Peter you've lost the news' photostream

Life has been exceptionally crap of late and my camera has barely surfaced. There may be some light at the end of the tunnel - at least I've blown the dust off the camera. How long it stays out of the bag this time around remains to be seen.

Chilli Oil, with added sunshine.

Instrument of torture? Implement for de-beaking sea birds? Obscure wind instrument?

This, um, thing, was in the holiday house we recently rented.

I do actually have a vague inkling as to what it is but it is pretty vague. Any observations, humour and, ultimately, information as to what on earth this is are welcome.

Plenty of company for Canon fans on Skomer today. The boat that took us over to the island had a capacity of 50 people. I felt it should have also have specified a limit of perhaps no more than £1 million of photographic equipment. I expected to see plenty of camera gear bearing in mind the island's reputation as a real haven for sea birds, but the sheer amount of stuff people were carting around was quite surprising. As well as a hugely expensive camera and lens at every turn, I was also impressed by the size of some people's camera bags - you know, ones like the Lowepro Kitchen Sink 900, with auxiliary pouches.

Last October Mrs PYLTN suddenly realised that she had to have puffins in her life. And since that time we have been leading up to our trip to Skomer Island and my mission to catch a decent shot of the bird in question.

A friend of mine very kindly loaned me his 100-400 L zoom lens, the weather obliged by being clear and sunny without being unbearably hot and the puffins obliged by being incredibly tame, and here is one of the 340 shots taken.

I'm quite pleased.