Sculpture Town: Chorus by Lee Grandjean

 

(Click the photos for more pictures at the flickr site)

Lee Grandjean is a sculptor who spent some of his childhood in Harlow. Now resident in Norfolk, this piece was commissioned to mark the 21st anniversary of the Harlow Chorus, an amateur choir still going strong in the town. It is unusual in that it is one of, if not the only piece in the Harlow collection to be made from wood. Having stood outside since 1996, it may have seen better days but still regains it's elegance.

Vange Marsh RSPB Nature Reserve

The saltwater lagoon / scrape at Vange Marsh

Vange Marsh RSPB reserve is hidden away about as well as it is possible to hide a large area of land. Down an unprepossessing path behind an industrial unit, over the railway line and there it is. A small oasis of peace and (bar the occasional passing train) quiet near my home.

A brackish lagoon surrounded by reed beds

Despite being relatively compact, they squeeze a good number of different habitats into the area - saltwater and brackish lagoons, a scrape, salt marsh, reed beds and heathland.

Now, I know very little about wildlife (bar what I learned watching springwatch) so I've decided to adopt Vange Marsh and get down there as often as possible over the year to see what is going on. It's exciting times for the RSPB locally as they are back working on the nearby Bowers Marsh reserve, and of course in 5 or so years time they will be taking over the land currently occupied by the Pitsea landfill site featured on Springwatch.

Moorhen and Chick