The Common Buzzard Observed Then Flew Away.

Showing Paul the grounds at Holkham Hall, where the Earl of Leicester lives was something to behold. The grounds were magnificent and there was a big herd of deer grazing on the park land. We saw a Common Buzzard fly over us and the raptor knew we were observing it. It circled and then flew off towards a line of trees.

We also saw a barn owl swoop down across the lake. As my son, Paul comes from the southern outskirts of London, he was rather taken by the open space and the grand stately home of Holkham Hall.

As we turned and began to walk across the parkland back towards the main gates, a Barn Owl flew over the lake. It was so quick that most of the shots were not too good. However, one was enough.

Next came the deer herd and Paul began to film on his mobile phone. I think it was for his daughter Leah. She is at school and was unable to come up to the Fenland on this occasion.

HMS Thunder Child Offers a Tantalising Horderve to the Martian Fighting Machine.

The Martian fighting machines lingered and seemed perplexed as the small craft approached.

What is it?

To late!

Ker-boom!

The abominable edifice staggered with the impact as the shell ripped through it.

The little thing had a vile and wicked sting!

The HMS Thunder Child Allows the Martian Fighting Machine Chew on a Smashing Chunk of Steel.

It was a taste of things to come.

Paul on the Way to Wells Next the Sea.

Wells Next the Sea seems like a quaint name indeed, but that is what the seaside town is called. We stopped off at the grounds of Holkham woods and wondered along the bridal path. We killed a couple of hours along the beach and in the woods and bird watching from the hides. We walked around the narrow lanes, had a bag of chips and an ice cream before heading back towards Holkham Hall Estate. It was a windy but pleasant day with moments of clear blue sky.

We told Paul of the tiny house and when he saw it, he was very surprised and amused by how tiny the place was. He decided to have a photo taken for his daughter, Leah to view. I think she will be amused too.   

From Across the Marshland Came the Raptor as though Upon Request.

My son, Paul had come to stay with us in March, Cambridgeshire. He lives in the southern suburbs of London. Therefore, he seems to be very taken by the wide open spaces of the Fenland. Carole and I told him of the A148 road that goes along the Norfolk coastline by the wash. It has some great sandy beaches, fine woodland and fields that have quaint little stone cottages nestle within.

There is a multitude of wildlife and other wonderful things to see. At one point we stopped at Holkham where the drive goes down towards the beach. There is a line of conifer trees with a bridal path behind the open marshland. We told Paul of the bird hide here, where we often look out at the Marsh Harriers hunting.

As we got out of the car one such raptor made an appearance as though on request. I started clicking away with my camera.

The Boatyard on the River Nene.

I thought this boat was grand for the waterways of the Fen.

It was the last day of work today, before having four days off. It has been a little vexing this shift because I've managed to break two work vans. Both are in the fitters awaiting repair. The third truck I've been using is a little Isuzu with a container cage at the back. Hopefully, when I go back on Saturday, I'll have my own truck repaired.

My workmate, Kenny, asked me to leave the Isuzu in the dock yard for him as he is in tomorrow and will be using it. Therefore, I drove it to Wisbech docks and into the boatyard.

I was taken by all the boats in dry dock and the huge crane/sling that lifted the boats out of the River Nene and onto the dockside for various types of repair work. I had a little wonder around and took a few photos on the mobile phone camera.

My fancy was caught by a small canal boat with a low draft. It is not for the open sea but more for the waterways of the Fens. I thought it might be a wonderful craft to have.

There were also boats for the high seas too. Although some needed rather a bit of TLC before being put back along the Nene and out into the Wash and then the open sea.

Hull restoration well on its way. 

Another waiting for a refit and touch up.

I'm told this one goes to the off shore wind farms.

The boat hospital

Various boats awaiting attention

The sling that drops below the hull then lifts vessel out of river Nene.

Oystercatchers and Chips Along Hunstanton Sea Front.

Although it is still winter, the weather does seem to be a little milder as we drift towards spring. My wife and I decided to go out for a drive to Hunstanton. It is about twenty miles from where we live. Perhaps a little more, but not much.

We went to the town centre, upon our arrival, for a cup of coffee and a scone. After this, we went to the bakery and bought a couple of pies for a dinner in the evening. We put our bought items back in the car and decided for a walk along the sea front. I had a bag of chips and the gulls and ducks zoomed in and around us. 

Carole made the mistake of feeding some chips to the ducks. To our surprise, the jealous gulls swooped and squawked about our heads, as though protesting. "Hey! Where are our chips?"

After a while, Carole tipped the remnant of uneaten chips on the pavement and the noisy gulls feasted. They were like a giant collective vacuum cleaner. The chips were gone in seconds.

We walked and chatted for some time. I saw some strange type of bird on the rocky beach and asked Carole if she knew what they were. I'm always trying to catch her out. However, she always seems to get them right.

"I think they might be Oystercatchers," she replied as though unsure.

I had never heard of such a bird and Carole did not seem too convincing. I thought I had come across one she had not seen. I would be proved wrong. I photographed one and when we got home and looked the bird up, sure enough, Carole was right - again.

Why Are We Compelled by Fantasy and Science fiction Book Cover Design?

Why are we allured by science fiction and fantasy book cover design?

1. What catches the eye?
2. Are Front Covers Important?
3. Have You Been Mislead by a Striking Cover?

Don’t judge a book by its cover is what everyone has been taught from school. Kids who disliked reading were told to go beyond the cover page and at least try to read. Very often great joy was found in reading and many young readers found science fiction books intriguing or enjoyable, sometimes just because of the cover. But why do readers enjoy science fiction books & sci-fi book cover design?

Science fiction more so than fantasy stretches the imagination to the point of believable with technology that could become real one day rather than magic that could never be. There is something seemingly geek about Science Fiction, not only does it set the mind racing but in a number of readers is sparks the fire of invention.  For some unknown reason the cover design, that masterpiece of art that adorns the front and even the back of the book is the trigger.

The cover design is very often how the author sees or imagines his or her story, landscape and surroundings. There is an immediate ‘this could be real” that entices a science fiction reader, in the same way, those who don’t enjoy Science Fiction are turned away. There is something unique about a science fiction cover, Isaac Asimov and Arthur C Clarke are among the masters of Science fiction bordering science fact whose book covers and writing are still believable today.

With Asimov and Clarke, some of what they wrote or had drawn as science fiction has become science fact today and this is what drives and inspires readers of Science Fiction. Turning the ordinary into the extraordinary, making the unbelievable strangely believable is what science fiction readers enjoy. Keeping the facts of science just out of reach and enabling it to be touched through the imagination. Cover design and illustrations add Technicolor or full HD to the pictures in the mind and there is actually nothing geek about it.  Just as those wanting something steamy to see images in 50 Shades of Grey so a science fiction reader will get the same thrill from planets, galaxies and battles in far away, non-existent (maybe) places.

There is a degree of ‘what if” with science fiction, a deeper form of escapism that few genres can deliver. Yes, it comes close to fantasy but fantasy can never really be, but science fiction is never really very far away from science itself. There are no schools like Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in the real world but there are universities that study and experiment with the stuff of science fiction. For science fiction there a true and very real space station a real Hogwarts if you like. With science fiction, because science exists the reader is able to believe and the “what if” is being challenged in the real world.

The geek in science fiction comes from believing in what others struggle to believe in. It is a different kind of belief to fantasy such as David Eddings and J.K. Rowling and vastly different still to the Bible or Koran. However, there is a belief, one that inches ever closer to reality as each page is turned. The cover design merely plants the seed; if the cover design is striking yet believable, it sets the tone for the book. Once the tone is set the reader can believe, ask “what if this could be?” and know full well that it is closer than they realise.

So, why do readers enjoy science fiction books & sci-fi book cover design?  The answer is clear; it is a glimpse into the future using storylines that are no different to those we have been told since childhood. The good versus evil and happy ever after are simply jazzed up, but unlike the fairy tales of bears, bowls of porridge and little girls sleeping on “just perfect” beds, with science fiction things could be and quite possibly are real.