Guilty Pleasure.........

Hey up folks, we've all got one and in rock n roll terms mine is of a Swedish kind! Yep we've all got a guilty pleasure and mine is the fact that i actually like Swedish Hair Metal exponents Europe led by Joey Tempest, eighties rival to JBJ. After readin' several good reviews includin' the fact that they wowed a crowd of hairy bikers at last years Bloodstock Festival over in the darkside(Derbyshire) i bit the bullet last October and booked up for me, Jan and our Soph' at the O2 Academy in Brum.

I don't mind i admittin' i was havin' second thoughts about goin'. Oh how wrong can you be!!!! We got in, just in time to catch support band Diamond Head finish their set with "Am I Evil" a song covered by the sandmen themselves, Metallica.

Enter Joe and the boys who for the next ninety minutes put on a bostin' show. Owd Joey is as good a frontman as i've seen, and i've seen a few. Vocaly superb from start to finish. Highlights were the power ballard Carrie, Cherrokee a superb rendition of Rock the Night and of course that song! Yep they finished off with Thee Final Bloody Countdown and by this time i didn't care who saw me i was singin' me head off. Brilliant!

It's a bit of a struggle sometimes decidin' what's best, Birds, Beer or Rock n Roll. Last night it was definitely rock n roll.

After that back to birds eh?

Another late start today after a spot of hide and seek with our Ellie and yet more shoppin', this time in search of an eighties style bikers jacket for our Soph's 18th bothdee. Yes she's a chip off the old rock n roll block is our Soph'.

Utch 1530-1745

Birds new in today included 2 Great-crested Grebes and Coots had risen to six! A flyover Shelduck eventually came in and settled on the main pit. Snipe had risen to 17, with 10 on the rough meadow and 5 on Leasowes fm pit. No sign of the aytha hybrid today it's now at Brookers where it was picked up by RP this mornin' alongside 2 Scaup. A Barn Owl was huntin' over the far side of the main pit from around half five.

This afternoons highlight though was again the Goosander roost. Last weekend RP and Moi broke the site record with a bat raising 50. This time we battered it in to submission with a rip-roarin' 61 not out!! Birds were still comin' in from along the Dove as we left.

Goosander 61

Wigeon 75

Tufty 103

Pochard 21

Teal 22

Mallard 65

Shelduck 1

Great-crested Grebe 2

Coot 6

Little Egret 1

Oyst' 3

Curlew 2

Snipe 17

Green Sand' 1

Lappy c200

Barn Owl 1

That's all folks.