R is for ... Rings, Reigns and Rain (lots of..)

A triple R AlphaPonty challenge blip all in one!

I have had the most wonderful day at the Hay Festival 2012.

I was asked by RSPB Cymru to help out on a photographic "masterclass" for budding young wildlife photographers. I wasn't hosting it, but just there as a volunteer to help with any questions.

The one thing we didn't want was a rain ... alas we got it by the bucket full. It chucked it down all day long. This time last week we were bathing in warm sunshine, today it was more autumn than summer. I was really concerned about how we could do the nature walk in the deluge. I needn't have, it seems kids these days are resilient things, and they were mad keen to get out there and see what they could get shots of. There was not a lot of wildlife on show, but there was plenty of flora and fauna to take photographs of, and there was enough light to get some nice droplets on the Ox Eye daisies and other bits and pieces that were around, but we did all get soaked.

I managed to get a shot of this wonderful tree stump, which I thought would fit well with the R themed week this week, as its rings are quite visible. It was only when I was showing the people on the RSPB stand that one of them pointed it out that it looked a bit like the Queen in the simulacra in the centre, and how apt would that be for the Jubilee celebrations this weekend.

The afternoon session was even wetter, it seemed the rain had only been practising in the morning, and now was really going for it. We did have to curtail the nature walk, and we stuck to the nature garden in the show ground. Their enthusiasm was incredible again, and it was great to see that not all kids conform to the stereotypical X Box addict!

After the two sessions we had the rest of the day to ourselves and we had a wander around and a bite to eat. We had tickets to see Tom Watson talking about the phone hacking scandal in the evening, and that was fascinating. The phone hacking scandal is a story I have been following quite closely over the past year or so. I even bought his book and got it signed afterwards ... well it is the Hay Festival .. you can't leave without buying a book can you!

I haven't been to Hay for years, but I most certainly got bitten by the bug yesterday. I really must get back into my reading, I used to be a bit of a book worm, but I have kinda fallen out of the habit of late. It was great to see so many people reading paperbacks. I commented to Dawn whilst we were queuing to get Tom Watson's book signed that Kindles are great, but you can't get them autographed can you!

The Hay Festival is often billed as the "Glastonbury for the mind ..." ... well the weather was most certainly Glastonbury-esque yesterday, but it most certainly didn't dampen our spirits!