Nest accessories

If you intend to sit in/on a nest for any length of time, then why not make it pretty. This female blackbird must have decided that a flower or two would be just the ticket!

What IS the point?

I received the following message when I looked at my e-mail today. I say 'received' very loosely as I have no idea who it's from and it is not the first of its kind to hit my screen.
"THis thing is amazing, just graduated without even turning up a single day. Nowfully qualified in a BA and looking to apply for a raise! I'll keep you guysposted, but if any of u interested in getting a BA or something as wellwithout having to actually go through all the leg work i highly recommend these ppl"
Obviously the grammar, spelling and layout of the text will go a long way in getting this newly qualified graduate a really good position and a huge salary. How many of these bogus qualifications actually get the recipients the great life they hope for?

Bird Flu

So, here we go again! This is the sort of event that brings out the best/worst in those of us known as conspiracy theorists!
Personally, I don't consider myself in this category ... but I know that I leave myself open to criticism by openly stating what I think. There are too many things happening in the world today that cannot be put down to coincidence.
Unfortunately, our wonderful Prime Minister is now, of course, like his ex-buddy in the States, a lame duck, and has opened himself up in the cash for honours enquiries and had his second interview with the police kept under wraps until it was convenient to have it publicised (after Lord Levy had been "arrested" for a second time!) ... it just goes on and on.
A diversion was deemed necessary to keep the public mind distracted from the events of the previous few days. A new headline was needed. Something that would capture the attention of the population. Something so potentially devastating that all thoughts of anything else would seem insignificant.

Bernard Matthews, the breeder of 'bootiful turkeys' in Norfolk, suddenly announced that there was a possible outbreak of avian influenza on one of his large turkey units resulting in immediate blanket coverage on the television news outlets (BBC, ITV, etc). We were informed about the perils of this 'potentially lethal disease' getting out into the public and developing into pandemic proportions. The remedy, of course, was a total cull of all the turkeys.
Blair was now 'off the hook' as we all worried about what to do to prevent catching this 'potentially lethal disease' which, according to a statement from one scientist the following morning, could not be transmitted from the birds unless you worked in close contact with them, and then only if you worked with their faeces and/or blood and guts. Not the sort of scenario you want to hear too much about on the breakfast TV transmission.

In 2001 there was an outbreak of foot and mouth in the country and we saw unforgettable footage of cattle being 'culled' and then burned on massive pyres on the spot. Turkeys are, apparently, different. We heard that the bodies of these unfortunate birds were to be taken for disposal to Staffordshire ... to a meat rendering plant! Why weren't they burned like the cattle and totally destroyed?

I thought I would try to ask the question of anyone who may read this in the hopes that I can be assured that I am not turning into a 'delusional cultist'!

I

Death of the "White Zulu"

It was brought to my attention yesterday that David Rattray had been murdered. Who was David Rattray I hear you ask. Well, those of you who been to see the film "Zulu" and then been hooked on the subject of the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879 will have come across the name by now. He was a great historian on the subject and built himself a lodge for his family in the Battlefields area of KwaZulu Natal, not far from Fugitive's Drift, from where he would take parties of tourists into the areas of Isandhlwana and Rorke's Drift and tell the stories of the battles. These tourist would be spellbound by his tales and, invariably, would be reduced to tears as the sun went down and the significance of what they had heard began to sink in.
His writings included the first accounts of these battles taken from the Zulu point of view.
I'm certain that those of us who have been involved with any research, however small, will miss the magnificent input and enthusiasm that David Rattray imparted. It is such a cruel ending to the life of this truly enigmatic family man who was, indeed, a great friend of Africa and the Zulu nation, as stated by Paul Boateng, the British High Commissioner in South Africa.

Happy New Year!

Just in case you all thought that I been abducted over the 'festive season' I have returned to plague you with more 'thoughts as they hit me' as we go forward into 2007!

Christmas has come and gone with the usual over-eating and drinking and, the best bit as far as I'm concerned, meeting family and friends. A chance remark made whilst in a mellow mood was made by me and it went something like this.
"2007 is to be the year that I learn to cook". I was rather ashamed that I had got to the age of 70-plus without any real culinary knowledge. I even went on to say that I would go out and buy myself a hand-blender. Needless to say, when I opened one of my presents it was a ... hand-blender. Somehow the news had spread and over the next few days there appeared a Soup Recipe book and a book of 400 recipes using only three or four ingredients (plus some bits and piece from the store-cupboard. On New Year's Eve, we had a bit of a party and my contribution was a plate full of chicken legs either coated in a sticky honey and mustard and Soy glaze or cooked in a marinade of coconut cream, coriander and lime juice. To my absolute amazement they flew (sic) off the plate and the comments were very encouraging.
I hope I can keep the interest going ... correction ... I know I can keep it all going!

So I hope you are all going to keep coming back for more of my ramblings and I shall try keep them more structured.

Family Surprise

During my searches for family history I came to a brick wall when trying to trace the death of my maternal grandfather. Now, in genealogical research, this is a common occurrence and there comes a time when you are fooled by an 'accepted' piece of family 'folklore'. In this case, the only thing we knew was that he was killed on the last day of the First World War and that he was lighting a cigarette, being the third one from the same match. For those not familiar with the myths and legends connected to these occasions, it was always stated that if you were in darkness and lit a cigarette, the flare of the match could be seen for long distances. If you lit two cigarettes from one match (you and your mate) there was enough time for an enemy soldier to aim at the light. If there was a third person in the group, the sniper would have the extra time to aim and fire with accuracy, usually resulting in a death.
I was a member of the Society of Genealogists and my wife and I went to Charterhouse building off the City Road to have a look at the newspapers, complete with casualty lists for the relevant period.

After that visit and for many years afterwards we were still no nearer, but infinitely changed ... especially when we did finally track him down. The result was a poem I wrote off the cuff with my feelings : -

IN MEMORY OF MY GRANDFATHER WHO DIED IN WWI

(Shows how wrong you can be with Family legends.)

According to years of family tales there's one that sent us off the rails

Maternal Grandad Appleton his story was a real good one!

He died in the War to end all Wars, to us that's World War One,

he lasted out to the very last day just before the end, he was done.

He died, so they said, 'cos he wanted a fag, his mates had a couple to spare

but trying to light it cost him his life, as the Bosche got a bead on the flare.

"Never light three cigarettes off one match!" was the mantra that rings from the past

The first two...OK but the third..no no no, 'cos the first puff could just be your last.

So the legend was born, last day of the war, he was "third off the very last match"

He'll be easy to find when we search for his death ...and that's when we spotted the catch.

He didn't appear on the casualty lists though we searched them until we felt ill

As page after page of reports of the deaths haunt us...they're with us all still.

It was several years later we learned of the truth, he hadn't died then, not at all.

as for "third off the match" well we'll never know, p'raps he wasn't heroic at all!

He died two years before the end of the war from a bullet, or hand propelled bomb;

he'd not had a drag at a fag ... he was just one of thousands who died on the Somme!

R I P (c) Text 2004 Brian Damerell

Bloomin' Sauce!

A few weeks ago the Nationwide Building Society (or Bank, or whatever they are now) had a laptop computer stolen from an employee's home in a domestic burglary. According to the letter received recently "the laptop contained some customer information to be used mainly for marketing purposes".

The letter then explains how they have taken steps to improve their security measures further to provide additional protection to the members.

Then comes a list of things to consider to prevent identity theft and fraud.

My first thought was "Why was such a sensitive piece of equipment allowed out of the office in the first place?" Should not this laptop have been kept in a secure environment?

I'm sorry, but to read about this event is bad enough but to receive a letter telling me how to look after my identity is, well, to put it politely, a bit cheeky.