Thursday, January 28, 2010

Where to next?

Well, I am back to my old job as of Monday. To sweeten my return , I have decided to begin planning my next adventures this weekend. I have some very exciting prospects ahead, we will have to see what comes to fruition. Rest assured though, I will be going on another adventure just as soon as I can. As ever, its always a case of money and time. What could I achieve if I did this for a living?
At the moment that is only a dream. In the meantime , back to planning how to get round the jungle for a month with twenty pounds in your pocket!

Monday, January 18, 2010

Non -native creatures./Testing update.

I spent the weekend in London, having a great time, as is always the case when I visit my friends `down south`.
On Saturday morning, a little groggy from the Friday night, standing in the backgarden, I was surprised to see two green parakeets squawking in some trees in the garden next door!
I had heard that parrots had escaped and bred in the the U.K, but I had never before seen them in the `wild`. I was speaking to Michelle , who is a local resident about this later, and she said that they were very common in her area of London(Osterley) and in Twickenham as well. I think it had me bemused all the more at the time, as I had seen a very similar one almost exactly a year to the day, fly over the rooftop of my Hotel in Kathmandu when I first arrived there. I have never seen any in Manchester!
After escaping captivity,(reputedly in the 1970`s), roughly 100,000 of these birds are estimated to be living in the U.K., mainly in the South East of England.
In the same tree, another non -indigenous species, the grey squirrel, was scurrying about its business.
As many of you are aware, there was much speculation about whether the sightings of Alien Big Cats in the U.K. were initially as a result of people releasing their pets after the introduction of the Dangerous Wild Animals Act in 1976. Species such as the Lynx for example, which were indigenous to these shores( until we hunted them out of existence),would have no problem adapting to our countryside.
I wish all ABC researchers the best of luck with their quests.I am with you.

As an update, I was in touch with Todd again at the back end of last week. He expects the DNA testing on the hairs brought back from Sumatra, to be completed in the next two weeks.

Monday, January 11, 2010

Sexy Snowmen.

Over the last few weeks, going to work has proved to be an arduous business. A mile or so down the road from me , the lowest temperature in England was recorded at minus 18! I am now wearing the gear I bought for the Himalayas to walk to the local park!
Public transport has obviously been badly affected, with many trains cancelled. Indeed ,last week I witnessed the bizarre site of men wearing the now de rigeur commuter uniform of suits and wellies ,fighting to squeeze themselves on my very overcrowded train the other day. The Guard had to go outside, and wave the angry mitten chewing , wolly hat brigade, away.
Meanwhile , the bored ,or just those who can`t get to work, have begun to craft increasing numbers of unusual snowmen. I saw one in a bikini the other day , which I found strangely attractive.
I hope the snow melts soon........