Wednesday April 13, 2005

Wild about gardens

This month in "The Garden", the RHS magazine are a couple of articles regarding peoples gardens and wildlife. As pressures mount on the countryside animals, birds, insects etc are trying to find alternative areas to live and breed. With very little changes home gardens can provide such a refuge. Although this webpage is undergoing some rework very soon it will offer the ability for people to share information and ideas on this subject. It is a pity it is not ready since the magazine has just announced it.

Amazingly there are 15 million gardens in the UK and the idea is even gardens by tower blocks can make a difference in their friendlyness to wildlife.

The stag beetle people a fearsome insect to meet on a dark night is suffering and another part of the magazine talks about an initiative to provide it places to nest with a buried plastic bucket full of wood chips! I am sure the big fellows would appreciate such help. Perhaps we can have a sign outside the bucket indicating a vacant new home.

University Challenged...

Excellent program this . Since returning to our screens on the BBC the show has re-ignited interest in it. Jeremy Paxman is an excellent quizmaster. Monday night saw St Hilda's College Oxford against Manchester University . All went well until Jeremy asked them to spell cemetery. This was a 'starter' question. Neither team got the write answer (sic). Paxman was flabbergasted. I have to say I think the questions have been dummed down over the years. I am sure when Bamber Gascoigne was in charge he would have asked them to spell that Welsh village with the longest name going. To be accurate that village no longer holds the record as another village has been renamed as a protest against a wind farm.