grey heron

The Grey Heron, is a wading bird of the heron family Ardeidae. You will see them throughout the United Kingdom, usually with there feet in rivers, ponds, any stretch of water where they are likely to catch a fish. They will also feed on small mammals, frogs and even grubs. They are tall slender birds with extra long legs and have a graceful, slow flight. They generally nest and roost high in trees, where, due to their size and long legs they can look quite ungainly.

I was lucky today, I was able to observe one fishing in the river Allan at Bridge of Allan, totally oblivious to my attentions and the passing traffic. The photographs are taken from the bridge.

After the series of photographs I have added an old Scot's poem about a frog (puddock) in which a grey heron takes a leading role.   (The poem is in old Scot's and may be difficult to read, even for a Scot)

take off

not far

ease back

landing gear down

The Puddock

A puddock sat by the lochan's brim,
An' thocht there wis never a puddock like him.
He sat oan his hurdies, he waggled his legs
an' cockit his heid as he glowered thro' the seggs.
The bigsy wee cratur' wis feeling that prood,
he gapit his mou' an' he croakit oot lood:
Gin ye'd a' like tae see a richt puddock', quo' he,
ye'll never I'll sweer, get a better nor me.
I've fem'lies an' wives an' a weel plenished hame,
wi' drinks fur ma thrapple, an' meat fur me wane.
The lassies aye thocht me a fine strapp'n chiel,
An' I ken I'm a rale boony singer as weel.
I'm nae gaun tae blaw, but th' truth a maun tell,
I believe I'm the verra MacPuddock himsel'.

back on the lookout

A heron was hungry an' needin' tae sup,
sae he nabbit th' puddock an' gollup't him up;
Syne runkled his feathers: 'A peer thing', quo' he,
'but puddocks is nae fat they eesed tae be.' 

J M Caie

victoria pendleton

Victoria Pendleton apologised for 'only' winning a silver medal in what was her last Olympic race.

She is not the only Great Britain and Northern Ireland competitor to have apologised during these Olympics for failing us.

The unrealistic pressure heaped on these athletes by a ruthless media is shocking. While at one level I have enjoyed the actual events, what has spoilt the whole Olympics for me is the unhealthy media circus and jingoism. By ten o'clock every night we are fed our medal soup, then the late news force feeds us the same dish, closely followed by the  round up programme, where, you are ahead of me, it is all plated up and served again.

If I were a cynical soul I would wonder if the whole British Broadcasting coverage is orchestrated to take our minds of the other events going on in the world at present. Little mention of fraudulent bankers, world affairs are relegated to a two minute slot between more flags and the National Anthem. They have also done a grand job in deflecting our minds from the obscene cost of it all.

I have a message for our silver and bronze failures. Stop apologising, certainly not to me. For what it's worth, not a lot probably, being good enough to compete in the Olympics is a success. Getting a medal, any bloody medal is brilliant. Well done each and every one of you. 

You failed nobody.

Back to Victoria Pendleton; I think the judges or is it Commissars, made a terrible decision when they relegated her after the first sprint. A jobsworth decision with no understanding of what actually happened. Victoria was slightly in front, the Australian rider, Anna Mears, bored in on her from slightly behind and above. If any of you experience that you will know and the Commissars should know, the only way to counter it and to actually stay on your bike, is to lean back into the person boring into you. It is instinctive, the only way to keep your balance. The other rider then eases back and with the pressure being released you automatically, still trying to keep your balance, move slightly to the side where the pressure had been applied. It was a terrible decision, an easy decision and one that anyone with no courage would make.

I think that Victoria Pendleton almost lost heart in the second sprint and in effect the Commissars ruined what should have been a classic encounter.

Victoria, you of all people have no need to apologise, you are role model a star. Thank you.

Lastly, there is nothing to debate, Hoy and Redgrave are both great Olympians. There is no best, that is a stupid concept dreamt up by the media. Ignore the media, the journalists, most of whom could not run for a bus. In there jaundiced world all that matters to them is digging up some angle to fill copy or air time. They are not your friend. There are and have been many great Olympians. To get into a debate about who is or was the best is pathetic and does them all a disservice.

true olympians to the fore in cycling events

lizzie armitstead with silver

I watched both the female and the male cycle road races last weekend. I found both absorbing and thrilling. For anyone the least interested in sporting tactics such races are a must.

In terms of the cyclists representing the United Kingdoms of Great Britain and Northern Ireland I was so impressed and although neither race provided a winner, both races provided sheer raw courage, drama and sportsmanship of the highest order. I suppose I was a wee bit disappointed, but not for long. Both in the men's and women's races the GB and NI racers gave all they had. One cannot ask for more.

Lizzie Armitstead was absolutely brilliant and I take my hat off to her. I was standing in front of television shouting my encouragement. The Netherlands rider was just that smidgen better on the day and well done to her.

In the men's race the GB and NI riders, remember they are not a team, were again magnificent. Perhaps in the private of their base they might discuss how their tactics played out, so what? To repeat myself, they were magnificent. Four riders, Wiggins, Froome, Millar and Stannard gave everything they had and drove the main group for the majority of the 255 kilometre race all to get Mark Cavandish into contention in the final kilometre or two, from where he would have blasted all other riders away. But some of the other world class riders were perfectly aware of that and formed an alliance designed to negate the Cavandish threat. As it turned out, a successful alliance. Good for them, because this is a sporting competition with more than one set of tactics available to the players and that is part of the fascination.

mark cavandish

Wiggins, Froome, Millar and Stannard are true Olympians. Last Saturday these four riders gave every thing they had in the pursuit of an Olympic Gold Medal. And so they should. However they did not do it for themselves. They rode the equivalent of Inverness to Stirling, a distance that some people think twice about driving or even travelling in a train to complete, to try and get the medal for another cyclist. This was not a team race, there was to be no team prize, not shared medals, nothing. Yet despite that knowledge these guys willingly and courageously rode themselves to a standstill for someone else.

I cannot praise them highly enough, magnificent is only a word, it does not seem enough.

I think however that the Olympics hierarchy need to rethink these events. If they allow a country to have a maximum number  of riders, then they should consider that to be a team and award medals accordingly. If not, then only allow one person from each country should compete.

Consider football, or soccer to some. A medal winning team may well have a player, or more,  sit in reserve on the bench during the whole competition and not put one foot over the white line, yet still be awarded a medal.

Then we have the Chinese and South Korean Badminton players. What was Olympian about their performance?