When I drove down to Cornwall last week, a strange thing happened. I knew the weather was going to be utterly miserable but I didn’t care. I was looking forward to a break and there was nothing the weather could do about it.
Hope and Despair
Why was this? How could I possibly be looking forward to a wet break? Well, it’s like this. There is an old saying that goes, “Give me despair, I can take despair…it’s the hope that kills ...
I was looking at some pictures of birds I have taken, the other day. One of my favourites is of a kingfisher (see above). They are incredibly quick in flight, so normally all you will see is an orange and blue blur. To see one sitting, looking for breakfast, is incredible. It’s when you realise what it really means to have your breath taken away.
Who Cares?
With pollution flowing down our rivers faster than bungs and donations passing ...
I don’t know whether it is a coincidence or not but documentaries by David Attenborough and Paul Whitehouse in recent weeks have both featured Hampshire chalk streams. I care about these because I walk amongst them daily. 80% of the world’s chalk streams are right here, in Hampshire. I can even see one (The Bourne Rivulet) from my bedroom window.
These precious rivers are under threat from a range of environmental factors, including ...
I was watching ‘The Lakes’ with Simon Reeve last night, and
I was struck by some of the programme’s content.
On one section of the programme, Reeve was talking to a
couple of geomorphologists. I will confess that I had never heard of this
profession before. However, I quickly realised what a future role they will
play in the natural environment.
Increased Flooding
In layman’s terms, they explained many of the ...
It was good to head up north for a few days. We left on
Saturday morning and made tracks towards Lancaster, the home of Jennifer’s son
whilst he studies at university. All seemed well as we came off the A303 and
had a straightforward trip up the A34, over the Chilterns and towards Oxford.
Once past Oxford, things turned ugly. A 4-mile tailback all
the way to the M40 set the precedent for a day in stop start traffic. The
stuttering journey ...
