The Earth is the mother of all people.

The Earth is the mother of all people, and all people should have rights upon it.

You might as well expect the rivers to run backward as that any man who was born a free man should be contented when penned up and denied liberty to go where he pleases.

Joseph. Nez Percé Chief. 1830-1904

Matt Adores... Lydney Harbour

I adore being next to the sea. Which is rather inconvenient as I live about as far as possible from the ocean in the very centre of England. The nearest seaside resort is, at the very least, seventy miles away.

I enjoy listening to the waves, feeling the sand beneath my toes and watching the seabirds and fishing boats going about their business around the coast.

Whenever I get the opportunity to visit the shoreline I head towards the water and make the most of the day by looking outwards away from the land. I feel relaxed whenever their is a vast expanse of water nearby. I'm describing a rather peaceful nature of the seascape. Its not always the case. Storms, hurricanes and flooding are a clear and present danger to anyone living in the vicinity of the waves.

The sea is a more powerful force than anything, we as humans, have been able to control. The tidal surges bring salt water rushing into freshwater estuaries, making the environment tough for the wildlife and people. The salt air can rapidly erode anything metallic and the physical motion of the tide can wreak havoc if its a particularly high one that often occur in the Spring. We've built defenses and harbours and ports to give us access to the sea, while giving us some respite from an oceanic battering.

I recently visited a small town on the edge of the Severn Estuary. Lydney is served by a train station and is in the county of Gloucestershire. To the North is the Forest of Dean and the River Lyd flows through the town and into the River Severn. The docks were constructed in the nineteenth century.

Lydney Harbour is home to Lydney Yacht Club and they teach people how to sail on the tidal waters of the Severn.

The Harbour itself is easily reached from the train station. A path starts near to the train station and follows a route over a small bridge towards the docks.

The area has been redeveloped over the past few years and views are available across the river to the Severn Bridges and to the Power Stations on the opposite bank.

The path between the harbour and the station has several billboards explaining the history of the area, and of the redevelopment that has occurred. My favourite things were the drilled rocks.

Gazing through the bored out rock, like a telescope, other significant landmarks could be seen. A plaque next to each portal gives the name of the distant object and the compass bearing towards it.

If you have a place that you adore,  leave a comment or send a tweet to @WhatMattAdores

Matt Adores... Urban Parks!

Living within a British city I have the benefit of having facilities and amenities nearby. Its easy for me to get to the bank, get some shopping on the way home from work and also to enjoy well-maintained public parks and spaces.

Since 1840, Britain has a proud history of setting aside urban land and developing it into a pleasant "countryside within the city". The great Victorian-era industrialists commissioned horticulturalists of the day to create wonderful open spaces for the benefit of everyone.

My hometown has parks maintained by Birmingham City Council.Every suburb has "green space" to relax and escape from the concrete jungle for a while. Most parks have well established trees and plants. The Parks Department keeps the grass mown and replants the flowerbeds every year with bright, colourful blooms.

The photos to the left were taken earlier this week on a sunny evening in Queens Park. There is plenty of space for adults and children to play. I know of several sports and exercise groups that regularly use the park for training sessions. A convenient carpark makes the place easily accessible, and several bus routes pass nearby. If you're hungry or thirsty a pub serving cold drinks and food is within a very short walk.

Throughout the city, the larger parks have their own facilities and some are used to host concerts and fireworks displays. Most have a dedicated play area for with swings, slides and climbing apparatus for the kids. The council have made sure that the ground surrounding them is coated with a soft rubber layer to prevent injuries.

Here's a clickable list of the main parks in Birmingham.
Aston Park
Aston Park Pavilion
Birmingham Wildlife Conservation Park
Cannon Hill Park
Castle Vale Centre Park
Central Neighbourhood Parks
Eastside City Park
Edgbaston Reservoir
Handsworth Park
Kingfisher Country Park
Kings Heath Park
Lickey Hills Country Park
Plantsbrook Reserve
Pype Hayes Park
Rectory Park
Sheldon Country Park
Shire Country Park
Sparkhill Park
Summerfield Park
Swanshurst Park
Sutton Park
Victoria Common
Ward End Park
Woodgate Valley Country Park

Matt Adores... Astronomy

From my earlier posts, you'll probably be aware that I like being outside. I appreciate being out in the open air without the restrictions of four walls and a roof to hinder my view of the world.

A few months ago, myself and several friends were planning a camping trip. Nothing over-the-top and nothing too adventurous. We'd book a campsite, get a fire going, and settle in for an evening of light-hearted conversation and good company.

As it was early in the year,I thought to myself that this would be a great opportunity to do some stargazing. The nights would draw in relatively early compared to the peak of the summer and it would give us the chance to look upon the stars before it got too late.

On the evening of our arrival I noticed that the sky was clear, or at least as clear as it gets in the usually cloudy skies of Britain! I went to my car and returned with a small portable telescope.

Manufactured by Celestron; it's a small spotting scope. Its lightweight and compact, and unlike celestial telescopes, the image in the eyepiece is the correct way up. This made it easy to align the telescope with the planet Jupiter and to keep track of it as the Earth rotated.

The four big moons of Jupiter were clearly visible even when using a low magnification of 50x. Some of my friends had never seen a planet through the lens of a telescope before and were impressed.

The conversation ebbed and flowed and during the quieter moments I'd have a look around the sky and enjoy the views of the stars.

I adore observing nature up close and also at a distance. When Winter returns to the Northern Hemisphere I'm looking forward to taking more time to observe the stars and constellations above us.

Matt Adores... A Fully Charged Phone Battery!

Whenever I'm out and about, I often find a comfortable clean campsite to stay at.

I like to spend time preparing my own fire, cooking my own food, and enjoying a night away from the city with just myself, my tent and a warm sleeping bag.

I like to read and keep up with friends and family on social media when I'm away. Its a simple and effective way for them know where I am, and that I've found a comfortable spot to sleep.

However, I found that as I'm turning in for the night and want to wish my family goodnight, my phone can be very low on battery. This is especially true if I've been taking lots of photos during the day.

Thankfully, even though I'm away from mains electricity I can charge my phone and get a message posted to facebook and twitter because I have a portable battery pack.

It acts in the same way as my mobile phone battery. It gets charged up before I leave on a journey and it helps keeps my phone battery charged while I'm away.

Portable batteries have different features. The biggest difference is how much power they can hold. This is measured in mAh. milliAmphours are a measure of battery capacity. They greater the number of mAh, the more electricity you can charge your phone with.

Most battery packs charge from the wall socket, just like a mobile phone. Some also have a built-in solar cell so that they can recharge using sunlight. A solar battery pack will take longer to fill their batteries using sunlight instead of the wall socket. However, if they're left in a sunny spot you should always have enough power to keep your phone topped up.

Matt Adores... The Great Outdoors!

I live in a large city in England.

Sure, the convenience of having shops, entertainment and social venues is all well and good. However, being surrounded by concrete, traffic and the day-to-day business of work has its drawbacks.

Don't get me wrong, I enjoy my regular job. Its an occasionally challenging environment in which to work, and on the whole its a pleasure to see a project completed or a particularly difficult problem solved. Being inside an office on a glorious sunny day can lead me to gazing out of the windows, looking at the blue skies and the wildlife going about its routine. On those sort of days I feel a strong urge to be outdoors.

I enjoy the feeling of space. I like to enjoy and observe the landscape around me. I like the weather - even if its raining there is something to appreciate amongst the trees, the fields and the hills.

The weather, strongly influenced by our planet's orbit around the sun, is variable in the temperate climate of the British Isles. I like to keep track of the changes in the seasons and how that has a direct impact on the activity of plants and animals.

Winter is a time of recovery and rest. Many animals hibernate, while birds such as Swifts and Swallows head South to warmer climes for the season. Deciduous trees are bereft of foliage. Their branches barren of leaves, and the precious resources built up during the Summer are held in storage until the warmth returns.

Spring brings rising temperatures, longer hours of sunlight and more clement weather. The young shoots of growth appear amid the hedgerows and trees. Bees awaken from their Yuletide slumber and begin to forage for the first pollen.

Summer is a time of plenty. Bright sunshine, the heat of the sun driving growth and productivity into top gear. Fruit begins to swell, leaves become lush and verdant. The migratory birds have returned to find a feast of insects to dine upon.

Autumn is a time of harvest. Berries and nuts are consumed to make the forthcoming cold more bearable for those animals that are active in the dark and the cold. Leaves fall and will eventually become the sustenance for those smaller creatures that maintain the circle of life.

All of these seasons have so much to offer an individual that appreciates the beauty of nature. There are many things of benefit to the keen observer.