A good day yesterday in more ways than one. But first, a big thank you to all those friends and family who were kind enough to send me good wishes on my birthday - very much appreciated.
The day went well, as they say. A couple of hours dog walking once more into the breach of the Pilgrims Way and the North Downs, which we managed just before the rain came. Family visits in the afternoon - always a real treat - during which I managed to keep my eye on events at Bournemouth`s Vitality Stadium, where the Saints were playing and looking to avenge the defeat suffered early in the season at St. Mary`s by a Cherries side who were playing rather well back then whilst the Saints were languishing in the bottom three of the Premier League at the time.
How things have changed. Now the Saints are in the higher reaches of mid table, whereas Bournemouth are perilously close to relegation. They have just one game left - away at Everton next weekend (always a difficult place to go to) - where they must win and hope other results go their way. It may not be fashionable for Southampton fans to hope they survive but they`re a good club with a good manager and they`re only 20 miles across the New Forest, so it constitutes a bit of a local derby. But the Saints won 2-0 yesterday so I can have no complaints.
The day got better when Manchester United lost 3-1 to Chelsea in the FA Cup semi-final, thanks to two glaring errors by their goalkeeper, one David de Gea or something - but then what can you expect for £365,000 a week on a four year contract? I imagine United will add a few goalkeepers to the burgeoning list of players with whom they are `linked` and which now stands at an impressive 367.
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Turning to other things - this should really come under the heading of Snopper`s Nature Notes - but I noticed both some good(ish) and bad news in the natural world over the weekend. The good(ish) news is that apparently red kites are back in business. Until fairly recently they were a scarce commodity in ornithological circles but thanks to a concerted conservation programme there are now some 1800 nesting pairs in the UK somewhere. Good(ish) because they can be a bit of a danger to others of our feathered friends, as we are reminded by the Padstow May Song - "Up flies the kite, down falls the lark...."
The really bad news is that a 10-year old boy was bitten by an adder and suffered a serious reaction which saw him ending up in hospital. I hope he recovers fully, of course, but I`m still astonished that these potentially lethal snakes are still a `protected species,` which is just nonsense when you see the threat they pose to anyone who might get bitten by them.
And I`ve just seen that polar bears are likely to be no more before too long, thanks to Greta`s climate change. Sounds a good idea; well, they`re not very cuddly and would have you for lunch given half a chance.
Anyway, thought I would mention a couple of things from the natural world to maintain my environmental credentials. Chris Packham and Greta will be impressed I`m sure. They don`t have to bother to thank me.
The day got better when Manchester United lost 3-1 to Chelsea in the FA Cup semi-final, thanks to two glaring errors by their goalkeeper, one David de Gea or something - but then what can you expect for £365,000 a week on a four year contract? I imagine United will add a few goalkeepers to the burgeoning list of players with whom they are `linked` and which now stands at an impressive 367.
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Turning to other things - this should really come under the heading of Snopper`s Nature Notes - but I noticed both some good(ish) and bad news in the natural world over the weekend. The good(ish) news is that apparently red kites are back in business. Until fairly recently they were a scarce commodity in ornithological circles but thanks to a concerted conservation programme there are now some 1800 nesting pairs in the UK somewhere. Good(ish) because they can be a bit of a danger to others of our feathered friends, as we are reminded by the Padstow May Song - "Up flies the kite, down falls the lark...."
The really bad news is that a 10-year old boy was bitten by an adder and suffered a serious reaction which saw him ending up in hospital. I hope he recovers fully, of course, but I`m still astonished that these potentially lethal snakes are still a `protected species,` which is just nonsense when you see the threat they pose to anyone who might get bitten by them.
And I`ve just seen that polar bears are likely to be no more before too long, thanks to Greta`s climate change. Sounds a good idea; well, they`re not very cuddly and would have you for lunch given half a chance.
Anyway, thought I would mention a couple of things from the natural world to maintain my environmental credentials. Chris Packham and Greta will be impressed I`m sure. They don`t have to bother to thank me.
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