The whole of the moon

Because I love you all I made an effort today. I was up long before I needed to be and de-iced the car in the dark before heading out. I enjoyed the sunrise even though I was driving directly into the light which made visibility a tad touchy at times. You might not realise this but we get the sun down here before the rest of Britain and there are teams of folk who check it over. If they are not satisfied that it's good enough the rest of the country just get cloud cover while they buff it up ready for another try the following morning. The moon was also fully visible as the sun rose.

I diverted via Waitrose in Hythe for provisions (you have to try their Apple & pork sausage rolls!) and was at the RSPB Reserve at Dungeness before the visitor's centre opened. I don't know whether you are aware of this but before they open the centre the staff are busy making sure that all the birds are well groomed and in good fettle - a long job at Dungeness. The hides are accessible while the centre is still closed so I dived into Dennis's Hide and settled down for some good old-school relaxing. The usual suspects were about and I also saw a chiffchaff - first time I've seen one and it was far too fast for me to get the camera pointed and fired. It was bitterly cold so after a while I bunged the stuff in the car and went into the visitor's centre. There was a time when this was free but they are charging now - not me, as a member, but other visitors. I grabbed a coffee and had a warm. Then I checked the board - and they added my chiffchaff - and headed out to see the cattle egrets that were off-site at Denge Marsh.

You've probably wondered why birds flock to RSPB sites, how they know that the site is there, well - as a member - I can shed some light on this. They look for the signs - it's that simple. However, now and again some birds don't read the email or see the brown signs and end up off-site. Thus there were a couple of cattle egrets opposite the car-wrecker's yard on the road down to Denge Marsh and, in the next field, half a dozen grey herons. The egrets have been there a while; a guy was talking about going to see them when I was at Stodmarsh before Christmas. The RSPB reckon that about 100 winter in the UK so they are not that common. Too far away for a photo but lovely to see them again - I've seen them previously at Elmley in summer.

Then to Camber. The clouds were rolling in by now and the wind had got up such that when I stopped in Camber the car was sand-blasted and opening the door let in a fine dust which is in my hair and clothes. That's where I took this shot, right next to something proclaiming itself to be a "Bavarian beach grill". I must admit that this took me back somewhat, what with Bavaria being completely landlocked and all that, until I remembered a beer-soaked evening at a beach party in Bavaria. Schorschi may be able to provide the details but as I remember it there was a field full of sand with a couple of bars and burning oil-drums and limbo and all sorts of madness. We were in the mountains so I may have been hallucinating because of altitude-sickness but it certainly seemed real. Either way a Bavarian beach-grill on the Sussex coast, in sleepy Camber, struck me as incongruous.

Then along to Hastings with a view to grab some more photos and head up to swing through RTW on the way home but............. The engine management light came on and the car slumped into "limp home" mode so I limped home. I'll find "a man who can" tomorrow to see what I've broken. Now it's time for a beer and a kip - I've been up as long as those of you who work!

Music fans will tie the title back to the album for the proper title for the image.