Spike Milligan

I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,
And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by;
And the wheel’s kick and the wind’s song and the white sail’s shaking,
And a grey mist on the sea’s face, and a grey dawn breaking.

I must go down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide
Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied;
And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying,
And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the sea-gulls crying.

I must go down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy life,
To the gull’s way and the whale’s way where the wind’s like a whetted knife;
And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover,
And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick’s over.

John Masefield
1878 – 1967

I have no inclination to sail a tall ship, but the lure of the coast, its wildlife and a cool sea breeze was irresistible and so we found ourselves at Woodman Point.

Kaldjirkank by Paul Amyes on 500px.com — A juvenile Crested Tern hassling its parent for food.

Boodalang by Paul Amyes on 500px.com — Boodalang or Australian Pelican (Pelecanus conspicillatus). Woodman Point, Western Australia.

Djeringkara by Paul Amyes on 500px.com — Djeringkara or Silver Gull (Larus pacificus). Woodman Point, Western Australia.

Karrynekarryne by Paul Amyes on 500px.com — Juvenile Karrynekarryne or Caspian Tern (Hydroprogne caspia). Woodman Point, Western Australia.

Pink Everlastings by Paul Amyes on 500px.com — Found in abundance across Western Australia in spring are pink everlastings (*Helipterum roseum*). In many places they can form thick carpets of vibrant colour. York, Western Australia. Canon EOS6d with Canon EF 100mm f2.8 macro IS L lens. Exposure: 1/250th sec, f8, ISO 100.

I’ve written about going to York Golf Course to photograph flowers, particularly orchids, before and today I’m going to do so again. This time was a little different. Firstly I was looking for pink everlasting daisies (Helipterum roseum) and secondly I went on a Saturday just after lunch instead of early on a weekday morning. It was a bad idea – a very bad idea. It was like something out of the movie Saving Private Ryan. The golf course was full. Here in the Wheatbelt when we say something was overcrowded it means there were three people, so to see roughly thirty people in one place was sensory over load – where had they all come from? To cap it all it was just after lunch the club bar been open and it seemed like everyone had been imbibing freely. Up to this point I thought it was the done thing to shout “Four” upon teeing off. Well at the York Club the word began with F and had four letters but it certainly wasn’t “Four” It was reminiscent of the opening scene from Four Weddings and a Funeral.

It went something like this. “Swish” went the sound of the club as the golfer made his swing, followed by a sharp “thwack”, followed almost immediately by a loud “F**k” as the ball was sliced into the rough. Unfortunately I was, along with the pink everlastings, in the rough. The late Spike Milligan once described an artillery barrage as being like Chinese water torture except with solids in his autobiography “Rommel?” “Gunner Who?”. Well the balls didn’t explode on impact, but they certainly had the effect of making me hit the deck and take cover. The only time I’ve moved faster was when the Rugby club president declared an open bar (my excuse being that I was an impoverished student at the time). After thirty minutes of cowering in the dirt wishing there was an air raid shelter nearby I decided to call it quits and I beat a hasty retreat back to the safety of the car. I did manage to get the two pictures of Everlastings shown on this page.

As I made my tactical withdrawal I hit the cover of some bushes where I found a small clump of green spider orchids (aka Fringed Mantis Orchid, Caladenia falcata) so I quickly stopped to grab a couple of photos.

Encircled by Paul Amyes on 500px.com — Fringed Mantis Orchid or Green Spider Orchid, Caladenia falcata, York Golf Course, York, Western Australia. Canon EOS6d with EF 100mm f2.8 IS L macro lens. Exposure: 1/160 sec, f8, ISO 100.

All I can say is was a very traumatic experience. Every time I hear someone hitting a ball I develop a nervous twitch.

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paulamyes

This is the site for Australian visual journalist and writer Paul Amyes.

I Must Go Down To The Sea Again

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Shell Shocked

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