Day 290

There was a pair of martins circling round this house this morning. They kept dipping up under the verandah roof and hovering by the junction between the roof and the wall. From their behaviour I'd guess they're scouting out possible nesting sites. I do hope they decide to build a nest on the veranda. Where I grew up we had house martins nesting under our eaves for many years, so they'd be very welcome visitors. I didn't manage to get a good shot of their close-up hovering, but I did manage to get a half-decent shot of one of them as it flew past.

Here are some more shots from my photo shoot on Friday: a coot and two swans.

Last night I went to 'The Last Night of the Proms' at the local opera house. It wasn't very true to the original - the principal musicians were Wanganui Brass Band, rather than the London Symphony Orchestra, and there were all sorts of song and dance numbers that I'm sure have never featured in the original version. It was more like a variety show, really, but it was good fun, and at the end we got to sing most of the traditional audience participation pieces, such as Jerusalem, I Vow to Thee My Country, and Land of Hope and Glory. Load of imperialist, jingoistic bollocks, of course, but that didn't prevent me from having to wipe a tear or two from my eye in places. I guess I'm missing home more than I realised!