Things that happened during the last decade:
2011:
- First blog here
- First guest blog here by the still unknown-to-most-people, Mr White – the first of nearly 400 guest blogs published to date (this blog will still accept guest blogs)
- I travel across the USA and then come back
- I start writing a monthly column for Birdwatch
- I write a few pieces for The Field
2012:
- first book review published here, the first of over 250 so far (Sunday book reviews will continue)
- I start a regular column for British Wildlfe
- The Field stops using my articles – I think it was something I said
- I start writing a regular column for Wild Travel magazine
- Owen Paterson takes over as DEFRA SoS from the rather good Caroline Spelman
- London hosts Olympic Games
- Fighting for Birds published
- Barack Obama re-elected 44th POTUS
2013:
- I travel in USA, researching and writing A Message from Martha
- Croatia joins the EU
2014:
- Last of my columns for Wild Travel published
- Scotland votes 55:45 against independence
- Liz Truss takes over from the rather bad but quite amusing Owen Paterson as DEFRA SoS
- First Hen Harrier Day events held
- Germany win World Cup in Brazil
- A Message from Martha published
2015:
- UK general election – Conservatives re-elected
- Inglorious published
- Behind the Binoculars published (with Keith Betton)
2016:
- UK votes narrowly, and wrongly, in favour of Brexit
- David Cameron runs for cover and Theresa May becomes Prime Minister
- Andrea Leadsom takes over from the awful Liz Truss as DEFRA SoS
- The first of over 250 regular Saturday images from Tim Melling published here.
- Olympic Games in Brazil
- Inglorious published as an enlarged paperback edition
- Banning driven grouse shooting debated in Westminster Hall after petition passes 100,000 signatures
- Remarkable Birds published
2017:
- UK general election, Theresa May scrapes back in with minority government
- Michael Gove takes over from the almost invisible Andrea Leadsom as DEFRA SoS
- Donald Trump inaugurated 45th POTUS
2018:
- I pass 60 years of age
- France win World Cup in Russia
- Behind More Binoculars published (with Keith Betton)
2019:
- Wild Justice has its public launch
- Tony Juniper starts work as Chair of Natural England, taking over from Andrew Sells
- Theresa May resigns as leader of Conservatives and Boris Johnson becomes Prime Minister
- Theresa Villiers takes over from the ubiquitous and consummate political operator Michael Gove as DEFRA SoS
- UK general election where Conservatives returned with big majority
2020:
- UK becomes first country to leave the EU (reducing number of members to 27), 46 years after joing the EEC (then swelling number of members to 9) and enters transition year after Brexit
- a global pandemic
- George Eustice takes over as SoS DEFRA from the completely invisible Theresa Villiers
- no Olympic games
2021:
- more global pandemic
- Joe Biden inaugurated 46th POTUS
To be fair, other things happened too. I’ll address some of them in future posts over the next few days. But even with this skate through the years on this blog and in the bigger world, it is clear that the world of 2011 when this blog emerged into the world, and the world of 2021, when it has at least a 6-month snooze, were very different places.
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Mark: Thank you for the links to your 2011 American trip. I had not found your blog then and I am enjoying catching up.
American diners and breakfasts are great but you have to be ready with your choices for toast (4 types of bread) and, as you say, eggs.
I remember a newly arrived English woman’s reponse to “How would you like your eggs?” Pause and then a slightly puzzled “Cooked?”