Music Festivals

We've been in Portugal, again this year, half way between Lisbon and the Algarve, celebrating the 10th anniversary of the wonderful Festival Músicas Do Mundo (FMM) in Sines. Held every year in July, FMM invites the most important names of the global circuit in world music, jazz and blues to perform at the biggest world music festival in Portugal. The festival kicked off in Sines for one night with music from Brasil, Mali and Galicia. It then moved to Porto Covo, a picturesque village in Alentejo, for three nights with a selection of bands from Portugal, Cape Verde, USA, Belgium/Finland, Italy, India and Belize/Honduras, before returning to Sines.

Danae

Danae, one of the many vibrant performers, wowed the crowd outside the Arts Centre with her amazing voice and performance.

Waldemar Bastos from Angola

The castle of Sines is a superb setting for many of the performers, culminating in a magnificent firework display on the final night of the festival.

Vinicio Capossela from Italy

A statue of Vasco da Gama, adjacent to the castle, overlooks the harbour of Sines

Asif Ali Khan & Party musicians from Pakistan

Each year an eclectic mix of musical talent entertains the crowd in a variety of locations including the Arts Centre, the Beach and the Castle at Sines as well as by the beach at Porto Covo.

Praia de S. Torpes

This is one of the most crowded beaches in the area but, as you can see, it doesn't look overcrowded for a sunny day in July. This is a view from the lovely beach restaurant/bar Trinca Espinhas which we can highly recommend for its lovely seafood and delicious starters.

Ashraf Malik behind his stall of crystals and natural stones

During the music festival the steps from Sines castle to the beach are lined with interesting stalls offering crystals, jewellery, ayurvedic massages, clothing and artefacts. Ashraf had a beautiful collection of crystals, pendulums, essential oils and the like.

KTU from Finland/USA

A view from backstage looking across the castle grounds

Alcácer do Sal

Bunting decorates one of the streets in Alcácer do Sal, a pretty riverside town an hour's drive from Sines. Seek out one of the riverside restaurants for some good Portugese food.

Colourful stalls line the promenade at Sines

One of the pleasures of Sines during the music festival is its collection of (mostly) hippie stalls by the beach. Another is its mix of 'tasquinhas' or food and drink stands next to the stage by the beach. Wander off the beach and you've a great selection of food and drink to chose from. This year we really liked the Kibes (minced meat patties flavoured with pine nuts, bulgar wheat and herbs, in particular mint) washed down with a mean mojito cocktail made by one of the stalls.

The Dizu Plaatjies' Ibuyambo Ensemble

This band from South Africa entranced the audience on the stage by the beach, giving the sunset that evening a special feel. It's a magical setting, a sea of happy faces bordered by the sea, and spirits are high!

The Vasco da Gama beach of Sines

The statue of navigator Vasco da Gama, which is adjacent to the town castle, overlooks this beach. You can just see the dark scaffolding of the beach stage to the left of the image. Although ringed by industry and large shipping piers, Sines beach and harbour remain unspoilt.

The Hypnotic Brass Ensemble USA

Last year the festival featured street musicians. This colourful ensemble proved popular with the crowds beachside.

Porto Palafito Carrasqueira on the Sado River estuary

Harry Manx on stage 2007

The wonderful Blues man and mohan veena player Harry Manx from Canada performing on the beach stage.

A magical moment between father and child

Lula Pena performs for a young audience in the Arts Centre in 2007

Lula gives a workshop at the Arts Centre

A view of Sines harbour from the castle walls

Mud Morganfield at the Mijas Blues Festival in Spain, June 2008

Music from another part of the Mediterranean - Mijas in Spain. We spent a great long weekend in June at the Blues Festival in Mijas listening to some excellent musicians, including eldest son of Muddy Waters, Mud Morganfield.

Big Joe Louis and Wes Weston on stage at Mijas

If you love The Blues you'll love this festival, set in the lovely surroundings of Mijas.

Peaches Staten from Chicago

Sunday morning, after the festival

The streets were quiet on the morning following the festival. Mijas is a picturesque white village (pueblo blanca) in the foothills of the Costa del Sol which overlooks the sea. It attracts artists and tourists alike and has many tempting boutiques.

A street scene in Mijas

Winners, losers and the return of the prodigal swan

Mouthwatering fruit & vegetables

It's that time of year again - the Hampton Court Palace Flower Show week. Set in the wonderful venue of Home Park and in view of Cardinal Wolsey's (and subsequently Henry VIII's) magnificent palace, the show is a visual feast. This year in particular the word feast springs to mind, with the emphasis on growing and cooking an array of fruit and vegetables.

Joe Swift chats with a delighted award- winning garden designer

Dorset Cereals Edible Playground garden is an inspiration to those thinking of starting vegetable plots in schools, inspiring children to grow their own fruit and vegetables. It also gets them thinking about where their food comes from . I believe it won best of show. It is full of edible plants offering colour, texture and taste and incorporating many environmental features.

The Thai floating market stand

This colourful spectacle, on the banks of the Long Water, is proving very popular with the public, who are able to buy a selection of Thai goods such as fans and hand-painted umbrellas.

The Spirits' Garden

This vibrant garden contains spiritual and symbolic elements, using reflective mirrors to reverse the world as we see it. The plants have been selected for their texture or their fragrance, and many have been handed down through generations. It is intended primarily for solitary contemplation, meditation and relaxation.

Bidou's back!

We may never discover where Bidou disappeared to for the breeding season but she's back, minus any cygnets, if she did manage to breed successfully. Our family of mute swans aren't best pleased at her reappearance and even the cob drives her off. Earlier in the year it seemed like he was a little partial to her flattering attention but, now that he has a family, he's taking his responsibilities seriously! As they are the only 'relatives' in the area she tags along behind them and calls mournfully when she is driven away.

One of this year's winners

The attrition rate for ducklings, baby coots and young grebes this year is dreadful once again. The Herring Gulls pick them off at leisure and what they don't grab the pike, herons and crows take. This is one clever mallard to have managed to keep four for this long but then she's incredibly wary and constantly alert. The ducklings have taken to climbing up our swimming ladder onto the deck in order to be fed and then they curl up together on a coir mat for a kip. It's so lovely to at least see one set of survivors.

A gentle sunset looking towards Hampton Church on the main river

We haven't had too many good evenings this year so when we do we try to get out in the boat for an evening meander round the islands. It's mid July and quite cold for the time of year, which means that the river probably won't warm up enough for swimming by the autumn.

Golden Eye with her last surviving duckling

When we came back from the Mijas Blues Festival our two nesting mallards had already hatched their young. The one we call "snake duck" had nine ducklings but lost them all within two days, and Golden Eye hatched seven. There were no signs of either ducks nor ducklings when we arrived home, but to my amazement Golden Eye was sitting in the lower deck nesting box with two ducklings. She'd obviously decided that it would do nicely as a nursery! We were thrilled to see that she still had two ducklings but after three days one of them disappeared and the other only lasted four more days. We were just beginning to hope that it might make it to adulthood. It was most amusing to watch her rounding them up at night and marching them up the plank to bed. Frequently she made at least four attempts before they would follow her to bed. Never one to give up Golden Eye has now decided to try for a third brood this year and has adopted the riverside nesting box with ramp as her preferred accommodation. "Snake duck" meanwhile has littered the patio deck with earth again having returned to her 'chimney pot' on the top deck. They are both currently sitting on at least six eggs each.

What happened to the seven baby coots?

The coots have had a hard time of it this year. Their nest was partially washed way with some of the eggs but they still managed to hatch 7 youngsters. They look so comical with their punk hair styles. The seven survived for about a week and then four disappeared one day, two the next and the last one the following day. I know that a pike lurks close to where they were nesting and presume that it was probably the main culprit.

One of the rare colourful sunsets of the summer season

Where's the fourth?

Three cygnets hang around while a fourth undergoes the indignity of being handled by humans. Their parents reared out of the water at us, which is quite threatening when you're holding one of their young and it's calling out plaintively to its mum and dad. When the family came for a spot of breakfast I spotted a large float twisted round it's wing and leg. I managed to grab the young swan from the river before being attacked and, while Dave held it I freed the line. Unfortunately it had swallowed the hook and it was too far down its throat for me to deal with so I called the local experts, Peter and Addie, and they popped down armed with the right equipment.

Addie holding the cygnet while Peter prepares to cut the line

Fortunately it was a very fine hook and although it was too far down the cygnet's throat to do anything without damaging the tissue Peter decided that it was probably safe to cut the line. I promised to keep an eye on the cygnet over the following days in case it showed signs of losing its appetite, but there appeared to be no ill effects. The cob made several attempts to attack first us and then Peter and Addie, but soon settled down once the cygnet was put back in the river. The four are thriving so it obviously coped with the tiny hook but the line would have been fatal had it not been cut away and disposed of.

Dad tries to impress us with his size and strength

Once the cygnet was released the cob 'attacked' Peter and Addie several more times and then followed them upstream with his wings flared in warning. Fortunately memories are short and the cygnets visit 6 or 7 times a day, with Bidou hovering in the background. In fact, they've just visited and to my amazement Bidou thought her luck had changed when the cob appeared to attempt to mount her. Unfortunately (or not) depending on viewpoint, he gave her a few sharp nips on the neck and when she realised that this was more of an attack than an amorous approach she 'shrieked' and made a bid for freedom! After chasing her off for a few moments they both started preening and the cob returned to his family.

Newcomers and old favourites

Male Red-Crested Pochard

Preening Pochard

Mr. & Mrs. Red-Crested Pochard

This pair of Red-Crested Pochards have been on the river for about five weeks now and occasionally swim by, but they decided to stop off on our plank last week and were surprisingly tame. I should imagine they're visitors from the Woodland Gardens at Bushy Park.

Male Mandarin duck

This male Mandarin duck is still in fine plumage but one or two of the other male Mandarins that visit are looking decidedly sorry for themselves as they moult and lose their fine feathers.

The missing cygnet

During the week I was upset to discover that our swans only had three cygnets. Later that day, an islander called to say she'd found a cygnet on its own and rescued it. Peter & Addie Bayliff, who are so generous with their time and knowledge of wildlife spent several hours looking for the parents and the rest of the family but couldn't locate them. I was asked if I'd look after the cygnet and reunite it with its siblings the next time the swans visited. Dave and I then got a call to say that the lock keeper at Molesey lock had spotted the swans by the weir so we took the cygnet to the lock in our boat. We carefully made our way down the boat rollers with his help (armed with half a sandwich) and tried to attract the family of swans over to us. The cygnet was calling but the wind carried its calls away from the swans and we were concerned that if we put the cygnet in the river it might not join up with the rest of them. However, the lock keeper's sandwich did the trick and as the cob (male swan) headed over we launched the cygnet. To our relief and delight, they met midstream and then the pen swam over with the other three to join them. It was such a relief and there were hugs all round!

Was this the 'one that got away' for a day?

It's been great to see all four cygnets with mum and dad again and I've tried to work out which one we rescued but it's impossible to tell which was the recalcitrant one.

Grooming time for a Great Crested Grebe

Sorting out its wing feathers

The grebes have continued to use our plank for courtship but less frequently now. We were puzzled by the fact that during mating they reversed roles most days but we have since learned that it's quite common for grebes generally to practice reverse mounting.

Injured Tufted Duck

I spotted this male tufted duck staggering around the garden like a drunk and guess it must have been struck hard with an oar by one of the many rowers in this area. It was so sad to watch it arching up and tottering over, time and time again. If I 'd been able to 'rescue' it without harming it I would have done so but I didn't want it to return to the river until it had recovered. Eventually it jumped down of its own accord and swam away so I can only hope that it made a full recovery.

Egyptian Goose

Three years ago it was rare to see Egyptian Geese on this stretch of the river but now there are rather more than is good for our indigenous wildlife. Just as the Canada Goose took over and bred far too successfully, so the Egyptian Geese are now becoming too numerous.

Life and death on the river

Great crested grebes just after mating

We've been away on The Isles of Scilly and when we returned it was to the joy of finding a pair of grebes frequenting our floating platform. We've never had grebes haul out before and to watch them courting and mating is quite a privilege. I've never seen a grebe out of water except when it's on a nest so it's fascinating to watch them at such close quarters. These two had just finished mating and the male slithered down her back into the river.

The male's second attempt at mating

The courtship is amazing, lots of head flicking - they mirror each other's movements. I haven't seen these two perform the dance they do after the male proffers his mate some muddy leaves or a feather, but presumably that happens when they're nest building and we're not sure where their nest is . We think it's upstream from us.

A sign of affection?

After mating the male grebe left his foot draped around his partner's neck. It almost looks like a human gesture but I'm putting my own interpretation on the gesture!

What a fine crest

It's easy to see how Great Crested Grebes' feathers were sort after to adorn ladies' hats last century. So many grebes were killed for their crests that they were put on the endangered species list in the UK. Fortunately, they have now made a come-back and we have a healthy population in our area.

One of four surviving cygnets

Our resident swans' young family

A sleepy cygnet

The kids with their dad

While we were away the swans hatched 9 or 10 cygnets but there were only four survivors by the time we returned. They are so lovely and are growing all too quickly. At least they are less likely to be taken by the herring gulls or the crows as they get bigger.

Sadly, our resident duck "Golden Eye" lost all seven ducklings within two days of hatching them. We watched some of them hatch on the day before we left for the Scilly Isles, and had to keep rescuing a recalcitrant one that kept leaving the nest. Twice it fell to the lower deck and I had to carry it back to its nest on the garden deck upstairs. "Golden Eye" wasn't amused and huffed and puffed at me. In the end we put a brick in front of the nest box opening so that the ducklings couldn't escape until mum was ready for them all. The next morning she tried a dozen or so times to get them out of the nest but only a couple would follow her. When most of them were out and had flopped to the lower deck and launched themselves into the river we gave the others a helping hand so that all seven joined their mum in the water. Apparently only two were seen the following day, one of which was grabbed by a crow. The remaining one may well have met the same fate.

"Golden Eye" is now sitting on eggs again but a magpie grabbed one while she was off the nest yesterday and we're now having to keep an eye on things. It's amazing that it dares to enter the nest box and raid the eggs. We've placed a decoy duck on top of the nesting box and hope that it will deter the magpie.