Birdfair!

[Tally]

http://www.birdfair.org.uk/

 

Apparently it's the birdwatcher's Glastonbury!

 

Well, I've been thinking about going and don't know anyone who wants to go with me. I thought it would be pretty miserable on my own. So I'm applying as a volunteer!

[Bluesbreaker]

Ah yes down my neck of the woods, 20 miles ish from my house

 

i may go yet, it depends on what money i Have(n't) got, what else is on, all that....

[Tally]

They got back to me to say they are still looking for volunteers. It all depends now if my availability matches what they still need covering. It's looking good though, because I am fairly flexible and was planning to take it pretty easy outside of my shifts as I will have 3 days to look around.

 

I've also agreed to attend an event at the London Wetlands Centre where I don't know anyone else who is attending. I think I must be getting brave

[Mumble]

I've also agreed to attend an event at the London Wetlands Centre where I don't know anyone else who is attending. I think I must be getting brave

Can I have some of whatever you're taking please? :lol: I've wanted to do a few things there but never been brave enough.

 

[Tally]

Can I have some of whatever you're taking please? :lol: I've wanted to do a few things there but never been brave enough.

 

Are you on Facebook? It's the Facebook group meet up on Sun 1st August. I think there are still spaces.

[Tally]

I have been given my hours, booked a slot on the campsite, and arranged kitty feeders (my mum and dad). I am going to be camping for four nights with no facilities except a toilet and a standpipe. If I am not mad already I probably will be by the time I get back!

[Tally]

AAARRRGH, it's this weekend!!!

 

I haven't had time to get nervous because I've been so busy. I am still really tired after Autscape last week. I thought I would have recovered by now, but I haven't. They have given me so much work that I don't know if I will get much of a chance to look around. I think it will be a good social opportunity though. I have loads to do tomorrow in preparation, so there shouldn't be time to work myself up into a big panic.

 

I think I am only camping for 2 nights now. I will only stay a 3rd if I am too tired to drive home on Sunday evening. It would be nice to get back and sleep in my own bed if I am up to the drive. I am going early Friday morning so I can get a good sleep to set me up for the first day at least.

 

I still haven't unpacked and I need to re-pack still! I need to take loads because the weather might get a bit cold at night. I'm taking a few blankets and lots of T-shirts to layer on. I have to take all my own food as well, to cook on my little camping stove. I did my food shopping today and I have goodies!

 

I hope my glow sticks have not got crushed in the car, as I need them to mark out my tent so I can find it in the dark. As long as no one else has had the same idea as me, I should be fine!

[Tally]

Well I am home now, caked in mud, starving hungry and probably a bit stinky too, but too tired to get out of my chair to do anything about any of it.

 

I was too tired to even manage the work I agreed to do. Even when I made it to my post I had to sit down most of the time because I felt dizzy when I stood up. I had to sit down every time I walked through a marquee because it was so hot in there. I could not stop to look at anything because I felt faint and needed to get to the other end to get out as soon as possible. I only made it to one of the lectures I wanted to see, and then I had to sit on the floor because I was too dizzy to sit on a chair. I spent the rest of the time laying down in my tent and went to bed at 8pm both nights. I could hear other campers sitting around chatting and wanted to join in, but couldn't even sit up without feeling dizzy.

 

The best part was when I saw Chris Packham signing calendars and there was only a really short queue of about 3 people, so I bought one and got him to sign it. I went all shakey because of the heat and I must have turned a bit green because he got up and made me sit in his chair. So it was mostly just a very embarrassing experience really.

 

This morning I worked on the entrance gate. They were doing cheaper tickets for RSPB and WIldlife Trusts members. I got confused and gave people the discounts when they showed Wildlife and Wetlands Trust membership cards. I only had 10 seconds training, so it's not exactly surprising I made mistakes! Then I got told off because a man showed his RSPB membership card but his wife couldn't find hers, so I said, "I'll take your word for it," and gave them both the cheaper tickets and that apparently is a very bad thing to do. A bit later someone else was working with me and a couple and their daughter said they were all RSPB members, but only the man had his card with him. He started shouting at us and in the end he stood there and blocked the gate while his wife went back and got her ticket from the car, and then he kicked off again when we asked for full price for the daughter's ticket, because she didn't have her RSPB card with her at all. We had the get the security guard and everything. He said he wasn't going to rejoin the RSPB when his membership comes up for renewal now. We could have avoided all that hassle by just letting them in for cheaper in the first place. We were all volunteers and it just doesn't seem worth taking abuse from people who obviously really were RSPB members and weren't trying to defraud us out of £2.

 

When I told them first thing this morning that I wasn't very well and just couldn't manage this afternoon's shift, I got complained at about that as well. I wish I had just gone home without saying anything.

 

So all in all, I've had a really bad time and won't bother giving up my time for them again. Next year I am going as a paying guest and will hopefully see something more interesting than Chris Packham's chair.

[Kathryn]

Sorry to hear it was a less than wonderful experience. It doesn't seem fair to expect inexperienced volunteers to take that kind of hassle - I wouldn't want to do anything for them again either.

 

Sounds as though you need a good long rest now!

 

K x

[Tally]

I've had a good rest, still not quite recovered, but nearly there!

 

I feel a bit better about it now. I've decided to go again next year as a paying visitor. That way I will have the energy to see things and go to the lectures, and maybe feel up to meeting other people on the campsite afterwards as well.

 

It's quite a big blow to discover how badly I can manage things like this now. I used to cycle for 50 miles and then go to work the next day. Now I can't even stand up and walk around a bit.

[Gordie]

The best part was when I saw Chris Packham signing calendars and there was only a really short queue of about 3 people, so I bought one and got him to sign it. I went all shakey because of the heat and I must have turned a bit green because he got up and made me sit in his chair. So it was mostly just a very embarrassing experience really.

Chris Packham: legend. Vague memory now, but I probably saw him (yeah - that vague a memory! ) when he co-hosted The Really Wild Show on CBBC, waaaaaay back in the day, coz (for some reason) my class at primary school were picked to go in the audience at BBC Bristol. Probably late-1980s, as I'd have been in junior school then, somewhere between the ages of 7 and 11, I suppose. My strongest memory of that day was the moody director, who shouted at us all to shut up coz we were being noisy kids (not me, of course - I was way too quiet to ever be noisy!) and they couldn't do any filming till we were quiet. Of course one of the more child-friendly presenters (whichever the female one was at the time - not Michaela Strachan) then tried to encourage us to be quiet a little more gently. There was lots of waiting around in boring rooms that day as well. But, for some reason, Chris' presence didn't really stick in my mind. Still a legend though.

 

James