Blue Peter

This steam locomotive, the Blue Peter, was making its first trip for 23 years, pulling a train from London's King's Cross to York, having been overhauled in Crewe to bring it up to standard. The national profile of number 60532 grew in the 1970s when it was 'adopted' by the BBC children's programme of the same name.

Today's being dull and verging on rain all day, I doubt we'd have gone for a walk if it hadn't been for the chance to see this engine go by. It passed our village soon after 4.30pm. So chuffed (!) to have seen it. Our viewpoint was from a meadow a little lower than the railway line. We're also pleased that it made us have a lovely walk. For the first time this summer we saw lots of butterflies, brown ones that I think were Meadow Browns, and six or seven white ones with strong black markings. 

Looking in my butterflies book, the nearest I could find to the white and black butterflies we saw is the Black-veined White. The book tells me this is extinct in Britain BUT the book is nearly thirty years old. Could it be that they are now around in our Isles? If not, I wonder what they were. Or were they daytime-flying moths? None settled to allow a photograph.

My Extra is the result of 'stitching' two frames together. The pictures were taken using the 4K facility on my camera, which I use far too rarely. It's perfect for fast-moving subjects. You can see the join, but it creates the effect.