Shelducks at Slimbridge WWT

Last night I suddenly remembered a previous end-of-term visit to Slimbridge Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust, and suggested a return trip. Although we are members, we hadn't been there since the start of the pandemic, and weren't sure how it would be.

The answer was...quiet. Ok, it was a Friday afternoon, 3.15pm in December. I wanted to see the new areas and structures, before the programmed event at 4pm, so I went walkabout while CleanSteve lurked with his lenses. There's so much to see, including an outdoor theatre and a mock-up of an arctic research station. Peter Scott, the artist who founded Slimbridge, was the son of Robert Falcon Scott, of the Antarctic exhibition. The Scotts' house is now a museum, but we couldn't see round it as we had not pre-booked. I am definitely going back soon. So much to see!

The highlight for us today was the 4pm wild bird feed with commentary. We sat in a heated conservatory, masked up, while the commentator went out with a barrow full of wheat and gave us a commentary on various birds, including the known characters among the Bewick swans, who return year after year from the Arctic to overwinter at Slimbridge. Progress has been made in encouraging hunters not to use lead shot, but their numbers are still in decline. Watching all the birds feed at once just beyond the glass was a rare privilege. I'm glad that that the unique coastline and wetland habitats of the UK afford so many opportunities for overwintering avians. 

CleanSteve will have some good  Bewick swan shots. I was just trying out my new phone cam. So you get shelducks because I like the colours. I only got the phone upgrade yesterday, and last night I made a mistake while attempting to switch it off. This morning I found I'd activated a feature called TalkBack, presumably aimed at partially sighted people, and the phone kept talking at me in an American voice, like Mission Control at Houston, reporting my every keystroke and saying my passwords out loud. I got so enraged I shouted at it repeatedly, 'JUST STOP TALKING'. It didn't. The neighbours were probably getting ready to call the police...

With the help of my laptop I eventually silenced the beast and got back to full functionality, which had disappeared when the Talkbot showed up. Phew! I'm never getting a new laptop AND a new phone in the same month, again. Too much learning. And most of my friends think I'm tech-competent! 

CkeanSteve and  I put up the fake Christmas tree and then I lit it, but was too depressed to decorate it. Right now, Christmas feels stressful, with travel plans and Omicron and not knowing who is having dinner with whom. I don't know if 'm doing the right thing going to Scotland, but I said to my mother that I would, so I don't want to let her down, and the carers need their Christmas breaks. Later, after I'd changed the music and spoken to one of my sisters and been to Slimbridge, I was able to decorate the tree. It's  tall and  a bit skinny but looks good now. 

I still feel muddled and unprepared for going anywhere. I wish we were driving, and both going.