John Durdin 1926 – 2023

My father, John Durdin, died on 20 December. He was 97 and eight months old.

John Durdin, South Africa's Garden Route, November 2009.

It may seem a little strange to announce your father’s death through a blog, but it feels apt as he was such a regular presence on Honeyguide holidays over so many years and therefore known to many Honeyguiders.

There is a potted biography for Dad here, from a parish magazine in Plumstead, north Norfolk, where he lived for several decades. This blog is more about noting his Honeyguide links. Naturally it’s highly encouraging when your father enjoys the holidays that you run that he should choose to come on 27 holidays – nearly one a year before a combination of Covid restrictions and age drew a line.

With cheetah, Drakensbergs 2017 (Jean Dunn).

Dad’s first was in Honeyguide’s first year, 1991, to The Lot in France, where he returned in 1997. Other European destinations cover a big proportion of Honeyguide’s back catalogue: Mallorca, Spanish Pyrenees (twice), Eastern Greece, Slovakia, Menorca, Crete, Algarve, Lesvos, Madeira, Poland, Extremadura, French Pyrenees and the Dordogne (three times – where the wildlife and Cathy and Keith’s hospitality at Castang prompted return visits, including his final overseas trip in 2019.)

Dad had a particularly strong connection to the Danube Delta, with five visits. Holiday reports note that he was a guest of our local partners, Ibis Tours, a mark of mutual affection, also reflecting that we are both family firms.

With Geoff Crane, Table Mountain, 2015.

Some my father’s happiest days – and mine – were with Geoff Crane in southern Africa (and provided some of the best photos, too). The Western Cape in 2005 and 2015, Garden Route in 2009, Drakensbergs & Zululand in 2017 and finally Namibia in 2018, then aged 92.

Robberg beach, South Africa, 2009 (no, he wouldn't have minded).

It’s partly that Dad liked the mix of wildlife that Honeyguide offers, and the sensible pace. It was also the social side: he quickly made friends with Honeyguiders, and the mutual affection is shown in emails arriving recently.

Kate Dalziel in Cornwall says: “I count myself lucky to have been on two trips with him - the Danube Delta and the Dordogne.  He was delightful, knowledgeable but unassuming and with a real twinkle.“ Martin Kelsey in Extremadura says: “I remember him extremely well, he was a delightful and rather mischievous fellow!” From Rob Lucking, Honeyguide leader: “I have fond memories of him in Lesvos - he was excellent company and had a great sense of fun!” 

The sense of humour extended, at times, into anecdotes, often concluded with a Sidney James type of laugh, which had a knack of carrying you with him, whether or not the story was a good one. Yes, there were a couple of slightly embarrassing ‘Dad moments’ from brief speeches on last evenings, though it came from a pride in Honeyguide and especially for the conservation contributions through the Honeyguide Wildlife Charitable Trust. And there were a couple of holiday highlights that had everyone in stitches: one that comes to mind is “I’m wondering what the blokes down the pub will say when I tell them I’ve been watching penduline tits!” Perhaps you had to be there. 

Post-Covid, there are two cameo appearances to note. Two days in north Norfolk, 17 & 18 August in 2021 was in the second of the two years when Honeyguide was restricted to the UK. The two days were for regular Honeyguiders Sue & Peter Burge and Helen & Malcolm Crowder and included a visit to my father’s garden and exotic plant collection in his conservatory – a good wet-weather option in north Norfolk. Then, as recorded in News 2022, an exhibition and sales of my father’s paintings raised a little over £600 for Honeyguide's charity, plus a tidy sum for his village church.

Back row: Chris Durdin, John Durdin, Malcolm Crowder. Front: Helen Crowder. Rietvlei, SW Cape, Oct 2015.

I should add the traditional note that John had four children and six grandchildren, and that his wife, Yvonne, pre-deceased him by several years; they had divorced some years earlier.

The funeral will be help at Baconsthorpe Church in north Norfolk on 15 January. Tributes and donations to Norfolk Wildlife Trust can be made via this Just Giving Link. 

Chris Durdin

Whitlingham Country Park, 15 December 2023

The forecast sunshine didn’t appear, though at least it was dry for the group of five on this ‘Honeyguide social’ event. By the edge of Whitlingham Great Broad, the usual mallards and Egyptian geese fed by visitors were joined by many gulls, and we picked out one common gull among the many black-headed gulls.

We took a clockwise circuit. Pausing by a near group of tufted ducks, with a great crested grebe beyond, Tricia pointed to a pale duck by the far bank. It was female goosander, and it moved into open water and showed well through the telescope, including for passers-by.

Goosander and great white egret: both poor digiscoped images, though you can see what they are.

Ann went to the water’s edge to look at an overhanging willow and found the egg-laying scars of willow emerald damselfly.

A scan of Whitlingham Little Broad revealed egrets perching on alders on the far bank: two great white egrets and at least three little egrets. One or two great white egrets have been here regularly of late, according to records on the Norwich Bird News WhatsApp group. Like little egrets, they are increasingly a routine sighting.

Common inkcap.

Along the far side of the Great Broad, it was rich in fungi on dead wood and in leaf litter. Species we identified with confidence included jelly ear, coral spot, turkeytail, yellow brain, purple jellydisc and candlesnuff. Common bonnet and common inkcap were added later; thank you to James Emerson for his advice.

Top left:candlesnuff fungus. Top right: common bonnet, growing high on a poplar.
Bottom left: yellow brain. Bottom right: purple jellydisc (centre), with silverleaf fungus (top and bottom right).

At the ‘conservation area’ there was a close gadwall and about 30 cormorants. Scanning beyond the cormorants on posts we could see a male goldeneye, though you had to be quick as it spent more time under the water than on it.

We heard from other walkers that the paths were flooded at the eastern end of the circuit, so we retraced our steps back to the car park and Barn Café.

Chris Durdin