Bird day, Craners and a very helpful young man

31 May

Yesterday was not a lazy day. No, we were up early and set off for Slimbridge for our first day’s birding since February. A couple of years ago I went off with the local birding club to see a flock of cranes as they flew into the Stubbs Mill area in Norfolk. What a sight that was; 23 cranes flying in, and they are not small birds either. Ever since I’ve wanted to get Jan down there to see them but something has always got in the way.

Earlier this week there was an item on BBC Midlands Toady about a pair of Cranes having hatched two chicks. That was certainly within striking distance for us. And yesterday we went off to look for them, and we found them! Sadly they have lost one chick; although we got clear views of one adult we didn’t see the chick. But we were happy about that and thought the day not wasted. Or so we thought.

We met up with the man again who not only point out that solitary crane, but also a sparrow hawk not 10 feet from a grey heron we try to get shots of. There we were sat in another hide when the same man pointed out a tawny owl sat in trees opposite us. After a very lack-lustre lunch in the café there, we set off to do the last of hides and that is where we saw the pair of cranes together and where we learned that they had lost a chick.

Overall we had a great day out and arrived home shattered, but happy. But it hasn’t ended yet for me yet. I have the year list to bring up to date and 286 images to work my way through.  I’ve just done the first one for a new image to post today … 

It’s a rook of course, not a very exciting in itself but here it was just about 15 feet away from me. Common as much, as the saying goes, but that is a good image of one!

I have always been fascinated with the French Revolution. Not only did France become a republic by getting rid of its monarchy and nobility class, it brought men like Napoleon to the front of public life. Anyway, it was on this day in 1793 that the terror began.

          

And today’s funny …

I purchased three airline tickets to fly my family to New York for a family vacation. I told my son, that just turned 3 years old,  that I didn’t buy him a ticket. I instructed him to tell the man at the ticket counter that he is 2, and doesn’t need a ticket. When we get to the ticket counter the man was a little suspicious. He asked my son, “Do you know what happens to little boys who lie about their age?” “Sure,” my son replied. “They get to fly for free!!!”

Blue badges, fakers and the results

29 May

Fake Britain is another BBC show we sit and watch, it’s surprising what you can learn from such programmes. This morning edition mentioned the blue badge scheme and the number of fake badges out there. In some parts of the country up to 40% of such badges in use today are fake. The top and bottom of it is the government is changing the format of the badges from the old cardboard type to a new plastic badge, complete we features like bank notes. It’s hoped that the new badges will eliminate the fakes … hmmm … New badges with features like bank notes? Can’t it stopping the fakers for long!

But it goes someway to explain the problems we are currently having getting our current badges replaced. We were shocked by the £10 price to start with. The application form is now an A4 booklet of around 15 pages, rather than to two sides of an A4 sheet. Proof of address and of DLA/PIP that is less than 12 months old is required. At one time you took your form, proofs and fee to the local Social Services offices and your badge is sent out to you. Now the county council deals with it at their main office in Warwick.

As per usual the people who genuinely need to badges are being seriously inconvenienced by the fakers with alter badges and or use them once they get their sticky mits on one. The programme claimed that the badges are changing hands for up to £5,000 a go. One guy interview this morning had been offered £2000 for his badge and was then threatened with violence if he didn’t keep quiet over it. I too have been threatened when I’ve challenged someone for using one illegally.

Another issue that is coming to light now is that genuine users are now being verbally abused and so on because of their badge use. A lot of people now see all blue badge users as being fakes. But it doesn’t stop there; certainly in Tesco I have been that their security will not police the disabled parking bays. Asda do take it seriously and have acted when I’ve pointed out illegal parking.

Here in Dorktown we have our own little war going on. The centre of town is a pedestrian only zone between 10am and 4pm, with only disabled or security vehicles allowed in there during those times. OK, fine … but at 4pm there is always a queue at the Queens Road entrance of town come 4pm. The numbers of disabled drivers at that time are few and far between. Added to this there is a one way system still in force but it’s never enforced. Drivers are driving in and out it any direction they like. It’s only a matter of time before someone is seriously hurt or killed at these times.

Today’s photo then is … 

A cyclist showing common sense and not riding through the market the other week.

And today’s funny …

A man rushed into a hospital and asked an nurse for a cure for hiccups. Grabbing a cup of water, the nurse quickly splashed it into the man’s face. “What did you that for?” screamed the man. “you don’t have the hiccups now, do you?” said the nurse. “No,” replied  the man. “My wife out in the car has them.”

It's wet, bad copper and sentencing

28 May

Jan is getting desperate for a day out and relying on the weather forecast last night, she had planned to go birding at Slimbridge Wetlands Trust site. We were up early to get a decent leave time, only to find that the BEEB had got it wrong yet again and now Slimbridge has rain all day. Jan is not a happy bunny right now.

A West Midlands police officer has been sent down for a two year custodial sentence for distributing kiddie porn photos of boys. To me, two years is not enough! As a copper he was in a place of trust, even more so than a lot of others. Yet again we see the sentencing of offenders not fitting the crime.

We have been watching the BBC 1 show called Call the Council and we keep hearing that such and such an offence carries XYZ penalties. Yet they very rarely do get applied. The chances of getting caught are so slim that many people totally ignore the law. The odd occasion when the do get caught they know that they won’t face the full penalty. There was one woman who had driven for 12 years without insurance and got away with it. So she was fined and had six points on her licence, but the fine was nowhere near what she had saved over the years in not being insured.

According to a report on telly this morning, the level of admitted racism in the UK has risen sharply. It’s tied in with the immigration problem we now face. Those admitting to being racist are of the manual workers with no employment qualifications. That seems obvious simply because it is lower skilled manual work that most of the immigrants go for.  

The subjects of the racism is no longer aimed at only the Asian and black folks from Africa and the West Indies. No, most of it is aimed at Chinese and Eastern European people.   I wonder how much it has cost and how long it’s taken to work that one out!

Today’s photo is off some of the flowers growing in the park …

And today’s funny …

As a teacher I often send home notes with children to inform the parents that their child’s behavior can use some improvement. I received the following letter from one student’s father, “Dear Mrs Green, Harry is sorry he didn’t do his homework last night, he will never do it again.”