Flights of the butterfly

  • THE FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS AND CONES

    A year ago, more or less, our local authority re-laid the main street through the centre of town. It needed it. Potholes and time had taken their toll. It was inconvenient, the street was closed off for a couple of weeks with a diversion. But, it had to be done. Suddenly, a couple of weeks…

  • THE TALE OF THE STAG HEAD OAK

    Once upon a time, there was a young oak tree. She lived in a hedgerow and hoped, one day, to grow tall and strong, like her friend in the next field. But, one day, she got sick. Maybe it was tree flu, I don’t know. But she was very ill. And she “died”. Only, of…

  • STONEHENGE

                Turns out the Scots built Stonehenge. Or at least part of it. The altar stone, apparently, did not originate in either England or Wales, but came from Scotland. It had been assumed that this stone, like the bluestones, came from Wales. But its new provenance is now being used to support claims that the…

  • THE HURRICANE FACTORY

    Hurricanes are a nuisance. Before you scream, please read on a bit. I have never endured the horror of a hurricane. But I have had the privilege of visiting a Caribbean island just after one went through. I had the honour of seeing the courage, optimism and good humour of the people as they cleared…

  • JUST STOP OIL – RUBBISH

    I see they’re at it again. Usually, proudly obstructing traffic and stopping people getting to hospital or a loved one’s funeral. Smug behind they’re banners – made from Synthetic Material Produced From Oil. In Hi-Viz jackets – made from Synthetic Material Produced From Oil. With slogans – printed with Synthetic Material Produced From Oil. Sitting…

  • EVERYTHING’S GONNA BE ALRIGHT

    Mr and Mrs Swan with their new kids: This is the little pond at the end of my road. This pair have been returning here each winter for about the past ten years. It’s not really big enough for swans, but they use it as a sort of maternity unit cum nursery until the cygnets…

  • Valves for Dummies

    Recently there has been a bad outbreak of waterborne disease in South West England. As usual, the water company is wringing its hands and bleeding all over the carpet in anguish. It turns out it wasn’t their fault at all. An “air valve” failed to open and so the water was not dosed with the…

  • Chatbot

    Listening to a major broadcaster’s current affairs programme the other day. The presenter was gushing on about a new, updated version of a chatbot that is being rolled  out. He was so prettily enthusiastic about it, it was quite charming. He enthused about how this would help The Economy, always a good thing whenever something…

  • Duckduck

    This is Duckdcuk, sitting on the roof ridge of a house behind me. He’s a mallard drake. He hangs out on these roofs quite a lot. All the other ducks mess about in the water and muck of the watermeadow. I don’t know if he is suffering from DBO (Duck body Odour) or some such…

  • RICE

    Made a stew the other night. Well, more collected up the Bombay Mix from the bottom of the freezer, a couple of old potatoes, remains of packs of peas, carrots and whatever. Found a pack of chopped onions and a pack of mushrooms. Pop ‘em all in the microwave to thaw and warm up. A…