My Manfrotto monopod with the 234RC head doesn’t have a handle, not that you need a handle to pan with a monopod. It is also longer as it is in 3 sections not 4. This meant that I had a substantially larger item to carry, with no way of attaching it to me. I started in my usual way, by turning to Google. It didn’t seem too common an occurrence; I found a few suggestions of tying the monopod to the frame, but nothing from anyone who had done it. Then I came across this monopod quiver on a motorbike, that got me thinking.

I had also been looking at the pump holder on Jo’s bike. The pump clipped in and was held in place with a velcro strap. If I could find the right diameter….no, that wasn’t possible, bike pumps are small and lightweight, not built like a section of drainpipe. So thinking about the monopod quver than I had found, I started experimenting to find a support for the bottom of the monopod. I cut a section of plastic waste pipe, yes, white is a lovely inconspicuous colour and attached it to the frame with cable ties. I had to play around with the positioning, to get it as low on the frame as possible without the pipe fouling the pedal. There wasn’t a lot of room to play with as the monopod also added to the space taken in this area due to the leg clamps. As a temporary solution at the top end I used a piece of rubber and a strap to prove the concept. It worked! Due to the minimal surface contact between the pipe and the bike frame, the pipe was liable to twist around the frame if knocked, so you had to be a bit careful. I found this while out testing it and added some rubber between the pipe and the frame to reduce the slip.

My temporary solution for securing the top of the monopod was a fairly long strap that went around the frame and monopd several times to provide security, the downside of this was it took an age to get attach and detach. I needed a method that was going to be quick and secure, so I started looking around for something that met my needs. I started looking at long velcro straps, thinking they would work, but then I found the solution at Fenix-Store.com. They have a product called Bikeblocks, which are a rubber block with a long velcro strap passing through it. You can open the velcro right up to wrap it around the bike frame and then the remainder of the strap holds an item to the block. They even delivered free to the UK (from Atlanta); I had to wait about a week, which I would have considered good even if I’d been paying the postage. They are really designed to attach small lights to bike frames, handlebars, helmets etc and aren’t designed for going around two large items (frame and monopod), so the overlap of the opposing velcro is smaller than I would have liked, but is still enough to hold the monopod securely. If I was really worried, I could always stitch a piece of the loop velcro in place to extend the overlap.

I used this configuration for a few trips to confirm that it was really viable and then set about producing a more permanent solution (before I got too used to the white pipe). I bought some black waste pipe so that it blended in with my bike and cut myself a couple of pieces about 30mm long. This was shorter than the prototype, but as I was only using this to locate the end of the monopod it didn’t need to be too long. I taped the two pieces to a bit of cardboard with a gap of about 10 mm between them. I then taped cardboard sides to the edges of the two pipes. Then the fun begins! Start with a new pack of Araldite Precision, this is the slow setting Araldite. Mix a reasonable quantity of Araldite, and when it is mixed, scoop it into your ‘mould’. Repeat the mix and fill until the mould is full to the level of the pipe sections. It will take a lot longer than you think and use most of the pack of Araldite. Put the mould aside on a level surface to cure.

I left it a couple of days to be certain that it was thoroughly cured, before peeling the cardboard away. The Araldite had sunk a bit in the middle which I hadn’t expected, so maybe make it a bit taller than you want first. I wasn’t sure how strong the pipe to Araldite bond was going to be, and at first it looked as if both pipes were firmly attached. I had some sandpaper on a piece of wood and used this to smooth the bottom and side surfaces (and remove the last traces of the cardboard). Then I started hacksawing off one of the pipes; one was going to be used as the support, the other was a template for the bike frame profile. As I was finishing sawing through the pipe, it separated from the Araldite, timing is everything. This is where I picked up today, after a break of a couple of months, I was really getting used to the white pipe! The pipe that was used as a template for the bike frame wasn’t quite the same diameter and so I had to do a bit of sanding to get the fit right. I ended up holding a sheet of sandpaper tight around the frame (rough side out ) and used this to sand the Araldite to the correct profile.

It was then time to attach the pipe and spacer to the frame with a cable tie, getting the position right again proved to be second time lucky. As the spacer is in contact with the frame for a greater area it no longer moves around the frame, which was a problem with the prototype. Due to the change of pipe position with the spacer from the prototype, the monopod is now carried the opposite way round; the leg clamps are towards the frame rather than facing out. I have added a second cable tie for security since the photo was taken. I may in the future remove it from the bike and spray it matt black, but at the moment it is doing the job nicely. Looking at the pictures, I think I should have wiped the sanding dust off the bike before I took the last couple of photos. So there you have it, my solution for carrying a monopod on my bike.

Anyway, this year, there was a carnival procession again. Last year the procession had to be cancelled as there were too few entrants. It was going to be leaving the council offices at 12:00 noon on the route through the town to the Bennett Memorial Recreation Ground. We walked up to the end of the road with some of our neighbours just before 12 and other than a policewoman, were the only ones there. As the rain was coming towards us, I took my camera to the other side of the road so it was coming from behind me. The road filled up quite a lot before the procession came by.

The parade was led by Harpenden Pipe Band, who led the 2007 Dunstable Carnival procession. They had dressed for the British weather! I got several photos of them, a couple of which I have put on in a gallery of Dunstable Carnival 2009 photos. I have tried to include photos of all of the entrants in the procession in my gallery, although, I seemed to have missed the mayor!

The one that made me smile the most was the clown at the end, she seemed in a world of her own walking in the rain, and then she realised she was quite a way back from the others and had to catch up. All in all it was all over in about 20-25 minutes, but worth watching.

It’s just a shame after the effort people put into the procession that the weather couldn’t have been better. I was very pleased with the clarity of the images I got considering the poor light. Not all the photos were good photos, more a record of being there.

Before Christmas, I ordered 2 books from the Aikido Journal website, Traditional Aikido Volumes 1 & 2 by Morihiro Saito. These were books that Jo and I used to clarify our techniques many years ago; we never owned them, but were looking after someone’s library for them. The originals were printed in the 1970s and had been out of print for many years. Occasionally, you would see one or more of the 5 volumes on Ebay, but they would go for in excess of £100, usually a lot more. In early November, Aikido Journal announced that Volume 1 was available immediately. This was a brand-new edition done in the exact style and format of the original books by Saito Sensei. These are hardcover volumes made for durability featuring a semi-gloss paper like the originally published volumes. Anyway, back to the problem, after completing the order for volume 1 and confirming my credit card details, instead of a confirmation, I got a series of database errors displayed. I left a message detailing the problem on the contact form and within a few hours I had received an email back from Stanley Pranin, the editor-in-chief of Aikido Journal, confirming that they had received my order and that it should be shipping on the Monday. I had the same problem when pre-ordering volume 2 and had the same swift response and confirmation.

For Christmas, I bought Jo a wooden treble recorder. About 2.5 years ago, when we were at Joust 2006, Jo bought a wooden descant (soprano) recorder. It was a Mollenhauer Adri’s Dream in pearwood and has a lovely tone. She has been playing the treble (alto) for a couple of years now and decided that she wanted to get a nice one; the Adri’s Dream one would be just right. I checked our normal source of musical instruments, Hobgoblin, but they didn’t have it listed. So I turned to Google and that turned up Elida Trading in Hudderfield. This is run by husband and wife, Elizabeth and David Ward. I had already come across Liz’s name on recorder/music forums when I had checked out an Ebay seller ‘elizabethward’ a few years ago. I dropped them an email and had a response within ten minutes suggesting a convenient time to ring that afternoon. Within a few minutes that afternoon, the recorder was ordered and credit card details were left. A couple of weeks later, the recorder arrived and it was exactly as expected. The little problem was noticing an extra charge on my credit card bill a week later. It turns out that someone with a similar order added an item to their order, but it got charged to our card – an honest mistake. Within about 3/4 of an hour of being notified of the problem, it had been refunded. Great service, both for the original order and the customer support.

Then there is how not to do it!

I replaced the Manfrotto 115 head on my photographic tripod with a better Manfrotto 488RC2 ball head before Christmas and decided to treat myself to a new monopod and head so that I could use the same quick release plate on the camera. After much research into the different options, I decided on the Manfrotto 681B monopod with 234RC tilt head. Being 6’1″, I needed a monopod that provided at least the same height as my existing Velbon monopod, 165cm, and the 681 fitted the bill at 161cm plus the head. I looked around to find the best price and found that although most places were about £70, Bristol Cameras were £10 cheaper. The site looked professional and I got an automated confirmation of my order that evening. On the Monday morning, I received another email confirming that my order had been printed off and that I would be updated if there was any delay or when the parcel shipped. In the details for the monopod is the following Q&A:

Question: Is the Manfrotto 681 Monopod in stock?

Bristol Cameras Answer: As per most accessories listed on this website we do not have the resources to maintain stock info on several thousand smaller items. We keep many of the accessories on our site in stock and even if we don’t have the Manfrotto 681 Monopod in stock, it is likely that it will be available from suppliers within 48 hours. However, If there is a problem obtaining this product, we will inform you of the delay within 48 hours.

So this was looking good, it should be shipping on Wednesday unless I hear otherwise.

Friday 12th December

Having had no confirmation of delay or shipment, I replied to the confirmation email asking for an update on my order. At the same time I started googling Bristol Cameras to see if there were any posts about them. I wish I had done so before placing my order. The posts on about Bristol Cameras on Review Centre seem to fall into two camps, those who had a great experience (the item was in stock and they got a quick delivery) and those who had a bad experience (the item was out of stock, they were told nothing and kept waiting for their goods).  There are other posts on forums about people being let down by Bristol Cameras, so I should have done my research first from the look of it. Oh well, maybe mine will be fine.

Tuesday 16th December

I received the following generic reply to my email:

We are experiencing a very high amount of orders during this very busy period of the year, there “are” delays with both goods being sent to our customers as well as suppliers sending goods to us. We will inform you of any “major” delays” e.g. if you will receive your order for Christmas. If you have not heard from us within 1 week of placing your order, please phone direct to query. Online and mail order is not open on weekends.

Yes there are delays but the majority of our orders will be sent in the quickest time possible.

Please call us to query further…the lines are very busy we are aware of this, but as it stands this is the best way to get in contact with us

So that didn’t really answer my question then.

Wednesday 17th December

I rang them, they weren’t joking about the lines being busy, it took over an hour to get through. I was told that they were expecting a delivery from their supplier that day and that my order would be shipped within a couple of days, so OK, not brilliant communication, but at least I knew it was imminent.

Thursday 18th December

Then I got the following email:

Apologies we have run out of this item and have been informed by our supplier that this item is out of stock and is on back order with no E.T.A, we will keep your order live unless you wish to cancel sorry for any inconvenience caused.

Great, so I’ll have to find another source.

Friday 19th December

I rang them and cancelled the order. By 11:00 I had confirmation that the order was cancelled:

Your order has been cancelled and no funds have been charged to your card. Sorry that we could not help you on this occasion.

I placed a new order with Digital Depot, who had confirmed by 12:30 that my order would be shipped that day. Finally, it’s all sorted.

WRONG! At 16:50, ten minutes before they closed, Bristol Cameras sent an email saying that the items had already been sent that morning and that it was too late to cancel.

Saturday 20th December

The order from Digital Depot arrived in the morning, so at least I finally had my monopod and head. It was well packaged and complete, good communication and service. Thanks.

Sunday 21st December

The order from Bristol Cameras arrived. On investigation, the printout of the credit card transaction enclosed with the order showed that it hadn’t been shipped in the morning, the transaction didn’t take place until 12:31, over 1.5 hours after it was confirmed cancelled. Not happy again!

Monday 22nd December

I rang them again to get it resolved. They agreed that an error had occurred and that they would give me a full refund including return postage. I was to ship the package back by Recorded Delivery, so that there was tracking on the package. Fortunately, it was the week before Christmas, so Jo had already finished work and would be able to get it posted on the Tuesday. I enclosed a letter detailing the issues and what had been agreed.

Tuesday 23rd December

Jo took the parcel to the Post Office for me. In the end it was too long to go Recorded and so had to go Parcel 48. I sent an email that evening confirming the letter and letting them know the cost and tracking number.

Friday 2nd January

I checked the Parcelforce website and confirmed that it had been delivered back to Bristol Cameras on 29th December. I checked my credit card on-line and confirmed that I hadn’t received the refund. I rang them and eventually got through (…beginning to see a pattern here) and was told that it was a busy time of year and that they had a large pile of returned and exchange goods to be dealt with (with their customer service, I’m not surprised) and that I would get my refund by the end of the following week. I wasn’t happy, but accepted that it would occur.

Tuesday 20th January

I checked my credit card on-line again to find that the refund still hadn’t occurred. I sent an email that night requesting an update, but decided that I needed to also ring up and speak to someone.

Wednesday 21st January

I rang them only to be told that the pile of returns had been cleared, but that the person dealing with them was out for the day. If I gave it a couple more days I’d see my refund.

Friday 23rd January

I rang again, they must have had the phone off the hook as I tried continuously from 2pm to 3pm and it was permanently engaged. When I got back from picking the kids up from school I tried several more times before finally getting through at 4:30pm. I was told that it takes a few days for a refund to show up on the card and that I should give it a couple more days.

I know by now that I am being given the run around, but will give them the benefit of the doubt, one last time. If my credit card is not showing a refund by Tuesday evening, I will contact the credit card company to dispute the transaction.

Monday 26th January

This afternoon, I got the read receipt showing that they had read the email I sent last Tuesday. About par for the course. I checked the credit card, but no refund yet, the only pending transaction was the service for my car that afternoon.

Like anyone who has a issue with an order, I accept that sometimes mistakes are made or things go wrong. It’s how this is dealt with that makes the difference. If someone takes ownership of the problem and provides good feedback, it gives you confidence in their abilities and understanding of the situation. Swift resolution gives you the confidence that if there are issues, you won’t be the one doing all the running around. Although I had minor issues with my purchases from Aikido Journal and Elida Trading, their professional approach to dealing with these issues inspires confidence and I would use them both again in the future without any doubts. On the other hand the total ‘ignore the customer’ approach of Bristol Cameras is inexcusable in any company trying to maintain a customer base. I know my order was small, only £60, but any customer should be important, not just the ones spending hundreds of pounds. My experiences with them have been communicated at work with all those into photography. Some of the people had seen the prices and considered using them, but no longer. Although the hassle dealing with them was immense, I have the satisfaction of knowing that I have prevented some other people from befalling my fate.

Sorry about any weird changes of tense, this post has been written retrospectively and over several days as the lack of resolution progressed. I didn’t want to spoil any chance of a successful resolution by posting before the end. Any updates past this point will be added as they occur.

Tuesday 27th January

The refund is not showing on my credit card, so I will need to contact my credit card company to get this resolved. Their department for dealing with unrecognised transactions closed at 17:00, so I will probably have to wait until Friday afternoon to call them. I’ll try ringing Bristol Cameras tomorrow.

Wednesday 28th January

The number was engaged when I tried calling them and I didn’t get another chance.

Friday 30th January

I checked one last time to see if the refund had occurred, no surprise to find it hadn’t. I then tried for 30 minutes to call them one last time; it was permanently engaged. I then rang my credit card to dispute the transaction. I got through to a very helpful person who took the details of my problem and tried to ring Bristol Cameras herself. They have to give it 30 days before they get involved, but as that has passed they are able to help. She had no more luck than I did, so in the end she is sending me a claim form that I have to complete and return with copies of any documentation that I have. They will only be able to refund the £59.99, the £10.99 postage will be what I end up paying for trying to save £10 by shopping with a dis-organised and unprofessional outfit.

Wednesday 4th February

The claim paperwork arrived from MBNA. Looking at the declaration I have to sign, it indicates that I have a refund voucher from Bristol Cameras. I am therefore unable to sign this as it is incorrect. The form says that I must not change the wording, so I will have to ring MBNA on Friday to clarify what I have to do.

Friday 6th February

I tried ring Bristol Cameras again in the afternoon to see if I could get resolution, you have to give me points for persistence. As usual they were permanently engaged. I rang MBNA and explained my problem with the declaration. I was told to explain the situation on the back of the form and sign that instead. I did this and posted the form back recorded delivery with printouts of all the letters and emails that I had related to this.

Thursday 12th February

I had a phone call from MBNA to say that need a refund voucher to credit the card, it’s Mastercard rules. They had spoken to Bristol Cameras and Simon was investigating what had happened. She would call him back and conference me in so that if he had any questions we would be able to resolve them. Needless to say, they never answered the phone, so we had to give up.

Friday 13th February

MBNA rang again and reconfirmed that without a refund voucher from Bristol Cameras they would not be able to refund. She had been trying to get through to Bristol Cameras before she called me and was unable. As I had placed the order and then cancelled it, the refund is in Bristol Cameras hands. So if they carry on ignoring me, there is nothing MBNA can do. She would put the dispute on hold for another 14 days while I have to try to get a refund voucher from Bristol Cameras.

With nothing to loose, I tried ringing Bristol Cameras until I got through after about 10 minutes. I spoke to Richard who took ownership of the problem. He took all my details from the original order number, to the ParcelForce tracking number and the cost of return postage. He apologised for the problems with the mail order department; evidently they have now employed more staff. He went away to investigate, and true to his word he rang me back about an hour later. He confirmed that the goods had been received back and was most apologetic as somehow the paperwork had been overlooked. He confirmed that the refund was being processed that day. He could not confirm if the return postage would be covered as the cancellation was on the same day the order was shipped. Apparently the way Bristol Cameras work is at 4pm they enter all the shipment details for the day on their computer system. This of course makes a mockery of my confirmed cancellation as no-one checked this before the end of the day. I am sort of hopeful that this time the refund will actually happen.

Sunday 15th February

I checked on-line to find that I have really had a refund from Bristol Cameras. Unfortunately only for £54.99, the cost of the goods. So as it stands I am down the cost of outgoing and return postage, £15.99. If I hadn’t been told to return the goods for a full refund including return postage, I would have been better off selling them on Ebay. However, I was originally told by Bristol Cameras that I would get all my money back, so I’ll have to ring them again.

Monday 16th February

I rang Bristol Cameras again today and explained my issue with the refund of postage. My details were taken so that he could investigate and get back to me. That was at ten past 11. As I’m now at home writing this up, it’s safe to say that it didn’t happen before the end of the day.

Wednesday 18th February

After giving them another day to get back to me, I rang Bristol Cameras again this morning. I spoke to the same person as Monday (and several previous calls) and asked for the update he was going to provide me with on Monday. He explained how busy he had been and that he would investigate and get back to me later in the day. I pressed him for a shorter time-scale and he said that he would investigate and get back to me within the next 30 minutes. I was quite surprised when he rang back after about 10 minutes. I was told that ‘I didn’t get a refund on the postage as according to the letter I had enclosed with the goods I had returned them because I no longer required them’. When I read out the letter I had send to him over the phone, he admitted that the wrong details had been entered on their computer system. They would have to find their copy of the letter to confirm and then sort the refund. I asked if this would include my postage cost for returning the goods and was told that they would need to see proof of the costs. At this point I offered to email them a copy of the letter that I had enclosed as well as a scan of the proof of posting (with the postage cost on it). This was agreed as a good suggestion and I was provided with an email address and told what to include in the email. I sent this off this morning and hadn’t heard anything by the time I left work this evening.

Thursday 19th February

I had an email from Bristol Cameras to say that this was being discussed with management today as he had been out yesterday.

Monday 23rd February

I emailed Bristol Cameras for an update.

Tuesday 24th February

I had an email saying that my refund was being done today and apologising for the way it had been handled. I was assured that if I ever chose to order from them again, it wouldn’t be the case in the future.

Saturday 28th February

I had a sales receipt today from Bristol Cameras for the refund of my postage. It was for £13.94, not quite the £15.99 that I was due, but close enough that I can’t be bothered to pursue this any more. After checking on-line, this has also appeared on my credit card, so it’s finally over.

I’ve been shopping online for over 10 years now and can safely say that this has been my worst online shopping experiance ever. I did eventually get most of my money back, but all in all it took 10 weeks and numerous telephone calls and emails to resolve this. I pity anyone else who buys from Bristol Cameras expecting more than cheap box shifting of in-stock items.

The Sigma 50-500mm uses 86mm filters, so that was a big ouch as well. 86mm filters aren’t as easy to come by as smaller sizes, and I always have had expensive tastes. I have always used B+W filters on my lenses and with a lens of this quality I wasn’t going to stop now. I use skylight filters rather than UV by preference and so the search for a UK sourced 86mm B+W skylight filter began. I eventually tracked down a source at Robert White in Poole. As filters go, it is the most expensive I have ever bought. I placed the order with Robert White and had despatch confirmation the following day. It got held up in the post due to the extreme weather, but the service from them was brilliant as is the filter.

It’s a big lens, so it was touch and go if it would fit in my LowePro case. It needs good stability to get good shots, so I would be using it with my monopod or tripod. I had tried it out on my tripod taking shots in the garden, but today was the first time out with it.

So far, I’m very happy with the results. I have put a selection up in an album on my gallery for our visit to the zoo 21st February 2009

I set the feeders up on Thursday night and filled the seed and peanuts up and then waited patiently for the birds to find them. I was beginning to wonder by Friday afternoon if we had done the right thing, and then a great tit briefly visited the peanuts, so at least something had found the food. Yesterday, the greenfinches found the seed feeder! Boy are they messy! They were after the sunflower seeds and quite happily pulled everything out to get them. Luckily we also added a tray to go under the feed, so most of the dropped seed was still retained off the ground.

Over the last day and a half, the greenfinches, with the aid of dozens of house sparrows, some blue tits, great tits and long tailed tits have almost emptied the seed feeder. Hmm, I think this has gone down well with our feathered friends.

The kids were excited, they hadn’t been on a train before and there was the zoo as well. We travelled from Hemel Hempstead station rather than Luton, it’s a smaller station and made the London change easier. We had previously bought a Family and Friends Railcard which gives discounts on family rail fares. It would have made a bigger saving if we had been travelling during the week as originally planned, but still saved us some money. We only had to wait about 5 minutes on the platform for the train and were able to get seats as the train wasn’t full at all. After about 35 minutes we arrived at Euston and (after a toilet break for the kids at 30p a visit,) changed onto the Northern Line underground for one stop to Camden Town. I had printed out the zoo’s directions for getting to them, but didn’t need them as it was signposted from outside the station. It took about 15 minutes to walk from the station to the zoo and then we were there. After presenting our Friends of ZSL passes we were in. Time to take my obvious camera bag out of my plain backpack.

The first thing that you notice is that the entrance area is smaller and more compact than Whipsnade. This isn’t surprising as the zoo is much smaller only covering 36 acres compared to Whipsnade’s 600 acres. It was first opened to the public in 1847 and contains many buildings designed by leading architects over the years including 2 Grade I, and 8 Grade II listed structures. In 1991 it looked like the zoo was going to close, but the public support allowed the zoo to balance its books and embark on a program of restoring its buildings and creating new, more suitable, environments.

We followed the green trail (a painted green line) around the zoo, this leads you right around the zoo, breaking off at several points to see the attractions in that area. We followed the trail from the entrance area through the west tunnel, which goes under the Outer Circle road, to the northern section of the zoo. The first thing we went to was the ‘Into Africa’ area.  This is located to the left of the path, between the road and Regent’s Canal. The first animals were the Red River Hogs, which were in a fairly large open area close to the canal, next were the warthogs in a similar enclosure and in the final enclosure were the African Hunting dogs.

Next, the path moved back from the canal around the older buildings. The first paddock there was for the two okapi, which are horse sized with striped legs like a zebra. They have a long neck – not as long as a giraffe – and use it to reach leaves on trees, which they grab with their long tongues like a giraffe does. Unfortunately, unlike Whipsnade where this sort of animal would have been in a large enclosure, they are in an area maybe 30′ by 50′. Next door to them were three zebra, again in a small paddock. The three giraffes were next to the zebra, and still have their original 1837 Giraffe House. This, due to its functional design, still remains in use, however the enclosure is much smaller than that at Whipsnade and looks rather small. Next to the giraffes was the Malayan Tapir, which was rather camera shy – we got lots of photos of it going the other way!

We then crossed the bridge over Regents Canal to ‘Snowdon Aviary’. This was built in 1964 and is quite a feature to look at. You walk through it and initially are on the same level as the Sacred Ibis nests, but soon you are high above the rest of the area, which combining the height and the shape of the structure can be a bit disorientating. After the Snowdon Aviary, we went along the path by the other aviaries. These were very disappointing, small, old and embarrassing to look at. I didn’t realise there were birds in some of them, the plants were all dead and brown. Hopefully this will be another area to be refurbished soon. From here we crossed back over the canal and then back to see the otters (they weren’t about), the meerkats (only one on sentry duty) and then the Clore Rainforest Lookout.

The ‘Clore Rainforest Lookout’ opened last year and recreates the South American rainforest. It provides canopy and forest floor levels for the public to wander through; you walk in at canopy level. When we first got there, the water jets were spraying the area, so when taking photos you had to watch you didn’t get your camera soaked. One of the two-toed sloths was very active, which in the reduced light made it quite difficult to get a photo without the sloth being blurred. Once the jets were turned off for the talk, the rest of the marmosets came down from the very tops of the trees. After the talk was over a couple of the silvery marmosets decided to take a closer look at those taking photos. One was showing a lot of interest on my lens and I had to keep moving back to keep it in focus (I don’t have very close focus with my 70-300 zoom).

After this we went through the East Tunnel, opened in 1830, back to the south part of the zoo. We ate lunch at Oasis Cafe, where we all had the cumberland sausage, which was nice and filling. After we had eaten we visited the gift shop before continuing along the trail. We missed out the penguins and after looking at the queue for the Butterfly Paradise, we decided to come back to that later. We saw the parrots and then went down to the pelicans and flamingoes. There was a bird not on the books here – the pool had gained a grey heron, which I thought was a fake one to keep the real ones away, until it moved. We went past the tigers which were all boarded up, heading for ‘B.U.G.S.’ (Biodiversity Underpinning Global Survival), where we saw the ants, beetles, spiders etc.  We looked in on the anteaters, but didn’t see them. We saw the lions, lazing on their platforms and stopped briefly by the Luberkin Pool, the old penguin pool, which is Grade I listed.

After seeing the llamas, we saw the bearded pigs at ZooWorld and the camels and pigmy hippos. Next we went through the ‘African Bird Safari’, another aviary that you could walk through. This was great, just a shame they didn’t have space to make it larger. It opened about three years ago replacing three out of date enclosures. They had Abdim’s Stork in there, which were sat with their wings out and facing up. There were also superb starlings and a lilac-breasted roller.

We then went to the area that I had been waiting for all day, ‘Gorilla Kingdom’. The gorilla enclosure is an island separated from the public by a moat or floor to ceiling windows. Once we had got through the first section with some additional birds in, we could see the gorillas. I could see one up on the right at the end of the water feature on the ‘island’ and another partially visible under some of their climbing equipment. I took quite a few photos of the gorilla I could see. I wasn’t sure if it was the silverback, but after moving further round found it wasn’t. It must have been the oldest female, 32 year old Zaire. Further round on the other side of the island was Bobby, the 23 year old silverback. He was sat there looking like the king of his domain, and who was I to argue with him. He had a very intense look as he scanned around. A bit later, the three females wandered over to his side of the island and he went back into his ‘cave’.

After the gorillas, we went to see the Komodo Dragons, the wallabys and emus, then onto the reptile house. We saw all the snakes, even if I did miss spotting the plaque mentioning that this was where the zoo scene in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone was shot. We cut back through the zoo to see the vultures, where I got some nice photos of the striated caracara and the Ruppell’s Griffon Vulture. We finished off with the butterflies, but I didn’t get any good pictures; they were too fast moving and didn’t settle in the right places for me…oh well not the end of the world.

We left the zoo at about 20 to six, only 20 minutes before the zoo closed. We walked back to Camden Town and got on the first train back to Euston, standing room only. Arriving at Euston, we saw that there was a train leaving in about 2 minutes that only stopped at Watford Junction before Hemel Hempstead. We had to run a bit as the end of the train was a way up the platform. We just got on before it left. Unfortunately, it was full and we all had to stand until Watford Junction when some people got off. Then Jo and the kids got seats, but I stood until Hemel. I was glad to get back to the car to sit down. I definitely couldn’t commute to London.

Late last night I downloaded my photos for the day and sorted out some of the best for my photo gallery – London Zoo 23rd August 2008. It’s taken ages typing up the days visit, not quite as long as the visit, but it seems that way.

After squeezing a quart into a pint pot, (well that what loading the car felt like,) I took the car back to the car park and rode back to the villa. We locked up and took the keys back to the Information Centre. I handed the keys back in at about 3 minutes to 10am, 3 minutes to spare, no problem. As I was heading back to the bikes there were still cars coming on-site, I think they would be pushing it to vacate their accommodation by 10am.

Although we had handed the keys in, we were still allowed to use the facilities all day if we wanted. We headed up to the Nature Centre for one last check of the feeders and hide before we left. There wasn’t a lot of activity about today, so after a while we went into Foresters’ Inn next door for something to eat before we left. I think the service really dropped the ball today! We ordered 2 scrambled egg on toast, 1 poached egg on toast and scrambled egg and smoked salmon. I lost track of exactly when we ordered, but at the most generous, it took 35 minutes for our order to arrive. The food itself was good as usual and it did give the kids one last play in the kids play area. After we had finished, we all rode back to the car and I secured the bikes on the roof.

Instead of travelling home immediately, we headed north to Edwinstowe to the Sherwood Forest Visitors Centre. I had mentioned the Major Oak to the kids a while back, so there wasn’t really an option to miss it being this close. We followed the path to the Major Oak, passing through oak / silver birch forest on the way. Some of the oaks we passed were enormous, many had lost their tops due to being too weak to support the weight. The Major Oak is supposedly where Robin Hood and his Merry Men used to meet. The tree is heavily supported with several steel props these days. I think I last saw it about 28 years ago and there were only 4 wooden props supporting it. The area around it is all fenced off for the tree’s protection. Walking back along the return path, it struck us what was unusual, after the abundance of bird life and birdsong at Center Parcs, the area of Sherwood Forest around the Major Oak was silent. Only at one point on the path did we actually see and hear any birds. After visiting the shop on the way out, we headed home.
We stopped at Trowell Services again, for something to eat and had to cross the footbridge to the northbound services to eat. The selection in the southbound was dismal and half of it had the chairs up as they were cleaning it. We ended up sitting in the same table, we didn’t plan it that way, it just happened. We eventually got home about quarter to 6.

We went down to the kids ‘Forest Swings’ play area by the adventure golf this morning and played there for an hour or so. They had some fun swings and a large platform see-saw, about 20 foot long, that kids and ‘older kids’ could run from one end to the other to make it tip. After this, we popped into the Pancake House for our last pancakes here. We briefly played in the play area on the beach, before moving on; the wind was whipping the sand into our faces, so not too pleasant. We went back to the Forest Swings play area again for a while before heading back to the villa. On our way back we briefly stopped outside The Venue to look at the birds of prey. I had a session booked there in just over an hour, so was just getting my bearings and having an early look at the birds.

There were only about 9 of us on the Falconry session. We were introduced to many of the birds they had there including Billie the Common Buzzard, Romeo and Prince the Harris Hawks and Bruno the Striated Caracara and a European Eagle owl and Ferruginous Pigmy owl. There was also a barn owl and another couple that we weren’t introduced to. Billie had been hand reared and was very vocal throughout the entire time. We got to feel the reptile like skin under the eagle owl’s foot and some of the others held the pigmy owl while it was on the glove. It was a tiny bird only weighing a couple of ounces. After the introductions were over, we went over to the shed and put on gloves. We then had the opportunity to fly the Billie the Buzzard and Prince the Harris Hawks on a tether. Bruno, the Caracara was brought out and performed his trick for us. We were each given a flowerpot with a piece of chicken in and asked to put it face down in the arena, he then proceeded to run around the arena turning the pots over and eating the chicken. He got an egg as a reward, which he kicked until he broke it so that he could eat it. At the end we were able to have our photos taken with the birds; Jo was allowed to come in with her camera. I was trying to decide between the buzzard and the eagle owl, but the falconer said it would be fine if I wanted to do both. The eagle owl, although a light one only about 4 pounds, was quite heavy on my hand. Jo got some photos of me with the birds. We had a bit of a panic as we were leaving the falconry, the key snapped off on one of the old bike locks we had been using; we had a spare key, but I did wonder for a moment if I’d be able to get the remainder of the key out.

We went up to the Foresters’ Inn for some drinks and to let the kids play. After an hour or so we went back to the villa, where we realised we didn’t have any milk left. The Forest News paper indicated that the ParcMarket was open until 8pm, unfortunately this wasn’t the case.

We were back at Foresters’ Inn for our meal this evening. Unfortunately the service wasn’t up to previous standard. After being shown to our table, we had to wait about 10 minutes before the menu was brought and this was the story at each stage of the meal, after the drinks order, after the drink refills order. Jo and I had starters tonight; Jo had smoked salmon and I had a rocket,mozzarella cheese and tomato risotto. The kids ordered off the children’s menu to be served with our main course; my daughter had breaded chicken and chips as she had had each time and my son tried the sausage and mash (a smaller portion of the meal I had the other day). Jo had the braised lamb shank and I had the Supreme of chicken.

[update re woodpecker - the male greater spotted woodpecker has a black crown and red patch at the nape of the neck, the female has a black crown and nape and a juvenile has a red crown, so we have seen all three.]

It was getting quite wet by the time we got there, so coffees were the first order for Jo and me. We ordered our food and the kids went off to play in the children’s area. I had the cumberland sausage with mash today and Jo had the fish and chips. By this time it was raining fairly heavily and constantly, so we extended our time here with some more drinks. The kids didn’t have a problem with staying longer as they were having a great time in the play area, even if the slide was wet.

We finally gave in to the temptation of free WiFi. All of the main facilities have free WiFi, but although we had taken Jo’s laptop, (to copy our photos onto,) we had resisted taking the laptop out with us until today. I must admit, I had checked to see that we didn’t pick up the edge of the signal from our villa on the first night. I spent a couple of minutes checking some of my emails and checking any activity on cre8Buzz, before Jo checked her stuff. After we’d been at Foresters’ Inn for a couple of hours, we headed back to the villa in a break in the weather.

We were at Strada for our meal tonight. The kids had pizza and chargrilled chicken from the kids menu. I had ‘Risotto all’aragosta e gamberoni’, lobster and tiger prawn risotto with garlic, chilli, white wine, thyme, broad beans and roasted Italian tomatoes, Jo had Spigola al forno again, seabass stuffed with thyme and fennel, grilled lemon and roasted cubetti potatoes. This was a really great risotto, in my opinion the best meal I’ve had this week.

Back at the villa, the kids played with the kids in the next villa who had moved in today.
We ate at Huckleberry’s this evening, and again the food was fine. I don’t know, it’s probably because we have eaten at Hucks so many times, I’m just getting bored of the same menu; it hasn’t changed in since we first visited five years ago.

The kids wanted to eat at Forester’s Inn again, so we tried to book that for tomorrow night, but I guess its really popular and there were no Saturday reservations available. We have booked there for our last evening on Sunday, and managed to get an early table at Strada for tomorrow night.

Getting back to the villa has made me realise just how much I’m enjoying riding my bike; I think when I get back home, I’ll miss jumping on my bike to go anywhere. My daughter has really got into it too, she said tonight that she enjoys riding her bike so much, that sometimes she doesn’t want to get off her saddle.