Bird Fair: I met some really nice people yesterday and some of them were buying my book Fighting for Birds. Lots of Twittery and Bloggy people introduced themselves and it is really nice to put a face to a Twitter name. For example, it was nice to meet @ValGall and even nicer to read on her twitter account: Sitting having lunch & being quite antisocial-head buried in Fighting for Birds! Enjoying already-many thanks No! Thank you, Val!
At 1055 yesterday I had never done a book-signing but by 1600 I had done four – proving that I can write my name, quite competently, unaided. Gongfarmer, who comments here, actually bought two copies – I need more people like that!
And I met some lovely young people who want to get into nature conservation and were seeking advice. If you read Chapter 1 of Fighting for Birds you will see that my entry into the RSPB was by a rather unusual route, not easily emulated by others, so I was a bit stumped to give advice. But stick at it! Maybe I ought to write a blog about it one day?
There was the couple from Lancashire who seemed to agree with almost everything I think – sometimes going a bit farther even than I do. They were just an example of the feeling of kindred spirits that seemed to permeate the sticky marquees smelling of trampled grass.
Sometimes it rained, sometimes the sun shone, the chiffchaff that was always at the entrance last year seems to have moved on and I hardly saw a bird all day.
What will today bring, I wonder? This is where you can find me:
Saturday:
Marquee 3, Subbuteo, 11-12
Marquee 2, NHBS, 2-3
Marquee 3, Wildsounds, 3-4
Magnus Linklater: thank you for your comments on yesterday’s blog which was about this piece in Sunday’s Observer. You should also read George Monbiot’s blog on the subject. I gather quite a few Guardian journalists feel pretty embarrassed about this episode. The editor of the Observer magazine in which Linklater’s ‘journalism’ appeared is Ruaridh Nicoll who writes too.
Will we get a well-penned series of comments defending Linklater? Not so far! Maybe Magnus would like a Guest Blog here? He’d be very welcome.
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Good to meet you yesterday and indeed look forward to reading at least one of the copies of your book! Keep up the great work, I’m always amazed that I find out more via your blog than any other coms channels I have. If only I’d booked two days at bird fair as one isn’t enough to get around everyone!
Also interesting to note how many times Magnus cropped up in conversations yesterday, he’s ruffled a few feathers and shooting times is about all he will now get his bilge in. Love the note they have added at the bottom of his piece clarifying his background.
Good to see you too, gongfarmer. Always good to see people buying a spare copy of Fighting for Birds – it’s a great idea that should spread more widely 😉 Hope you enjoy the book, anyway.
Yes Linklater was mentioned quite a bit – almost always with contempt, but sometimes with genuine surprise at the publication of such a flawed article by the Observer.
There was a chiffchaff at the entrance to the green car park – except he was now just pretending to be chiff.
I am really enjoying your book, I have swapped my bedtime reading from the New Naturalist Grouse book for yours to begin reading it straight away.
It’s also much easier on the arms :o)
Ffroglet – thank you so much. I’m glad you are enjoying it and it was good to meet at the Bird Fair.