It’s been a slightly odd day. I woke very early (even for me) and so had a little snooze mid-morning, listened to the Budget on the radio and then went for a walk at Stanwick Lakes. As I walked around in the afternoon sunshine I was thinking that, in some ways, I was quite impressed…
Category: Uncategorized
Good cause
BirdLife International has a number of fundraising ‘asks’ on the Just Giving site. All are worth supporting. There are several teams who are fundraising by competing in the Champions of the Flyway bird race at the Eilat Birds Festival in Israel. This raises the inevitable question of ‘why fly to Israel to raise money…
Bits and pieces
How wolves change rivers – a four minute video (although that is the wrong Badger species!). Vote here for the project you would like to see get £25,000 – I voted for the World Land Trust project on leopards but it wasn’t an easy decision. I keep forgetting to tell you that the sale…
They can’t be that far away…
Sand Martins – I can feel them in the air. Any day now… I’m ready for them. And they’ll be followed by Swallows and Willow Warblers, Blackcaps and Sedge Warblers, and Yellow Wagtails and Common Terns. Then Cuckoos, a whole bunch of warblers and House Martins. Swifts. Bring it on. An English spring. I’m ready…
Saint Patrick
Happy Saint Patrick’s Day! Saint Patrick has some dodgy environmental credentials although his walking stick grew into a living ash tree and he used the shamrock to illustrate the Holy Trinity. But driving the snakes from Ireland – what was that all about? Could he please come back and rid Britain of Muntjac Deer, Canada…
Cheltenham preview for Day 4
This is the last day – and the worst day of racing (in my opinion). Yes it has the most prestigious race, the Gold Cup, but the supporting cast of races is a bit uninspiring. This year I’ll be watching the Gold Cup on TV rather than travelling back across the Cotswolds. But, don’t get…
Vermin
We (and I am talking England here) don’t have a vermin list. I’m glad about that. Whenever I hear someone talking about vermin it makes my metaphorical hackles rise. Why should we regard any species that has evolved on this planet as being a problem? Yes, individuals of species can cause us problems but it…
Cheltenham preview for Day 3
Most people regard this as the least interesting day of the Festival – they are wrong. The Ryanair Chase is one of the best races of the four days and the World Hurdle is another. The Ryanair is run over that ‘funny’ distance of 2.5 miles – a bit far for some of the quick…
Cheltenham preview for Day 2
Comments Off on Cheltenham preview for Day 2
Day 2 is usually my favourite day but I’m not sure that will be the case this year. The ‘big’ race, the Champion Chase, doesn’t quicken the pulse in its usual manner this year. It’s not because Sprinter Sacre, the reigning champion is missing through injury (if that’s the right thing to call a heart…
Past and future defence
The whole purpose of the Monday of Cheltenham week is to free one’s mind from real life and to concentrate on the total irrelevance of horses running around in circles (in the case of Cheltenham, anti-clockwise circles). So with this in mind I went for a walk early on Monday morning to relax and let…