Shooting Birds of Prey

You may notice that surprises feature prominently on this blog! (So far two out of three posts start with a surprise!)

For my birthday I was whisked off into the depths of the New Forest, camera in hand, no clue what to expect. Considering I have been staying in the New Forest for the past few months and I rarely leave the house without my camera, I wasn’t worried. I had however been told that the pink and red combo I was planning to wear that day would not go down well.

So I had to look the part…hmmm….
On arrival at  Liberty's Owl, Raptor and Reptile Centre I was greeted by a group of very professional looking Professional Photographers. I am a super keen photographer, combined with my amazing birthday present of a Nikon 3000 (you only turn 30 once) I have already taken about 5000 photos. I’m not saying I have taken 5000 brilliant photos, but 5000 none the less.

At this point it was revealed that I would be shooting (photographing) 5 different birds of prey in the forest with this elite group! One of the Liberty’s staff members very kindly leant me a 70mm lens because I am yet to sell my   right arm for one.



I love birds, birds of prey included, therefore,


Photography + birds of prey = very awesome birthday present!


When we started shooting I sheepishly set my camera to P.
Was anyone else using the automatic settings on their cameras?
Would I be branded with a bright red N (novice) and evicted from the group?


Apparently not.


The group was actually really chilled. Everyone was really considerate and made sure they didn’t stand in front of or directly opposite anyone. Nothing like ruining the perfect shot with a dorky looking (me) novice snapping away on auto in the background.


The only slightly tense moment came when an oblivious family man sauntered over from his picnic spot, young son in tow, to take pics on his little happy snappy camera*.
We had paid for the privilege after all. Well, I hadn’t, but everyone else had.

*camera snob!

This is the best celery I have ever eaten!

Staying, sort of, on the subject of my lovely friend’s wedding in France I would like to tell you about our delightful trip to River Cottage HQ for her hen’s party.

My lovely friend lives for good food, good wine and good friends. And so it only seemed right to celebrate her impending nuptials engulfed in her three favourite things. (Due to the fact that it was a Hen’s weekend her husband-to-be was not invited, because he undoubtedly tops the list above all else!)

A bunch of excited British, Austrailian and South African girls set out from Waterloo one very early Saturday morning for the unfamiliar town of Axminster, Devon.

All the girls knew where we were headed, naturally, except for one. The bride-to-be had no idea and her anticipation was not helped when her loving husband-to-be casually mentioned the night before that we were taking her fishing. She does not love fishing! 

There were no clues to be had taking in our surroundings in Axminster. A cloud had descended and engulfed us in an eerie mist. It was only when the taxi delivered us to the front gate of River Cottage HQ that it all made sense.

Despite the dramatic weather conditions we had the most wonderful time. One of the many events hosted at River Cottage HQ is a Visitors’ Day. On arrival we were greeted by an organiser and shown to a table that had been reserved just for us. The protocol for ‘normal’ visitors is to browse the stalls and displays, buy something delicious to eat and find a spot to eat! We felt very special with our designated table complete with vase of wild flowers.

We wandered around drinking Sparkling Elderflower Wine, taking in all the natural goodness of organic, homemade, better than anything you’ve ever tasted chutneys and other foodie delights.

As part of the day's activities, we gathered in the barn to watch a Salami making demonstration! Unfortunately our Hen wasn’t picked out of the crowd to help make the salami. How utterly appropriate; the bride-to-be perfecting her sausage handling skills, oh well!

You can follow more of the story of the Salami on www.midweekfeast.blogspot.com.

(Written by a real foodie)

The event ended around 5pm and I’m sure the staff at River Cottage HQ were amused and probably relieved that we binged on delicious cakes rather than red wine. We were saving the red wine for later!

Our taxi driver delivered us to Trill Farm where we were spending the night. Trill Farm is a wonderful place to spend a weekend away. Everyone is so friendly and welcoming and as we discovered in the morning, the views around the farm are absolutely beautiful.

Lighting the fire that night was not exactly necessary, but it did fit in perfectly with our romantic ideal of a weekend away in the country. Where else were we going to sit and drink our red wine?

Our evening meal consisted mainly of outstanding produce from River Cottage Canteen, which was bought in Axminster on arrival. 

We nearly lost two of our party to the depths of the canteen and all it’s foodie delights. We had to send in a search party after about an hour of waiting in the taxi. They were just popping in for cheeses after all. The taxi driver was far too entertained to be angry at a bunch of city girls, giddy at the thought of Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s organic goodies.

To add to the fare an organic salad from the gardens of Trill Farm was delivered to our doorstep. Literally, the dark green celery was so radiant it looked unnatural- ironic really! And yes, it was the best celery I have ever tasted.

C'est La Visa

Any South African living in the UK already knows all there is to know about getting THE visa. And while I am ever so grateful that I can explore every inch of this Island to my hearts content, sometimes it would be nice to experience the truly British phenomenon of booking a weekend break on lastminute.com, catching a ‘cheap’ flight at midnight and discovering a little bit of Europe one mini break at a time.

My first Schengen visa

Dear Moonpig.com
(I definitely think there is a market here, don’t steal my idea.)

Please will you add a new category of greeting cards to your already impressive range?

• Successfully applying for a Schengen visa

On such a joyous occasion it only seems right that you should be able to receive the appropriate card. 

      

Roses are Red

Violets are Blue

All your English friends get to travel to Europe

And now you can too (for a limited period of time)

                        Or

There once was a girl from Johannesburg

Who submitted a mountain of paper work

Three days went by

And the final reply

Come pick up you passport on the way to the airport*

*Definitely needs work

Regards, K
xx

I was really worried that I wouldn’t be able to go to France for a dear friend’s wedding. At first I thought it would be totally impossible for someone in my situation to get a visa. I am, as they say, currently between jobs! As it turns out the fact that I submitted my pay slips from my last job and simply answered “Yes!” when asked if I was looking for a job seemed to suffice regarding the issue of my employment.

On the morning of my visa interview I was armed with a mountain of additional paperwork. I had everything that was stipulated on the list and then some…

A copy of my English boyfriend’s passport (a very good reason to return to the UK)

A copy of my English boyfriend’s bank statements (in case they didn’t think I had enough money in the bank they could be sure my lovely boyfriend would be able to bail us out of a money related crisis)

Copies of the Gatwick Express tickets booked and paid for on our return to London (Wouldn’t want them to go to waste by illegally living in Gascony!)

Copies of the theatre tickets to Chicago that were booked and paid for (Clearly I had things to do, places to go, why would I want to hide out in France!)

I never needed my additional mountain of paper work in the end. But I did make sure I had EVERYTHING on the list (excepting a letter from my employer.)

I didn’t go through an agency when applying for my visa but I would recommend that you spend the extra money. 

A friend of mine uses Nexus Visas in Putney and she says they are excellent. I mailed them in a moment of panic some time on the Wednesday before I was due to leave on the Thursday and still hadn’t heard anything about my application.

I was looking for advice or reassurance. I was so impressed when I received a reply almost immediately. They were very honest in saying I couldn’t do much except wait.

Why the wait?

Usually you receive your visa on the day of your application. It takes a few hours but it is obviously worth the wait!

I considered every possible reason I may be given for my application being denied, hence the extra documentation. In the end it was a little black stamp in my passport from the Spanish Embassy dated 2008 that caused all the heart stopping drama.

I applied for a tourist visa to do a TEFL course in Barcelona for 4 weeks. Stupid. It should have been a student visa. I had only been living in the UK for about 4 months and was not actually considered a resident! I still had an international bank account and didn’t have original bank statements. The gentleman who processed my visa application told me I wasn’t likely to get a visa but it was up to me, I could try anyway. I had already accepted that I would lose out on the visa fee but I though that would be the biggest inconvenience. 

Had I know that a little black stamp indicating a failed visa application would cause such distress, I definitely wouldn’t have been so casual about the application process. 

As of 1 October 2010 the French Consulate will no longer be handling the visa application process. All applications will have to be made through an agency, TLSContact.

Nexus Visas will still be handling visa applications.

France was amazing, made even more amazing by the fact that friends from South Africa had also endured the process to make it there. We all had our stories. I’m sure it got a little boring for anyone without a Green Mamba, but hey, c’est la visa!