One of my resident sparrows.

This little chap has been chirruping away happily in the sunshine of the last few days.

Oxeye daisies in a South Somerset garden.

I have allowed the oxeye daisies in my garden to spread along the borders and form clumps on the lawn, in fact they have taken root all over the place.  They are one of my favourite wild flowers and are always guaranteed to lift the spirits whether seen in the garden, hedgerow or roadside verge.

The roses seem to be in pretty good health too after enjoying a couple of very warm dry months.  No sign of any aphids, black spot, or rust – yet!

Churchstanton's village Church of St. Peter and St. Paul on the Blackdown Hills in Somerset.

Tucked away down a narrow country lane south-west of the former World War Two RAF airfield at Culmhead on the Blackdown Hills in Somerset is Churchstanton’s village Church of St. Peter and St. Paul. 

The church and rectory are situated high up on the hills near the border with Devonshire; in fact the parish of Churchstanton was part of Devonshire until sometime in the latter half of the nineteenth century.  Even though the parish is a large one of 4,000 acres, and has a church, a Sunday school and a pub, there is no real village nearby to justify the size of the church.  An explanation for its position in such splendid isolation seems to be offered by Ronald Webber in his The Devon and Somerset Blackdowns (Robert Hale, 1976).  He writes:

 “No one seems to know why the church of St. Peter and St. Paul should be sited just where it is.  It dates back to the thirteenth century, but, as far as is known, has never had a neighbouring population of any size. Certainly it is placed in the middle of a rather large parish, and perhaps once drew its congregation from scattered hamlets, farmsteads and cottages.”

Churchstanton's village Church of St. Peter and St. Paul on the Blackdown Hills in Somerset.  Photographed in the Spring of 2016.

Paul Newman informs us in his Somerset Villages (Robert Hale, 1986): “The church tower has several gargoyles, one with buttocks protruding over the parapet and serving none too decorously as a waterspout.”  Personally, I can’t say I noticed a gargoyle of such distinctive appearance!

A view of the Somerset Coast looking west from the England Coast Path near Quantock's Head.

I took these photos from the England Coast Path near Quantock's Head on an April day in 2016.  I parked at the Kilve Beach pay and display car park and followed the England Coast Path to the west.  

A view toward Minehead from the England Coast Path near Quantock's Head in Somerset.

The view toward Watchet from the England Coast Path near Quantock's Head in Somerset.

I remember the day well as the weather was changeable to put it mildly!  Sunshine, rain, hail, sleet and snow came blowing in from the Bristol Channel, and I mean blowing - at Quantock's Head I could hardly stand up.  Be that as it may, I enjoyed my walk, and the scenery.  

On this day in 1940 Aircraftman 1st Class W.K.Lambert was killed in a flying accident. He is remembered in the village of Bosham, West Sussex.

At the start of the year our good friends L and C were exploring the churchyard of Holy Trinity Church in the West Sussex village of Bosham.  They came across the Commonwealth War Grave of an RAF serviceman who died on 3 May 1940 and, knowing my interest in such matters, L sent me a photo.

The grave was that of Aircraftsman 1st Class William Kirby Lambert, a Wireless Operator/Air Gunner, who was killed when his Blenheim Mk 4 L9297 stalled and crashed on take-off from RAF Andover following an engine failure.  William Lambert and 2 other members of the crew, Pilot Officer R. J. Carter and Sergeant J. M. Longley, were killed in the crash and the only member of the crew to survive, Aircraftman C. A. Wadman, died later of his injuries. 

William Lambert and his fellow crew members were serving with the RAF’s No.2 School of Army Cooperation based at RAF Andover when the accident happened.

It is interesting to note that aircrew members of the time could hold the rank of Aircraftman; as the war progressed aircrew would be made up of those of the rank of Sergeant or above. 

The Bristol Blenheim Mk 4 was a versatile light bomber powered by two 905hp Bristol Mercury Mk 15 radial piston engines which gave the aircraft a top speed of 266mph.  It was widely used in training and combat during the early years of World War Two, but in early 1943 it had been replaced in front line use by more modern aircraft and was thereafter used solely for training.

William Kirby Lambert is also remembered on Bosham’s war memorial which stands overlooking Bosham Creek, an offshoot of Chichester Harbour.*  Sadly, although Lambert was aged 34, rather old for aircrew, the Commonwealth War Grave Commission does not record any next of kin and there is no family inscription on his grave.

*http://www.roll-of-honour.com/Sussex/Bosham.html