Castle Ward Barbecue

Now let me see, how many of us were there...not that many. About thirteen. It was good to have a chin-wag with three or four regular volunteer pals.

Craig lit the barbecue itself at about six-thirty. Earlier I had parked the car at the old farm-yard car-park, since we were having the BBQ on the grass beside the Barn (also known as the Countryside Wildlife Centre).

There was an abundance of food, including fresh garden salad, sauces, coleslaws, plum chutney, rolls and, of course, the obligatory burgers and sausages. I'd also brought along a carton of apple-and-mango fruit juice.

It happened to be Anna's birthday, so we also indulged in a chocolate sponge birthday cake.

At dusk we took our seats at the rear of the Barn, armed with so-called bat-boxes, and waited patiently. The bats emerged from the apertures of the slate roof very gradually over a long period. The grand total was about forty-seven, slightly disappointing since there were double that number of bats at this time last year. However, there could be other factors involved and, in a week's time, their numbers could double.

There was plenty of food for them! The midges were out in force last night, I can vouch for that. We could actually see them around us.

At about ten forty-five we decided to leave and we all headed over to Temple Water. It was an exceptionally calm and still night and we could see hardly anything in the water.

I arrived home at ten past midnight.