Tim Waygood- Articles and Rambling

An amazing man was buried today

2012-02-06T16:53:00.000Z

Dan was only 46, cruel cancer
He knew and taught by example how to live
and die. Campaigner, inspiration, integral, humour, music, love, life, liberty, anarchist, countryside, truth, perspective, Earth 4.3 billion years old today.
Much missed and much learn't

Eurozone Problems - NYTimes.com

2012-02-02T20:40:00.000Z

Eurozone Problems - NYTimes.com

Tesco drops carbon-label pledge | Environment | guardian.co.uk

2012-01-30T20:38:00.000Z

Tesco drops carbon-label pledge | Environment | guardian.co.uk

Personal Banking - Triodos Bank | Triodos Bank

2012-01-27T21:00:00.000Z

Personal Banking - Triodos Bank | Triodos Bank

Never thought i would rec. a bank - these people are brilliant, honest and real ... real people !!!

Everything about this is - just is ..

2012-01-27T20:37:00.002Z

The World War on Democracy

2012-01-25T20:48:00.000Z

The World War on Democracy

Letter from Sir Julian Rose

2012-01-23T16:48:00.000Z

Letter to Farmers and to Consumers

Consumers:

Listen - do you want to survive? Do you want to have something edible on your plate?
Do you seriously believe that what you currently buy from Tesco and other hypermarkets is actually providing you with your nutritional needs? Do you even care? Or are you “too busy to think about it.” Do you ever read the label on the packaging? Do you know what all those 'e' numbers are or mean? The synthetic preservatives, colours and additives which form a significant part of the 'food' you eat – do you realise what they are doing to you and your children and your grandchildren?

Well I'll tell you: they are destroying your immune systems – that's what they are doing. They are eating away at your natural resistance to disease. They are hardening your arteries. They are blocking up the valves of your heart. They are contributing to the chances of getting cancer. Have you noticed that people are getting sick more and more frequently? If you haven't noticed you must have been asleep for the past decade. How many times have you felt “really well” recently? Not often? Have you wondered why?

Do you take an interest in the quality of what you put in your belly? Yes? Then why do you still go to those huge supermarket stores that sell you junk food wrapped up in pretty packaging? Did you know that the 'fresh food' they sell you is never less than 5 days old? That it has often travelled half way around the world before it gets to you? That it is coming from huge monocultural fields whose soils have been soused with pesticides, herbicides, fungicides and nitrates? You don't know what nitrates are? They are toxic stimulants that force plants to grow faster and bigger than they would naturally. All large scale commercial farmers use them. The residues from these nitrates land up in our drinking water – and therefore in our bellies - and so do the pesticides, herbicides and fungicides. So do you begin to get the picture?

But that's not all! Oh no, whenever you buy those bakery products chances are you are getting genetically modified soya added to the flour – and ever wondered what that might be doing to you,
slowly, over many years? No? Well, nor do the transnational corporations that profit from the sales. But we have strong evidence that they are contributing to the loss of your natural reproductive powers – yes – bringing on sterility. Oh, you don't mind that you or your family may never be able to have children? You're willing to risk this most precious gift of reproduction by ingesting GM residues ? They are not only in the bakery products but also come through in the milk and meat from livestock being fed GM soya and maize. Did you know that this government has put off banning the import of genetically modified animal feeds? That they haven't even officially banned the growing of GM crops in Poland? Are you going to simply turn the other way and allow your government to quietly permit the irreversible genetic pollution of your food chain and beautiful countryside? Or will you get involved in preventing such a tragedy from ever happening?

Then what about all the refined white flour and sugar in these bakery foods? And what about this so called 'flour' – do you know how much wheat there is in most loaves of bread? Well – no one is going to tell you because if they did you would stop buying it.

Now then, I see some of you are still not convinced. If you don't care what you put in your tummy, then perhaps you do at least care about what and who you are supporting when you purchase your food? You might care to know that when you buy this 'stuff' that passes for food in the big supermarkets and in many other shops unfortunately – you are directly supporting what is known as 'factory farming'. Factory farming: those two words should make you feel a little sick, but then some of you are so thick skinned that it doesn't. So I explain: factory farming is mass production of foods using techniques which are just about as inhumane as one could get. In the case of commercial meat, the pigs and chickens that provide some 45% of all meat eaten in this Country are raised in animal concentration camps. Their food is typically composed of genetically modified (maize and soya) that has been grown on vast sterile fields somewhere in the USA, Canada, Argentina, China or Brazil, fields that also demand large additions of agrichemicals. Then they are crushed for animal consumption and have antibiotics and other synthetic additives and fillers added to them. The hens and the pigs that are fed this toxic mix are kept in vast sheds with little or no access to daylight or the outdoors. They have no space. They cannot roam or play, and live out their brief lives on concrete floors under harsh neon lights. How long do they live? The fattening pigs four months and the hens approximately three months. Egg laying hens? Maybe one year.
Then they get slaughtered – in their thousands. Humanely raised chickens can easily live happy lives for five years or more. Pigs considerably longer. But, dear supermarket consumer, you would really rather not know all this. You would rather prefer to believe the lovely adverts on TV which show contented hens running around in some field and smiling piggies gobbling buckets of delicious mash in their straw covered yard. Yes, that's how they sell us the message about our food. And you swallow their sugary virtual reality message without ever questioning it?

Every time you do this you are consciously choosing to give your support to an inhumane factory farm – and to the corporations that manufacture the GM foods and agrichemicals – and to the vast supermarket chains that purchase this sad food, in full knowledge of the way it is raised. You see, we are complicit in the establishment of these vast profit making prisons. They wouldn't exist if we didn't support them through buying their produce. WE are the ones who condemn these animals to a life of purgatory. WE are the ones who, by choosing 'not to know' give license to huge corporations to take over control of the food chain and of our own lives. WE are submitting ourselves to becoming slaves to systems that are beneath the basic dignity of both the human and animal kingdom.

Yet many of you know that our Creator gave us dominion over the animals and over fruits of the land, in the hope that we might live together as an extended family. But is the factory farm sort of dominion you would like to be seen to be supporting when your face your Creator at the end of your days?

For God's sake wake up! There are choices that need to be made here. Not making them is not an option any more. Its time to act. Human health, planetary health and universal health are not separate: they are inseparably connected. This health will not be secured by profit driven food corporations or bargain hunting consumers. It will be destroyed.
Read on …...

Farmers:
What do you think you are doing? Is it true that you don't care about the quality of what you cultivate and raise from the land? Or is it that you are happy for your government to tell you what to grow and how to grow it? Or is it Monsanto and Cargill? Or is it the financial subsidies on offer from the EU that control your thinking? Or are you afraid of being innovative? Is it perhaps easier to just plod on in the same old way in hopes that somehow you will get-by?

Just beyond your door step are many people who could greatly benefit from getting the majority of their daily food needs from you. Of course, they would want this food to be of a good quality: fresh and flavourful. This is something the supermarkets can't provide. They are operating through centralised packaging and distribution centres involving hundreds, if not thousands, of kilometres of
road haulage. Nothing they provide is fresh, nor is it of any comparable quality to local food. Yet, for some reason you would rather accept the pitiful price the supermarket pays you than get yourselves organised and sell at a fair price to your own community or nearest town? Oh yes, under the communist regime it was much better; there were proper local processing plants and abattoirs and even help in distribution. But the European Union doesn't like small scale self sufficient units that look after local people with good quality fresh food. No, it likes large scale monocultural farms employing as few people as possible and turning out thousands of tons of bland, lifeless foods to be sold in some vast bland and lifeless shop at the other end of the Country. The EU wants farmers to
be business men and make decent profits so they can be taxed and provide a decent revenue to the government and to Brussels. You didn't know that? What have you been doing for the past ten years? Listening to your 'farmers union' or 'advice office'? Do you think they aren't being paid by the EU and the government too?

Now, its time to get wise isn't it? I mean, do you really want to spend the rest of your days being a slave to institutions that have declared it illegal to sell any processed food to the local village shop?
What kind of nonsense is this? Why would anyone go along with that sort of 'navos'? Do you think that any other Country in Europe has such a distorted regulation? It looks like you need to brake free from this hangman's rope. Are you trying to tell me that if a bunch of farmers got together with a bunch of shop keepers and did a deal that provided local food to these shops – you would turn around and say “Oh dear, I'm sorry, but its not allowed so I can't do it.” Has your pride reached such a low ebb that you are prepared to give in to a bunch of petty bureaucrats?

Come on. Come to your senses. The EU wants you out of the way – and that's the way they will win! They will get you trapped into feeling you 'Can't do anything'. They will try and make you feel guilty for doing something which is sensible, profitable and right. They will throw the 'hygiene and sanitary' rule book at you and tell you to fill in your 'HASSAP' form. They will try and cow you into feeling that you have to conform to their stinking global food marketing regime that has the net effect of killing off all the real family farms of Europe and replacing them with banking cartel owned and run 'superfarms'. Places that operate with one man on five hundred hectares and the nation buying the resulting poisoned food from their nearest Tesco.

Now listen – there's got to be a better way hasn't there? I mean, if you want any of your children to take an interest in the farm do you really expect them to conform to an EU and government rule book which is written by people who have never set foot on a farm in their lives? Aren't you feeling a bit foolish going along with this sort of rubbish?

If a bunch of locals came to you and asked you to grow some food for them – what would you do?
Set the dog on them? Swear at them? Tell them that its not allowed? Or might you perhaps invite them in for a cup of tea and a chat? Well, if you did, it just could be the starting point of a very interesting possibility. I mean, if these people offered you a fair price to grow some food for them or produce some milk or cheese or whatever it might be – then wouldn't it be a bit foolish to turn them down? They get what they want and you get what you need – a secure local market - and not one controlled by some transnational corporation that wants to screw you. Have a think about it. But don't think too long otherwise you will probably convince yourself that “its not possible.” Its this attitude that just leads to things getting worse and worse.

Consumers and Farmers:

In this letter I have addressed both food buyers and food producers: so now its down to you. Get together and take control of your destinies; or stay apart and to be killed off by transgenic laboratory foods, industrial farming cartels and sold-out corrupted governments. Its your choice.

Julian Rose Dec 2011

New PM to consult God before making decisions - News - JamaicaObserver.com

2012-01-05T19:05:00.000Z

New PM to consult God before making decisions - News - JamaicaObserver.com

ACP Images

2012-01-01T13:32:00.000Z

What Drugs Was Your Thanksgiving Turkey On? | Food | AlterNet

2011-12-23T19:45:00.000Z

What Drugs Was Your Thanksgiving Turkey On? | Food | AlterNet

Christopher Hitchens: Unspoken Truths | Culture | Vanity Fair

2011-12-07T21:59:00.000Z

Christopher Hitchens: Unspoken Truths | Culture | Vanity Fair

Economics and Politics by Paul Krugman - The Conscience of a Liberal - NYTimes.com

2011-12-02T22:01:00.000Z

Economics and Politics by Paul Krugman - The Conscience of a Liberal - NYTimes.com

2011-11-27T20:49:00.002Z

RUN FROM THE CURE - Full Version - YouTube

2011-11-23T21:00:00.000Z

RUN FROM THE CURE - Full Version - YouTube

FT Alphaville » The bund that broke the Bundesbank

2011-11-23T20:06:00.000Z

FT Alphaville » The bund that broke the Bundesbank

Occupy Wall Street Draws Massive Turnout in NYC and Across the Nation to Mark 2-Month Milestone

2011-11-18T20:24:00.000Z

Occupy Wall Street Draws Massive Turnout in NYC and Across the Nation to Mark 2-Month Milestone

The E. F. Schumacher Society

2011-11-13T17:42:00.000Z

The E. F. Schumacher Society

The Greatest Speech Ever Made - YouTube

2011-11-07T21:32:00.000Z

The Greatest Speech Ever Made - YouTube

LetFreedomR1ng's Channel - YouTube

2011-11-03T20:07:00.000Z

LetFreedomR1ng's Channel - YouTube

Activist Post: Breaking Free from Subservience

2011-10-30T19:02:00.000Z

Activist Post: Breaking Free from Subservience

Canada urged to arrest and prosecute George W. Bush

2011-10-17T20:31:00.000+01:00

Canada urged to arrest and prosecute George W. Bush

Why is the government drifting so far from its green pledges? | Tony Juniper | Environment | guardian.co.uk

2011-10-14T10:47:00.001+01:00

Why is the government drifting so far from its green pledges? | Tony Juniper | Environment | guardian.co.uk

The 'Getting' of Assange and the Smearing of a Revolution

2011-10-08T03:55:00.000+01:00

The 'Getting' of Assange and the Smearing of a Revolution

2011-10-07T21:28:00.000+01:00

The 'Getting' of Assange and the Smearing of a Revolution

Taking a brake to watch spurs arsenal on Live Football

2011-10-02T14:28:00.000+01:00

Found this site and watching with william

see http://www.livefootball.net

Rural Care at Church Farm, Ardeley - YouTube

2011-09-16T17:03:00.000+01:00

Rural Care at Church Farm, Ardeley - YouTube

The Untold Story in Libya: How the West Cooked Up the "People's Uprising" | Investigations | AlterNet

2011-09-13T21:35:00.000+01:00

The Untold Story in Libya: How the West Cooked Up the "People's Uprising" | Investigations | AlterNet

Noam Chomsky on the Dangers of American Empire and Why the US Continues to be Bin Laden's Best Ally | | AlterNet

2011-09-12T22:09:00.000+01:00

Noam Chomsky on the Dangers of American Empire and Why the US Continues to be Bin Laden's Best Ally | | AlterNet

This Famishing World - McCann - Ch7

2011-09-08T20:32:00.000+01:00

This Famishing World - McCann - Ch7

36 Million Pounds of Cargill Turkey Recalled as Budget Cuts Weaken Oversight of Food Safety | Food | AlterNet

2011-08-06T23:48:00.000+01:00

36 Million Pounds of Cargill Turkey Recalled as Budget Cuts Weaken Oversight of Food Safety | Food | AlterNet

2011-08-05T14:55:00.002+01:00

Dear Tim,

Re your point that farmers need to know a lot and do a lot of different things, here’s a nice quote from Adam Smith (which I am sure you know but here it is anyway):

“The common ploughman … is seldom defective in this judgement and discretion. He is less accustomed to social intercourse than the mechanic who lives in a town … His understanding, however, being accustomed to consider a greater variety of objects, is generally much superior”.

Indeed.

All v best

CT

Pub night

2011-08-05T12:48:00.000+01:00

Anarchists should be reported, advises Westminster anti-terror police | UK news | The Guardian

2011-07-31T21:45:00.000+01:00

Anarchists should be reported, advises Westminster anti-terror police | UK news | The Guardian

"Anarchism does not mean bloodshed; it does not mean robbery, arson, etc. These monstrosities are, on the contrary, the characteristic features of neo-capitalism. Anarchism means peace and tranquility to all." --August Spies, Haymarket anarchist

Colin Tudge at Jolly Waggoner on tues 1st @ 6,30pm

2011-07-31T10:17:00.001+01:00

Author, Biologist & Journalist Colin Tudge @ The Jolly Waggoner, Ardeley SG2 7AHGuest Landlord - from 6.00pm Next Tuesday 2nd August

Colin will be giving a 20 minutes
talk and book reading from his
latest book Good Food for
Everyone Forever, at 6.30pm, in
the Garden weather permitting, or
in the bar…. then will follow
informal discussions and
conversations…

A stimulating conversation – 10% of proceeds of
food and drink will go to the Campaign for Real
Farming which Colin and his wife Ruth Co-chair.
This is a free event, just pay for beer or food as
you like.

Chilcot to damn Blair on Iraq in official reports on war | Mail Online

2011-07-30T22:44:00.001+01:00

Chilcot to damn Blair on Iraq in official reports on war | Mail Online

Crystal Cathedral May Get a Roman Catholic Makeover - NYTimes.com

2011-07-28T23:09:00.000+01:00

Crystal Cathedral May Get a Roman Catholic Makeover - NYTimes.com

Catholic Church Splashing £40million on one church

Famous Quotes about Fiat Money

2011-07-28T23:03:00.000+01:00

Famous Quotes about Fiat Money

Amid the Murdoch Scandal, The Acrid Smell of "Business as Usual"

2011-07-23T22:46:00.000+01:00

Amid the Murdoch Scandal, The Acrid Smell of "Business as Usual"

For 40 years Murdoch has waged war on the people of this country.. it can't go on - The Daily Record - George Galloway

2011-07-20T22:36:00.000+01:00

For 40 years Murdoch has waged war on the people of this country.. it can't go on - The Daily Record - George Galloway

The Tables Are Turned on Rupert Murdoch - NYTimes.com

2011-07-19T23:10:00.000+01:00

The Tables Are Turned on Rupert Murdoch - NYTimes.com

YouTube - ‪stefbot's Channel‬‏

2011-07-10T22:32:00.000+01:00

YouTube - ‪stefbot's Channel

‬‏

Aldenham Country Park

2011-06-21T20:29:00.000+01:00

"We are delighted to have been selected as preferred operator of Aldenham Country Park. Now we are in sensitive negotiations with the Council and cannot comment any further until the appropriate agreements are signed with all parties and stakeholders. We expect this to take a little while. In the meantime please do visit www.churchfarmardeley.co.uk on the web or come along to see our existing operation which is open everyday and run for the benefit of people, land and food"

Henry Chauncy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

2011-06-19T16:16:00.000+01:00

Henry Chauncy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Henry Chauncy
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Henry Chauncy

Sir Henry Chauncy Kt. (April 12, 1632 – April 1719) was born in Ardeley, Hertfordshire and died at Yardley Bury (now Ardeley Bury), Hertfordshire. He was an English lawyer, educator and antiquarian. He attended Stevenage Grammar School, then Gonville College and Caius College, Cambridge followed by the Middle Temple.[1]

In 1700 he finally published 'Antiquities of Hertfordshire' claiming it had taken him 14 years to write. So it must have been started around 1680 as by 1695 he was seeking 500 subscribers to pay for the printing. In writing the book Chauncy paid a team of researchers to gather historical antecdotes and sort out genalogical lines for him.

Sir Henry Chauncy, writing in 1700, stated that the manor-house and demesne lands (only) had been held for above 200 years by his ancestors, who had had several leases for lives from the dean and chapter.

He died in 1719 and is buried in the chancel of St Lawrence Ardeley with several other generations of his family. There is a plaque on the wall of the church to commemorate his life.
[edit] References

Anti-war campaigner Brian Haw dies - News, People - The Independent

2011-06-19T14:20:00.000+01:00

Anti-war campaigner Brian Haw dies - News, People - The Independent

YouTube - HARRY LAUDER & MUSSOLINI ARE DEAD

2011-06-11T00:04:00.001+01:00

YouTube - HARRY LAUDER & MUSSOLINI ARE DEAD

Reverend Malthus and the Future of Food - NYTimes.com

2011-06-06T19:20:00.000+01:00

Reverend Malthus and the Future of Food - NYTimes.com

YouTube - Harry Enfield - Considerably richer than you

2011-05-29T21:57:00.000+01:00

YouTube - Harry Enfield - Considerably richer than you

Farming V2.0 For People Land & Food

2011-05-27T23:35:00.002+01:00

My parents met at the local young farmers club, their parents farmed two villages apart. I thought everyone was a farmer, until I went to school. Every relation was farming in some way, cousins, uncles and siblings in law.
I was going to be a farmer forever, I got a degree in agriculture but the farm was not a viable option. I diversified at 22, starting and growing an events business called MotivAction, by the time I had got to 42 none of us in the family were farming. A familiar farming story, over 200,000 (50%) farms have vanished in my lifetime. Now the average age of farmers that are left is over 60 and there are more people in prison than working the land.
The story of my life has been holding onto – albeit as tenant – this small farm over the years of set-aside and then starting to farm again, but totally differently – the objective being to create an ecological alternative to corporate supermarket consumerism. And, at least to have a go at making a future so my children will be able to say I tried. So Emma, my gorgeous agrarian partner, my brother, and I, with the bemusement and support of former farmers, set about farming again.
Reducing the number of farms is deliberate policy, enacted first by UK governments and latterly by the European Union. The big farmers are kept drunk on subsidies whilst the small, medium and family farms have been squeezed out. Farms have been commoditised in order to create and feed a food industry. This is a globally driven policy. Currently there are 1,500,000 small farms in Poland, some of the most biologically sustainable food production enterprises in Europe, being deliberately taken out of business, to make way for global agri-business.
Back in the UK, one supermarket now makes more profit than the whole of UK agriculture. We are reliant on oil and gas to make nitrates and pesticides – these accounting for around 40% of the fossil fuel inputs into agriculture. A few corporations dominate agri-business. Meanwhile the food industry has created an obesity epidemic, costing the UK billions, as well as a population totally disconnected from the land and food.
My father built a pig herd, when this became unviable in 1987, the pigs went, and the land was ‘set-aside’ sown to grass and left fallow – ironically I was studying a degree in agriculture at the time. As happened across Hertfordshire, the animals disappeared from view.
Shortage of cash led to a new business being spawned via a local advert entitled ‘Everyone remembers their first bang’ and inviting people to come to the farm clay shooting. Bizarrely, from this small start, quite a sizeable events business grew over the next 20 years that enabled the farm to be retained. We had fun creating games like ‘Human Table Football’, and ‘Blind Landrover Driving’. But, I knew I didn’t want to do that for the rest of my life.
One thing that commentators all agree on is that food and farming must change. We must feed people in the future without using nitrate fertilisers. The only route that is being seriously considered and actively pursued by the powers that be (corporations and government have revolving doors and set the policy) is more of the same, more agri-business, larger farms, plus the promise of GMO’s being able to fix nitrogen - technical fixes, and the same chemical, and linear industrial model.
Could there be an alternative? Would it involve envisaging farms as a place to produce food, and the farm as a service provider - a polycultural, complex, vertically integrated, systems and ecological approach based on biological efficiency? Would it involve farms that connect directly with customers and so are not slaves to a single or handful of buyers? If we can combine food and farming systems that are environmentally sound and productive, with business models that work, then maybe we can forge an alternative and a renaissance of real food and farming.
Convinced by background reading and given a kick up the butt after falling ill for months and facing my mortality in 2007, my family and I moved from passive observer of the farming scene for 20 years to bringing the family farm back into production. Fire: Aim: Ready has been the approach to establishing a farm to feed people.
Farming v.2.0 at Church Farm

Vegetable garden of 8 acres growing over 200 varieties of vegetables and herbs grown in Beards Oak Kitchen Gardens.
New orchard of 8 acres, 130 varieties of fruit: apples, gages, plums, cherries, quince, medlar, damsons and more...
Vicarage Field 2 acre soft fruit enclosure
60 Black Welsh Mountain sheep
60 Lleyn sheep & ram
30 Red Poll cattle & bull plus followers
6 British Lop & 6 Berkshire breeding sows plus boars
600 Light Sussex, Cuckoo Maran, Black Rock, Rhode Island Red and White Leghorn hens
300 Sasso outdoor reared poultry
200 Norfolk Black turkeys
100 Embden geese
100 Aylesbury ducks
3 Bee hives
20 acres of new woods in-filled with wild cherry and hazel
2 acre walnut orchard
4 acres of wild bird seeds and pollen/nectar mix
30 acres of woods: 3 of ancient hornbeam coppice, 7 acres of established 60 years old woodland and 20 acres of mixed, mainly hardwoods, planted over the past 10 years
2 acres of rough nesting ground amongst a line of old clay pits
2 ponds established in 1996, two more flood ponds and a new pond in the vegetable gardens.

Church Farm spans 175 acres in Ardeley, a small village in north Hertfordshire. Now two years into what I call Farming v.2.0, we have managed to open a farm store, farm café, veg box scheme, local mechanic service, green gym, offer green meetings, events, courses, wood cabin hire, summer camps, have started a mobile farm shop as well as set up a ‘rural care’ providing places for people with learning difficulties to help on the farm. Next month there will be a farm vet service. In the summer we held a camping and music festival. Every type of animal, vegetable and local fruit, even walnut orchards have been established. All these efforts are concentrated on offering an alternative to corporate supermarket consumerism, putting provenance and human scale enterprise first. This is a farm that grows food and provides services for customers.
All of this depends upon customers. I use the word deliberately rather than consumers. Here we have conscious customers who can see the provenance of their food and get as involved as they like. Some visit nearly every day, to some we deliver. The produce we bring into the store is either from local, organic or fair trade sources.
The happy co-incidence of a farm to feed people is that I tend to say, “come on my land,” and customers never ask me to abuse the animals, chemically castrate the pigs, destroy the hedges or pump carcinogens onto their vegetables. I don’t do this as I eat the produce and live here. The farm does not rely on any one product or customer, true diversity is, I believe, essential for long term resilience in any sphere.

Bird Walk Report from Church Farm this may

2011-05-27T23:12:00.000+01:00

I am sorry this report has taken so long but I lost my broadband connection for some time, but now fully back in action.

On Saturday 23rd April 9 adults and 3 children joined me for a bird walk around the farm. It was a fine sunny morning and as we

gathered together we were treated to the repetitive but beautiful song of the Song Thrush sitting in a nearby tree.

We were all hoping the beat last years total of 34 species as we set off. There was a lot of interest amongst the group as we listened to the

various calls of birds, many of which were migrant birds having just returned from their wintering grounds in Africa.

We soon saw House Sparrow, Dunnock, Green Woodpecker, Willow Warbler, Robin, Blackbird, Jackdaw, Collared Dove, Carrion Crow, Wood Pigeon

and Red Legged Partridge before we set off across the fields.

My planned route was cancelled today as the Bull was in attendance with his cows and so an alternative

route was introduced by Faye. Walking across this field we were very close to the large Rookery with the sound of the birds

calling with their raucous song echoing in our ears.

This led us towards the small pond where we saw Great Spotted Woodpecker, Pheasant, Blackcap, Chiffchaff, Whitethroat, Chaffinch, Blue Tit, Greenfinch, Jay,

Herring Gull, Canada Goose, Grey Heron, Mallard and Moorhen.

Moving on towards Handy Corner we saw Magpie, Swallow, Wren, Great Tit, and Coal Tit. A Skylark was heard calling as it rose from the ground

in its spiraling flight giving us good views. We searched through the mature wood for a Treecreeper but unlike last year I could not find one for the group.we continued our walk along the Hornbeam Track with a smaller group.

As we reached the track leading back to the farm buildings a small flock of Starlings flew over.

We returned to the cafe for a nice cuppa where we saw Pied Wagtail and Linnet, our last bird recorded for the walk.

A total of 36 species which beat last years total and a very enjoyable walk.

Full List:

1. Song Thrush

2. Green Woodpecker

3. Willow Warbler

4. Robin

5. Blackbird

6. Jackdaw

7. Collared Dove

8. Carrion Crow

9. Wood Pigeon

10. Red Legged Partridge

11. Rook

12. Pheasant

13. Blackcap

14. Chiffchaff

15. Whitethroat

16. Chaffinch

17. Blue Tit

18. Herring Gull

19. Canada Goose

20. Grey Heron

21. Mallard

22. Moorhen

23. Magpie

24. Swallow

25. Wren

26. Great Tit

27. Coal Tit

28. Skylark

29. Starling

30. Pied Wagtail

31. Linnet

32. Great Spotted Woodpecker

33. Dunnock

34. Jay

35. House Sparrow

36. Greenfinch

Faye, I hope you enjoyed the walk as much as I did leading it.

Best wishes,

Richard

YouTube - alan partridge on farming

2011-05-27T22:34:00.000+01:00

YouTube - alan partridge on farming

When Austerity Fails - NYTimes.com

2011-05-27T22:22:00.000+01:00

When Austerity Fails - NYTimes.com

ZCommunications | My Reaction to Osama bin Laden’s Death by Noam Chomsky | ZNet Article

2011-05-20T05:21:00.000+01:00

ZCommunications | My Reaction to Osama bin Laden’s Death by Noam Chomsky | ZNet Article

YouTube - An Homage to Christopher Hitchens

2011-05-17T20:09:00.000+01:00

YouTube - An Homage to Christopher Hitchens

YouTube - joe strummer - mescaleros - pressure drop

2011-05-13T21:24:00.000+01:00

YouTube - joe strummer - mescaleros - pressure drop

YouTube - cveitch's Channel

2011-05-09T21:26:00.000+01:00

YouTube - cveitch's Channel

2011-05-08T20:33:00.000+01:00

YouTube - cveitch's Channel

YouTube - Sam_Harris_2011_1.mp4

2011-05-06T19:41:00.000+01:00

YouTube - Sam_Harris_2011_1.mp4

Into The Fire - Full Film

2011-05-04T22:44:00.000+01:00

Royal wedding: police use section 60 to deter anarchists | UK news | guardian.co.uk

2011-04-29T14:42:00.000+01:00

Royal wedding: police use section 60 to deter anarchists | UK news | guardian.co.uk

YouTube - 'Libya not worth an ounce of British blood'

2011-04-28T20:53:00.000+01:00

YouTube - 'Libya not worth an ounce of British blood'

Stiff Little Fingers - Listen

2011-04-02T21:04:00.000+01:00

SLF Nobody's Hero Stiff Little Fingers

2011-04-02T20:57:00.000+01:00

Joe Strummer & the Mescaleros - Global A Go-Go

2011-04-01T23:23:00.000+01:00

Joe Strummer & the Mescaleros - Global A Go-Go

2011-04-01T23:20:00.000+01:00

Joe Strummer & the Mescaleros - Shaktar Donetsk

2011-04-01T23:14:00.000+01:00

The great Jesus swindle

2011-03-31T20:47:00.000+01:00

Feedlot Meat Has Spurred a Soy Boom That Has a Devastating Environmental and Human Cost | Environment | AlterNet

2011-03-28T21:52:00.000+01:00

Feedlot Meat Has Spurred a Soy Boom That Has a Devastating Environmental and Human Cost | Environment | AlterNet

Kraft boss refuses to face angry MPs over Cadbury takeover | Business | The Observer

2011-03-13T17:50:00.000Z

Kraft boss refuses to face angry MPs over Cadbury takeover | Business | The Observer

The Global Economic Crisis: Central Banking at the Centre of Power

2011-03-10T07:16:00.000Z

The Global Economic Crisis: Central Banking at the Centre of Power

Republicans attack Obama's environmental protection from all sides | World news | The Guardian

2011-03-05T16:24:00.000Z

Republicans attack Obama's environmental protection from all sides | World news | The Guardian

Eco-farming is more profitable: UNEP

2011-03-04T20:13:00.001Z

Eco-farming is more profitable: UNEP

Wrong choice in Kosovo: The EU supports a Mafia State

2011-03-04T19:16:00.000Z

Wrong choice in Kosovo: The EU supports a Mafia State

Bush Caught Lying About September 11th

2011-03-02T21:26:00.000Z

YouTube - Charlie Sheen on 9/11

2011-03-02T21:15:00.000Z

YouTube - Charlie Sheen on 9/11

Let’s Hear it Loud for Lard. I’m Lovin’ It. | Angie Greenham | The Craft Baker

2011-03-02T15:47:00.000Z

Let’s Hear it Loud for Lard. I’m Lovin’ It. | Angie Greenham | The Craft Baker

Republicans recycle an old idea: the foam plastic coffee cup | World news | The Guardian

2011-03-01T12:53:00.000Z

Republicans recycle an old idea: the foam plastic coffee cup | World news | The Guardian

Vatican confirms report of sexual abuse and rape of nuns by priests in 23 countries - Europe, World - The Independent

2011-02-26T09:13:00.000Z

Vatican confirms report of sexual abuse and rape of nuns by priests in 23 countries - Europe, World - The Independent

YouTube - CrossTalk: Norman Finkelstein vs. Israel

2011-02-25T20:41:00.000Z

YouTube - CrossTalk: Norman Finkelstein vs. Israel

The alcohol and the ecstasy: prejudice drowns out sense | John Harris | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk

2011-02-22T21:45:00.000Z

The alcohol and the ecstasy: prejudice drowns out sense | John Harris | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk

FBI Translator Submitted Report Entitled "Kamikaze Pilots" 5 Months Before 9/11 Warning of Al Qaeda Attacks on U.S. Cities

2011-02-18T22:35:00.000Z

FBI Translator Submitted Report Entitled "Kamikaze Pilots" 5 Months Before 9/11 Warning of Al Qaeda Attacks on U.S. Cities

Johann Hari: Get bishops out of our law-making - Johann Hari, Commentators - The Independent

2011-02-18T20:53:00.000Z

Johann Hari: Get bishops out of our law-making - Johann Hari, Commentators - The Independent

The Motorway in the sky profiteer

2011-02-17T23:35:00.002Z

The tanker was an elderly vessel, formerly named Amoco Haven, sister ship of the ill-starred Amoco Cadiz that had foundered in 1978. Stelios was accused of poor maintenance and charged, in Italy, with manslaughter and also intimidating and attempting to bribe witnesses. Stelios blamed the accident on an error by one of the surviving crew members.
The jury acquitted Stelios and the case was appealed. Subsequent demands against Stelios for compensation were dismissed by the courts.^[7]