England Teams Flying High in Limited Overs Cricket

A post celebrating recent successes for the England men’s and women’s cricket teams.

INTRODUCTION

The last few weeks have been magnificent for English cricketers of both sexes. Each side has been very dominant through a sequence of games, and each have set a team scoring record during the sequence of games.

THE WOMEN

The women warmed up with an ODI series against South Africa, losing the first match but winning matches 2 and 3 very comfortably, in each case with their efforts being spearheaded by centuries from Tammy Beaumont. Then they moved into a T20 tri-series featuring South Africa and New Zealand, the latter fresh from three straight 400-plus ODI tallies against Ireland, the last of which featured the first part of a ‘script rejection’ performance by Amelia Kerr – 232 not out with the bat, and then to settle things 5-17 with the ball. No author of a cricket themed novel would dare have a 17 year-old do that in an international match, but it happened in real life.

On Day 1 of the tri-series New Zealand opened proceedings by scoring 217 from their 20 overs against South Africa, which at the time was a new record in that form of the game, and won them the match comfortably. That record lasted until later that same evening when England took on South Africa, and with Beaumont scoring yet another century (getting there in a mere 47 balls) and Katherine Brunt responding to a promotion up the order by running up 42 not out off just 16 balls reached a total of 250-3. This proved way out of SA’s reach. On Saturday, the second set of games in the tri-series, England lost to South Africa but bounced back to beat New Zealand in the other match.

THE MEN

The men started the limited overs segment of their summer by losing to Scotland at The Grange, but then they commenced a five match series against Australia and were absolutely dominant through the first four matches, winning all comfortably and racking up 481-6 in the third match. The fifth match was a very different kettle of fish. Australia were all out for 205, a modest total that featured the most misjudged leave-alone in cricket history (perpetrated by Ashton Agar). England then collapsed to 114-8 and I was getting ready to point out that wins in dead rubbers don’t really count. However, Jos Buttler was still there, and now Adil Rashid provided some sensible support, and the pair put on 81 for the ninth wicket, turning the match into a nail-biter. Jake Ball, the England no 11 only scored 1 not out, but he survived 11 deliveries, while Buttler first completed an astonishing hundred (with a six that on sheer distance should probably have been a nine) and then sealed England’s one-wicket victory in this game and with it a 5-0 whitewash against the old enemy.

Tim Paine thus became the second Tasmanian born captain with a surname that begins with P to surrender a match in which the opponents had needed 92 with only two wickets left (look up Mohali 2010 for more details).

Buttler’s innings secured him both the player of the match and player of the series awards. Buttler was 110 not out in a score of 206-9, and the joint second biggest scores were 20 for Alex Hales and Adil Rashid, and he finished the series with 275 runs at a handy 137.50. In the course of this innings he passed 3,000 ODI runs. Unlike most of his previous big innings which have been all about putting opponents to the sword (his 3,000th ODI run came up off only just over 2,500 balls faced in this form of the game) this one involved getting his team out of trouble and probably rates as his finest for precisely that reason.

MAJOR CONTRIBUTORS

Both the men’s and women’s teams have benefitted from the fact that everyone has contributed somewhere along the line, but each also have had certain players who have been especially outstanding (see Buttler above), and I offer the following composite list of the best:

Moeen Ali: Watching the way the Aussies tackled his off-spin you might have thought they had been put in a time machine and taken back to 1956.

Jonny Bairstow: about the only thing he did wrong all the way through was get out in the game at The Grange when he was putting Scotland to the sword and would have had England firmly in control had he batted a few more overs. None of the Aussie bowlers, even the highly impressive Billy Stanlake, had any idea where to bowl at him.

Tammy Beaumont: the smallest player in physical stature in this list (5’3″ tall) she has been a metaphorical giant in these matches with three centuries from her position at the top of the order.

Katherine Brunt: In the first match she made 72 to give England something to defend. After her 42 not out in the 250-3 T20 game she followed up by picking up 2-18 from her four overs. Ignore talk of imminent retirement – so long as her body remains in one piece she will keep going.

Jos Buttler: The batsman-keeper did all that was asked of him in the first four matches of the series against Australia and when the going got tough in fifth match he got going and carried England to victory.

Alex Hales: started these matches as favourite to miss out once Stokes was available again but played several incredible innings, and I would now say that for all his all-round credentials Stokes has to be considered as far from certain to regain his place.

Adil Rashid: another of the ‘role-reversal’ aspects of this series was that on this occasion it was Aussie batsmen who looked like rabbits in headlights when facing an English leggie. In addition to his success with the ball he played that crucial little innings in the final match.

Jason Roy: the leading run scorer of the series with 304, including a ton which spearheaded the chase-down of 310 in the 4th game.

Anya Shrubsole: reliable as ever with the ball, and when really needed in the game against New Zealand on Saturday she delivered some quick runs.

Sarah Taylor: quite possibly the best wicketkeeper of either sex on the planet at present and she also scored some important runs.

Danielle Wyatt: opening with Beaumont in the 250-3 game she was quite magnificent, and she had other successes through the season.

PHOTOGRAPHS

Time now for some photographs, starting with a cricket themed one from James and Sons’ upcoming cigarette card auction.

2489 — While not super-famous these cricketers all have some noteworthy achievements: Vallance Jupp achieved the double of 1,000 runs and 100 wickets in each of eight successive seasons, Fred Root once took a seven-for against Australia. Percy Fender once reached a century in 35 minutes. Dodge Whysall batted no 3 for Nottinghamshire for many years. Ernest Tyldesley scored more first class runs for Lancashire than anyone else. Percy Chapman led England to victory in each of his first eight matches as captain. George Gibson Macaulay was a very successful bowler and enough of a batsman to have scored 76 in a test match. Charles Hallows was one of three cricketers to score 1,000 first-class runs within the month of May (half a dozen others reached 1,000 first class runs for the English season before the start of June, but had runs in April in that record). Herbert Strudwick was England’s first-choice keeper for 15 years in spite of regularly batting at no 11. Frank Watson was a good county player, who once made a triple-century.

Dragonfly — A spectacular creature, presumably some form of dragonfly.

Jay II — I saw this jay yesterday. This species is not threatened, but I use this caption to draw your attention to one that is, the nightingale. There is a petition to protect a threatened habitat for this bird at **Lodge Hill** – please sign and share it.

Greek Wildlife

Some of the creatures I observed in the course of my holiday in Greece.

INTRODUCTION

Welcome to the latest post in my series about my holiday in Greece (12th to 19th May). This one is an almost purely pictorial post showing some of the plant and animal life that I encountered there.

THE FLORA AND FAUNA I CAPTURED

Lizard I — This little green lizard was the only such creature I amanged to capture on camera, but I also saw a larger yellow/brown lizard at Methoni, although it made itself scarce before I could photograph it.

Three cats at the noms plate — We had decided that we would put out cat food, but no treats, so the cats who visited were genuinely hungry..

dark butterfly — This picture and the next demonstrate that not all the butterflies in Greece are brightly coloured.

Mountain snail — I saw this mountain snail during the ascent to Karytaina Castle, on the Friday, after the visit to Dimitsana.

I could not identify this one with any confidence, although the shape suggests an arachnid of some sort rather than an insect.

Beetle — The size and shape of tbhis creature and the apparent solidity of its carapace suggested a large beetle, although such creatures do not usually display their wings when on the ground.

During one of the walks I saw a tiny snake which concealed itself very quickly, and I missed many other intended shots, but I think I got a fair selection!

Cricket, Photographs and Puzzles

Some thoughts about the early stages of the English Cricket Season, some photographs and some puzzles.

INTRODUCTION

The second round of County Championship matches in season 2018 are now on their second day. Additionally the fact that here in England we seem to have skipped spring, going dorectly from a long, unpleasant winter into summer means I have a particularly fine selection of photographs for you, and there will be puzzles.

THE COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIP

Scoring is low everywhere. At Chester-le-Street it is looking a first innings tally of 169 will be sufficient for Kent to record an innings victory (Durham, shot out for 91 yesterday morning are 39-7 in their second innings, needing their last three wickets to double that paltry tally just to avoid the innings defeat). Essex and Lancashire are already into their third innings as well, Essex having scraped together 150 first up and Lancashire replying with 144. Essex are 39-0 in their second innings. Somerset, having actually claimed a batting bonus point by reaching 202 are poised for a handy first innings lead, Worcestershire being 153-8 in response. Surrey also topped 200 – making 211, and Hampshire are 79-6 in response. Yorkshire made 256 in their first innings, and Nottinghamshire are 110-6 in response. Derbyshire made 265, and Middlesex have also reached three figures, being 101-5 in response. Gloucestershire are 47-0 in response to Glamorgan’s 236. Northamptonshire were all out for 147 and Warwickshire are about to overhaul them, with wickets in hand. Finally, Sussex batting first are a comparatively monumental 304-7 (three batting bonus points, although they will not get a fourth as they have had 108.3 overs, and bonus points are only awarded in the first 110 overs of a team’s first innngs) against Leicestershire.

Every match is in progress, which beats last week, when Yorkshire failed to produce a playing surface on which the game could be played, resulting in their match against Essex being abandoned without a ball being bowled.

The low scoring is a major problem – the batters will gave little confidence since they are not making runs, and as soon as they face conditions in which the ball does not get up to mischief most of the wicket-taking bowlers will revert to being their workaday selves (we saw, unforgettably for all the wrong reasons, over the winter how seamers who bowl accurately but not especially fast are cannon fodder for international class batsmen on good pitches).

From the point of view of England possibles these two rounds of championship matches have been largely valueless – the 75 from James Vince on the opening day was the usual Vince fare – excellent while it lasted, but did not last long enough to be satisfactory and given the conditions no bowling figures can be taken with anything other than a substantial helping of salt.

PHOTOGRAPHS 1: AN ASPI.BLOG FIRST

The Muscovy ducks first saw a few months back are still in residence, and they have been joined by an unusual visitor, the second largest bird species I have seen in King’s Lynn – Canada Geese.

Muscovy ducks and Canada Geese — The white patch at the top front of the otherwise pure black neck (the head and bill are also pure black) is, along with the colossal size, the key identifier of these birds as Canada Geese.

PUZZLE 1: MATCHSTICKS

My first offering from brilliant (the source of all of today’s puzzles – note also that all can be solved without even using pen and paper, never mind mechanical assistance – I did) is an exercise in visualization:

PHOTOGRAPHS 2: MUNTJAC

This muntjac was nibbling the grass on the playing field of the Lynn Academy, and I was taking pictures through a screen of plants:

PUZZLE 2: CLEAR ICE

PHOTOGRAPHS 3: SQUIRREL

I got two shots of this squirrel, one om the ground, and one as it swarmed up a tree trunk:

PUZZLE 3: POLYOMINO

Another exercise in visualization (my own success with this one enabled me to celebrate what I call my brilliant.org Pi Day – 314 successive days on which I had solved at least one of their problems!):

PHOTOGRAPHS 4: SMALLER BIRDS

PUZZLE 4: CONVERGENCE

PHOTOGRAPHS 5: BUTTERFLIES

PUZZLE 5: CUBE

My own method for solving this one once again involved visualization, although other methods were also used.

In view of some of the moans that appeared on brilliant in relation to this problem please note the crucial words “by rotating” in the question – they are absolutely key.

PHOTOGRAPHS 6: THE REST

AFTERWORD

While I have been completing this post Durham have succeeded in making Kent bat again, though it is still massive odds against that game even making it onto the third of the scheduled four days.

Science and Nature (and other stuff)

Some recent internet finds and some of my own photographs.

INTRODUCTION

This post features links to some recent internet finds and some of my own photographs.

SOME SCIENCE AND NATURE LINKS

I start with a piece from mongabay which argues that “The Sixth Great Extinction” is actually “The First Biotacide“. Below is a picture from this article:

Steller’s Sea Cow holds the the world record for rapidity of extinction. Illustration from “Extinct monsters,” London: Chapman & Hall, 1896. Photo via Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY 2.0.

The second piece in this section comes from thewildlifeplanet and is titled “Italian Super-Volcano Approaches Eruption“

PUBLIC TRANSPORT

I have five links to share in this section:

vlogexpedition have a piece about the world’s longest railway journey – that along the Trans-Siberian railway.
My next piece comes from Vox Political, who got direct from the person whose story it is, Paula Peters. The title of the piece “Bus driver subjects disability activist to humiliating discrimination” gives you a good idea of the nature of the story. British law on this matter is unequivocal – the bus driver is legally obliged to give wheelchair users priority over mothers with buggies (this courtesy of a court ruling in January). Given the completeness of the information Paula provides, the bus company in question have only one option open to them both legally and morally – they must sack the offending driver and must make sure that all their drivers are aware of their responsibilities to disabled passengers.
I am treating my last three pieces in this section together, as all are connected with London Underground, all come from indy100.com and all have been pressed on to my London transport themed website. They are respectively:
“This is Officially the best Tube line”
“Quiz: Can you name the London Underground line by its colour?“
“This gif exposes the lies the London Tube map is telling you”

FAB FOUR FINAL LINKS

First in this section comes a link to RobertLovesPi’s Blog for this piece titled “A Twisted Expansion of the Truncated Octahedron“, which features a very cool graphic.

The Skwawkbox have produced an excellent piece titled “ATTACKS ON PIDCOCK SHOW MORAL BANKRUPTCY OF RIGHT – IN OR OUT OF LABOUR” Laura Pidcock is the recently elected MP for Northwest Durham and she has been making waves for her unashamed hostility to Tories and her criticisms of the cosiness and clubbiness of the House of Commons.

I started this post with a couple of science and nature related links, and now as we approach my photographs we are finishing where we started with stuff about nature, first of all Cindy Knoke with a wonderful post about a castle that has been dedicated to raptors, titled “Castle Rapture“.

With the last word before my photographs is Anna, who has recently posted part 13 of her amazing Paradise on Earth series, this time focussing on some of the smaller creatures who live in and around Trosa.

PHOTOGRAPHS

I will start this set of photographs with some of the smaller creatures I have recently captured, before finishing with some general pictures. These pictures were all taken yesterday.

The 2018 Wall Calendar

Seeking reader participation in the selection process for the 2018 wall calendar.

INTRODUCTION

When I began covering my holiday in Scotland I brought up the subject of my plans for a 2018 photographic wall calendar, which will be my third such. This post now takes the story forward, and seeks to bring my followers in on the selection process.

THE CANDIDATES

Some of these pictures were nominated by Oglach (“Oglach’s Selections“), a couple by my aunt Celia, and the rest are others that I consider especially worth sharing. Most of the selections are Scottish for obvious reasons.

MY AUNT’S PICKS

My aunt Celia nominated two from the return journey from Scotland:

MY ADDITIONAL SCOTTISH SELECTIONS

These are the Scottish pictures that I have selected as possibles on my own:

Steamer5 — One of these steamer pictures will definitely feature.

Farewell to the Jacobite — I may assemble a composite image of several “Jacobite ” pictures.

GV4 — At least one of these Glenfinnan Viaduct pictures will feature.

single span bridge 2 — Bridges on Skye will definitely feature somewhere.

Balmacara House to Craggan Cottage2 — This is the stretch of Loch Alsh on which Ferry Cottage, where we stayed, sits.

OGLACH’S SELECTIONS

I have of course shown these before, but for completeness sake here they are again:

NON-SCOTTISH PICKS

These are the pictures from outside Scotland that I consider worth a second look.

NOMINATIONS

You can nominate by commenting on this post identifying the pictures by name. If you right-click on a picture and select “open image in new tab” from the drop-down menu that appears you can see its name. If you have a blog of your own you can nominate by creating a post featuring your choices and putting a link in the comments (this will earn you a reblog as well by the way). Those whose pictures make the cut will be acknowledged on the page(s) that they get in the calendar.

Sunday in Uppsala – The Botanic Gardens and Carolina Rediviva

The latest installment in my series about my recent holiday in Sweden. This post covers the botanic gardens and Carolina Rediviva.

INTRODUCTION

Welcome to the next installment in my series of posts about my recent holiday in Sweden. This post deals with the start of the full day I had at my disposal in Uppsala.

PREPARATIONS

Although I was booked in for a second night in my dorm room I still had to do some sorting out before setting forth to continue my explorations of Uppsala – I stowed my larger bag in a recognized storage slot and put everything else I did not wish to carry with me, including most of my books, on my bed, which as I would be using it again the cleaning staff would not need access to. Having thus ensured that the staff would be able to do their jobs with no obstruction it was time to set off. My initial target was the Linnaeus Museum,the former home of Carolus Linnaeus, but that was closed when I got there.

My next target was the…

THE BOTANIC GARDENS

The Botanic Gardens in Uppsala have an entrance just opposite the Carolina Rediviva which features later in this post and at their other extremity abut on to the grounds of the Evolution Museet.

THE START: FORMAL GARDENS

If you enter the gardens (admission free) at the Carolina Rediviva end you are first greeted with a very formal looking and generously spaced garden which reveals nothing of what lies ahead.

DSCN9807 — The first two pictures were taken just before I entered the botanic gardens

THE SECOND SECTION – A VARIETY OF GARDEN TYPES

The second section of the botanic gardens offers much more by way of variation. I did not venture into the greenhouse like building that houses the tropical plants, but everything else that was there to be seen I did see. Here are some photographs from this area…

Deep within this second section of the botanic gardens is a real treasure…

A SMALL EDUCATIONAL SECTION

I was drawn towards this subsection by the only indications of its existence to be visible at a distance – two information boards and a very distinctive sculpture. As I soon found out, these were just the tip of the iceberg…

DSCN9827 — The first two pictures show the information boards

DSCN9829 — This is the sculpture – a giant model of DNA, as revealed by the work of Watson, Crick AND Franklin (Rosalind Franklin’s work was shown to Watson & Crick without her consent even being sought, much less given, and enabled them to complete their own work, so at the time she did not receive the credit she was due).

DSCN9830 — On the ground in front of the sculpture is this mosaic showing the chemical formula.

DSCN9831 — There are also several other mosaics.

DSCN9837 — Viewed from the outside this is what this little subsection looks like.

I concluded by visit to the botanic gardens with…

SOME FINAL PHOTOS

Here are the last of the photos I took in the botanic gardens…

THE EVOLUTION MUSEUM: A PLEASURE DENIED

I had been looking forward to seeing what the Evolution Museum had to offer (a natural history museum in the home town of Carolus Linnaeus – surely it must be good). Unfortunately, I discovered that it was closed for renovations, so I missed out on seeing exhibits that include the largest collection of dinosaur skeletons anywhere in the Nordic countries. Making my way back towards to the town centre to visit the old home of the aforementioned Linnaeus I paid a visit to…

THE GREAT LIBRARY OF UPPSALA

The Carolina Rediviva to give it its proper name is home to 5,000,000 volumes. On the ground floor is a small exhibit of its greatest treasures, the centre piece of which is the ‘Silver Bible’, a 1,500 year old bible which was captured by the Swedes from Prague in 1648. A 17th century Swedish goldsmith crafted the cover that now adorns it and gives it its name. I do not have a photograph of it because after I had taken three photographs of the exhibits I was told that photography is not allowed due to the potential damage done by flashes (I never use the flash anyway, but it was clear that I could not win the argument). However, while I fully accept the argument for banning flash photography in such a place, a blanket ban on photography seems excessive (the Uppsala University museum, which I covered in this post, takes the sensible course of banning flash photography but permitting photography without flash). Here are my photographs from the Carolina Rediviva…

DSCN9849 — These last three photos were the ones i took inside the Carolina Rediviva before being stopped from taking photographs.

Off to Marxism 2016

An announcement relating to the next five days, accompanied by some photographs.

This is by way of an alert for my followers. Between now and Monday I will be in London attending Marxism 2016, and my computer access will be sporadic at best. Here are some pictures to accompany this brief announcement…

Brexitia — I found this map in a post by Mike Sivier at Vox Political, and he found it on twitter.

Lot 497 at yesterday’s auction – a bargain at £10 – splendid pics of trains.

DSCN7100 — The next five images are close-ups of pictures from lot 497

Flowerhead — A flowerhead with an insect in attendance

DSCN6956 — Close up extracted from the foregoing image showing the insect and the centre of the flower.

The World Athletics Championship – A Retrospective

A Retropsective on the World Athletics Championships, More on the Inhumane Despicable Sociopath case, some photographs and some important links.

INTRODUCTION

As well as my title piece I have some photos, links and infographics to share, including a section following up my much shared “Inhumane Despicable Sociopath” post..

BRITAIN’S BEST EVER

At the World Athletics Championships which concluded yesterday Britain won a total of four gold medals, their best ever. Mo Farah with both the 5,000 and 10,000m, Greg Rutherford (Long Jump) and Jessica Ennis-Hill (Heptathlon) all ascended the top step of the podium in Beijing, all having experienced Olympic misery there seven years previously. There were also a stack of best ever performances from less experienced British athletes, encapsulated by BBC TV in this infographic…

Young Guns

Shelayna Oskanp-Clarke had never previous broken two minutes for the 800m, and until Proctor did so no British female long jumper had ever gone beyond 7.00m. The performances of Asher-Smith and Hitchon were also British records. Dina Asher-Smith having already become the first British woman go sub 11 seconds for the 100m and being part of the 4*100m relay team now has three British records against her name.

INHUMANE DESPICABLE SOCIOPATH: A FOLLOW UP

Partly because of a twitter storm conceived by a well known twitter user named Gail which tied in perfectly with it my blog post about the revelations of DWP deaths, forced out after a long and hard fought campaign, was very widely shared. I have a number of superb related links to share in this section:

thegreatcritique has this gem: “How Dare ISIL Kill British Citizens – That’s Our Job“
johnnyvoid offers this on the DWP and faked stories.
politicalsift have this piece challenging people to remain unbothered by the tens of thousands of deaths for which this Tory government is responsible.
A view from someone with inside knowledge of Westminster – Michael Meacher argues that parliament should have the power to force IDS out.
Disabled People Against Cuts have produced “The IDS Files: IDS Versus Reality“.
From disabledgo comes this reminder of a petition that seeks to force ministers to assess the impact of cuts.
Vox Political has this about a United Nations probe into whether IDS’s reforms involve gross violations of human rights (the answer is yes btw).
The Mirror has the full piece on the story referred to above.
Glynis Millward has this cracker entitled “And Still No Word From the Bald One”

Now, a few infographics about this story, starting with this great tweet:

Killer Stat

This, formatted like a DWP case study, differs from them in being a true story:

Simons Story

Finally to the end this section, a screendump from a text book of the future that somehow appeared on my screen…

THE IDS

A PHOTOGRAPHIC INTERLUDE

DSCN4879 DSCN4880 DSCN4892 DSCN4893 DSCN4896 DSCN4897 DSCN4898 DSCN4901 DSCN4902 DSCN4903 DSCN4905 DSCN4906 DSCN4907 DSCN4908 DSCN4909 DSCN4910 DSCN4911 DSCN4915 DSCN4917 DSCN4918 DSCN4919 DSCN4920 DSCN4925 DSCN4929 DSCN4930 DSCN4931 DSCN4932 DSCN4933 DSCN4934

INTRODUCTION

I am in the process of putting together a very large post indeed as an experiment, and meantime I offer you this little post…

THE FIGURE OF EIGHT WALK

I did this walk immediately after lunch yesterday. Setting off I headed through Baker Lane Car Park, across the upper Purfleet and down to the Great Ouse by way of the lower Purfleet. The first photo I got was this one of a bird that was perfectly positioned for the shot…

I headed along the river bank and across the Millfleet, then took the path that skirts old Boal Quay round to…

CORMORANT PLATFORM

This meeting point of the Nar and Ouse provided some fine photos…

DSCN4852 DSCN4853 DSCN4854 DSCN4855 DSCN4856 DSCN4859

Just beyond Cormorant Platform is the path through Harding’s Pits, from which I then headed across the Nar, stopping to photograph a swan…

DSCN4863

Up through the South Gate, across the London Road, through a little known passage and along to Seven Sisters, at which point I entered…

THE PARKLAND

The water by the bandstand is generally good for a few pictures, and today was no exception…

DSCN4864 DSCN4865 DSCN4866

After the bandstand I followed the path the exits the parkland by way of the church of St John the Evangelist, walked up past the train station and on to the second loop of the figure of eight, following another little river in King’s Lynn until the path diverged from it to go past the first of two ponds separated by the width of a road. The river provided a few pics, but nothing was happening in either pond…

DSCN4867 DSCN4868 DSCN4869

From the second pond I followed the road I was round until I reached the path through the meadow that leads to a bridge across Bawsey Drain, on to another path that I followed back towards the town centre. This section of the walk yielded only one picture – a green insect that because of its size I was not sure I would be able to capture…

DSCN4870

On the last stage of the walk I got a picture of the model spitfire that currently adorns the Trues Yard museum…

DSCN4871

After I was home, I got one final picture of a military aeroplane that flew very low (by the standards of powered aircraft) overhead…

LINKS

My first link is to a document outlining Mr Corbyn’s mental health policy, for which I am using a quote from the document itself – the second bullet point to be precise…

“Challenging the stigma around mental health and ending the second class treatment of mental illness in the NHS – mental illness should be treated on a par with physical illness. Mental health conditions make up 21.9% of conditions faced by the NHS but receive only 11.9% of the overall budget.”

My next two links both come courtesy of DPAC (Disabled People Against Cuts):

A piece about the Marris Assisted Dying Bill.
This searing “Open Letter to Iain Duncan Smith“

This piece from disabilitnewsservice makes some unpleasant but hardly surprising revelations about Maximus, the vile American company responsible for administering the notorious fitness for work tests that have blighted so many lives.

Finally, and on a completely different note, here is a link to an excellent blog post by Wayne Pacelle of the Humane Society.

On Appreciating Nature

This post may be considered my personal response to the death of Cecil the lion.

INTRODUCTION

This post can be considered as my response to the tragedy involving Cecil the lion. Before getting into the main body of it I am once again going to share details (as I did in my previous post) of The Art of Autism’s calendar for 2016, currently being sold for $12. Full details can be seen on their own post on the subject, but I offer you this picture as extra inducement…

A picture to show you why as well as wishing to support the activity I am genuinely enthused by this calendar.

ON APPRECIATING NATURE

We are now in the main part of the post, which as well as what I am writing on my account will feature some photographic highlights relating to nature from the last few months, a variety of important links, and leading from here into the rest of the post my first essay in the craft of infographic creation…

CECIL THE LION

Cecil, a 13 year-old lion who jointly controlled his pride with another lion called Jericho, was shot by a wealthy American who had paid $50,000 to have him lured out of the reserve in which he lived. Walter Palmer, the shooter, has a long and bloody history of such activities, including at least one felony conviction involving poaching. Cecil was a huge tourist attraction, and even from the purely monetary angle (not a viewpoint with which I identify) his death has cost far than the $50,000 that was paid to bring it about. Before moving on from this introduction I have a bunch of Cecil related links to share with you:

A public response from World Animal Protection
Two links to the petition site:
1)The original petition
2)The current state of play
Sumofus calling on airlines to refuse to carry the “trophies” of such activities
Take Part have produced this splendid article by way of response
Patheos have offered this interesting view
Finally, mashable have produced their own petition relating to this issue

There seems little doubt that Mr Palmer’s activities, and those activities that were paid for with his blood money were in breach of Zimbabwean law, and as a staunch internationalist I would say that the American government has a duty to ensure that Mr Palmer gets appropriately punished, either by putting him on the next plane to Zimbabwe to be punished in the country where he committed the crime or by arranging for him to be tried, convicted and punished in America.

I would also like to see a blanket ban on “trophy hunting”, enforced with stringent penalties for those who breach it. Also, I have concentrated on the American, rather than the two Zimbabweans involved in the atrocity because it is the American who bears full responsibility – without his money the two Zimbabweans would have had no motive for their nefarious contact – Mr Palmer is guilty on his own account and has made criminals of the other two involved.

SOME PICTORIAL HIGHLIGHTS

This subsection is devoted the only kind of shooting I am interested in performing – that done with my trusty Nikon Coolpix P530. Yes I have recently acquired a set of five obsidian arrowheads – but that was purchased as on object of interest, not with any intention of using them as weapons!

The first two pictures are of an insect that was crawling on the window of an X8 bus in which I happened to be a passenger.

These two robins, enjoying the local park, formed the basis of my second ever pictorial thank you message.

This lone robin was by the bandstand in the local park.

A squirrel preparing for the main ascent!

A swimming gull, reflected back by the smooth water.

This one was standing on a submerged log

A cormorant - the first of many. — A cormorant – the first of many.

A cormorant on the structure that I named Cormorant Platform because they make so much use of it.

Swans in the parkland off Littleport Street

One of my ornithological alter egos - a magpie. — One of my ornithological alter egos – a magpie.

The only time I have ever got a really got shot of one of these white butterflies - they move seriously fast — The only time I have ever got a really got shot of one of these white butterflies – they move seriously fast

A cormorant and black backed gull together.

These were the first ducklings I saw in 2015.

This crafty duckling had realised that it could use the lily pad as a kind of boat.

These three shots were gold from my point of view - usually if a cormorant is swimming it is looking for food and therefore dives regularly, making it tough to capture on camera. — These three shots were gold from my point of view – usually if a cormorant is swimming it is looking for food and therefore dives regularly, making it tough to capture on camera.

Mallard drake and moorhen being companionable on the edge of the upper Millfleet.

I had seen swans on various rivers, but until July 2015 never on the Great Ouse which is tidal and flows seriously fast.

These birds like marshy land best, but mud flats when the Great Ouse is at low tide are clearly also acceptable to them.

The base of my current pictorial thank you message.

Every single photo in this subsection was bagged within walking distance of my “compact” town centre flat – if you truly appreciate nature you do not have go very far to find glorious sights, and nothing need be harmed.

A FEW NATURE RELATED LINKS

These two links are both to petitions that anyone who takes an interest i nature should sign and share:

1)This from 38Degrees is an emergeny petition about bees

2)Take Part are running this petition against unsafe drilling in the Arctic Ocean.

A FINAL REMINDER

To finish the main section of this blog I have another infographic, which gives the same message as the one I opened the section with – the fundamental message of this post…

GENERAL LINKS

Just a handful of links today:

Richard Murphy of Tax Research UK on the “power of capital well used”.
An update on the change.org petition launched by the Sweets Way Campaign.
Two from Vox Political:
1)A splendid attack on the despicable Jeremy Hunt.
2)A scathing indictment of Tory plans that would amount to legalising bribery and corruption.
Finally, to end the post, a link to a new find that came by way of Fargaregardsanna, Harsh Reality, who are offering the opportunity to share a blog post, which I shall by accepting!

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INTRODUCTION

THE WOMEN

THE MEN

MAJOR CONTRIBUTORS

PHOTOGRAPHS

INTRODUCTION

THE FLORA AND FAUNA I CAPTURED

INTRODUCTION

THE COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIP

PHOTOGRAPHS 1: AN ASPI.BLOG FIRST

PUZZLE 1: MATCHSTICKS

PHOTOGRAPHS 2: MUNTJAC

PUZZLE 2: CLEAR ICE

PHOTOGRAPHS 3: SQUIRREL

PUZZLE 3: POLYOMINO

PHOTOGRAPHS 4: SMALLER BIRDS

PUZZLE 4: CONVERGENCE

PHOTOGRAPHS 5: BUTTERFLIES

PUZZLE 5: CUBE

PHOTOGRAPHS 6: THE REST

AFTERWORD

INTRODUCTION

SOME SCIENCE AND NATURE LINKS

PUBLIC TRANSPORT

FAB FOUR FINAL LINKS

PHOTOGRAPHS

INTRODUCTION

THE CANDIDATES

MY AUNT’S PICKS

MY ADDITIONAL SCOTTISH SELECTIONS

OGLACH’S SELECTIONS

NON-SCOTTISH PICKS

NOMINATIONS

INTRODUCTION

PREPARATIONS

THE BOTANIC GARDENS

THE START: FORMAL GARDENS

THE SECOND SECTION – A VARIETY OF GARDEN TYPES

A SMALL EDUCATIONAL SECTION

SOME FINAL PHOTOS

THE EVOLUTION MUSEUM: A PLEASURE DENIED

THE GREAT LIBRARY OF UPPSALA

INTRODUCTION

BRITAIN’S BEST EVER

INHUMANE DESPICABLE SOCIOPATH: A FOLLOW UP

A PHOTOGRAPHIC INTERLUDE

LINKS

AUTISM

JUSTICE FOR KAYLEB

OTHER AUTISM RELATED LINKS

THE REMAINING LINKS

INTRODUCTION

THE FIGURE OF EIGHT WALK

CORMORANT PLATFORM

THE PARKLAND

LINKS

INTRODUCTION

ON APPRECIATING NATURE

CECIL THE LION

SOME PICTORIAL HIGHLIGHTS

A FEW NATURE RELATED LINKS

A FINAL REMINDER

GENERAL LINKS