Just one Snipe at Hatch Pond this afternoon in fading light. But there was a nice Little Egret preening and a Common Buzzard perched outside the #Honeywell offices!
@dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social @harbourbirds.bsky.social @dorsetwildlife.bsky.social

Visit to Bramble Bush Bay today yielded terrific views of a Great Northern Diver (plus crab!)
@harbourbirds.bsky.social @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social @dorsetwildlife.bsky.social

Took us by surprise. Popped up from the Metro into this huge crowd. Road was closed all the way down from the Arc de Triomphe

We were on the Champs Elysee when they turned the lights on in November. Magical

Did this trip in April this year on our way to Sorrento, although we had to overnight in milan before taking the frecciarossa to naples.

You can do london to milan in a day already. 9:30am eurostar to paris then hop across to gare de Lyon and take 14:48 TGV direct to milan. Arrives 21:50 CET. Great views of the Alps and the unusual sight of customs officers with dogs going through the train as we crossed into Italy.

Fox up a tree. "I don't think they can see me"
@chrisgpackham.bsky.social #Foxoftheday

Our local fox has forsaken its earth and has taken to roosting in the trees at the bottom of our garden!
@chrisgpackham.bsky.social #FoxOfTheDay

I remember once after a radio test run on a TMST, as it was still called then, before going into service that we stopped at Sandling so we could get off. The passengers waiting for their slam-door train were very confused!

Part of our routine at the start of a trip to #Paris on #eurostar

We were asked by a film crew to take a lower path near Dartford Rifle Range so we would not be in their shot 🤣. The sound of gunfire was disconcerting!
@riverthamessoc.bsky.social

Lack of a bridge when we needed to negotiate the Darent river where it meets the Thames meant we had to walk 5 miles just to end up 50 yards further down stream! The Crayford Marshes are very bleak as you would expect, but views of a Marsh Harrier were some consolation.
@thamespathnt.bsky.social

Set off from Slade Green to walk back to our base near the Dartford Crossing on our #sourcetosea walk along the Thames. Storm Benjamin was forecast to give high winds and heavy rain but in the end it was fairly dry and just quite blustery - had much worse on the @southwestcoastpath.bsky.social

We were delighted to spot a couple of seals. They didn't seem to mind the murky water

Today was from Woolwich to Slade Green near Erith which we chose purely to balance the distances with the next two days.
Lovely autumn weather for walking. Met a nice chap who had just bought a carbon bike in Maidstone and was riding it back home to the South Bank.
@riverthamessoc.bsky.social

Back again for the final part of our walk from #sourcetosea
Definitely getting to the gritty end of the river. Lots of semi-derelict industry and certainly no gentrification once we left Woolwich Arsenal behind.
@thamespathnt.bsky.social

Young man wearing a denim jacket and hoodie using crutches while standing outdoors against a large rock formation.

Lewis was diagnosed with adamantinoma in his shinbone at just 8 years old.

For #BoneCancerAwarenessWeek, he shares his powerful story to raise life-changing awareness of the signs & symptoms 🎗️

Visit: ow.ly/4wEJ50X5J4N

@letsbewheel.bsky.social

#CouldItBeBoneCancer #Awareness #UntilTheresACure

Hope you had a dram to compensate🥃

Hope you had something with it!

When it first entered service the passport checks for the destination country were down once the train was en route. In case of problem passengers each train included two "lock-ups" complete with shackles to stop you escaping!

The driver's cab interior was designed in Manchester which is where I visited it in 1991. At that time it had the traditional French "steering wheel" type of power/brake controller which was later changed to the arrangement seen here being driven by me on the training simulator at Waterloo!

It was rumoured that because of the problems in Ireland at the time that the coaches had secret hatches in the bottom so that the SAS could storm the train in the event of a hijack!

A Eurostar parked up somewhere in France before the tunnel had opened - notice it is plugged in by a mains cable at the front! This might have been pre-series 2, the first full rake. Other photo is the original Business Class seating.

The Cab Radio for the TMST/Eurostar also had to automatically switch between the 4 different ground systems on the route, although the ET system was largely the same as in the UK. All used VHF radio in the same frequency band but were very different at a technical level.

Siemens in Poole in the UK designed and supplied the Cab Radio for the TMST/Eurostar. I was fortunate to be the lead engineer on the project for Siemens. Learnt the French for all sorts of technical things!

Osprey caught big fish near Turlin Moor about 16:00 and flew off over Holten Lee. Also Marsh Harrier quartering over railway embankment. Both seen from Rock Lea viewpoint
@harbourbirds.bsky.social #lytchettbay #dorsetbirds @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social

Slightly (but only just!) better photos of this morning's Osprey/Eagle encounter. Someone might be able to tell what sort of fish was the unfortunate third party!
@harbourbirds.bsky.social @ukoi.bsky.social

As the Terminator said "We'll be back!" Intending to carry on to Gravesend, the town where Lesley was born.

After our @thamespathnt.bsky.social walk we had a day at the London Wetlands Centre operated by @wwtworldwide.bsky.social
Super chuffed to spot this Bittern lurking in the reeds. Not the greatest of shots but it was hot and we were over 300m from the bird
@btobirds.bsky.social