Winter Wonderland

This morning, we were supposed to be joining a group of RSPB friends to go  bird watching at Blashford Lakes, a nature reserve near Ringwood on the edge of the New Forest. We weren't sure whether to go because snow showers were forecast, but as there were only a few snowflakes falling in Winchester at 9am, we set off. However, the further west we drove, the  heavier the snow became! No one else turned up apart from the leader and her daughter and her husband. They were going out for lunch nearby afterwards, so had been highly motivated to brave the elements. 
Nevertheless, in the first hide, overlooking a large lake, we saw a variety of ducks, a Green Sandpiper and Great Crested Grebe. The snow was easing off as we moved on to the  second hide to view woodland birds which are enticed into sight  by the provision of feeders. The most exciting sighting here was a male Sparrowhawk which swooped through, although the  Blue and Great Tits and Chaffinches were all too quick for him and he went away empty handed.
Martin and I walked on to another hide, and on the way we were accosted by a bold Robin, which kindly posed for my blip photo!  
We then saw a Kingfisher flying past, skimming the surface of a small pond. So, overall, it proved  a worthwhile trip. 
This afternoon, back in Winchester. the sun came out and  we saw blue sky. I visited my Mother and  arranged with her to take her out tomorrow to buy Christmas cards. 
This evening, we (accidentally!) found ourselves watching an interesting  programme with Martin Scorsese talking about film makers  Michael Powell and  Emeric Pressburger, which was followed by a showing of their 1945 film"I know where I'm going",set on the  beautiful island of Mull and the  (imaginary) island of Kiloran, with an exciting scene set around the Corryvreckan whirlpool. It starred Wendy Hiller  and Roger Livesey, and a very young Petula Clark also had a part. This was followed by a programme made thirty years ago, in which some of the key actors and other people involved in making the film were interviewed. This programme was followed by a showing of the  excellent film,"Colonel Blimp", but we decided that watching that would make for too late a night!