and Johnny Ball, with more than a dash of mischief added to the mix. As the party gathered pace, heavily laden plates were dispatched to tables and a group of ladies found space to commence the dancing, Greek style of course. It was very convivial, even for the pair of us who fear parties above all other forms of human contact. “Yamas!” came another cry. I wondered how many shots he’d manage in the course of his duties this evening. Two starters arrived. Again, we hadn’t requested them, but our hosts were obviously in a benevolent mood. Maybe one of the staff had overdone the food order for the wedding party.

It was another mountains afternoon, we’d decided earlier on as we idled on the beach at Alykes. The cloud forecast was predicting a dramatic sunset hour, and a brief inspection of the map had found the cliffs at Kampi, a clifftop hamlet on the dramatic west coast. Zakynthos is very much an island of two halves. Much of the low lying areas to the east and south serve the tourist industry, while a drive up onto the high ground of the more remote north and west will lead you to a very different island indeed. The roads are delightfully quiet in October as you rise above the plains on twisting tarmac to embrace a world of bright green pines that fill every square inch of mountainside, while all around you lie neat olive groves, no two trees alike, bulging with fruit waiting to be harvested as soon as the holiday season finally comes to an end.

As we climbed to the edge of the hilltop town of Maries, two small children, brother and sister no doubt, waved a welcome to us from their roadside garden. A little further on a man looked up and smiled shyly as he tended his vegetable plot. I wondered how many visitors came this way on their own. Strangely enough, there were a number of tourist boats here, more than seven hundred metres above sea level, towed inland from the coast to be laid up for the winter. Maybe the owners know something the rest of us don’t, although I didn’t see any queues of matching animals waiting to climb aboard the sleeping vessels.

A little further on we crawled along the track through the silent huddle of buildings at Kampi, before finally arriving here at the viewpoint by the taverna where I’d suggested we refresh the calorie loads. With less than an hour until sunset I went into photography panic mode as the mackerel sky I’d been hoping for disappeared entirely, while Ali scoured the Tripadvisor reviews. I’ve learned to live with this, and it was no surprise to be told that we were going somewhere else for dinner. Not that there was anything that specifically troubled her about my choice, but of course hers would be better, and not so expensive. So here we were at the San Leon Taverna, with two enormous main courses. As things invariably go, she piled what she couldn’t manage onto my plate, a few minutes after which I was struggling to move. “Yamas!” went another cry across the crowded taverna. Things were getting lively as the desserts arrived at our table. We hadn’t ordered dessert either, but it was rude to say no. And despite all the extras, we were only charged for what we’d actually ordered. If you happen to visit the San Leon Taverna, my advice would be to fast for a couple of days in advance and make sure your appetite is sufficiently honed for the experience - especially if you get advance notice of any large social gatherings among the locals. The calorie loads had been refreshed rather more comprehensively than we’d intended. Ali's insistence on closely examining the runners and riders in the vicinity had paid off once again.

The waiter was still at the centre of an awful lot of Yamas related frivolity, and the young woman in the purple dress was leading the dancing. It was time to slip away into the night and nurse our bulging stomachs before we were invited to join in. As we drove slowly back towards our resort, we stopped twice on the otherwise empty road for hedgehogs as they sauntered across the asphalt. Maybe they were heading for one of those mountainside boats. Maybe we needed to check the rain forecast.

The slippery eel nearly gave a Cormorant the slip at the Sovereign Harbour Marina, Eastbourne, but after an impressive battle with a irritating Gull that also wanted the Cormorant's lunch, this determined cormorant finally managed to swallow his eel supper.

47712 passing Waitby with the 16.12 Skipton - Appleby on Tues 1st September 2020.

An unwelcome gatecrasher is seen scurrying off in the distance.

A shot I got earlier this month, been wanting a decent one of a Magpie for a while, this one gatecrashed the Kingfisher perch at Clara Vale for a couple of minutes.

First time I've gatecrashed a rather personal moment between two Burnet Moths.

365/196 - Year 10 Photo 3483

Sunset on Coco Cabana beach Dubrovnik

This year the bee hotel has increased its clientele. Last year there were two miner bees visiting. This year there are at least six. There is also an arachnid interloper, a zebra spider, who appears to be entering a completed incubation chamber for predation purposes. As you can see, it has excavated a little of the cement to make a comfortable entrance. We won't know of course whether it will be content with the first chamber only or whether it will systematically excavate right the way through the series of chambers to the very back of the cane.

whilst on my recent waterfall shoot i was scoring around for other shoots. i clocked this rotting tree on the water meadow and thought it looked interesting and then on closer inspection notice the little mushroom community and then even closer, a gatecrasher in the form of this slug chomping away. all in all pretty happy with the find and the little story thats playing out in it

Here's How Photo Contest #28 - Honourable Mention

Photolife Magazine - April/May 2011 Issue

Gatecrasher Advertising - 2011

Canadian Geographic Pets Photography 2014 - Page 30-31

My photographs may not be reproduced, redistributed, copied or manipulated under any circumstances without my consent. Please contact me if you are interested in using my photos. © Megan Lorenz.

Cyclist gatecrashing the 2017 Bristol Rainbow Run in support of the south West hospice

Ducky and Welly went to the Lee Valley Country Park today, and were a bit embarrassed to discover they had gatecrashed someone's stag do!

Brandon Hill Park in Bristol, Avon.

Also known as St Brandon's Hill, it lies in between the districts of Clifton and Hotwells. At the summit is the Cabot Tower, opened in 1897 to commemorate the 400th anniversary of John Cabot's voyage from Bristol to Newfoundland in 1497.

Brandon Hill was granted to the council in 1174 by the Earl of Gloucester, and used for grazing until 1625 when it became a public open space, possibly the oldest municipal open space in the country. During the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century it was a popular venue for public meetings by reform groups like the Chartists. In 1832, the hill was the location of the Great Reform Dinner, which was famously gatecrashed.

From 1840 onward Brandon Hill was improved with walls and walks. A crowd of 30,000 watched the launch of SS Great Britain from the hill on 7 July 1843. It remained a site of popular protest however, with 20,000 unemployed workers gathering at the top the hill in January 1880 to protest their situation.

The park is steep and is divided into informal gardens, a small nature reserve and open grassland. The two-hectare nature reserve has been run since 1980 by the Avon Wildlife Trust who have their headquarters beside the park.

The wildflower meadow includes ox-eye daisies, yellow rattle and knapweed. A pond provides a breeding site for frogs, toads and Smooth Newts. The butterfly garden supplies food for caterpillars and many kinds of butterflies. Birds such as jay, bullfinch and blackcap are seen in the reserve. Native trees and shrubs have been planted, and the meadow is cut for hay in July.

Information Source:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brandon_Hill,_Bristol

It was Thomas Heaton who’d shared the fact that there might be something worth visting at the bottom of the Exmoor uplands on the North Somerset coast. Most of the YouTube gurus I follow are based in the North of England, an area that takes a day of travel to get to from here, so it was quite rewarding to find one of them suddenly turning up in the South West. Not exactly on my own patch you understand, but near enough to think of it as local turf that we might reasonably get to in an outing. I love watching the likes of Danson, Heaton and Turner scouring the distantly dramatic landscapes of Cumbria, North Yorkshire and plenty more besides, but those places are just so far from home – in fact almost everywhere is a long way from here. I usually rely on some of you to show me the best of the world beyond the Tamar. One day I’ll head north and gatecrash your party armed with a bagful of camera gear. I promise.

The petrified trees of Porlock were certainly enough of a draw to be added to the proposed itinerary for the February trip to Somerset. It seemed that if we were lucky enough to have a spring tide high enough to make it over the big bank of shingle at the back of the beach, the marsh upon which they’d died might even be flooded. It was apparently for this reason that they are in their current condition. Unarguably past resuscitation, but forever preserved in salt. The wellies were duly included in the inventory just in case. I watched Tom’s video again, just a couple more times to see whether I could learn anything. In the preparations for the trip, a deal of hasty research took place on the subject of spring tides, a topic that none of us seemed to have spent much time studying before. But our visit to the area coincided nicely with the presence of the new moon that we had learned was the key ingredient to the possibility of us getting our feet wet once or twice.

As it happened, the tide times didn’t work. Those short winter days have their benefits for us togs, but nearly sixteen hours of blackout would pretty much cover all of the high tides. Call us half-hearted if you will, but we’d just about managed to crawl out of bed early enough to crawl over the dunes and be gratified by the arrival of a spring tide that washed beneath the stilts of Burnham Lighthouse. Porlock was that bit too far away to be certain of a result. It looked close enough on the map, but I’d driven much of that road before and past experience was telling me it would take an age to get to the car park before making the boggy hike to the site in total darkness. Still, we agreed we’d probably go there – after all in their minimalist setting the trees would be worth seeing whether they were surrounded by the Bristol Channel or not. Maybe we’d make it our last port of call on the way back home to Cornwall on the Friday afternoon. It seemed a bit of a trek to have to retrace our tyre treads all the way back to Burnham after all. Besides which, I was the driver and I didn’t want to spend the better part of three hours driving when daylight time was at a premium.

In the event, “Friday” came a day early as the imminent arrival of Storm Eunice concertina’d our plans. After a successful Thursday morning at the lighthouse, it was agreed that with the promise of a torment that might overturn high sided vehicles on motorways, it may be sensible to stay indoors for the big show, cowering under a table wearing a crash helmet and thermal underwear. Possibly other clothing too. The reservation meant that we would have to leave our digs on the day of the storm and head straight into the face of the oncoming tempest, and as you get older you become more intent on continuing life’s journey for as long as you possibly can. Besides which, I rather like the look of my car in its intended shape and condition – although it does need a wash. It wasn’t the first time we’d managed to book a photography trip in the middle of all hell breaking loose across the land either. Two years earlier, we’d hidden in our rented cottage at the edge of Snowdonia, at one point watching a seagull flying backwards past the living room window, courtesy of Eunice’s cousin Ciara. Quite how we’d managed to engineer such a situation on two consecutive adventures I’m not sure, but it was suggested we avoid February next time we do this. It’s so often the month when winter announces her exit with a tantrum or two.

It was a predictably long drive to Porlock, a pretty village surrounded by big Exmoor hills, seemingly cut off from the world and happily so at that. A bit further and we were at the weir, faced by one of those frightening car parks that threatens to drain your life savings if you mistype your registration number into the machine or wait for more than four nanoseconds before engaging with it and paying the fee. From here we ambled back along the lane, to the edge of the beach and then onto the salty marsh, where we trudged slowly and squelchingly around the sodden perimeter towards those skeletal shapes in the distance. It took a while, but we were glad we made the effort. Just the odd soggy jogger or dog walker pottered past as we lost ourselves in compositions, only the falling light and the ticking clock on that parking ticket eventually forcing us back towards the end of the trip.

The drive home commenced with an almost endless thirty mile dawdle through the darkness along narrow lanes beneath the drenched woodland canopy of Exmoor. Quite what breathtaking scenes we were missing will only be discovered if any of us are ever feeling bold enough to tackle that road to Tiverton in daylight, but I’m not sure I really want to. I’ve rarely been so pleased to see a motorway, and I’ve rarely been so relieved to end an adventure earlier than we’d really wanted to. The next day I hid under the bed, having given up looking for my cycle helmet (it was later discovered in the garage) as Eunice battered the world outside, bending the sycamores in the garden almost to breaking point and attempting to lift the solar panels from the roof and launch them into the neighbours’ gardens. News came through that an articulated lorry had indeed been overturned on the southbound carriage of the M5, holding up traffic for some hours, roughly at the time when we might not have been far behind it. I hope the driver got over the ordeal. Some togs were brave enough to get out and capture the action, but it wasn’t for me. Live to set up the tripod another day I think. After all, we need to get back to Porlock Marsh on a spring tide one fine day.