Restoration Drama

Met bro-in-law in Kensington Gardens this morning. Walking and chatting as we crossed Hyde Park we came across this splendid hawk with his keeper. 

It turns out that the Harris Harrier (havn't heard of that) is employed to scare off the crows that dig up the new turf. The grass is part of the restoration procedure in the park following the winter wonderland funfair. The crows love to come down and peck at and turn over the turf to get at the worms. Harris keeps them at bay.

Onward to lunch with Chris's old school pals who he still keeps in touch with. A hearty lunch at Fischers - a Viennese restaurant in Marylebone. Remarkable that they still meet up after all these years. A super day. 

Thanks for all your good wishes yesterday. On checking I think that in fact it was my 11th Blip birthday. Shame I havn't assembled photo books of each day's mini blog report. That would be quite a diary.