Dick's Pics

By RichardDonkin

Basingstoke Canal near Bisley, Surrey

I was feeling out of sorts this morning but Gill persuaded me to take the dogs for a walk later this afternoon as the sun was falling low. We called at the National Shooting Centre, Bisley, first because I wanted to photograph some of the old pavilion-style buildings. It's a wonderful place, as if time stood still in the 1930s, with these colonial-style buildings that look as if they should be in India or Africa. The people at Bisley were very helpful to me a few years ago when I was asked to write a feature on shooting for the Financial Times. It was shortly after the Dunblain shootings and both gun clubs and shooting were facing criticism. But I've always found Bisley a very peaceful and friendly place, like one big scout camp.

We left the camp and drove towards Pirbright before parking on a military housing estate next to a drained section of the Basingstoke canal that is undergoing restoration. This is Deepcut. You may have read about the long-running concerns surrounding Deepcut Barracks after a series of suicides among young Army recruits undergoing training. I just feel for those children we saw there today, some of whom must have dads in Afghanistan right now.

The sun was streaming through the trees on to a path near the canal so I'm afraid a Blip picture of the Bisley pavilions will have to wait for another time. Now must go and pack for a flight tomorrow.

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