Tuesday 8th October 2013

It is the end of the 8th October. It has been a wonderfully golden afternoon, after burning the mist off, the sun shone down and the day was once again warm enough to sit outside. Or I would have sat outside had I not have been at work. Instead I sit behind a closed blind as the sun beats down on the harbour and English Channel beyond.



I mention this as today, or tonight, the weather is to change, and that will signal the end of these salad days. Temperatures are expected to drop ten degrees and then the wind will blow.



And blow.

But for now, we will make the most of these hours of sunshine.

Monday.

Jools had to head to the old folk’s place to give Nan a shower, so I was able to head straight home, and after washing up and feeding the cats present, I made a pot of coffee and went outside to read the latest issues of When Saturday Comes that had dropped through the letterbox. Scully mooched around my legs, demanding more food, the food in a different place and attention. Once the sun dropped below the house, the shadows became long and chilly, so I headed inside to wait for Jools to return.



I for dinner I made do with leftovers, in that we had cold turkey and fried potatoes. And scrummy it was too. I mean really good. I even tried Jools’ home-made chutney and found I liked it. A lot.

Once dark we headed to the cliffs to try to photograph the stars as the nights are dark what with it having been new moon on Saturday. It was pitch dark at the monument, but we took a torch and set up our tripods near to the edge of the cliff, but not too close. It is thrilling to hear the waves lapping far below. For a first attempt it was pretty good, and I think I have learned much. I got a good shot of the monument with the glow of Dover’s streetlights in the sky, but most of star shots were slightly blurred, this because my tripod, despite not having been used much, is over 25 years old, and not too stable. Next I hope to try shots with the Sigma instead of the nifty fifty I used last night. Anyway, after an hour of messing about, we headed up home to inspect our shots and settle down to watch the previous night’s Antique Roadshow, this is so we can watch the front garden at the same time so we can watch the badgers come for their breakfast of peanuts and fat balls.



And so, Monday ended and the weekend is just four days away.