HMS Sultan, Summer Show..... Annual Event

HMS SULTAN, is the Royal Navy School of Mechanical Engineering..... originally conceived to train stokers for the "new" coal fired, steam powered ships. Now, it is bang up to date, and covers many aspects of Mechanical Engineering as applied to todays modern Royal Navy. Each year, they produce a magnificent summer show, as part of the "community spirit".... it takes the form of an enlarged "village fete".... with many commercial stalls, a travelling fairground, static displays of helicopters, and tanks (from the Royal Marines) and other aspects of the Navy too.

There is a large arena event area, where steam powered traction engines, (including one that used to belong to HMS SULTAN) parade, with vintage cars, dog display team, parachute arrivals, and a cut down version of the famous "Field Gun Run"... to entertain the crowds.... It is a 2 day event, but each day is the same... so it is not "over subscribed" with visitors, all trying to see everything on one day.

One of the displays was by the Royal Artillery Motorcycle Display Team, and I have use my FZ28 in "outdoor sports" mode, to see how it copes with the speed of the "Flying Gunners"... some of the results you can see alongside....

If you ever get the chance to go (next year, maybe???) then it is well worth the money, and it is NOT expensive.... however, beware of the ice cream sellers.... £7.00 for 3 ice creams, is a bit over the top, in my opinion... There are several "food" stalls, but I cannot vouch for them, as we took a picnic with us, and made it a "real old fashioned" day out! ! Parking is Free, and well organised, complete with (temporary) traffic light control for pedestrian to cross in safety, from the car park to the main site.

The little traction engine, is actually towing the large fullsize version!...

The red steam lorry is being driven (very fast) by a lady driver, and gives a step back in time picture, with the Hovercraft to the left, and the Modern HGV to the right of it.!

The Helicopter, is on a raised stand, and was giving kids rides up into the belly using the winch ! great fun for them.... There were several other helicopters there for the kids to go and sit in the pilots seat, for proud mums and dads to take pics of them !... Quite a few of the tanks were also "open" to visitors too.

The motorcycle display team started jumping one vehicle, and ended the show by clearing 4 !... but by the look of it.... only just ! ! The four men, in the pic above the helicopter, were doing "wheelies" from four corners of the display area, and crossing each others path.

More photographs from Birdworld

Here are some more photographs of the residents at Birdworld.... Although we spent over 5 hours there, because we had our great granddaughter with us, (she was more interested in the slides and play areas!!!) we did not see all the birds....

To do them justice, requires a selfish attitude, and a solo visit, with your camera, and spare battery... just in case!

Some of them (unfortunately) are not exactly photogenic, those with just one colour, brown or black, etc., so I had to give them a miss.... After all, colour photography, demands COLOUR... and the pretty coloured birds get the attention !.... So.... do not think that I am showing ALL the residents.... there are many many more, including a HUGE aviary with several different species of Parrot.... if you are lucky, one may come to you and say HELLO !...

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A Day Out at BIRDWORLD, Holt Pound, Farnham, Surrey.

Today, we took our great grand-daughter to Birdworld, Near Farnham, Surrey. The last time I went there was over 25 years ago, and I vaguely remember being disappointed with the place !...

This time it was different...

Over the years, it has improved.... both in the presentation of the place, and the number, and variety, of birds on display.... The aviaries have been designed with plenty of flying space, for the occupants, and the whole area of Birdworld is "wheelchair friendly".... although this was not of concern to us on our visit, it can be to those unfortunate enough to have to use wheelchairs to get about... For the family with small children, the comparison would be "push-chair" friendly !...

We arrived about 11 am, and spent the rest of the day just wandering around, we took a picnic in with us, and had that at the Jenny Wren Farm, end of the site..... There are toilet facilities in the grounds, and also at the entrance, another good point is there are also a couple of places away from the main restaurant area, to get a cup of tea, or other drinks, and ice creams. It was "quiet" today, but we have driven past at the weekends, and noticed the car-park overflowing with cars.

The highlight of the day for me, was the flying display. This was in the hands of a very capable young lady, Lizzy, and her two assistants. Previous flying displays, at wild life centres, have concentrated on the "education of the masses" commentary, by the person doing the flying, with the occasional "swoop by" of a hawk, or two.... However, Lizzy, at Birdworld, did give some information about the birds, which was interesting, and did not divert the attention from the birds in flight... it was a "light" entertainment style, and completely relaxing to watch and listen to the commentary. The flying display consisted of Two Large Owls, (flying seperately), a "Ground Hopping Striated Cara Cara, a species that comes from the Falkland Islands, where it is known as "Johnny Rook", apparently it finds it`s food supply amongst the baby penguins, and other small ground animals, even going as far as looking under rocks and undergrowth. The team had taught it a version of Kerplunk, where a morsel of food was suspended inside a wire cage with sticks to be removed before it became available at the bottom, for the bird to eat as reward....! Also a pair of Kookaburra`s, who would only land on their own "coloured" stick.! and a magnificent Blue & Gold Macaw, which had an affection for Lizzy, who was flying the birds.

If you haven`t been to Birdworld, then I can recommend it.... as an incentive, go to their website http://www.birdworld.co.uk/ and check out the "Free Ticket" offer .....

To sum up...... Well worth a visit, and very enjoyable. Some photographs from the days outing to whet your appetite ! !