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BB1831 : The
Kingfisher Flusher
Wednesday
19th September 2018
Very
high waves with long overhanging crests; foam in great
patches blown in dense white streaks along the direction
of the wind; the surface of the sea taking on a white
appearance; the rolling of the sea becoming heavy; visibility
affected. That is the official description of what you
can expect at sea when a storm arrives.
What
can you expect when the storm hits land? In our
case it was lunch in the Hare & Hounds at Levens,
washed down by a couple of pints of best. Whilst
James plus Mikes B & T supped with me, outside was
a torrential downpour and a screaming wind.
Fortunately,
as predicted, the rain stopped and the wind lost much
of its enthusiasm other than in short gusts. It
was still strong enough, however, to speed us through
the village and up the hill to Helsington's lonely St
John's Church.
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Looking
back to Morecambe Bay
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Coniston
Old Man in cloud
I
had half hoped that at least one of my companions had
not been there previously so that I could show them
Marion
de Samuarez'
magnificent wall painting behind the altar but they
had all seen it. Instead, we crossed the fields
and dropped down to Sizergh Castle.
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Natland
and the Helm
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Sizergh
Castle in the trees
Here,
no attempt at a cultural stop was made. We were
on a mission to return Mike T to his home by 4:30. Consequently
we carried on down to the River Kent. I had worried
as to how the footbridge would perform in a 60 mile
an hour breeze but it is quite sheltered down there
and we had no problem.
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A
little further upstream, Mike T asked if we had seen
the Kingfisher. I hadn’t and I don’t think the
others had either. He said that it had just flown
into some bushes on the other side of the river. He
added that he would go down to the banking to flush
it out so that we could all see it. I was quite
dubious about this. I know that Stan is a Dog
Whistler but I have never known anyone be a Kingfisher
Flusher before.
He
set off down the banking so I took my camera out to
take a picture of him setting off down the banking.
As I was taking the shot he pointed and called
out “There it is.” Mike B saw it. James
saw it. I didn’t. All I had seen was the
tiny screen on the back of my camera. However
tonight when I processed the photos what should I see
in the picture but that bird. The Kingfisher Flusher
had lived up to his name.
OK,
the picture above is heavily doctored but if you click
on it you will see the original, the only amendment
being a pointer so you can follow the finger to the
fleeting flash of a flushed 'fisher in flight, flitting
swiftly downstream.
We
arrived back in Natland earlier than anticipated so
there was time to reward the Flusher appropriately at
the Post Office café.
And
what would that be? Kingsized Fried Fillet of
Fish? No, that was lunch time.
Don,
Wednesday 19th September 2018
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