The Lake Isle

This man-made island was created in the lake in Stroud's Stratford park, to allow the resident swans to have a safe place to nest, away from foxes, badgers, drunken teenagers and other night-time predators. Normally when I pass I see a wooden nesting box on the island, or a swan sitting outside on her giant nest, but clearly it's Not That Time yet, as the island was bare. Can't be long to go, and at least we've escaped the snow!

I'd popped out to Tesco's at lunchtime to get a breather from the bustle of the nursery, but when I arrived there the first thing I heard was shouting! I noticed a man being pinned to the floor by no less than four uniformed men, one of them pressing his head into the floor. He was thrashing around and swearing, and at first I thought I'd stumbled across a person having a seizure and being given extremely inappropriate First Aid! My next thought was to whip out my camera to get my blip, and to be used as possible evidence, but chicken that I am, I just did my meagre shopping and left. From fragments of talk overheard, it appears that the man is a known shoplifter and today was THE day for nabbing him. The police were summoned, and eventually I saw him led off without protest.

I found the episode unsettling, and had to go swan-watching in the park to recover. The rest of the day has been extraordinarily busy. Not one, but two deadlines are looming, one tomorrow, and I've been out this evening already. Once I've hung up my dreadful paint-stained jeans (therein hangs another tale) I shall retire to bed to read Mapp and Lucia. I've had enough excitement for one day.

This is the black and white effect, and the comic filter, applied in the Photogene app for the iPad.