Going batty!!

This week has seen me doing 50+ Adventure Club activities, starting with Line Dancing. 

Many years ago, when I lived in Chepstow I joined a Line Dance class as a beginner and was with them for about three years and gradually moved up until I was in the Advanced Class and I loved it.  My big problem was that though I recognised all the music I could never remember how they started, but thankfully in class we were shown.  Many is the time when I stood in a queue at the supermarket or shop and the Muzak has played a tune I knew and like a Pavlov dog I started jigging!!!!!

However it is many years since then and so when I signed up for this class the only step I could remember was a Jazz Box!  That did not matter as we were instructed on all the dances and as usual I cannot remember a single name!!

Too complicated for me so I took a photo!

It was good fun though and thanks to the local group 'Happy Feet' who helped us to dance.

Last night was the more adventurous activity of a Batwatch Paddle.  Going with Canoe 2 we had a great evening and if you follow that link and watch their video the three 'oldies' are our members who helped them to make it.  They had a great time filming.

From Ditchford we paddled downstream to Higham Lock, at one time running beside the A45 and the river was very smooth.

 We were told that there are otters on the river but all that was seen and heard were a kingfisher, a green woodpecker and some bemused swans.  Coming back upstream seemed a little harder -

especially as my partner had to keep the canoe straight whilst I took photos from the back!  Incidentally I was the skipper and had to keep us straight but I never really mastered the steering!!  In the past I have always sat at the front so had someone doing it for me.

As it was dusk when we got back we proceeded to meet our guide for the walk and off we set in the gloom with our bat detectors!!  Bats use echo location to fly and catch their food, so the detectors were set to pick up the signals that the human ear cannot hear.  We walked round Ditchford Lakes with the detectors held high and suddenly we were hearing Soprano Pipistrelles and were told that whenever we heard a 'raspberry' type noise it was catching its prey!!  In the gloom we tried to see them but it was difficult as they were flying high up round the trees.  Setting her detector to a different frequency our guide picked up a Daubenton's bat but we didn't mange to locate that one.

It was a very special evening and one that I am glad that I did not miss.

Tomorrow is the 50+ Adventure Club cycle ride that I did back in July.  At least the weather will be cooler - more like winter at the moment.