Really? Back to the Future Day? Seriously, that is the best that can be done on October 21st? I am an old stick in the mud that can't stand this "news" item. It's been played across the BBC and every other channel and the reality is that people are clutching at straws to find a correct prediction in a series of films that were just meant to be a bit of fun...
...that is part of my bone of contention...
...on this day 210 years ago we lost our greatest hero and the last real threat of an invasion to these fair shores, at the Battle of Trafalgar, 21st Oct 1805. Britain's navy took on the combined strength of the French and Spanish navies and stopped the real threat of an invasion. All wars after that have been fought on the Continent, never on the English mainland. It cost the life of Nelson but what a victory, decimated a navy that was a good deal larger and in death it consolidated the legend of the great man, Britain's truest son.
Back to the future day can kiss my a**e.
Wednesday, 21 October 2015
Monday, 5 October 2015
...England Rugby team playing for their place in the World Cup or dead Badgers...
My weekend took a turn. My expectation was that I would be watching the rugby but a missed email that I saw on Friday night changed my plans, there was a call for people to visit the Badger cull zones as the story is now lost to the back pages of the newspapers and they are all but forgotten. Walker numbers are down and with 2 weeks to go, they are desperate for people.
I weighed it up, England Rugby team playing for their place in the World Cup or dead Badgers because I wasn't there to stop someone shooting them. It took all of 2 seconds to make the decision and I put the rugby on record.
The numbers were down and Alexa, the lynchpin that organises the Wounded Badger Patrol in Gloucestershire, was about to patrol by herself with the other teams, scarce on the ground, already paired off, no men in attendance apart from me. It is incredibly brave that a young woman is prepared to patrol the fields at night by herself, knowing that she is there to confront armed men and to potentially be bullied and assaulted by the local farmers and farmhands that approve of the cull.
There wasn't a great deal of activity apart from a couple of shots and headlights in the middle of a field but I did meet some helpers of the cause that back up the WBP or possibly vice versa and they can be on location within 4 minutes. I have no idea why the Hunt Sabs have such a bad reputation, they are peaceful vegans that protest in a way that gets results. They don't hurt people and if it wasn't for their 50 year fight it is very likely we would still have fox hunting, badger baiting and other barbaric and inhumane blood "sports". They might be angry and passionate about their cause but they don't spill blood but plenty of them have been hurt in the course of their protests, yet still they have a bad name...They are in the cull zones every night and I doff my cap to them and their vigilance, many more creatures would be killed if it wasn't for their efforts.
I was out till 1am and got home at 3am. It was tiring and saddening to think this is the third year of a pointless execution of wildlife and heartbreaking to think of those 2 shots and hoping they missed the badgers.
Alexa said that next weekend is the last of the cull period, unless they get an extension. It is likely the Government will brag about what a success it has been, particularly as the numbers of badgers to be executed is so small this year. Having failed to reach the target for the past 2 years, the Government has dropped the figures to something they think the shooters can manage. A case of f**k science, let's just concoct a figure we can meet. Mind you this cull isn't based on science, it is based on money and/or cronyism, we just don't know who's pocketing it or benefiting.
Anyway, with the walker figures being down and next week being the last of the known cull days for this year, they need people in the fields, they need people to give up one night to protect the wildlife from David Cameron and his bloodthirsty cohorts. If you can, please take to the fields, there are 3 zones that need your help, Dorset, Gloucestershire and Somerset. Here is the link to the meeting places:
http://teambadger.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=228:wounded-badger-patrols&catid=47&Itemid=101
If anyone needs a lift, PM me, I have 3-4 spaces and will be driving from Bucks, through Oxon down the A40, leaving at 5-ish, back around 3am, Saturday 10th Oct back early hours of Sunday morning. Waterproofs and warm clothing is recommended, something reflective and a powerful torch.
I weighed it up, England Rugby team playing for their place in the World Cup or dead Badgers because I wasn't there to stop someone shooting them. It took all of 2 seconds to make the decision and I put the rugby on record.
The numbers were down and Alexa, the lynchpin that organises the Wounded Badger Patrol in Gloucestershire, was about to patrol by herself with the other teams, scarce on the ground, already paired off, no men in attendance apart from me. It is incredibly brave that a young woman is prepared to patrol the fields at night by herself, knowing that she is there to confront armed men and to potentially be bullied and assaulted by the local farmers and farmhands that approve of the cull.
There wasn't a great deal of activity apart from a couple of shots and headlights in the middle of a field but I did meet some helpers of the cause that back up the WBP or possibly vice versa and they can be on location within 4 minutes. I have no idea why the Hunt Sabs have such a bad reputation, they are peaceful vegans that protest in a way that gets results. They don't hurt people and if it wasn't for their 50 year fight it is very likely we would still have fox hunting, badger baiting and other barbaric and inhumane blood "sports". They might be angry and passionate about their cause but they don't spill blood but plenty of them have been hurt in the course of their protests, yet still they have a bad name...They are in the cull zones every night and I doff my cap to them and their vigilance, many more creatures would be killed if it wasn't for their efforts.
I was out till 1am and got home at 3am. It was tiring and saddening to think this is the third year of a pointless execution of wildlife and heartbreaking to think of those 2 shots and hoping they missed the badgers.
Alexa said that next weekend is the last of the cull period, unless they get an extension. It is likely the Government will brag about what a success it has been, particularly as the numbers of badgers to be executed is so small this year. Having failed to reach the target for the past 2 years, the Government has dropped the figures to something they think the shooters can manage. A case of f**k science, let's just concoct a figure we can meet. Mind you this cull isn't based on science, it is based on money and/or cronyism, we just don't know who's pocketing it or benefiting.
Anyway, with the walker figures being down and next week being the last of the known cull days for this year, they need people in the fields, they need people to give up one night to protect the wildlife from David Cameron and his bloodthirsty cohorts. If you can, please take to the fields, there are 3 zones that need your help, Dorset, Gloucestershire and Somerset. Here is the link to the meeting places:
http://teambadger.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=228:wounded-badger-patrols&catid=47&Itemid=101
If anyone needs a lift, PM me, I have 3-4 spaces and will be driving from Bucks, through Oxon down the A40, leaving at 5-ish, back around 3am, Saturday 10th Oct back early hours of Sunday morning. Waterproofs and warm clothing is recommended, something reflective and a powerful torch.
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