Celebration of Freedom installation, Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, from 9 January – May 2026.
These are cut from sheets of metal; they are flat holes cut to make the faces, etc
Satues.
Recovered from the Deep.
The Mary Rose was Henry VIII, flagship, built in 1511. She famously sank in the Solent in 1545 in full view of Southsea Castle. She took most of her crew of 500 souls with her. She was rediscovered in 1971 and raised in 1982. The part of the wreck that had become buried in the silt survived, and thousands of recovered Tudor artefacts, including personal items and weapons, were recovered.
In 1982, at the age of 22, I watched the raising operation of the Mary Rose live on TV with my grandfather. I remember his comment at the time. “What a waste of money to get a load of firewood off the seabed”!
The museum in Portsmouth Dockyard demonstrates that the salvage of the Mary Rose was a unique opportunity to snapshot into Tudor history. Over 19000 artefacts, along with the remains of the ship and crew, were recovered from the wreck site.
Archaeologists recovered 137 whole longbows and 172 part bows. There were also 3,500 arrows. Before the recovery of the Mary Rose, there were just 5 surviving longbows from medieval England known to exist.
link to the Museum,
Worming.
The Curlew is one of my favourite waders. I never tire of watching these large waders, whether on our coast in winter or on the moors during their nesting season. Not only are they a pleasure to see, but their call over the mashes is also a joy to hear. Just one picture today, and a video – something I have not captured before, a Curlew catching a Ragworm.
Kingfisher.
A female Kingfisher at Titchfield Haven National Nature Reserve. The female bird is identified by her orange lower beak. Despite the poor light, I was happy with today’s pictures.
Reed Bunting.
A pair of Reed Buntings. The male bird sports a striking black head in the breeding season, but as we are now in winter, this has become duller. Females are brown, making them harder to distinguish from females or other brown birds. Note the female bird in my picture is ringed.
Grey Plover.
Spotted a few Grey Plovers on Keyhaven Marshes near Lymington, Hampshire yesterday. I also see them regularly on the mud on the River Hamble. I have only seen them in their winter plumage; usually, I find them fairly difficult to photograph decently due to how far off they are.
In summer, they have silver and black spotted upperparts, a black face, neck and belly. In winter, they lose the black feathers and take on a grey look.
Swan Lake on ice.
A Winters Tale.
Monday, we had our 1st snowfall of the year, just a few centimetres, but enough to blanket the road and countryside for a few hours. By Tuesday morning, the snow had gone, but we were left with freezing temperatures and a lot of ice.
Frozen lake at Eastleigh. Just one corner with open water.
Drake Mallard on the ice.
Great Crested Grebe. On open water.
Hen Pheasants.
Fieldfare.
Fieldfares are the largest of the thrushes; they visit Britain & Ireland during the winter months. They start arriving on the UK’s eastern coasts from western Russia and eastern Europe during early October. Numbers vary each year and are dependent on berry crops closer to their breeding grounds. Fieldfares move in large numbers in search of berries.
Continued Reflections from my World. 