A Good Year for Flowers

Good Morning.

It is quite some time since I last posted anything on this web-site. I wanted to do a short post on such a special day and I intend to go back to posting once a month or so in the coming months.

A lot has happened in the intervening period since I last posted, but today is about remembering something far more important - the end of the first world war was 100 years ago today.

For a person who has never been involved in a war and is never likely to, the notion that another country is trying to takeover yours by force is completely alien. Never have I had to entertain the thought that I would sign up to a greater cause of sacrifice to keep our country safe.

But when one in four of the male population of the UK in 1914 was sent off to fight the enemy in Flanders fields, there was no hiding from the fact that this was likely to be a sacrifice unlike anything seen before.

Today is about remembering the war, “lest we forget”.

This is a strange phrase as there are not many people alive today who were even born then, let alone remember the events. The eldest lady in the UK of 112 might have some idea, as she was a young child at the time. But otherwise everyone else has no real clue.  We try to imagine a time that we don’t really comprehend and hope that nothing like that will ever happen again. And yet it is still happening, in some corners of the world where reason has evaporated, and despots have gained control.

We watched an episode of Mediterranean last night where Simon Reeves visited Libya. He went to a city that is now completely empty of people with death and destruction achieved on an apocalyptic scale. How can this still happen in the modern world where we are supposed to know better?

Sadly, I don’t think anyone learns from other people’s experiences. We all need to make the same mistakes for ourselves.

The sabre-rattling sentiment in some camps of the Brexit debate, about how much better off “we” are without the other Europeans is testament to this.  And yet the “we” is actually nothing like the “we” of 100 years ago with multi-culturalism now in every town and city in the land.

A Europe that has come closer together in a way that largely prevents a reoccurrence of such a terrible event can only be a good thing, and in our new clamour for separation we need to ensure that we don’t lose this benefit in trying to forge a better deal.

It still amazes me how the “British Spirit” still raises its ugly head when we have something as simple as a football match with Germany or Argentina. It’s like the events of the past will never be forgotten but for all the wrong reasons.  

As I stand, head bowed at 11am this morning, I will “remember” just how far we have come in reconciling our cultural differences and hope with all my heart that we never lose this understanding in Europe and the world at large.

- How far we have come in the aspect of sexual equality that we would never just send a predominantly male-only army away to their slaughter, and women would have no vote on such topics.

- How far we have come in providing visibility of what is going on in the world such that leaders can no longer pretend that war is a noble cause. Modern technology would now beam this type of conflict into every household on a daily basis in all its graphic reality.

But ….

- How far we have not come in the protection of animals that suffered hugely providing the power to transport the equipment and ammunition to the front-line, and yet are still treated appallingly today in many quarters where convenience is exploited and then animal lives are jettisoned when that convenience becomes commitment.

- How far we have not come in protection of our environment with a fraction of our wildlife from that time still surviving and some species becoming extinct or very rare before our very eyes. Meadow lands and wild flower fields that were so prevalent in 1914 are such a rarity now.

The noise of the early morning birds calling in peace time in 1914 was deafening with such numbers that we find it hard to imagine.  During the conflicts this was replaced with a terrible cacophony of war, (see an interesting article of this from the link below).

http://www.bbc.co.uk/guides/zwg72hv

Tango doing well!

Last time I wrote, one of our cats Tango was near death’s door. He was being treated for diabetes and pancreatitis, had lost loads of weight and was struggling to make a comeback. I can’t over emphasise just how sick he was and just how worried we were.

Well I am very happy to say that he has really come on and although he has a strange diet and a permanent need for medication, he is enjoying life as cats do, sleeping lots, exploring the countryside and eating as much as he can get his paws on.

The picture to the right is a recent one. He is now bordering on the obese and our vets are more worried about controlling his weight than keeping him alive.

This is a testament to the strength of animals in overcoming adversity. He didn’t complain or moan, he just fought hard and got through it. He is still an amazing patient, never any real trouble.

Pygmy Hedgehog

With such a fantastic summer I have gathered together many pictures of flowers and shrubs doing better than ever.  If you are interested, I will post a few over the coming weeks – reflecting on the past few months and showing off a holiday we were lucky enough to experience in South Africa.

The colours in the trees this autumn are outstanding too.  We travelled through the Somerset countryside yesterday and the whole package of sun, skies and trees was quite incredible.  It rained rather hard at times, but what do we expect in autumn.

Yesterday we also visited a Somerest wildlife sanctuary. It is not one that is open to the public regularly, but for a fee you can go in for an hour and meet some of the unusual animals.

In this visit we met a Red Fox (well it was black and silver really), a pygmy hedgehog and a Ural owl.  They were all beautiful creatures that are well looked after, with a keeper who is very committed to their well-being.

The fox is actually a descendant of foxes that were bred for fur in this country up until the end of the twentieth century. He has been bred in captivity and will never be released, but along with others they have, is being kept to kept with one eye on continuing the diversity that we have in UK foxes such that one day we may introduce them back into the wild.

The owl is part of a raptor collection aimed at protecting some of the rarer species from around the world. There were many types of owls plus a number of others such as Bald Eagles. Sadly, one cannot explore the centre as they don't have a zoo licence, but this means that most of the animals and birds are kept in peace without too many visitors.

Ural Owl

We went to see the film Bohemian Rhapsody this weekend.

If you like anything about Queen, then it is a must see. Not only does it capture the various periods well, the music is excellent.

Freddie Mercury was a one-off and his talent was sometimes obscured by controversy. Whilst his behaviour certainly brought on his early demise, the world is a worse place for him not being here. I know that in going to see Queen since his death, he is a very hard act to follow.

The below are links to two songs that feature heavily.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A22oy8dFjqc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQxQohA57LI

Sorry this was a short post, will post again soon.

Have a great weekend!

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