Earning My Geekdom

I know that I am showing my age here, but does my reader remember the television series; “The Six Million Dollar Man”, The saga of my computer reminds me of the opening sequence.

We can rebuild him, Make him faster, make him stronger, but it will still have that annoying paper clip!

You will be in the middle of typing something and up it would pop. I am middle aged, I know how to write a letter.

As I was sitting waiting for Hard drives to format and software to load, the whole process seemed like that. As you have already worked out I have now got the new computer working. I still have components that I need to add, but I have got more than the basics sorted out. By running it with three Hard Drives, I will be able to ensure I don't loose data again. I was able to recover most of my video files/, but not all. I have also lost many weeks worth of writing and pictures. While I am disappointed by that, I will be making other adjustments to make sure it never happens again. Also having learnt a lot about computers, more than I ever really wished to know, I think I have earned the right to be called a Geek.

While it was and has been a slow process getting the computer to this point, sitting waiting to tell the computer what to do next meant that I was able to sit back and watch the steady stream of birds visiting my back yard. One aspect of the birds behaviour I did find amusing was the Ringed Doves watch for the Sparrows on the seed feeders and will pick up the seeds they drop. It was every time and the doves would leave the fat balls to gather the seeds while the sparrows feed. Additionally I was a surprise just how many birds were using my “Dog Bowl” bird bath. It has been a steady stream of feathered bathers and drinkers. Although I am not sure I would want to drink my bath water.

Killing British Farming - Milk

When I was a child milk was delivered in glass bottles via Electric Milk Floats. While it was a system that was run by large organisation/company, it was very environmentally friendly way of delivering this product and service. This whole system slowly became moribund as the supermarkets became prevalent and sold milk in waxed paper cartons, plastic bottles but more importantly for a few pence cheaper than the delivered milk.

The environmental effects of this change were greater waste from all the plastic bottles and no longer reusing the glass bottles that milk traditionally used. If the same system as used in the 1950s to the Early 80s was proposed today, it would be seen as radically "Green". However there were other benefits as spotting milk still on the doorstep was an early warning system that enabled neighbours to spot that not all was well with someone elderly. Many older people that had suffered a fall were discovered much sooner as an additional benefit of this system.


With the switch to supermarkets being the main supply of milk, there has been a constant downward pressure on the price of milk. For most of the past two decades there has been a tension between the supermarkets and the farmers. With most farmers not even getting paid the price of production. Therefore, we now find that we in Britain now have to import a million litres of milk every day, as farmers have pulled out of dairy farming.


While the economics of milk production is at the centre of many farmers having left the dairy industry, another important factor is welfare. As via breeding the modern dairy cow now produces twice as much milk as traditional breeds. That also means that instead of a cow having a productive life of five to ten years with traditional breeds, the modern dairy cow has only a productive life of two or if you are lucky three years. That is not because the cow produces less milk in subsequent years, but because the health problems of over producing milk make the cow uneconomic. It is only by constant veterinary intervention that a cow can be kept productive.


While it is not the supermarkets that are to blame for this, but they do benefit from this. It is part of the way that the supermarkets fail to deal with maintaining good welfare standards and by constantly pressing for lower prices, indirectly cause and add to animal suffering. Also this police of using products like milk as a loss leader harms the very producers, the farmers they rely upon. While it is possible to import the extra million litres of milk each day into Britain, the question has to asked is that wise?


Often the debate by those that exploit the Free Trade system place Fair Trade as and opposite to free trade. But Fair Trade is also free trade it is just that it fails to exploit the farmers and producers. For a perishable product like milk, it should come from farms as close to the consumers as possible. While it would be amusing to see dairy cows in the middle of London, it is not practical. Thus milk has to be collected from farms outside London, processed and transported in.


The situation now where the low prices paid by the super markets to the farmer, the farmer gets seven pence per litre, the consumer pays ninety pence at the checkout, has lead to Britain importing a million litres of milk per day every day. There is no reason why the consumer has to pay any more even if the big chains doubled the price they paid the farmers. As effectively they already have to do to get the milk from Europe.


The effect of the monopoly position of the big chains is that they are Killing British Farming. But not only that a good dependable system became collateral damage in the price wars of the supermarkets, a price war that has greatly increased the environmental cost of all dairy products.


What the supermarkets are doing is following the same business principals and practices that the banks followed. We all know that was a great success. The point is that unlike any other product, food is unique as no one can survive without it. Further if we destroyed our farming and agriculture we become hostages of the market. You only need to look at Zimbabwe to see that. In Zimbabwe they went from being the African BreadBasket, to a nation that can not feed its people as a direct result of the farms and agriculture shutting down. While there it was political mismanagement, here it is economic mismanagement; the effect will be the same.


If we fail to feed ourselves who will sell us the food we need? If there were to be a drought in Europe or flooding that interrupted or stopped agricultural production then how would we feed ourselves? Only by having a good strong domestic agriculture can we ensure we can cope with anything that Climate Change or Economic disaster, throws at us.


While I can not see us returning to the milkman that existed when I was a child, it was one that worked and worked well. As well as the fringe benefits mentioned previously, if we had to invent a good environmentally sound and sustainable one it would be just like the milkmen of my childhood.

How Long is Spring?

Last night here in Britain the clocks went forward to British Summer Time. So does that mean summer starts on March 29th


As it was only on 20th that we had the Spring Equinox and spring started on 21st March that seems to mean that spring is only eight days long.


Well my circadian rhythms are all over the place and the change to the clocks does not help. While I am definitely a night owl biologically, I have had to make myself a Lark due to work and my personal pleasures of wildlife watching. But fighting against nature does mean that every now and then it all catches up with me. So while I have (loose) plans to get out to film wildlife over the coming week, I may just take it easy and enjoy the joys of spring, no matter how long or short it is.

Food Daze in Granger Market

The last two days have been much more relaxing than I expected. Thursday, I had to do a laundry run. As my regular reader knows I have method of measuring when I need to get some washing done, well I ran out of these garments. I leave it to your imagination but there are no prizes for guessing. However that meant I had to go back and forth to Town three times.

After dropping off the washing, I went and got some shopping. Quite by chance, over the last week or so I have been living off a vegetarian diet. I have no problem with that, but I did want to go to the butchers. I had no idea of what I wanted but as I keep my cooking flexible I often will look to see what’s good value and plan my menu from that. Anyway, I got some goodies including 5lb of mince, Ground Beef. While it may be a lot for one. I can cook and prepare several meals from this and stock the freezer.

I also went to see if I could get some new trousers as one of my old pair is wearing in the crouch. I think that it may be climbing over fences or hedges that cause it. Or is it sitting in damp trees? So I looked in a couple of shops, but I was not impressed. I could get some that would make me look like I was eighty or some jeans that failed to cover my butt. While I know that it may be the fashion to show a "builders crack" or to have your underwear on display, above your waistband, but I am not into making fashion statements, not at my age. Also I wanted to get something that looked reasonably smart. As often with getting involved in the conservation work and wildlife watching, my mode of dress would make Charlie Chaplain look dapper, I wanted something that I could wear to the pub if I wanted. However the only ones that I could find that I liked were either seventy-five pounds or some jeans for 10 to 15 and they looked cheap.

Having not found what I wanted I caught the bus back to the village. As my regular reader will have worked out by now, normally I will do my supermarket run on a Thursday. With the events of last week, I went to see if it was the same driver. As the free supermarket bus runs a few minutes before the paid bus, and I already had my day ticket I had the choice. Also, as I had received such a positive response from the Supermarket regarding my complaint, it was a good opportunity to see if they had been warm but empty words. Well it was a bus that was in better condition and a different driver. So I did get the free bus.

I was glad that I did as many of the people that had been there the previous week were there and I was not the only one that had put my complaint in writing. I also discovered that the woman that was nearly abandoned by the driver is actually ninety years old. To me that made what he, the driver did even worse. I think it will not take long before the word gets back round the village that "Laughing Boy" has gone and some of the elderly women that have stopped using the bus may return. As it used to be such a pleasant run with the old dears. I think I became an honorary old dear myself.

While there was not much exceptional about my shopping, I did spot that they had some bottles of pectin as used in jam making (American translation: Jelly). As it’s a discontinued item at a reduced price, I got two. Also as I needed some more containers for the freezer I was looking in the isles I do not normally search. I spotted that the supermarket had some Jeans in stock for three pounds. Now while I know that supermarkets can buy in bulk and hence can sell at reduced prices, at three pounds (five dollars US), I could not see the labours that made them being that well paid. Now I don’t know if they came from a sweatshop paying slave wages, but at that price I could not see that they came from anything close to what I would see as Fair Trade. The one indulgence that I got was in the shape of some apple and cinnamon Hot Cross buns. I don’t know if these exist in other parts of the world, but are basically a fruit bun that has a cross on them and are made and sold at Easter. Normally I would not bother, but just the though of apple and cinnamon Hot Cross Buns had me salivating. Add to that my tongue hanging out and my wagging my tail and you have an undignified image of me.

After returning from the Supermarket, I did not much time before I had to return to Consett to collect my washing. While at the bus stop I saw a Red Kite for the third time that day. I am beginning to think that a pair of them may be nesting or trying to nest close by. I will keep you informed if they do. On the bus was the Conservation Officer from the friends of Chopwell Wood, and we chatted about various sightings. Often this sharing of information can be useful, however it is just nice to keep in touch with the others involved with conservation in the area.

I latter went back out to keep monitoring the ponds, not intending to be out that long; I became engrossed by the activity of the Toads. Not easy to film at night and I am not happy with what I have got. I think I need a more powerful IR light to properly film wildlife, well something else to add to my growing shopping list. It was interesting as it was like being at an amphibian orgy. With Toads and Newts all seaming to be seeking amore.

It ended up with me not getting back home until Midnight and as I had not eaten, me cooking my evening meal at midnight. I was buzzing from what I had seen and after eating I put on the radio and wrote up my notes and it was not until about half three in the morning before I went to bed. Even with being up so late, I was still up and about by nine. I am not allowed to sleep when a cat wants feeding.

As I still wanted to see if I could get some trousers so I decided it would be worth going into Newcastle. While on Friday there was a blustery wind it was a bright spring day. The first thing I noticed was the slight colour changes to the trees. In winter the trees outlines are shades of dark grey but in spring the trees take on a purple hue just at the point of leaf burst. It can last for just a day or two and Friday was a peek of this. Just a week before the trees still looked bare and lifeless, now its clear that life is exploding on the trees. Spring is here.

When I went past the point where a week before I had been able to see a Heron Nest, it was obfuscated by the leaf burst on the trees. It really is amazing just how quickly the transformation comes. As well as seeing two of the Red Kites, I was pleased to see that the flowerbeds along the roads on roundabouts are a riot of colour. These civic amenities are an important asset as they really do help make the environment look and feel better.

When I got to Newcastle I went wandering and having got my new jeans, I went looking at the food shops in Granger Market. Twenty years ago, Granger Market was a rather tatty looking place. It’s a covered Victorian market square housed within a rather beautiful building. As well as the improvements to the fabric of the building a few years ago Newcastle City Council made a real effort to improve the market by getting rid of the tatty shops selling junk and encourage genuine specialist shops. As these are small businesses and the market has always had a strong food emphasis, this refocusing has been successful in my opinion.

Two of the shops that I discovered twenty years ago are still there, the cheese monger and the coffee roaster. Both I visited first as I love the real cheese and they have a real expansive range there. Further, I can find locally produced artisan cheeses. I could have spent a fortune as I was tempted to try many of them, but I will be returning regularly and sampling many from the range they carry. The owner gave me a taste of a new one that she has just got in and I will be getting that at a latter date. But as I joked with her, I do not want to go up a jeans size. I already use middle age spread, the margarine of choice for the over forties.

I also got some more coffee from the stall there. When I lived at Ryton upon Tyne, many years ago, I would pass the factory where they roast the Beans going to and from work. I love the range they have as well as the quality. They do have fair trade coffee too but the main reason I like using them is simply the quality.

While in Newcastle I also wanted to get some Mealworms and some seed mixes to feed the birds. While the prices are a little cheaper in the city than going to Consett, I had to balance the saving to the extra cost of going to Newcastle. The return fare is Five pounds although if I paid two single fares it would be seven twenty. Therefore it is mainly the specialist nature of the products that make the journey worth while. Therefore, as I had to wait for a couple of hours while the pet shop unpacked their order where the Mealworms were, I discovered that some of the improvement to Granger Market are subtle and will make a regular trip there worth making.

I apologise in advance to my vegetarian readers, but one of the types of business that Granger market is known for are the butchers. When I worked in Newcastle I would see the carcasses of whole pigs, whole lambs and half cows being carried in. It is still possible to see this if I went along early enough but at that Time I was a vegetarian myself. Therefore while I did see specialities like Pheasant and Partridge there if I visited the market, as I had no real interest in buying I failed to see that the meat was much better quality and value than the supermarkets. As I had already bought my meat I was just there observing the fare on offer, I saw that I should have come here for my meat. As the range of cuts was excellent and there was none of the tricks that are often used to make lower quality meat look better than it really is. Also several of the shops were displaying locally sourced meat naming the farm in one case I noticed.

As local food and supporting local business is an important part of my ethical ethos, I will make the effort to buy from Newcastle as well as the butcher in Consett that I use. It was looking more as though I could justify the cost of travel and the carbon impact of making that journey even more. As I went round the different Butchers, I could see a whole range of dishes that I could be cooking. While there were also the cheap packs that were clones of the supermarket fare, I was pleased to see Free Range Chicken that was cheaper than the supermarkets, and the packs of meat were far more generous, at the same price as the big chains.

I realise that shopping like this can be a bit more of an effort, but the savings are worth it. Especially when looking at similar products in terms of quality. The supermarkets all have their premium ranges, and they can be much more expensive than their budget ranges. The chains of course always say that they are helping to cater for all budgets, yet it is the quality range where they make some serious profits. Yet meat from a good local butcher or a market like this is the same high quality as the supermarkets premium ranges but only the cost of their standard range.

Therefore I think I will have to make time to explore this market for my meat before doing my supermarket run in the future. The other aspect of the Granger Market fare that is known for is the greengrocers. Here I have seen a serious improvement. Twenty years ago while there were examples of real quality and range, there were also sellers that would try and palm off any old rubbish. When my ex wife and I were together, we had the experience of having to throw out half a bag full of vegetables, as they were rotten. As most of the traders have great looking displays, it all looks great, but you were not allowed to serve yourself, they did from behind the counter. Therefore our days shopping was not the quality it appeared to be and had to be thrown away the day it was purchased. As I mentioned previously the Council who owns and manages the Market made improvement and this helped remove the rubbish traders. It was funny that at the time this made the local television news and one of the traders that was complaining about the plans was the trader that has sold my wife and I the rubbish. He is not trading there anymore.

The first aspect I realised about the greengrocers there was the range of Vegetables available. Even the ones I go to in Consett that are excellent do not have the range. Therefore it can have a limiting effect upon the range of dishes I can cook. I fully realise that in a city of more than a million people the range will be greater than a Town of several thousand folks, but seeing the range my mind lit up to meals I have not cooked for ages.

Further, I noticed that some of the produce was local too. Therefore I was like a big kid when I spotted some purple-sprouting Broccoli. Not that many children would get excited about Broccoli. As I have always acknowledged I am considered eccentric. So I got some of that and some Jerusalem Artichokes. Something I really love and I could only get them by growing my own. For folks that don’t know them, Jerusalem Artichokes are a root vegetable that produces a lot of foliage and works as a wonderful windbreak. Perfect for sheltering an exposed garden. However, it absorbs all that wind during its growing season and releases it when eaten. Therefore it is a great vegetable for consuming before a nice long walk in the countryside.

Another change that has happened to Granger Market is there are now Fishmongers in the market. Previously, there was the green market opposite the Granger Market and in there was the fish market. Try not to get confused, as I will be setting exam questions latter. Part of the impetus for changing Granger Market was to redevelop the Green Market. It was a 1960s development and while I liked using some of the traders there, I did not like the building it lacked atmosphere and character. Therefore when the green market closed the good traders were able to relocate to Granger Market. As I say I think the move towards quality has greatly improved the market. Also the traders are grouped together so it is possible to compare quality and price on similar produce.

While personally I have stopped eating fish as simply until I can find fishing that is truly sustainable, I want to avoid adding to the depletion of the seas. But I will look into this further as by visiting the Market there is now a greater range of species available than I have had previously. While I know that most people will not eat anything but Cod, if there are other seafood’s that are sustainable I will buy them. I was tempted to buy some Razor shells and Lobster tails (all the way from Maine). But if I did I would have risked wasting some of the food I already had.

The last find is a gem in some respects but not in others. It’s an organic shop selling a range of dried goods predominantly. What makes it a gem of a find is simply that they have a very wide range of unusual and hard to find spices. I even asked if she had Asafoetida and she did. Anyone who has used this will know that in its raw state it smells, and is why it is also known as "Devils Dung" However, when used with other spices it can lift a dull curry to something exceptional. It does always make me think that it must have been a brave cook that discovered it was so good and useful. I am having a vegetable curry tonight.

However, while I love the idea and ideal of organic foods, I sometimes can not see how the prices can be justified. I did have a business where I tried to sell organic foods, and while many people said that they would buy organic if the price was too much of a premium, understandably people did not buy. Therefore I only stocked what I could get when the price was comparable to conventional produce. Even then people did not buy organic even though I was in an affluent area. As I also supplied good local produce as well, I did not go bust as would have happened if I had tried to be totally organic. This experience showed me that while people say they want organic in reality very few people will buy, even when the prices are the same.

However, I also discovered that some people would try and sell you any old rubbish. I often had to reject produce as it was just to poorer quality. The suppliers would use the retort that it was because it was Organic. To that I would reply I am rejecting it as its "Organic Rubbish". I am talking about things like wilted carrots, or lemons that were beginning to dry out. Things that I would not even try and sell at a reduced to clear price. My suppler went bust.

Therefore I suspect that many people who say they would like to buy organic have been put off by the poor quality of some of the produce that can sold as organic. Add to this the premium often not based upon the extra costs of production, but sellers or suppliers trying to make an extra profit by charging what they think "the organic brand" could sell for. That brings me back to the shop in Granger Market. Most of the items were very expensive. And we are talking two or three pounds for items that in the supermarkets will be less than a pound. Pulses, Rice, Grains. While I am sure that the quality is much better than the chain stores, I can not help thinking that she will struggle to make a living. I hope that I am wrong, as there are products that I would buy and will buy there. But I too have to live on a budget and can not afford to pay over the top prices for food, organic or not.

Well even thinking of all this food is making me hungry, so it’s a good job that I have a well-stocked larder. Now should I have bought those jeans in a larger size?

Let them Eat Cake

Just before the French Revolution Marie Annotate is reputed to have said in response to the peasants having no bread to eat, "Let them Eat Cake". While this is untrue, it serves as a useful allegory to the fact that the rich elite were detached and separated from the needs of the poor.

This detachment from the real needs of people is a lesson that has not been learned by our leaders. This week it was revealed that a Government Minister Tony McNulty, but to be fair to my overseas readers I should explain that he is the minister for lining his own pockets. Has been claiming an allowance for a second home in his constituency, just eleven miles from his own home in London. Further, this second home belongs to his parents. I feel sorry for his parents as they thought he had left home years ago, must be such an embarrassment for them to have a middle aged son still living at home.

This is not the only minister to be caught with their snouts in the trough of public money, as the home office minister (Interior Minister); Jackie Smith was caught doing something similar. What rankles with the public is that this is all done within the rules. Even though it looks corrupt and that MPs are just looking after their own interests.

You would think that with the recession biting and ordinary folks struggling to meet the bills, the people that are supposed to be leading and setting an example, are walking off with their pockets full of tax payers money would make them look like greedy pigs. Especially when there is such an outcry over bonuses for bankers and corporate greed.

The reality is that most of our leaders have lost touch with reality. This is most evident in the bonuses that have been paid to bank staff even when the banks have lost money. Being rewarded for success is the only reason why most of us work. It is when people traders banking managers have clearly not been successful and are still rewarded that demonstrates that detachment. A number of weeks ago one woman who works in one of the failed banks was asked if she should get her bonus and said; "Yes I only earn 95 thousand". That her basic salary was sixty thousand pounds higher than the average wage, shows how detached from reality she is. The now notorious Sir Fred Goodwin pension is another. Having driven the bank (Royal Bank of Scotland) to the brink of collapse, he was required to leave as a condition of the bank getting Government Money. Therefore in a dirty little deal, the fellow directors voted that he should get an increased pension pot of sixteen million. Further he could have a cash lump sum of two point seven million and to top it all, the bank would pay the tax on that lump sum effectively making the value of the cash pay out four and half million. Now there are two ways of looking at this, as he is fifty and could have gone on working for another fifteen years, this pension is a small price to pay. As in Fifteen years he could have gone on to wreck another three or four banks and that would have cost us billions.

However the reality is that he and his fellow directors do not think that they caused the problem. They do not think they are to blame. Had Sir Fred only got the basic pension as he would have done if RBS had collapsed it would have still been twenty seven thousand per anum, but this enhanced pot is seven hundred thousand pounds per year every year. It makes me ask the question, "How do I apply to become a failed banker?"

In history civilisations fall when the elite become detached from the people, when they over indulge and become decadent, Rome and The French Court are two examples that spring to mind. Our business and political leadership has made that error. At the centre of this recession is the boom and the bust of a property market that was out of control and over inflated. This was born out by the inflation figures released this week. Or should I say the two sets of inflation figures. The one that includes mortgage rates shows no inflation, 0% price growth. The other that measures retail prices shows an increase. The simple fact is that house price inflation has never been measured for years. Therefore that inflation of three hundred percent, was not being counted. Had it been counted then interest rates would have been put up years ago and the indebtedness that is at the core of the recession would not have been as bad. The bankers and government both had a common sense bypass, on the NHS, and assumed that property prices would continue to rise.

As inflation is seen as bad in all other aspects of life, then house price inflation should also have been seen as bad. But as everyone seemed to be making money from it, people kept on borrowing against the value of their homes. What is extraordinary is that the banks, the regulators and the government allowed this. With the government I can understand this as it created the illusion of a booming economy. The regulators are only as strong as any administration allows them to be. As I could see this coming, I admit that I was predicting that it would be an environmental factor that would trigger the meltdown, I am really surprised nay shocked that the banks had not.

The trouble was simply that everyone was blinded by greed. One of the perfect examples of that were the property investors, the buy to let landlords. My regular reader will know my problems there, and it doesn’t colour my judgement here, but as the capital price of property went up the buyers just increased the rent they wanted to charge. This was irrespective of whom was going to ever pay a rent of excessive plus. Even now I can find properties in the region where the asking rent has ensured that they stay empty. Had the buy to let landlords and investors even thought about the level of rents that people could afford to pay, they would have realised that rental income was not going to pay the mortgage plus.

Well the reality check is still to come for most of the rich elite. I include most of our elected pocket liners, as they are still pressing for more of the same policies that got us into the mess in the first place. Grow this or spend more on that. There are areas where spending needs to be increased or maintained, the investment in renewable energy is the obvious one. But its areas like education that really needs to be boosted.

For years there has been an emphasis on exams, A levels and going to university. While it may be great to think that we can have a country full of computer programmers or scientists and engineers, but the reality is that not everyone can be. Education should bring out the full potential not just be to provide a team of worker robots. For the last ten years or more we have had to bring in labour for many manual and semi skilled jobs, when there are over a million people who are out of work. The problem being the emphasis on academic education brands far to many children, particularly from poor communities, as failures if they are not academically gifted. When their skills may be more creative or craft based. Again it has been this detachment from reality to expect that everyone can be rocket scientists that has neglected the needs of the less academically gifted.

Here business and government has failed. Business has not been willing to train workers here. Yet if they move a plant over to China it suddenly is cost effective to train a workforce from scratch. Government needs to tell commerce, business and industry that if they want the skills they need to train the population too.

The last aspect where for years there has been a detachment from reality has to do with tax. It has been long argued, by the rich it has to be said that you can not tax the rich to much as if you do they will go elsewhere. Also the rich need to make money as they generate wealth! Well if I am not mistaken they have generated Debt not wealth. Further, what is wrong with those that earn more contributing more for the services that help support the population that provide the rich man with the workers that help make him rich?

MPs, Bankers, the rich and elite all need to wake up to the fact that people are very angry about the way a few are getting much more than there fair share. The people that are suffering the most are those that were cautious and sensible, while those that were reckless get rewarded or can ease their pain from others pockets, makes for an unstable society. Oh I forgot Mrs Thatcher said there was no such thing as society, was that before or after she repealed the laws of gravity?

Even the police are cautioning that the present situation could lead to civil unrest. I think its about time our leaders in this country stopped worrying about their greedy needs and started to notice that the population they are supposed to be serving needs their help, support and leadership.

Bankers and Politicians all like to talk big numbers, it makes them feel big and important, it that why they like to drive big cars too? But the big numbers they need to worry about is the large number of them that will be voted out of office unless they start to help the poor as much as they are helping the rich.

Raptor Persecution

When the Red Kites were first released into the area as part of the reintroduction programme of these magnificent birds, there was a single incident of one of the birds being poisoned. Fortunately there has not been another case since. Part of the way that this was prevented from happening again was the way that the RSPB and its partners in the form of Northern Kites, had been educating people about the kites. This included the local schools adopting and naming the birds. Therefore when on the television news this was reported there was an interview with one child, from the school that had adopted the kite, who said that she was told to respect adults, but how could she respect adults that did things like this.

It was a very powerful message, out of the mouth of babes and sucklings. It also meant that instead of just a few professionals protecting the Red Kites, there were thousands of people keeping a watch on them. While I know who the person that poisoned the bird is, there was not enough evidence to prosecute. But with the whole community keeping the Red Kites safe, we have not lost any of the Red Kites to persecution since.

Therefore I was upset to see on the local television news that over in Cumbria six Buzzards have been killed. While only two can be proven to have been shot, four were too badly decomposed to determine the cause of death, as all six were found at Carlisle Golf Course it is likely that there all died at the hands of man.

The Common Buzzard is a protected species as it is rare and to loose six just before the breeding season that means the population has been reduced by twelve to fifteen birds. When numbers are so low anyway, loses like this are even more grievous. The problem is that it is just so difficult to prove who is guilty. They have to be caught in the act of killing or disposing of the body. It is just a shame that there is not the same sense of affection by the community there that we have for the raptors here.

I started writing this entry just before I had to run into town, and as I went down to the bus; I saw one of the Red Kites. It was such a thrill to see it flying free when just ten minutes before I had been writing about birds unlawfully killed. Even now there is a speck on the horizon that is a Red Kite. I know that people, not just birders, are thrilled to see raptors, and they are always a magnificent sight, majestic, powerful, a whole dictionary of adjectives, so why can they not be left to share our lives and our hearts.

The Cats Check Up

I had to take the cat back to the vets for a follow up check up. I have been following the vet’s advice and instructions and that has resulted in her putting on weight. I got told off for that, even though I had said that she would over eat if given the chance. The vet agreed that I know and understand her best, and as she is thriving I should feed her as I see fit. It is good to know that she is fully fit given her age, she still acts like a kitten and as she is quite small people often think that she is younger than she is. Even the vets Nurse thought she was an adolescent then she read her age on the card.


I think it is clear though that she has developed dementia. She likes to be close to me, and sometimes seems to become distressed if she can not find me. Also she seems to forget where her food and water is at times. I often have had her agitating for me to feed her after I have put her food out and I have had to show her that the food is there before she will start to eat. Last night though brought a rather amusing incidence as she was fussing and trying to rouse me, I was asleep in bed. I got up to see if there was a problem and found her siting in the bath waiting for me to turn the tap on. She likes to drink from a running tap, even when she has water in her bowl.


If she is not suffering dementia then she is playing me for a fool. Well cats like playing with mice!

Fighting Jackdaws

While I was attempting to fit the new internal power cables and leads to the desk top computer all of a sudden was the raucous calls of the Jackdaws fighting. At this time of year it is often the Males fighting over females and relatively short lived. This however went on for longer and was coming from my yard. I could also hear that there were some of the Jackdaws on the roof too.


Investigating I only saw three of them fly out of the yard and no indication of what had caused the conflict. I finished the task at hand and went to make myself a drink. The kitchen over looks the same yard and the same ruckus started. I saw a large number of Jackdaws on the telephone wires, the walls and hovering in the air but still could not see what was happening. Then I spotted one bird in the yard was pinning another to the ground, the one under the dominant male was on his back and the jackdaws were feet to feet, all semi hidden by some plant trays. I guess the fight was over food but I don’t know. It was over in no time but the scene reminded me of a school playground fight where you have a group gathered round calling fight - fight - fight.


I can often see human behaviour mirrored in animal behaviour, both good and bad. What made this remarkable was just how close I was to the event. I would have filmed it had I realised what was happening but by the time I had worked out what was happening the events had drawn to an end.


A little latter I saw one Jackdaw that had lost several feathers from one of its wings. It could still fly and was not impaired from this, I don’t know if this was the bird that was attacked but it seems likely.

Follow the Sat Nav Regardless

I am far from a Ludite, he lives at the other end of the country, and I will use technology where appropriate. However, I will not rely on it completely, there are times when good old fashioned "common sense" is the best way forward.

While doing other things on the computer, I kept spotting the headline for this story. As headline writers like to grab our attention I really did not believe anyone could be this stupid. Even if your sat nav is saying this is a road when clearly it looks like a footpath common sense (in my experience sense is not that common) should tell you that the computer is wrong. But this "professional driver" decided to follow the sat nav directions no matter what. Well in this case he found himself on the edge of a cliff.

I realise that we can all make mistakes but here is a case of someone switching their brain off.

There was a friend I knew who was a ships engineer and was on a ship that was one of the first to have GPS as an aid to navigation. At one point the GPS was telling the bridge that the ship was in the middle of London when they were actually in the English Channel off the coast of Dover. Had the margin of error been smaller there was a real risk of them running aground. It was simply an error in the programming of the mapping software that caused that error, but because the Ships Master used his brain the event just became a funny story. The driver had he used his brain should have realised that his sat nav was showing an error.

I actually want to get a handheld GPS unit as it can enable me to mark on an electronic map the locations of birds nests, footprints, and all sorts of other data that would enable me to better understand how wildlife uses the landscape. But I will not be walking off any of the cliffs or crags if the GPS tells me that’s the way to go.

The story in the Media

Story Update

I am pleased to say that my letters of complaint regarding the problems with the free bus that serves the supermarket have not fallen on deaf ears. It would have been very easy to dismiss my concerns with well-meaning but empty words. However, following my call to the customer service call centre and my subsequent letter sent via email, I got quite a full response back. While I kept to the details to what I knew to be true, and what I had witnessed myself, I also emphasised that the supermarket was loosing business from the conduct of the Bus Company. Further, they too were extremely concerned regarding the possible unroadworthiness of the buses used for the service. So while I do not yet know what will result from this, I have to praise the way the supermarket are handling the matter. Although the test will be if there any improvements to the service.


Another update relates to my being left hanging around when absailing down to cave on a cliff. As my regular reader will know, I was forced into doing this, but things went wrong and I was left dangling. The problem that I had over the whole incident was that the people involved were not being straight and honest with me. I was getting contradictory facts, also as some of the people were supposed to be trained and teaching young people, I had no option but to inform the licensing authority of the incident.


It turns out that the whole matter had been staged as an initiation ceremony, but when the secondary line really became snagged in the rocks, what started as a prank became a genuinely serious and dangerous one. Even the owner of the land, a peer of the realm, was part of this prank too.


As my father was in the Blues and Royals there was an assumption made that I was ex-army too. In fact because I can be quite good at tracking wildlife, they assumed that I must have had Special Forces training. Therefore, they assumed that I would be able to deal with their trick.


Well the people involved have had more than a serious warning from the Health and Safety people. I also got an apology from them, but I will not be helping them again. At least I got to the truth and I know they will not be putting other people in danger. I must say that I find the whole initiation ceremony thing rather childish and in my opinion it’s a form bullying. Anyway I am pleased that they seem to have learned a lesson from the incident.


The other update regards the saga of my computer. I had already bought the new power leads and I was waiting on the software that could help resolve the problem. I don’t know what it is with computer people but they sometimes appear to be in a world of their own. The software I needed, or was told I needed was available on line. But I could not download it to the machine I needed to fix. Therefore I needed it on a disc. Oh we don’t do that, they said. They realised finally that this was illogical as if the machine will not start at all how can you then download the software that could fix it. Oh they said and sold me the software on a disc.


It did not work. Therefore, I am going back to my original plan and with a new hard drive I will install a new operating system. If only from the cost view point I would love to avoid using Microsoft, as it’s nearly two hundred pounds just for the operating system, and use Linux. But having already bought on version of this that does not allow me to install or run other software. I do not see the point, as to run other software like my video editing or photo software I have to also run Windows and choose to use either windows or linux.


Therefore I ask, why can’t someone produce a genuine alternative to Microsoft Windows? As it stands Microsoft have a real monopoly and can charge what it likes for its products. Personally I can not see how they can justify a cost of any more than fifty pounds for the software that runs the computer, no matter how sophisticated it is.


So I will have to wait until I can afford the extortionate costs of Microsoft Windows before I can use the new computer. Robbery used to happen with a mask and flintlock, now it happens with a hologram and access code.

Old Friends Returning - Spring Migration

Yesterday, I was out visiting a couple of other wildlife protected areas, not quite nature reserves but the folks that are caring for the places are working on that. When I got back to my local patch, I wanted to check on events. As spring unfolds, there are various places in and around my local woods where various natural history events will be played out. Some I may get to film, others I will miss, as I can not be in several places at once.

While traversing to a place where I hope to film a little owl nest site, it has nested there for the past two years so I am hopeful. I had to stop and listen to a sound that was seriously out of place. Firstly it was the wrong time of year; secondly the weather conditions were completely wrong for a Cuckoo to be calling. Additionally, the tone and volume sounded wrong. After listening to it several times, over a half-hour period, I concluded that it was someone playing a recording.

I could not locate who it was, and as it was from within the trees, another clue that it was not genuine, I was forced to abandon the search. Nor could I spot any sign that the little owl has returned yet. The delay also prevented me from having enough light to check out a couple of other locations for other returning wildlife.

However I am keeping alert to the spring migration and I will be delighted to the first swallow, which will have already started its journey from South Africa. As it takes six weeks the first ones, shall I be corny and call them the early birds?, will have left four or even five weeks ago. Also I am trying to remember to keep my smaller JVC camera in my pocket as over the past two years I have seen the Osprey on their migration so I hope if I see them this year I will at least have a camera with me. Having Derwent Reservoir just a few miles up the river from here helps. As trout fishery it provides the Osprey with a feeding station on their migration.

But while there are never any guarantees of what I may see, that is part of the thrill, to see what is unexpected as well as seeing old friends returning.

A Paws Race

At the moment I feel as tough I am in a paws race. Its like the arms race but involves sighting of wildlife. As no sooner do I relate my encounter with a pair of Weasels but my friend posts of her encounter with a Racoon. She even has the pictures to prove it.

Well I had better not mention the herds of Wildebeest that past through last week or the pride of lions that took shade at the bottom of my street… Or were they sheep and domestic moggies?

While I am jealous, I know that I am lucky to see the wildlife that I do encounter. However, I now have to report on one that I missed. I was sitting watching some television at six PM yesterday when I noticed a large flock of Jackdaws and Crows. As this can be a sign of the Red Kites I took a look. I could not see anything that would have caused them to rise on mass like that and as this can also be part of mating behaviour, I assumed that was what it was.

Today though I was told that a Sparrow Hawk was spotted at that same time and it flew low over my street carrying prey in its talon’s, chased off by the corvids. Well I missed seeing that.

However an interesting opportunity may have arisen for me. Someone asking if I ever filmed at a particular location contacted me some time ago. While it is accessible for me, as I have so many places I could visit it remains on my "when I have time" list. Without boring you, this correspondence continued until I had to ask if there was a point to all the questions that I was being asked. Finally it emerged that this person was part of a small conservation group and wanted to produce some DVDs to help raise funds.

Today I went to meet these people. They already have some film that they want to incorporate but equally they want some new film shot as well. However, while several folks have tried to produce DVDs none has passed the quality threshold they set themselves. As while the discs can be played on computers they don’t play in domestic machines.

Having explained the problems with my computer they still were willing to wait until I got that fixed. Further, they are willing to pay for the tapes I would need to film the wildlife on the sites they are involved with. Now me being a cynical old mouse I had to ask why they were asking me when clearly they had some skills already. Well it appears that it is my films of bugs and beetles that caught their attention. Also I appear, to them, that I have the time to try and film some of the critters. Well I put them right on that as while I am prepared to put in the time and effort, I still have all the normal activities of life to undertake too.

Anyway, I am considering the offer, often having privileged access or good supportive local knowledge is a major advantage. Thus I would be able to escalate the paws race further. However I know that this will be a futile race that I can never win, as no matter what rare or exotic creature my (friendly) rival will just post her sighting of a Unicorn and have the picture to prove it.

Weasels

Last night as I was laying in bed tossing and turning, I thought I could hear some noise or sound that was rather animal like. As I came fully awake I strained to listen and yes there was some sound, of what I really could not tell.

When my cat was unwell recently, she is now much better, she had made some rather uncomfortable and strange vocalisation and with this in my mind I rushed down to see if she was making these sounds. She was contentedly asleep however. Therefore I looked out of the front of the cottage, there was nothing there, but I heard the sounds again. They were coming from the back yard. I do put out some cat food there, and while I know that the other cats in the area eat the majority, it’s there for the wildlife.

Thus I was expecting to see a cat in the yard, but I spotted a creature that disappeared out under the gate. I did not see it well enough to positively identify it, but I thought it was a Weasel. I stood in the dark of the kitchen looking out through the window letting my eyes adjust to the dark when I spotted a second one. This I was sure was a Weasel, I just watched it quietly and the first returned just poking its head under the gate. This was the cue for both of them to run off.

I don’t know if the Weasels or a cat that had stumbled across them made the strange sounds, but I was surprised that I was able to hear them at all. I may try and set up a camera trap to catch them, but it was just good to see them at all.

After a cup of tea I returned to bed and slept all the way through to midday, the lazy oaf that I am.

Buses and the rural community

On Thursday I had to do a supermarket run. There was not much that I needed; Netty* Roll, Washing up liquid and Cat Litter, but I also had a few things I wanted to get as well. Further, I had some vouchers sent by the supermarket that meant that by careful shopping I could make the most of what I wanted with what I normally buy. My bill came to less than twenty pounds and this was reduced by a quarter using the vouchers. However, my reason for telling you this is not to highlight what a bril fab shopper I am but that I would probably not be using this supermarket at all if it were not for the free bus that the supermarket provides.



When I first moved to the village two and half years ago, its that long that the wood mouse has existed, I soon learned of the bus. As choices are limited in the village, the need to travel into town or to the metro centre for a supermarket was obvious. Not least because the fares to Consett, Newcastle or Metro Centre, could add to the food bill. This is something the local shops exploit and are very unpopular as a result. Therefore without that free bus I could only make the trip to the supermarket when I needed to make a significant spend to justify the fares too.



This was made worse when last year there was a significant hike in the fares when the oil price increased. However, even with the oil price having collapsed as a result of the recession at the start of this year the fares increased yet again. The cost of travelling anywhere out of the village is now over thirty percent higher than it was when I first moved here. Additionally the service is poorer.



Yesterday when going to one of the nature reserves, my fellow passengers at the bus stand were complaining about the service. One gentleman said that they don’t need a timetable but a calendar. I understand what he means, as one day a few weeks ago, I had to wait an hour and half for a bus, three having been cancelled. Further, it is not uncommon to be on a bus that breaks down and have to wait for the next to come along and collect us. For anyone who has to rely on public transport for work this could cause people to loose their jobs. This makes it impossible for people to give up or reduce their use of cars.



Coming back home on Friday, the bus broke down. One of my fellow passengers had suffered the same fate five times in the last two weeks, and it was the same problem the engines overheating. Is it something as simple as the drivers not topping up the water? I just don’t know. I do feel sorry for the drivers as they often get the abuse for the failings of the Bus Company. But it is clear that the service is suffering and it is the people without cars that suffer the most.



Now returning to the free supermarket bus, while on the whole the service is reliable, there has been an increasing problem with the driver. The driver who did the job when I first moved to the village was happy, helpful and well mannered. The current driver I nicknamed "Laughing Boy", yes the name is Ironic and other villagers have adopted the name too. Should I have copyrighted that? The biggest problem is that he often is in a hurry to get away especially when people have done there shopping. Not a problem when everyone is back on the bus, but this has lead to him on more than one occasion leaving before everyone who came had even left the shop. He would say that they were getting a taxi back. Occasionally people will do that, so it was difficult to know if he was just being impatient. Also on two occasions we the villagers have had to tell him that he was nearly leaving someone behind. The last pertinent detail is that we actually have an hour (its more in the morning) to do our shopping.



Well on Thursday the driver went too far. We were on the bus waiting for one more passenger, an elderly lady of over eighty. A good ten minutes before the bus was due to leave the driver announced that he was not waiting any longer and started to drive out of the supermarket car park. The howls of protest from the villagers were unanimous. He did return and the poor woman was collected. But the anger of most of the people on the bus was evident in the expressions of people’s faces.



To one woman I said that I was going to write a letter of complaint. In fact I have written two, one to the Bus Company and one to the supermarket. As the supermarket pays for this service and the attitude of the driver has stopped some people using the service, this is not speculation as people have told me this awhile ago.



While it may add to my shopping costs, I will not use the free bus again unless or until this driver is removed from the service. I am not alone in this as two other people are saying the same thing. Further, as the supermarket is not the closest to Consett town centre and another is, the supermarket will loose my business too.



Personally I am disgusted by the actions of this driver, there was no way that the elderly woman could have walked to the bus station with her shopping. In a village like Chopwell we need public transport and the elderly and the poor need services like the shopping bus, as do all the other villages it serves. But these transport services are exactly that, services. The problem is that the companies that run the bus services have forgotten that.

Spring Equinox

As it has been the start of spring today I just had to get out and the weather has been wonderfully spring like. Although my day actually started in the middle of the night as I have still been trying to film the toads mating. There were toads about, and spawn in the pond, trying to spot and then film a creature that is a third of the size of a Dollar bill in the dark, well its not as easy as the professionals make it appear. Further, they have a crew to help, if I did not have a split personality I would have to do this alone.

I still have not got them on film. I was feeling a little disappointed but often that is the way when trying to film wildlife. Personally I think they were all behind me having a croak at my expense. I was just getting ready to leave when I heard the sound of a Woodcock performing its mating, bonding, display flight. I looked and searched but beyond hearing the Woodcock was the closest encounter I was going to get.

Was this going to be a day of frustration? It seemed so as what happened next seemed to confirm what had already happened this morning. As the sun was washing the land with the first rays of light, filtering through the rising mist, I spotted some movement in the fields. As well as Toads and Frogs, I have been keeping an eye out for Hares. While there is a small population in the area, they are a rare sighting at the best of times. Further, as a brief glimpse of a Rabbit could be mistaken for a Hare, I needed to get a clear view before making any identification.

I set up the camera and used it to scan the landscape. The mist was not helping, it was not artistic or atmospheric it was just obscuring. But I persisted and I did finally identify them as Hares. It is the first time I have seen Hares this year. Finally the sun burnt off the mist and even then the Hares were difficult to find. As they hide in scrapes in the ground, the undulations enable them to disappear while still being out in the open. However, in the mating season they become less secretive as the drive to sire the next generation overtakes the normal need to avoid predators.

I stayed and watched and I thought there were several in the field they were spread widely. I could not tell if they were male or female but as they all appeared to be the same size I think they were all males. I kept observing but they appeared to be settled and secure. Then about an hour and half latter over the far side of the field a Hare broke loose and bounded down the slop. As it appeared larger I think it was a female, this triggered the rest to follow and suddenly seven or eight Hares went chasing after. I had only been able to count five possible Hares. It was over and out of sight before I could even switch on the record button.

As it was a surprise to have seen them at all, I was not totally disappointed not to have filmed them especially as I did not see any of the boxing or the leaping about, but its clear that madness is I the air.

It was late morning before I got home and as I had gone out before the milkman had delivered I had to get my milk in before I could do anything else. As I was looking quite windswept and must have looked as though I had just got up, I heard a neighbour say that I must be very lazy. Well I suppose hanging round ponds and fields is quite lazy.

After having some lunch and re-hydrating myself, I headed of out again. I was spoilt for choice as I was heading for one of the nature reserves close by. I decided to go to Sildon Pond first and see what was there. Sometimes it can be great sometimes not much is happening there, and I would have time to walk to another reserve if not much was happening there. Well this was a day when the birds were performing and as it’s the start of spring they were looking their best too.

I will stick to the highlights or else I will bore everyone (again). The first highlight was seeing the Tufted Ducks. These are small diving ducks that carry a tuft of feathers as a crest. Part of the delight of seeing them was that they were perfect full plumage. However, what was the real highlight was observing and filming part of their behaviour. When resting they will swim round in a circle, like swimming on the spot. This they do to avoid bank dwelling animals like foxes mink etc.

The next highlight for me was seeing a Mute Swan. As I was in a hide and the swan had come to just below the observation ports, I was looking down on her. She was feeding and I could see her head down in the water as she grazed on the plants growing from the base of the pond. Even had I not been filming her, it would have been a sight worth seeing.

Another little highlight was watching and filming a Little grebe diving and feeding. I was not sure but it had earlier appeared to be collecting material and building a nest, but I could not see where in the reed bed where, so while that appeared to be what it was doing, to much of the activity was hidden to be sure. However, given the time of year it seems a good hypothesis that this was what the Dab Chick, another name for a little grebe, was doing.

It was while trying to observe the grebe that I saw what was the real highlight, as well as filming them, I spotted a duck that I did not immediately recognise. Green metallic head and a rust red body, an American Ruddy Duck. There is a small colony of them here, so they are not that rare, but it was a delight to see them as close as they were and in reasonable numbers. They do breed here and they appear to be getting ready to do that again this year.

There were many other aspects of the day that made this one of the best starts to spring that I have seen for many years, but the real bonus was seeing a pair of Grey Herons alighting in the Heronrey near here. I was on the bus and it was only because the trees are still bare of leaf that I was able to spot the nest. I would like to film them, but I need permission as they are protected. Even so, I was pleased to see that spring really is here and the wildlife knows it too.

The Helpful Blogging Community

It never ceases to amaze me just what a helpful bunch of folks you lot are, so I will start by saying thank you.

Back when the Internet was still a toddler and I first ventured onto the information super highway, I was quickly run over. As while there was an incredible amount of useful information and some welcoming and supportive communities, I seemed to attract some of the folks that are now known as Trolls. Was internet-world Middle Earth? It could have put many off, but I persisted and even when I started this blog, and more particular in its previous form on Yahoo, these trolls seemed to follow. That is why I screen any comments made here. It save you having to read comments made by creatures that have not yet evolved beyond Amoeba.

However, this also means that folks can send me personal messages, and I can reject the comment to stop it being public. This has created some interesting juxtapositions where a cartoonist has helped me with computer problems, and a fisherman has helped me with botanical identification. However the most recent help came from someone who recognised my description of the flying pig on my screen saver, and that I needed a new battery for my old laptop. Therefore I was able to get a new one for twenty pounds sterling. I now have much more flexibility than I had previously. As I will have to wait to repair the desktop, it really aids me as I can still do my writing until I can get to inflict more of my video on you folks.

I also have been given a couple of cheap potential solutions to my difficulties with the desktop, I still need to source the software but if they do work it will save me a fortune. Therefore I will be eternally grateful to the helpful community out there in web-land.

Otter Returns to Clean River and Wildlife Corridors

Tuesday night on the local news was two stories that related to wildlife. The first (although the second shown) was about a sighting of Otters in the mouth of the River Tees. I visited the location last year and did try to film; photograph or even just see them, I did not for the record. However I was under strict instructions not to disclose the potential sightings then. But now I can reveal that there are indeed otters there.

It is the first sightings of them on the river for well over forty years. For so many years the river was nothing more than an open sewer and drain for the chemical industries that dominate the location. However over the years industry was forced to clean up and now the river is no longer one of the dirtiest and is now clean enough for the fish to live. That next link in the environmental chain is now filled again by a pair of Otters.

The industry and the jobs are still here in Stockton and the surrounding areas, yet by stopping the pollution has enabled the wildlife to return. It is not just the wildlife that has benefited from this but the people too. The most obvious benefit is the cleaner air and water was having on human health. Even though there are still health problems in the general area, people are in general more healthy. Further, with the river now cleaner, people can now use the river for leisure activities such as boating and fishing.

But the real benefit is the wildlife that is now starting to thrive. It is not too distant that the RSPB have opened their newest reserve. There are plenty of other patches that are nature reserves in the area and Tees Mouth itself is a National Nature Reserve.

The second news story relates directly to the problem of this patchwork of wildlife havens. Although the way it was covered was as a "Celebrity" in the area story. Yet the "Celebrity" was the Naturalist Chris Packham who was here to promote an effort by the three regional wildlife trusts to find ways of linking this wonderful patchwork of nature reserves so that the wildlife can not only survive in these places but across the whole region.

One of the reasons why the Red Kites have thrived here in the North East of England is simply that the birds were not released into a reserve, but into the area, the countryside. The birds have places that are protected, but because they are just there in the farmland, public parks, allotments and peoples back gardens they have thrived better than they could ever have done had they just been in a nature reserve.

For a whole range of wildlife we need to allow the birds, the mammals the whole gambit of species to break free from their protected areas to spread out. If we can keep our environment clean and welcoming then there will be more places where Otters, Red Kites, Polecats and so many other species can return to the countryside where they belong.

Independent Living

Now I have never represented myself as a genius, nor have I even thought of myself as one. However I know that I have more than two brain cells to rub together. Well this evening something happened that made wonder about how the intelligence of people.

I was just preparing my dinner when there was a knock at the door. It was quite a tentative knock so I was not even sure if there was someone there. The young woman at the door I had met yesterday when going round collecting my jars. She had just returned to live in the village and was living just down the road from me. We had spoken briefly mainly about cooking. So I was rather surprised to see her.

She had come round, as her new kettle was broken. As I knew that she and her partner had just moved in and lacked even the basics, I offered to lend her a pan so even if the kettle was broken they could still make some tea or coffee. Well I put a screwdriver and a spare fuse into a bag along with the old pan and making sure I had turned the rings off on my cooker I followed her down the hill to her house.

I could see that they had just moved in, but they had a games console set up and quite a posh TV. However, when I looked in the kitchen I had to ask if she or they had special educational needs? I asked gently as I could, and they acknowledged that yes they were educationally challenged. As what had happened was they had put the electric kettle on to the electric cooker. The obvious result was a melted kettle.

I helped peal the mess off the cooker and I left them the old pan to use, but I did say that I could not understand what they were thinking. It was not as though they did not have plenty of clear space on the bench where the kettle could have been placed. I left perplexed by the situation and after cooking my meal I called the acquaintance where I had met the woman the day before. She had a good laugh but I was more concerned about the safety of the neighbours. She promised to call the woman’s social worker tomorrow.

I don’t know what the whole story is here, but I really would not have believed that anyone could or would be left where they could try to put a plastic kettle on to an electric stove unless I had seen it myself.

Reminder to self: Don’t ask them to make tea for me!

However this incident raises an important point, this couple for reasons that I don’t know have received a grant or money from some government backed source so they can live independently, yet they seem to lack the skills needed to do so. While they are not obviously educationally challenged, they obviously lack the understanding of how basic appliances work. Yet they know enough to be able to play complex computer games. I may be being thick here but if they have come from an institution I would have thought that they would get some form of supported living before being able to set up a home together? As I have been talking about basic household skills, I would have presumed that had these young people been in care then equipping them with basic skills should have happened before? What sort of society do we have here?

This does not only stun me; I am shocked that two vulnerable young adults appear to have been abandoned in this way. I am all in favour of people being given and having independence, we all learn from mistakes too, I am left speechless by this. At least this young couple has one relative and now a friend to help them.

I started this post by questioning the intelligence of some people, but it is not the intelligence of this couple that needs questioning but of the people that sent them out into the world ill equipped to live.

Food Supermarkets and Cooking

Yesterday I had to go on small mission, let me explain. For several years I have at times made my own chutney. Often when I have been able to get some windfall apples or if there was some produce that was very cheap. I would give friends jars of whatever I had produced. All very simple, except that I don’t always get the jars back. As a number of years ago I bought some, well a lot, of wire clip jars, and people like them so much that they are reluctant to give them back. So that was my mission today.

It was interesting to visit and reconnect with people that I have not seen for a while. Most of these people are what I would could fair weather friends, and while they seemed happy and willing to chat a little, most seemed to be more interested in the prospect of getting a jar of something in return for giving me my own jar back. I now have enough of my own jars back to accommodate all this marmalade I have now made. Can you guess what I am having for breakfast?

Many of the people though were quite interested in what I am trying to do, as by their own admission most are not confident cooks. While it would be all to easy criticise folks, it really does stem from a lack of education. However I was pleased to hear that in the schools they are now starting (again) to teach young people basic cooking skills.

One incident though did amuse me; I was told by one person that they had broken the jar while I was staring at it on their kitchen bench. I politely pointed it out and said that they must be confusing my jar with one they got from elsewhere. Oh yes so it is, and I was left on the step at the back door for fifteen minutes while the searched for a container to put the contents into, they were reusing the jar. While I was kept waiting I saw one of the Red Kites in the near distance so I was not displeased by being made to wait outside. As I walked back home with my jars, I saw another of the Red Kites too.

While I was washing the jars, well they were in soaking, I saw one of the ringed Doves come down to drink from the large Dog Bowl that I use as a bird bath. The next time I looked half the water had been spilt as I guess the bird had taken a bath. I was pleased to see that it was being used by the birds, although I have rarely been witness to this, I had seen signs of its use. I also put out a net of Peanuts for the birds yesterday. My cheap peanut feeder is going rusty and I need to replace it mainly as the birds are not using it that often and the peanuts are going to waste. So when in town trying to get the jam thermometer the other day, I picked up some nets of nuts for the birds. Well today I had the sight of one of the Jackdaws trying to get to the peanuts. The Bird found a perch above the net, then lifted it and held it within its reach my one foot. It got some of the nuts out too. Another came to watch and tried the same trick but pulled the whole net off the hook and dropped to the ground. As it landed behind a flowerpot, the second Jackdaw lost out on a snack. Well it keeps me entertained.

Returning to the subject of the Marmalade, when I made my last trip to the supermarket, I was shocked to see just how expensive Marmalade is there. The cheapest was £1.19 and the most expensive was £2.50. Even taking account of the extra fuel costs these jars of my own will still cost less than fifty pence each to have made. While in town I did find some jars of Marmalade that were seventy-five pence, it shows that we in Britain are not getting the good deal from the supermarkets they would have us believe we are getting.

All of this is making me even more determined to produce these videos and hopefully help people see that good food can also be cheap food. Across so many areas of life, everything is measured purely in terms of money. The supermarkets sell food purely as fuel, anything that is better quality or truly good for us they charge a premium for. Therefore, it ends up where the wealthier people in our society are the only ones that have access to a good balanced diet.

The government should not have abdicated food policy to the supermarkets or the food industry; it is this neglect of the basic needs of the people that has resulted in this problem of obesity and poor diet. The illusion of cheap food that these chemically laced, over processed so called meals that the food industry sells us, is adding costs elsewhere like the NHS. The banks were allowed to get away with making money at all costs and we can all see the mess that caused, well the supermarkets and the food industry are doing the same, except the cost is and will be the early deaths of the very customers they rely on. To me it makes no sense.

The real problem is the way that people at boardroom level reward short term gains at the expense of any long term planning. Now where have we heard that story before?

Yellowstone

As mentioned in my previous posting, tonight was the first of three episodes of a natural history documentary about Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. Yes I am aware that I moved the park to another state, I have had two emails already. Well what can I say I am not smarter than your average bear!

However, what I was trying to say was simply that I miss watching the incredible podcasts that the various state Fish, Wildlife and Parks services produce. As a way of providing information it is a wonderful medium, not only that I bet that I am not the only person that is developing a yearning to visit many of these wonderful places. The only difficulty is that it would be a long walk for me and a touch damp too.

The first programme was a stunning visual delight. However it was one of the sequences in the first minutes of the programme that caught my attention. On the radio a few weeks ago was a series of essays by one of the best Wildlife Camera people, John Atchesson. (I don’t think I have the spelling right) But in one of these essays John was talking about filming in minus 40 in Yellowstone, and the pictures his words painted evoked the scenes that were now playing out on the screen. The man is a true artist and his films are things of beauty.

When I was a boy I was enthralled by the wildlife films particularly on Survival. While my contemporaries were making footballers or pop stars their idols mine were the filmmakers like John Root. I never said that I was normal. I genuinely wanted to get a job filming wildlife, I even told the school careers advisor this and was told to grow up! Well I still have not grown up!

Speaking of this, one of my viewers of my junk on You Tube said that I was like the gentleman naturalists of the Victorian era, I really like that. The only problem is that I feel that old too, personally I blame the cold weather and sitting about in damp conditions. Fortunately not minus forty though, so perhaps I will leave the real wildlife filming to the professionals.

Although I will just do a bit of ego inflating, as when I went to see the comments, I discovered that there have been over ten thousand views of my amateur films. That’s a lot of folks that I have bored! Joking aside, there is one in particular that is doing well. This is of bullfinches that were feeding on the ground. As this is a rare site, to have filmed them on the ground was almost unique. However, what has pleased me most is that even though my films are not of drunk people doing stupid things, that people are still watching them.

I just wish I had the email address of the career advisor and show him that I have still not grown up.

Rant Rant Rant

On Saturday I spent the whole day trying to get the desktop up and running. The Linux software I had ordered had arrived, but as I needed it on a disc I was not able to download it. Thus I ordered the new operating system on a CD. At the very least I thought, as I had been told, I would be able to retrieve my files by using this. Well as the software came without any instructions or help guides, they are online, and the software locked out the broadband, I was left with a worse problem than I already had. It took me all day to get back to the position I was in beforehand.


It now looks as though am going to have to spend a considerable amount of money to get this problem resolved. Therefore I was not in good humour about computers at all. All I want is a computer that works properly, and I am annoyed that even if I spend the money, I may still have to buy a new computer as well, as the one that I have is so poorly put together, cheap and shoddy components, that to get it properly and fully working I will need to replace most of the major components. Mother board, Hard Drive, all the cabling that it may not be worth the cost. Therefore, buying a new computer may be my only real option. However that is not one I can afford at the moment.


So I am grateful that I have this old laptop to use, but it does mean that I am seriously limited in what I can do with it. For me the greatest lost is not being able to access the podcasts from I tunes. Personally I find these frequently add to my understanding of many of the issues regarding the environment, but often it is simply that they are entertaining. One example I could give is the many wildlife filmmakers that produce video podcasts of their wonderful work.


Also to go off at a tangent, tonight on the BBC starts a series looking at the wildlife of Yellowstone National Park, as I also subscribe to the podcasts produced by Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks, I would loved to have been able to cross reference what was in the television programme with the information that comes from the wardens and rangers in the park.


The importance of the computer and the Internet can not be under estimated. So much of our lives are now adapted to using the computer and the web that loosing this communication tool does limit what we can do. I will bounce back from this set back, but I would rather be able to just get on with what I need to do and what I want to do than have to worry about problems like this.


Well that’s my rant over, blush, but the people that will lie to sell us the junk they want to get rid off annoy me. At least I have enough to keep me busy and take my mind off these problems.


On a more positive note, when I was emptying the kitchen bin, I spotted the packet from the Soya mince. I was able to check and it was the Produce of Canada. While I do try to only buy products and supplies that are not from, or potentially from environmentally damaging sources, I could not remember where it had been produced. Therefore, I was pleased to confirm that I was not adding to the destruction of the Rain Forest. But it does show just how difficult it can be. As no matter how hard I try, I can not follow all the potentially environmentally damaging products on the market. Obviously it requires a degree of intelligence to try and make a judgement, but if only these products were not marketed then we could all avoid inadvertently damaging the environment.


It is funny, that’s peculiar, but when I went to get some bread today I took some of my recycling. This meant I had to cross a particular road and as there was a car coming I waited for it to pass. I watched the driver, mobile pinned to his left ear, collide with another, taking off the wing mirror. I made a mental note of the registration when the owner of the car came out. I was able to pass on my details and the registration number of the car. I told the chap that he had been on his mobile too. Well at least he may get his insurance claim honoured. I just don’t understand why people think they can drive with one hand, had that been a child and not another car. Well at least it was a car, I don’t think I could have refrained from giving the driver a piece of my mind. Therefore perhaps it was better that he drove off.


Well at least I have the natural history documentary to look forward too, as watching wildlife even on television always lifts my mood.

Indiana Jones and the Thermometer of Sugar

Friday I had to don the fedora, clip the whip to my belt and go on a quest. I had cooked the fruit and I was ready to add the sugar but my jam thermometer was broken. Not a problem, I would just buy a new one, or so I thought.


I went to the Metro Centre, as a specialist cook shop lives there, but they did not have one, I then went to every other shop that would normally sell this type of equipment, but none of them had one in stock. Therefore I had to travel right into Newcastle to see if I could get one there. I went to every shop that sells cookware and I was not able to find one. Finally I went to a hardware store in Granger Market and they had one.


It is a very good one and was similar to the one I really wanted when I got my old, deceased, one. However it was twenty pounds ($35US). I now have a pain right here in my wallet now. It took me five hours to find this equipment, but looking at all these shops that are selling cooking equipment actually confirmed the need to be doing these videos.


The problem is that the shops are full of gimmicky gadgets, that may be fun to use once or twice, but not really suited to a lifetime of use. I have two saucepans that are older than I am and will out live me. Further, while much of the cooking equipment looks fantastic, some of it looks as though it would not survive actually being used, more style over substance. There was also plenty of good quality equipment, much of these carrying endorsements of celebrity chefs. The implication being that if you buys this you too can cook as well as these chefs. However, these endorsements seemed to do no more than add twenty percent or more to the price.


Therefore ordinary people looking to equip a kitchen and start cooking could so easily end up paying over the odds for even the basics. Or even worse, people could end up buying pots and pans that are next to useless and would lead an inexperienced cook to burning the food they are trying to cook. This I am sure leads to people believing that they can not cook.


For people who are on a limited income, not wasting money on worthless equipment has to be a vital starting point for learning to cook. Some of the pans I saw were so thin and tinny that, there would be uneven heat distribution. Add to this the lack of confidence that people have about cooking and it is no wonder that people stick with the salt and fat saturated ready meals. For the poorest people in society it is simply that they do not know how to cook and the supermarkets and shops are not helping.


While I am a great believer in freedom of choice, educating people to make wise or appropriate choices should help. As I have said here before, the education system actually lets people down as there is far to much emphasis on making "Good Little Workers" and not creating well rounded human beings. If the education system were working properly then everyone, boys and girls, would learn the basics of cooking in school and the home. I also suspect that a well-rounded education would allow our young people to recognise that we are being sold a pile of junk both metaphorically and physically.


There were benefits from going in to Newcastle, as I was able to visit my favourite Cheese shop, and get some really decent coffee. The difficulty I have is that my home is an hour away from the city and I just do not really want to go there that often. As I was nearing the end of my quest and walking down the main street towards the station, where I could get my bus home, I was confronted with a drunk (possibly drugged up too) young man who was aggressively talking loudly into a mobile phone. As he barged passed me, spilling his can of beer over me, he threatened to kill whomever he was shouting at over the phone. Having lived in a place where drug users would inject drugs where I could see them from my windows, I have developed a real distaste for cities. Therefore, I don’t particularly want to be forced to visit any city just to get the foods I would like to buy. Yet it is ironic that to get goods produced in the countryside, where I live, I have to travel to the city to get them.


The journey to and from Newcastle was rewarding as on the journey in I saw five of the Red Kites. Not only that but as the bus passed by a block of woodland, Thornley Wood; I was drawn to a movement and saw a Roe Dear, all to briefly. Then on the way back three more (or the same ones) Red Kites.


I did finish my quest by making the Marmalade, and yielded about ten pounds of Marmalade, fourteen and half jars. I don’t know what it is, but I always end up with one jar that is not quite filled. I was very pleased, as I was able to give my neighbour a couple of jars. She has of late been bringing me some eggs, her son works on a chicken farm, and I was pleased to be able to offer something in return that she and her husband would use. That’s another good reason for living in a rural community, we all try and support each other.