Southern passage

Taking the southern route home from the west country for once in a while, we had two events of interest.

First, somewhere to the west of Ringwood, we drove alongside a very long and shabby brick wall, about 5 feet high and looking like it was maybe 100 years or more old. From time to time there were elaborate gates suggesting stately home. However, no signs whatsoever of trusty activity; no invitations to cream teas or anything like that. Take a peek at Google when we got home to find that the place is Charborough Park, once the property of King Harold (the chap who fought and lost at the Battle of Hastings) and now the property of a conservative MP. Sufficiently old speak that the gardens are open just one or two days a year, on which occasion villagers are allowed to erect stalls from which to sell cakes. All in all rather an odd place, as can be seen from http://www.charborough.co.uk. How on earth do they manage to keep death duties at bay? How do they manage without turning their house and garden into an amusement park like all the rest of such people?

Second, somewhere to the east of Ringwood, we pulled into an Esso garage to take on coffee and petrol. While waiting, I noticed a bunch of rather striking birds in the neighbouring field. Very erect posture, dark on the back and light on the front. Birds with which I was not familiar but which looked a bit thrush like and for some reason I guessed fieldfare, a guess which the (rather naff) RSPB bird identifier confirmed. The first time I have had a confirmed tweet of one such.

PS: shall I write to what must be the very rich RSPB and tell them it is time that they upgraded their bird identifier? Funnel some of all those bequests from old ladies into their web site? Have a web site which is proportionate to all those marshes which they have bought up.