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I decided to try a different viewpoint whilst photographing the Guernsey Rowing Club's lockdown beating rowing event.

The Club came out of the forced lockdown to hold their first event of the year over the B course totaling 5,200 meters of open sea.

After starting at Havelet Bay the rowers headed south to Fermain Bay making a turn amongst the anchored leisure boats before heading back to St Peter Port.

I had positioned myself on the cliffs surrounding the picturesque bay in the hope that it offered a new viewpoint. The effort to get there was more than I remembered as I trekked down from the Jerbourg monument... there are a lot more steps than I recall!

But the reward was an open view looking down 300 feet on to the competitors... luckily I had taken my Nikon 180-400mm (560mm with the built-in extender) lens. With this lens I could see right into the boats.

I've added a small gallery of pics which can be viewed here:
CLICK TO VIEW THE LATEST ROWING PICS

The first Guernsey Athletics Track & Field event after the relaxing of the Covid-19 social distancing restrictions was held at Footes Lane today.

After a couple of days of much needed heavy rainfall the conditions looked near perfect to this photographer however there was a tail wind along the 100 meter straight which was just over the limit. Sadly this ruled out a couple of PB's set by athletes.

However after the long enforced break there is optimism for the next meeting.

My pics featuring some of the action can be viewed here:
CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF THE GUERNSEY ATHLETIC TRACK & FIELD

After spending many weeks locked down and highly restricted in our movements the Guernsey Sporting scene has been leading the community out of those gloomy days.

Today the Guernsey Triathlon Club were permitted to run an event at Grande Rocque in the form of a Super Sprint. The organizers had developed a system to ensure that the required social distancing could be maintained with competitors split into two 'batches' and then also using a staggered start.

The smiles (through the pain) illustrated how pleased the racers were to be back in competition.

During the next couple of weeks many of the other Sports are expected to restart their events.

It's good to be back.

Follow this link to view a few of my pics:
CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF THE FIRST TRIATHLON AFTER THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

I can't help but look forward to the coming summertime.

Whilst we are bogged down at the moment with the Coronavirus issues we have to remain positive and optimistic that by the time summer arrives life will return to normal. All fingers crossed!

This year, after being starved of the social scene (hopefully) there will be a pent-up desire to party and enjoy the live music and festival season. Locally the Vale Earth Fair and the Greenman Chaos Festival will have a role to play in uplifting our spirits.

But all that is to come. I've been catching up with some editing and for now you can browse through my pics of last years Vale Earth Fair.

Follow the link below to view the latest updates which include:

The Cor Damme Lars
Karl Phillips & The Rejects
RentOClean
The Sacred Hearts
track not found
Baron Denden and the IL Sound System
and BlackTopTales
CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE LATEST VEF 2019 UPDATES

I guess I was silly to expect anything different to 'more of the same'.

But the optimist in me hoped that I would have the (rare) opportunity to photograph an outdoor sporting event without getting wet! As we all know the rain has spoilt the majority of days this winter and inevitably many sports fixtures have been cancelled due to the condition of pitches.

The KGV All Weather pitch has certainly earned its keep this winter.

I was down there tonight to photograph a football game between North and Alderney and I'm booked for another visit on Sunday. Meanwhile I'll be keeping an eye on the game booked to kick off at 2pm tomorrow at The Track. Hopefully both of those are dry!

The North v Alderney pics are online here:
CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF FOOTBALL NORTH v ALDERNEY

With so much happening in the world at the moment and the seemingly endless wet weather it is easy to be distracted and maybe a little downhearted.

This is why I've turned back to some of the more uplifting memories from last year to bring a little sun and good cheer to my working day.

I also have to face the near endless task of catching up with the interrupted edits that are sitting on the hard drives waiting for attention.

There's no more uplifting edit awaiting than the wonderful Vale Earth Fair.... 2019 edition.

The VEF is certainly one of my highlights of any year... but it always leaves a huge edit in its path... probably as a few real ales makes me a bit trigger happy!

However in these changeable and dismal times (damn Coronavirus) it has been a pleasure to browse through my memories. I've started updating the 2019 VEF Galleries and first bands up are The Electric Shakes, The Recks, The King Blues and Festival headliners Neville Staple Band.
CLICK TO VIEW THE FIRST UPDATES TI THE 2019 VEF GALLERY

I fear that I'll probably never quite catch up with the backlog of editing from last year.... but I'll keep trying.

Last year wasn't quite a 'normal' one. There were quite a few distractions taking large chunks out of my work time. By far the most demanding was overseeing the modernization of our new home. This is now nearing completion but I think I was a bit naive regarding how much chasing and management would be required in getting the 'trades' to complete their work.

However we have now settled into the new place and the move has worked out brilliantly. We have renewed everything from ceilings, heating, electrics and networking to 65" TV's, flooring, driveway.... well just about everything! Oh, and I mustn't forget the great new kitchen too!

Whilst all that was underway I found myself emergency medivaced to the UK after Doctors found blood clots on my brain and I had a mild stroke. Thankfully the outcome has been much better than first feared and I've nearly made a full recovery.

So that's the excuses for the missed edits!

But I continue with the catch-up. This link takes you to a missed Autocross Banger event from last March. More will follow:
CLICK TO VIEW THE AUTOCROSS CATCH-UP

A quick update with a few pics from a recent Basketball game at Beau Sejour.

As always it was a hard fought and competitive game that promised to turn around if either team lost concentration and momentum. Pics of Le Mont Saint v Mayside can be viewed by clicking on this link:
CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF LE MONT SAINT v MAYSIDE

Last week was book-ended by two major sporting events... leading to two major edits. Oh what fun!!

The first event (weekend) was the February Fury boxing at Beau Sejour. With TWENTY bouts the number of pics taken topped 500! I'm glad to say that the final edit is complete and all the Galleries are now online.

The second of the weekends featured the Resolution-IT Guernsey Rally. As you will see from the previous Blog that event edit was turned around in super-fast time and pics can now be viewed.
CLICK TO VIEW THE FEBRUARY FURY GALLERIES
CLICK TO VIEW THE RESOLUTION-IT GUERNSEY RALLY GALLERIES

Well it just shows that if you put your back into a job you can finish it in record time!

I decided that the Resolution-IT Guernsey Rally pics had to be edited as soon as possible to clear the deck for a busy week ahead.

So I'm pleased to say that the jobs a good 'un. Over 300 pics of the action together with a 'Rally Scene' Gallery for good measure.

Click the link below to view all the pics.

It was enjoyable looking through my pics of the Rally. I've mentioned before that sometimes it's like seeing the action for the first time as the actual shoot can be intense and non-stop.

In this case it was amusing to recall the 'Star of the Rally' or at least the one that entertained the spectators the most. Sorry Dale, it wasn't you this time!

No, the star was definitely the death defying chicken who seemed oblivious to the speed of a rally car at full chat. If it's true that a cat has nine lives this chicken tops that with at least thirty!!

I also noted that the App on my phone that records my steps put my mileage over the day and evening at nearly seven miles. This was traveled with a very weighty backpack and three cameras slung around my neck. It's not surprising I feel fatigued today.
CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF THE 2020 RESOLUTION-IT RALLY

It was nearly third time lucky for the local crew of Dale Crowsley and co-driver John Vaudin in the 2020 Resolution-IT Guernsey Rally.

They were straight on the pace at the start of this years one-day Rally and topped the leader board before being hunted down by the vastly experienced Jersey crews of Ros la Noa with co-driver Domonic Volante and Jeremy Baudains with co-driver James Ollivro.

The visiting duo were both racing more powerful Ford Escort MK2's and ultimately they showed a bit more speed. Maybe next time Dale?

Whilst I proceed to edit nearly 500 pics that I took during the twelve hours of coverage I made at the 2020 Resolution-IT Rally follow this link to view the submission I had to make over-night to the Guernsey Press for Monday's paper.

Full coverage will be added to this website over the next couple of days...
CLICK TO VIEW THE FIRST PRESS EDIT OF THE 2020 RESOLUTION-IT RALLY

The Guernsey Boxing calendar starts the year with a highlight event.

Aptly named 'February Fury' the 2020 edition has just taken place at Beau Sejour with a hectic evening of non-stop action.

This year featured contests between Guernsey and a UK Select team that included a team of RAF boxers.

Twenty bouts in one night meant there was no moment of rest for photographers. The work then continued with the edit!

I've now uploaded my pics to a new Gallery which will be completed over the next couple of days. You can view my pics here:
CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF THE 2020 FEBRUARY FURY

It's not unknown for Motorsport events to be cancelled due to the weather conditions.

Sometimes the race track is simply too wet. Sometimes the lack of clear visibility makes it unsafe as Marshals cannot see clearly.

But one motorsport discipline seems almost immune to the elements. In fact the Trials riders even competed a fortnight ago when the conditions were so bad that the Autocross racing was cancelled!

So it was always a near certainty that the Trials riders would be out on Sunday afternoon... even though heavy drizzle and high winds made things quite uncomfortable.

I also 'bit the bullet' to capture a few pics. They are online here:
CLICK TO VIEW THE LATEST TRIALS PICS

'Twas a bleak and wet and windy morn....

....as I break into a poetic moment I'm attempting to dry out after spending a couple of hours down on an exposed Chouet beach. All the wet weather clothing was out to play for the final Round of the Guernsey Autocross Club Winter Championship.

This meeting had been postponed the last time is was due to be raced. That Sunday morning the weather was even worse!

In the end it was acceptably comfortable to run the meeting this time and there was an element of fulfillment felt after 'braving' the onslaught to get a few shots in the can.

Some of the pics rewarded the effort with added drama. You can view my work here:
CLICK TO VIEW THE FINAL ROUND OF THE AUTOCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP

The 2021 Island Games '500 days to go' special event was held at Beau Sejour on the 19th February 2020.

Whilst this date was significant and starts the countdown to when thousands of sportsmen, teams, supporters and organisers arrive in Guernsey for the 2021 edition of the Island Games much work has already gone on behind the scene to build the foundations of the games.

The '500 days to go' launch represents the start of a process to enroll the vital team of 'Game Makers'.

Key organizers and supporters were at Beau Sejour to hear the latest updates and there was a measurable sense of anticipation and excitement for the challenges ahead.
CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF THE 500 DAYS TO GO LAUNCH

This is a brief one....

Just to let you know that the latest Gallery update displays action from the recent Basketball game between Mayside and Skipton at Beau Sejour.

Follow this link to view the pics:
CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF MAYSIDE v SKIPTON

On the face of it you probably wouldn't go out of your way to see a Terrible Stuntman. Would you?

However if that is the name of Big Bobby Battle's latest band that should be enough to tickle your interest.

Unfortunately not many people saw it that way on Saturday when Terrible Stuntman headlined a gig at The Fermain Tavern organized by Havoc Events.

The lineup was strong and the variety of acts should of had something for everyone but sadly the audience numbers were small. First act on stage was The Crowband. Next up were Kings adding a more Pop influenced sound. Lifejacket then laid down some heavier tones.

Then it was left to the Terrible Stuntman to bring things to a close. It will be fun following the development of this project during the year. I think the potential is already showing.

By the way I love the band name Bobby... somehow it's just a perfect for fit you, ha ha :-)

I've added pics of three of the bands to my Galleries. Sorry I didn't see the Crowband due to an earlier assignment.
CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF TERRIBLE STUNTMAN
CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF LIFEJACKET
CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF KINGS

I'm now just a couple of weeks off collecting my pension and being born and bred in Guernsey and living here for all those near 65 years I think I know the Island pretty well.

Right from the first time I got a set of my own wheels I've enjoyed exploring every corner of our twenty-five square miles. I've driven down just about every track that appeared to be navigable and squeezed through most of the narrow high-bank lanes.

So when I had a night-time assignment given to me to photograph the Darts individual league games at the West Legion I left home (up north in St Sampsons) and headed south. I reckoned that my knowledge was good enough to make my approach to the Legion along the most direct route through the lanes and not from the easier direction from the Longfrie Inn.

Predictably in the dark I soon found one hedge bank looked like the next and I had to give in and use the sensible option of starting at the Longfrie.

But getting lost wasn't the only reminder that this Island holds many little secrets and hidden places. When I eventually found and entered the West Legion it was bigger than I remembered (from maybe forty years ago). It was also buzzing with activity revolving around the Darts evening. I think I counted eight Darts boards spread around the wall of two rooms.

The amount of play on the closely placed boards soon made me aware that achieving a good 'shooting position' wasn't going to be easy. I also only had a short time before I had to head back into St Peter Port to photograph a Basketball game. As always the best motivation is a deadline and the knowledge that I had to get the shot in the can... and quickly!

I have to thank the Dart players for being so welcoming and accommodating and I hope to soon get back down west... next time with a bit more time! I've added a small Gallery of pics here:
CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF THE WEST LEGION DARTS

The Independent Venue Week is a great initiative aimed at supporting and promoting independent live music venues across the UK.

The hope is that the trend of these unique places closing can be slowed and halted. This is an important goal which any scholar of the history of popular music would tell you.

Small venues have been the making of almost every major act to emerge on to the scene for decades. Without these 'seed beds' where young artists and musicians can meet, network and develop their personalities and performances the future of modern music would be stunted.

So it was fantastic to see the support given by musicians and gig supporters to the Guernsey edition of the Independent Venue Week at St James.

I photographed three of the bands who performed, The Tarantulips, Stone Cold Fiction and the headliners Beach Riot.

Follow these links to view my pics:
CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF BEACH RIOT

CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF STONE COLD FICTION

CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF THE TARANTULIPS

It's always good to have a plan.

Sometimes it's useful to have a Plan B. Sometimes it's even good to have a Plan C!

That was the case for me at the weekend when the weather threw a spanner into the works.

I had been booked to photograph an indoor Netball game. On the face of it you would think that this was a safe bet for a day that was predicted to be rough and stormy. However one of the teams was visiting from the UK so when the flight was cancelled so was Plan A.

I was more confident that Plan B would go ahead and had made sure all my bad weather kit (for me and the cameras) was ready. This assignment was to cover the Autocross Banger racing down on Chouet beach.

This sport usually battles through any wet weather. After all when you race cars on a wet and mucky beach without a windscreen you are made of pretty hard-core stuff.

But unusually this event was also called off because of the extreme weather.

So it was Plan C that came into play. This was an indoor event at Beau Sejour which was handy. It turned out that one of the top ranked players was a visitor but I assume he must have come over before the storm raged.

Plan C was to photograph the Guernsey Squash Open. It is a few years (time fly's) since I have photographed Squash so I had to ramp up the learning curve to get the action shots. Ultimately it was very enjoyable.... and I kept warm and dry!

Follow this link to view a new Gallery of pics:
CLICK TO VIERW PICS OF THE 2020 GUERNSEY SQUASH OPEN