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Friday 30 October 2015

New Beginnings

Hello and welcome.

I used to write a blog called 'Not Quite Scilly'. It was a birding blog, with occasional digressions elsewhere. It related the activities and opinions of a middle-aged bloke based in East Devon, and mostly those of a birdy nature. I enjoyed writing it, and by all accounts many enjoyed reading it. Then, for a variety of reasons, I killed it. If this seems paradoxical...well...I know.

So here is my new blog. It is called 'Not Quite Scilly'. I like this name. It abbreviates nicely to NQS, which saves breath and space on a page. The future of NQS is presently unclear to me. When a blog appears for its THIRD incarnation I would be among the first to raise a sceptical eyebrow and express doubts as to its life expectancy. However, for now at least, it is back...

Of course, I did wonder how exactly to begin a new beginning. Eventually I came up with this:

A photo of my bins...


As you see, Zeiss 10x40 BGA (and possibly 'T') for which I paid something like 280 quid. An online Inflation Calculator makes this £733.71 in today's money, which maybe tells us that current top-notch optics are vastly over-priced? Mind you, to be fair, I am not tasked with keeping Carl Zeiss Aktiengesellschaft in the black.

I bought these bins just prior to a fairly epic Scilly trip in 1987. Leaping from the chopper that October I looked the biz with my spanking new optics. However, striding off the Scillonian in 2015 I looked very far from the biz, with my ancient nockies dangling from their customised red nylon dog lead.
 
Twenty eight years! My Zeiss are showing signs of their age, but still work fine. In a side-by-side comparison with my mate @birdingprof's shiny new Leicas they fared surprisingly well, and in use I am just as able to quickly spot and mis-ID stuff as birders with two-grand Swaros.

I briefly toyed with the idea of drawing thoughtful parallels between my dated bins and dated self, but this would be way, way too pretentious even for me. So instead I simply apologised to my battered Zeiss for so frequently allowing them to get dusty...

12 comments:

  1. Nice to see you back Gavin! Have to agree, top bins don't maketh the birder. Just bought a £99 pair of Tom Lock 2 8x42's (£79 with an Amazon voucher) and I have to say they are the biz, can't fault them for the money! Bought them as a back-up pair to put in the car but now using them as my main pair. Possibly the best bargain I've ever had. Look forward to more posts soon.

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    1. Thanks Roger. A few years back I bought my wife a pair of Nikon 8x30 porro prisms for around £230 (if I remember right) and they are amazing. Optically at least as good as my Zeiss, and much closer focus. I would be cautious of their resistance to water, but nevertheless amazing for the money.

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  2. About bloody time - I've eagerly been awaiting the re-birth of NQS. Welcome back Gav...

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  3. Yay, you're back! Looking forward to more posts from the southwest

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  4. Cheers Alison...and good to meet you on Scilly.

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  5. Hi Gavin, you should see the state of my Zeiss - many years ago they looked as good as yours. Welcome back!

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    1. Ha ha! Thanks Tim.
      Yep, solid old bins. Apart from lack of close focus I can't knock 'em really.

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  6. Good to have you back Gav..... wont even mention my bins, the above comments have humbled me!

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