This and That...

Drone said:
There are, saw a brimstone and several peacocks yesterday. Birdsong is building, blackthorn is flowering and came across a mass of frogspawn in a pond recently...simple pleasures are the greatest pleasures
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Good to see you alive and kicking, Drone.

We built a small pond in the garden a couple of years ago, and are now routinely visited by a heron (every other morning or so), who seems to be on a mission to empty it of spawn and frogs.

I live about 1.5 miles as the crow flies from Edinburgh Castle, and as a life-long city boy, I am still amazed that such exotic creatures would appear anywhere near our gaff.

To one and all - stay safe.
 
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Grasshopper said:
Good to see you alive and kicking, Drone.

We built a small pond in the garden a couple of years ago, and are now routinely visited by a heron (every other morning or so), who seems to be on a mission to empty it of spawn and frogs.

I live about 1.5 miles as the crow flies from Edinburgh Castle, and as a life-long city boy, I am still amazed that such exotic creatures would appear anywhere near our gaff.

To one and all - stay safe.
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My mum and dad had koi carp for 30 years and bred them,took a heron a summer to take the lot,a lot of them home bred as well.
 
Grasshopper said:
Good to see you alive and kicking, Drone.

We built a small pond in the garden a couple of years ago, and are now routinely visited by a heron (every other morning or so), who seems to be on a mission to empty it of spawn and frogs.

I live about 1.5 miles as the crow flies from Edinburgh Castle, and as a life-long city boy, I am still amazed that such exotic creatures would appear anywhere near our gaff.

To one and all - stay safe.
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What I'd give to be able to just jump on the train and nip up to Edinburgh. Also Micky Hammond put up a video of his string going up to the moor at Middleham, and I can just close my eyes and be there. The sound of the hooves clip clopping on the cobblestones and the cry of the curlews on the moor. So many beautiful things we take for granted. Oh and that gun going off at, is it 12 or 1, which makes everyone who doesn't come from Edinburgh jump out of their skin.
 
The infamous 'One O'Clock Gun', Moe.

I'm east of the Castle. I can't see it from my gaff, but I get a decent view of the Festival/Hogmanay fireworks from my bedroom window.

Stay safe.
 
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Some more "simple pleasures"

Went for a walk beside the river this morning, which amongst its other delights has a small wooded nature reserve. A quiet half hour sitting, listening and watching presented me with the ringing retort of woodpeckers drumming, yet more butterflies, two robins either scrapping or courting, early-rising honeybees grazing the equally early flowers of white deadnettle, birdsong...what amazing birdsong, and the nascent white-noise of a myriad creepy-crawlies emerging from winter

It was sunny, so very still and so lacking the madding crowd's usual distant din. I bumped into (at a safe 2 metres:)) someone else enjoyng the solitude: 'It's so wonderfully peaceful' she said, to which I replied 'yes, but unfortunately for all the wrong reasons'
 
This morning the wife and I went for a walk with our Springer. A bright sunny day, a chill in the air, and Spring springing. Bloody brilliant antidote to what’s going on. Fortunately, within a few hundred yards we nave access to many miles of open countryside. Even more fortunately Essex has a relatively large number of public footpaths and bridleways. Locally many farmers leave a wide strip to allow both people and horses to pass through their fields. There were a number of fairly solid hurdles and fences for the more energetic riders.
Like Desert Orchid we had originally considered travelling to somewhere to find the freedom to roam without risk, in our case to Mersea Island, where we frequently go for long walks that include the beach where the dog loves to run and swim. Given that this is deemed anti-social we have reverted to the local area.
We have figured out several routes which allow the dog to wallow in ditches/streams and get clean by going in one of the small rivers before coming home.
Having grown up in the East End close to the City I am well aware of what it is like being in a crowded flat and being able to go to a park to getaway from the hubbub. On Sundays in the summer my parents would take us to Victoria Park, Mum pushing the big Silver Cross pram and Dad corralling the rest through the streets. The park had a Lido, a large paddling pool, a lake with rowboats for hire and acres of grass. A picnic, ball games and hide and seek. Idyllic afternoons but a seemingly never ending long walk home.
Given the above it is easy for me to feel empathetic with the people that cannot now use ‘Viccy’ Park due to the excessive gathering last week. Although somewhat gentrified at one end there are several large council estates nearby and the park must seem like a haven in these times.
Surely somebody can find a solution there and elsewhere where the issue has arisen. Locking people in flats is a recipe for all sorts of problems.
 
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Those of us living near open countryside are so lucky. I grew up in a council flat in a very deprived area and just don`t know how people in such circumstances are managing to cope in these times. Also, the current crisis is really emphasising the really shameful way our elderly are treated.
 
Tout Seul said:
This morning the wife and I went for a walk with our Springer. A bright sunny day, a chill in the air, and Spring springing. Bloody brilliant antidote to what’s going on. Fortunately, within a few hundred yards we nave access to many miles of open countryside. Even more fortunately Essex has a relatively large number of public footpaths and bridleways. Locally many farmers leave a wide strip to allow both people and horses to pass through their fields. There were a number of fairly solid hurdles and fences for the more energetic riders.
Like Desert Orchid we had originally considered travelling to somewhere to find the freedom to roam without risk, in our case to Mersea Island, where we frequently go for long walks that include the beach where the dog loves to run and swim. Given that this is deemed anti-social we have reverted to the local area.
We have figured out several routes which allow the dog to wallow in ditches/streams and get clean by going in one of the small rivers before coming home.
Having grown up in the East End close to the City I am well aware of what it is like being in a crowded flat and being able to go to a park to getaway from the hubbub. On Sundays in the summer my parents would take us to Victoria Park, Mum pushing the big Silver Cross pram and Dad corralling the rest through the streets. The park had a Lido, a large paddling pool, a lake with rowboats for hire and acres of grass. A picnic, ball games and hide and seek. Idyllic afternoons but a seemingly never ending long walk home.
Given the above it is easy for me to feel empathetic with the people that cannot now use ‘Viccy’ Park due to the excessive gathering last week. Although somewhat gentrified at one end there are several large council estates nearby and the park must seem like a haven in these times.
Surely somebody can find a solution there and elsewhere where the issue has arisen. Locking people in flats is a recipe for all sorts of problems.
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Funny how paths cross, having spent all my life in Belfast before moving to France , Victoria park is now a regular haunt for me as my 3 year old grandson lives in Hackney.
 
Still showing as not secure, unusual for this place.

Where is the boss man - has he abandoned ship?

:blink:
 
Wolf said:
Still showing as not secure, unusual for this place.

Where is the boss man - has he abandoned ship?

:blink:
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If you summon me (by PM) I will appear :) thanks to Roger for pointing me here.

Ok, just spent a bit of time looking at this, it's the mansionbet banner being served from the non SSL section of the site that seems to be causing it. If I get time I'll sort that at some point over the weekend but in reality it's likely to be Tues/Weds before I get time, drop me a PM Weds night to remind me if I haven't replied back please :)
 
Thanks boss - and thanks for explaining what was causing the problem, though it may as well have been in hieroglyphics - for me :p
 
Virtue signallers are having a field day at the moment. The clapping on a Thursday, which is pointless imo, has turned into bashing pots and pans and blowing whistles, honking car horns etc. I live in a village so am spared most of this, but see it all over social media. But it's now spread to PopMaster

The last two people who have won a bluetooth speaker have tried to get Ken Bruce - bearing in mind that this is live radio going out to the globe- to sort out their prize going to a Hospital instead, or the guy on Friday wanting it to be auctioned and the money going to Capt Tom - simmo should be able to confirm as he is a devout listener, with his missus of course :-) - Why put Ken on the spot like that, he's got a schedule to stick to and hasn't got time to explain live on air that he can't really organise this. If these twats want to donate it or auction it they can do it themselves - and the whole world doesn't need to know about it!
 
Rank , Name , money raised , CEO salary , No of employee earning over 60k

1 Wellcome Trust £484.8m £3.17m-£3.18m 286
2 The London Clinic £136.3m £1.27m-£1.28m 121
3 Consumers’ Association £100.5m £825000 144
4 The Royal Opera House £141m £794591 141
5 The City & Guilds of London Institute £142.6m £690k-£700k 196
6 Nuffield Health £910m £510k-£520k 342
7 St Andrew’s Healthcare £202m £496,000 158
8 The Institution of Engineering and Technology £61.8m £414,061 50
9 The Francis Crick Institute £146.6m £380k-£390k 147
10 The Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (UK) £600.3m £323,380-£333,740 33
11 The British Council £1.2bn £325k-£330k 511
12 International Planned Parenthood Federation £78.8m £323,076-£330,769 50
13 The Royal Society £98.3m £320k-£330k 23
14 Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine £111.5m £309,000 20
15 Marie Stopes International £296m £300,532 109
16 Genome Research £135.3m £290k-£300k 62
17 Caudwell Children £11.4m £280k-£290k 4
18 Peabody Trust £608.9m £278,750 230
19 Aqa Education £166m £270k-£280k 79
20 The Girls’ Day School Trust £261m £266,399 198
21 The Leverhulme Trust £99.4m £260k-£270k 3
22 Church Commissioners for England £167.3m £264,000 50
23 The Royal Society of Chemistry £63.5m £240k-£250k 41
24 Cancer Research UK £634.4m £244,000 188
25 Nursing And Midwifery Council £88.0m £237,118 9

Surely if everyone just paid a fair tax we wouldn't need Captain Tom keeping these vultures in a job
 
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There is an all day PopMaster on bank holiday 25th May, less than two weeks away! Does life get any better than that? Or, could I get any sadder than wishing it was less sleeps away?! PMSL at my own joke there, so the answer should be obvious :lol:
 
Think it's on the hour, simmo, and joe public will get the chance to play against celebs, probably minor ones, so it's a bit of a twist on it. Might email myself to try and get on, but kinda hoping I won't be picked!
 
Yeah, by the sound of it there are heats in the morning leading to semis etc in the afternoon. Been a while since I've had a semi in the afternoon.
 
I get them - It's getting past the semi stage that I have trouble with these days :(
 
Not long now 'citing :lol: Going to be hot on Monday down here and coastal areas will more than likely be mobbed out - so I'll be quite happy to stay in the garden and listen to radio 2 for a good part of the day.

I did go out at the first opportunity when we were allowed and enjoyed Teignmouth and Dawlish without feeling guilty. I guessed that there would be so many worrying about venturing out straight away would keep these places fairly quiet, as was proven. Very small % of people have been affected by Covid , and of those most have recovered. So lets look forward to being back to our own normal again quite soon. Good things as well as bad will come out of this in the long run.
 
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