Regardless, I obtained 6 novelty sized canes for the reasonable price of £1.50 and headed over to St Katharine Docks to get a coffee from White Mulberries to try a latte made from their current guest espresso, Nude, of Brick Lane. Despite the heat and lugging around both my e-reader and novelty canes I'm glad I did; Nude's beans make a lovely smooth espresso, and with due care and attention given to the milk from the barista, makes for a rich, velvety latte with a distinct cocoa flavour and a delicate crema. The mild flavour profile provides a contrast (and thus an excellent stablemate) to White Mulberries' house espresso from Allpress.
Making my way back home via Waitrose, I walked down the canal and was amazed to see the hundreds of small damselflies hovering above the water. Slightly more odd was reaching the basin and seeing a straggly haired fellow swimming in the basin.
What I was really struck by though was a handful of larger flying insects that I think are dragonflies (I'm not an entomologist, so apologies if this is spurious). On getting home, I dropped off my shopping, rejigged my tomatoes with novelty canes and headed back out with my camera.
Lessons on the basin were in full swing, with both dinghies and kayaks on the water.
Having just returned from Whitechapel, seeing the Air Ambulance flying overhead made me think that helicopter would be a speedier means of transport than the D3, and a reminder of how important a service the Air Ambulance offers.
Also on the basin was a large group of ducks, seemingly sticking together in solidarity. Walking round to the canal, I met the newest brood of mallard ducklings. As I took some photos I became aware of the looming presence of a chap with a rather large net. Chatting with him, he introduced himself as Aaron, and his net as belonging to the sailing club, readying himself to try and lift the ducklings out of the canal and into the basin. Aaron told me about youths which had stoned the last brood of ducklings and the extent of duck poaching and the landing of fish that has been going on. Despite some perpetrators having been caught red handed by the police these incidents continue to occur.
At this point we were also joined by Dom, a neighbour of Aaron and LBTH's biodiversity officer. The chap from the council wasn't keen on netting the ducklings, so a floating piece of chip board was commissioned into a ramp in the hope the ducks would sort themselves out. Dom also explained that in addition to adult ducks being poached and ducklings being stoned, any ducklings trapped in the canal were also at the mercy of foxes.
Leaving the ducks to get on with their escape plan, I returned to my original plan of taking some photos of the insects, whilst Aaron chatted to the chap from the council. It appears as ever that there is no joined up thinking, with every authority one can imagine stating that a given aspect of wildlife protection is the responsibility of a different agency or organisation. Everyone denies owning the basin, the Council is prepared to accept responsibility for the canal but not for crime, the police see ASB as something the council needs to deal with etc etc ad nauseam. Aaron flagged up Love Wapping's blog post on the cygnet death to the Chap from the Council (I understand that Aaron and Dom may in fact be deputized LW Wildlife Rangers).
As we were about to go our separate ways, two fellows on scooter and motorbike drove over Brussels Wharf and stripped off and began diving by a coot's nest. Almost immediately a white staffie started barking at the swans in the south-east corner of the basin. It was quite clear to me from just a few minutes talking to Aaron some of the problems wildlife in the area have to face. As we made our goodbyes, the white staffie and its owner had reached the canal, at which point the dog climbed out on to the stone of the terraced steps on the canal and made it known it was interested in duck for dinner. Fortunately however the duck escaped, though without any intervention from its owner. His lady friend instead picked up a stick and started jabbing in the vicinity of the ducks.
Having let Aaron know how to find me if he needed future assistance (give a little whistle), I made my way down the canal. I discovered that taking photos of flying insects is rather difficult - I managed a handful of shots in focus out of about 200. However, I now have plenty of practice in manual focusing. However, I'm rather pleased with what I managed to achieve.
By the time I returned home, the number of swimmers, divers and sunbathers on the pontoon and Brussels wharf had swollen, unaware of some of the unintended consequences of the actions of others, including previously damaging the sailing clubs pontoon. Realizing the number of people in bathing costumes, I put away the camera and headed home.
