Visiting Sri Lanka, I enjoyed seeing wonderful wildlife and some truly amazing iconic temples.
It had never occurred to me to visit Sri Lanka until one of my wildlife watching mates suggested it. Until then, I just knew Sri Lanka was once called Ceylon and is famous for tea. Not that I drink tea. After a trip there in October, I can tell you it is well worth a visit – both for wildlife viewing and cultural sightseeing.
A poem inspired by the brilliant performance of the Lionesses at the World Cup
Millions of us keenly tuned in,
A World Cup Final – could we win?
Go for it girls, it’s been far too long,
And Sweet Caroline’s now our favourite song.
A poem from the point of view of the only magpie living in Shetland
Gannets and guillemots throng in their thousands,
Screeching and squawking across the cliffs,
While from the rocky ledge below,
Puffins gently rise and float free.
How to describe Shetland? Remote. Stunning. Beautiful. Peaceful. Extraordinary and well worth a visit. Which is what I recently did.
A poem about animal sentience and how we can understand chimpanzees’ facial signals
Since we descended from great apes,
Their gestures form familiar shapes,
We can tell if a chimp seeks some food,
Wants to groom or is in the mood.
After a four-year gap, going on safari again was a real treat. I’m very lucky to have seen the Big Five a few times, so these days I like to choose a destination where I’m likely to see something new. This time my target was wild dogs, or painted wolves. For this I selected Madikwe Game Reserve in South Africa, to be followed by a week’s holiday Cape Town.
Madikwe is Northwest of Johannesburg, near the Botswana Border. I set off in early February with good friend and travelling buddy, Bernie, and (most important of all) my camera gear. We flew overnight to Johannesburg, then were taken on a five-hour drive to the reserve. It was lovely to be back in SA seeing the familiar and expansive countryside.
Despite the long journey and absence of sleep on the flight (thanks to BA’s ridiculous rationing of space in Economy), we couldn’t resist the opportunity to have a game drive on arrival. We saw lots – but no wild dogs.
It was our family tradition to gather together early in December and prepare our Christmas wish lists. My brother, sister and I would carefully write our lists and hand them over to Mum and Dad to be checked. Then we threw the lists into the fire and let the smoke carry them up the chimney to waft away to Father Christmas.
When visiting war graves on Crete, we were told that relatively few soldiers were buried there. But it still seemed a lot.
The bush-flecked Cretan slopes
Surround the glistening graveyard,
Where pale monuments salute in rows
Those heroes felled in war.
The repeated remorse of pointless loss
Laid out in military symmetry. …
This poem tells of my shock in hearing ‘God Save the King’ for the first time when for my whole life I have heard ‘Queen’.
In shock we tuned in to the rolling news,
And tears were shed across the nation,
Leaders stepped up to share loving views,
With tributes and stories of her dedication. …
