It wouldn’t surprise me if not many of you know what this beautiful creature is. And even fewer will have seen one. I’d bet a lifetime’s pay that Simon Darby knows though. But have you ever seen one in the wild Simon? And from a distance of only about ten feet? And if you haven’t, wouldn’t you just love to – even if for only a few seconds?
I don’t know if this picture is of a Welsh one (I doubt it), or from some other population. It has recently been discovered that the Welsh Pine Martin forms a distinct genetic population, of probably no more than 50 individuals. And I’ve seen one of them close up!
It was from the time I lived in a house some 1800 or so ft up in the hills near Bala. We had no road to the house, only a track. One day I was walking along this track to walk the six miles or so to the town …
It is a peculiarity of mine that, particularly when out in the country, I move silently. I don’t do it consciously – it just happens. This is most likely a product of my rural Anglesey upbringing and the games we played and things we did. So, walking silently along this track, I was topping out over a rise … only my head was over it and there, about 10ft in front of me was a Pine Martin, crossing the track, and about half way over. It hadn’t heard me coming. I instantly stopped, and so did the martin. I looked at it, and it looked at me. For about six or seven seconds we both just froze in position staring at each other. Electrifying. What a privilege. The throat was far creamier than the white in this picture.
Like you Simon, I have an enormous, if informal, interest in the wildlife of our country. Most people, when they think of wildlife tend to think of Polar Bears, Lions, Tigers etc. without a thought for the rich variety of quite magnificent creatures here in Britain. It doesn’t have to be big to be magnificent. When’s Attenborough going to do one of his series again – but this time exclusively on OUR wildlife?
Anyway, after six or seven seconds it ran off into the trees. Never seen one before that, or since.
Saw a Hoopoe bird once too, at that house – honestly, I do know a Hoopoe bird when I see one. It set itself down on our living-room window sill. A strange sounding, as well as looking, bird. But that was nothing compared to the martin. I wont ever forget it.
Go on then Simon, black cat that. Because I’ve got an even blacker cat waiting in the wings ... from the South-east corner of Anglesey.
I’m the bloke you showed how to switch on my (my brothers actually – long term loan. Hah! - he wont see that again) camcorder at the Liverpool mass leafleting in response to the arrest of our Liverpool people the week before. At the war memorial.
14 comments:
Hi Charles,
This is slightly off the subject I know, but as an ex GP could you spread a little light on the risk this man's refusal to undergo treatment posses to the public.
From: (http://www.theasiannews.co.uk/news/s/1111100_evil_rapist_jailed_after_locking_girl_in_his_car)
The story is about a convicted drug dealer and child rapist. The final line reads:
'Pervez also endangered the community by refusing to get treatment for his tuberculosis'
Is he a threat to fellow prisoners and prison officers? Is his child victim likely to suffer any long term illness as a result of being raped by a carrier of TB? Would the public be safer if any none-indigenous resident, refusing to undergo treatment for TB, were deported back to their native land?
Was TB effectively eradicated from the UK over 50 years ago, and is TB now an imported problem from the third world?
That's a lot of questions for one blog post I know. But could you please give a medical evaluation of the risk this man, and people like him, pose to the public.
From
Chris Hill
(Lancaster)
The link above seems to have been truncated by the blog width, so I'll repost it below:
http://www.theasiannews.co.uk/news/s/1111100_evil_rapist_jailed_after_locking_girl_in_his_car
From
Chris Hill
(Lancaster)
It has done it again. the last bit is:
_locking_girl_in_his_car
Chris
Charles is unable to do anything for a couple of weeks. Tell you what - I'll blog on this topic tomorrow night, and probably post it Saturday.
It's something that does need bringing to people's attention on the main page.
Oh - and it doesn't matter if the tail end of a link gets obscured by the box - all you have to do is put the cursor anywhere on the bit showing, and do three fast-clicks - that'll highlight the whole link (even if you can't see the tail end of it).
Then just copy/paste to the address bar.
Try it and see
Ahhh - problem - you'll need to remove the brackets you included. You can do this after pasting to the address bar.
Also delete the
From:
Thanks Morg,
I hope everything is OK with Charles, please pass on my best wishes to both him and Sue.
I'll look forward to your posting on this subject.
Keep well.
Chris Hill
(Lancaster)
Everything's ok - he just has something else to do for a while
When the real Green Arrow comments here he can stay - when you, the fake Green Arrow do it, away you go. Bye bye.
You are BANNED.
Hi Chris.
I'm still here until Saturday.
Yes TB is very dangerous especially nowadays when it has become resistant to most drugs.
I would deport anybody who had it. If we don't we will have a major incurable epidemic in the future.
I know about TB from a personal point of view. My ex wife had it when she was pregnant with my eldest daughter and was in hospital for 4 months around her confinement. She was not allowed contact with the baby for 2 months and my mother looked after her.
The trouble is that a TB succeptability is to some extent inherited so my children and grandchildren could be at risk.
I am personally VERY DISTURBED that the futures of my descendants are being put at risk by this irresponsible politically correct policy.
If any of my grandchildren gets it I will hold them responsible.
Yes it WAS to all extent eradicated in the sixties.
Hi Charles,
Thanks for giving us the benefit of both your medical expertise, and personal experience, on this issue. Your answer confirms what I thought: 'TB is now an imported and very real threat to our nation'.
It could even be argued that this man's refusal to undergo treatment is a form of biological warfare against our people. Now I'm not saying that I would necessarily agree with that view, but I would be interested to hear arguments for it.
What's the betting that if this man is placed in solitary confinement he will go to European Court of Human Rights (paid for by the very people whose lives he is risking) and receive a nice cash bonus for the time spent in prison.
Keep well.
Chris Hill
(Lancaster)
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