Its is a simple task get in the boat sail to East Cowes go to boat show. Nothing quite works like that and this was my third attempt. In 2017 I had no crew, in 2018 I had crew and we spent the night on board. In the morning it was a steady force 7 forcast up to 8. So went for a little jaunt around Weymouth bay and back home. Went to the boat show on the Friday by car.

This was a gentle self guided walking holiday called "The Manor Houses of Minho" and was organised by Inntravel, The original booking was postponed as my artificial right knee had come loose and had to be replaced. We  were restricted on how long we could defer without penalty. My operation was on the 1st August and we set off on our walking holiday on the 23rd October. It would not be true to say I was totally confident of being able to do it, but hey ho what the hell.

In March 2016 we went on a tour of Costa Rica. Again it was organised for us by Reef & Rainforest it was not a group tour but just the two of us. It had been custom designed to meet our requirements.

On a gorgeous August day we took a walk along the coast from Lulworth Cove to White Nothe and back. We travelled out along the cliffs and back on the inland path. The cliff path is very steep and could be tricky if it is wet, but the inland route back is pretty flat but still with good views. We parked at Lulworth Cove which although very busy has a huge car park.

On the 18th February we flew out of London Heathrow to Colombo for a trip to Sri Lanka. The trip was put together for us by Reef & Rainforest based on our suggestions. I can thoroughly recommend them. We wanted a good mix of both culture and wildlife. We were provided with a driver/guide for the whole 18days. He was absolutely excellent. 

 In October 2012 we went 18 day tour to Madagascar. It was organised by Reef & Rainforest in conjunction with Bristol Zoo. The organisation was excellent and I hope to go to Sri Lanka with them next year.

We arrived in Lima early and a car met us and took us to the Hotel Antigua in Miraflores. The hotel was in the style of a colonial villa with the rooms arranged around enclosed courtyards. Not flashy but very nice and it was quiet. Miraflores looks very modern and there is a considerable amount of landscaping going on the seafront. The bits that were finished were excellent.

Well this is the last report I will be able to do before they fledge. We still have 3 birds although one is very much weaker than the other two. I am fairly confident they will all be off into the wide world before the end of the week. I know that only one in ten baby tits survive until the next year, but I did not realize that the mortality rate in the nestbox could be so high. Hopefully I can do it again next year but with colour and sound.

It been a pretty disastrous few days for the babies. You will see at the start of the clip recorded on the 13th there are only 4 left alive and later on filmed on the 14th there are only 3. The little one having died overnight which was not surprising as the large ones seemed to be having a go at it.

There are also the bodies of 2 others in the nest.  Hopefully the remaining three will be stong enough to survive.