BIRD FAIR – Day One!

Lee Evans with Keith Betton, Chairman of the African Bird Club.

Lee Evans with me.

Photographer Richard Brooks, chatting at the British Birds stand.

Richard Brooks and David Tippling, chatting at the British Birds stand.

Winner of the 'British Birds' Photograph 2012 – Edmund Fellowes
See his picture and the runners up HERE

A warm day but with some serious rain and wind on and off throughout the day, which I naturally managed to avoid completely!!!

It was nice to bump into and have a chat with Kit Day who is for me, one of the more awesome photographers around, Roy Robinson (ex NOA Walsey Hills warden), THE Delia Todd (BF Mod. – lovely to meet you!) along with BF's Steve Kirk and Andy Bright, LGRE in black suit, Keith Betton, Chairman of the African Bird Club, Derek Moore, Bill Oddie, Pete Coe, Sue Bryan and also a lovely couple I met in Lesvos a few years ago! I must be feeling ill as I couldn't be bothered to take photos today or queue up to see SK!!!! I was just happy to waltz about and chat to old aquaintances. Why people were wearing wellies I really don't know, I was in walking sandals and didn't get very muddy at all, much too hot to be wearing anything more than sandals!

I bought a Canon 7D strap as the one on my camera is dangerously worn. Collected quite a few lens cloths today! I also bought an amazing turquoise ring from the 'amparo' stand – the ring is made from 'Tagua', which is the hardened fruit of the Ivory-nut Palm Tree.

Because of the rain, it was very difficult to get a seat/table for lunch - a very nice gentleman got up to give me his seat as he 'was going soon anyway' - how kind was that! When the man left with his three friends I moved a chair next to me, to have it immediately snatched from me from a very rude lady who said 'I got this first'. The aggressive way that she said this, didn't even warrant a reply – I let her have the chair that I was going to keep for someone else to sit on. Isn't it funny how you can meet someone so kind and another so rude all in under a few minutes! After my vegetable pasta and calorie counting dessert I hot-footed across to the main Event Marquee to get a seat to listen to Simon King, then straight after that listened to David Lindo's event and then finally the British Birds Photography Awards Ceremony – see the pictures here.

Walked back to the carpark and moved the car a bit closer to the entrance gates and walked back for Bill Oddie and Stephen Moss's 'Unplucked' event which started at 7.30pm and finished at 9.30pm. Bill and Stephen were brilliant and Bill had the crowd roaring with laughter especially with the tale of the Scottish warden and black grouse - he took off the scotsman brilliantly. There was a fifteen minute interval at half time. I was so tired at this point, I just had to go home, so politely used the interval to exit and go back to the carpark and drive home.