BLOG POSTS
Toffs
A couple of days ago I suggested that the recent Defra minister Richard Benyon might be called a ‘toff’. This was greeted by a stream of comments angry on the toffish ex-Minister’s behalf. Let’s just get the meaning of this four-letter word out of the way first. Toff – a member of the upper classes,…
Pitcairn revisited
A little while ago I received an invitation to an event which will be held towards the end of the month concerning the future of the seas around the Pitcairn Islands. I was quite interested in attending until I saw that it was in Marseille. However, this blog has shown an interest in marine protected…
Shuffling two packs
The Government changes In Defra, out go Richard Benyon and David Heath and in come George Eustice (Con, Camborne and Redruth) and Dan Rogerson (LibDem, North Cornwall). I always feel sorry for those who are required to move on because their Prime Minister needs to adjust the left/right balance, the male/female balance, the north/south balance…
RSPB AGM on Saturday
The RSPB AGM is on Saturday morning in the QEII Centre (opposite Westminster Abbey). It is open to members – and the actual AGM (not nearly as dull as it might sound) is free.
Now that the Party (Conference) is over…
Did you comb the speeches of the Party leaders, at their Party Conferences, for mentions of the environment? Nick Clegg did best – he said that it was the Liberal Democrats who were keeping the Government ‘green’ and had ‘saved’ Natural England from the axe. Nick Clegg didn’t mention ‘wildlife’ or ‘nature’ but he did…
Sunday Book Review – Birduder 344 by Rob Sawyer
This book takes us through Rob Sawyer’s life and the birds he has seen, missed and misidentified. The title refers to the fact that Sawyer regards himself as a cross between a ‘dude’ and a ‘birder’, and that his life list reached 344 species. I don’t know Sawyer but he comes across as a reasonable…
Saturday Cartoon by Ralph Underhill
Can you do me a favour please? I have just installed ‘like’ and ‘dislike’ buttons on this website (I’ve been trying for ages but now I have succeeded). You should see them on every blog post and every comment made on each blog. Please use them, as the feedback is interesting and may influence the…
Butterfly Conservation – flying high!
The autumn issue of Butterfly came through the door yesterday, and with it Butterfly Conservation’s Annual Review for 2012/13. Both are so well-produced and interesting that I have read them already. I highlighted the last issue of the magazine as being superb, and I’m not going to do it three times a year (though…
Why we should care about Pandas…and all that jazz.
Why should we care about Pandas? This is a big question to which there are lots of answers, all of which raise more questions. I’ve never seen a Panda in the wild (and I’m not, honestly, that bothered about seeing one) and I can’t recall ever seeing one in a zoo either. If…