A Magpie Muses
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.
Shetland’s Spectacular Birds
Scotland delivers more great sights
How to describe Shetland? Remote. Stunning. Beautiful. Peaceful. Extraordinary and well worth a visit. Which is what I recently did.
Face Facts
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.
Memories of Madikwe
Back on safari, looking for wild dogs
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.
Crisis, What Crisis?
A satirical approach to crisis management
We can learn so much from our great leaders if we pay attention to their words and deeds. I’ve been looking at how they deal with ‘difficult situations’ – what we might call a crisis – and it’s fascinating to see that, whatever the event, they basically follow the same pattern.
Reflections on Father Christmas
My early memories of the festive season
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.There Were Only Eight Hundred
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. …
Notes of Loss
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. …
Making Jam – and History
More laughs, thanks to our leaders
The latest litany of events in the life of our PM began just two weeks ago. In a rare revelation, Prime Minister Bravo Jollyone talked of his enthusiastic participation in domestic duties. He focused on a recent bout of jam making. Bravo claims that in the short time he was able to spend in the No 10 kitchen one recent Friday evening, he produced 10 jars of jam. As his wife, Carryon, was putting their young children to bed at the time, it seems the PM did most of the task unaided. In typical Bravo style he described it is a, ‘Tour de sauce, one that really hit the sweet spot’.
Appreciating All Animals
Enjoying Local Nature in Lockdown
‘Sitting on a jeep at sunrise, watching a giraffe reach into a tree to munch on leaves.’ My usual answer to the question, ‘What have you missed the most this year?’ ‘Oh yes, and seeing the sea.’ Of course, I miss friends and family too, but at least I can see them on Zoom.
Over the last few years, I’ve had the pleasure of seeing the lemurs of Madagascar, the Big Five in the Masai Mara, those amazing polar bears and other wildlife wonders. 2020 was to be no different, with a trip to Sri Lanka booked. But along came COVID-19, and everything changed. …