Defra – drowning not waving

There are 653 days until the next General Election and since a week is a long time in politics this a very long time to go.  However, most people will probably already have made up their minds on this coalition government and it will take distinct jolts , changes or events (dear boy) to alter…

Saturday cartoon by Ralph Underhill – the simple-minded

It’s the weekend of the Game Fair, so spare a thought for all those people walking around in tweed in this hot weather – although you’d, maybe, think they had more sense. There will be a lot of talk about lead ammunition – it’s a big thing this Game Fair.  The shooting organisations are belatedly…

That RSPB TV advert – what I think

I think that the RSPB TV advert is a welcome gamble by the RSPB – I’m sure they’ve done lots of research to make it less of a gamble but it’s still a gamble.  Rumour has it, though I haven’t checked, that it’s a £2m gamble. What would a ‘big win’ look like if this…

Results of poll on RSPB TV advert

This little poll attracted 571 responses. Thank you to all who took part. Your comments on the TV advert were varied and fascinating.  The comments were generally less positive towards the advert than the voting – people who like things might take a few seconds to vote but don’t go out of their way to…

Emperor’s new clothes?

I headed off, towards the end of last week, with three chums to look at flowers and butterflies, and to drink beer and wine, and to put the world to rights. All of us could be described as senior enough to be grumpy old men, although, of course, our aim was to be happy not…

Last chance to vote here

Today will be your last chance to respond to this short poll on what you think about the RSPB’s new TV advert.  The results  will appear on Thursday and some thoughts from me on Friday. There are over 100 comments from readers of this blog so far – and about 400 responses to the poll. …

Sunday Book Review – Feral by George Monbiot

This is a book that many people ought to read.  I read most of it before I went to the USA and then read all of it, some of it several times, on my return.  I was reading it again at 6am yesterday morning in the back garden of the Old Mill Hotel in Salisbury…

If this post appears…

…then it means that I am off looking for purple emperors. Meanwhile, have you voted in my poll and commented on what you think of the RSPB’s new TV advert? The poll will close fairly soon as the results are pretty clear (to me) already so do have your say.