In the tropics

I wanted to take the 50D to Slimbridge Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust today, because the colour repro and the lens are so much better than my compact's. However, I rarely know what I am doing with it...

We took the opportunity to visit Slimbridge after one of my shorter days at work, because it's the only time we'll have for jaunting this week. The weather is beautiful, too! Once we got there, we wandered around taking shots of hundreds of birds, including many types of flamingoes. However, it was this shy little bird, which eventually got over its fear of the shutter, that captivated me. It was in the tropical house, which did not display bird names, so I don't even know what it was called!
I grew rather hot (is it me or is just my age?) so had to leave the tropical house and sit in the sun in the 20-degree heat, but it remains one of my favourite areas. There is a vast pool, with colourful fish swimming at leisure; a waterfall; brightly coloured blossoms, and many little birds flitting or skating around, at first only discernible by the flutter of their wings, but becoming increasingly more visible as the air stills and settles.

CleanSteve says the Tropical House reminds him of Penang, in Malaysia. I've never been to the Far East, but for me it's a magical place, a travel agent's poster come to life.

I took at least 60 pictures, but have not looked at them all because the files are rather large for my iPad, and because I had to go out to a meeting shortly after returning home from Slimbridge. It was a gathering of several mostly elderly people, some of whom were hard of hearing. In one wonderful moment, when we were discussing a forthcoming social event, someone mentioned a 'bring and buy" meal.

"Do you mean a bring and share?" I asked.

'What?" boomed a voice from the back, "Bring a chair?'

In the event, the speaker I'd booked to liven up the AGM turned out to be a success. He has promised to offer (the Stroud branch of the Workers' Educational Association) some further study opportunities with a poetry/radical history theme, as well as being booked to deliver some sessions to another group that was represented last night. A win-win situation!