I went on holiday to Hong Kong twice in the early 1980s and have not been back so I can hardly pose as an expert.
But there do seem to be comparisons that can be drawn between the civil unrest in Hong Kong and demonstrations in France which I don’t know much about either. However, I’d like to look closer to home, to events in Northern Ireland. Civil rights activists mobilised in 1964 and the rest, as they say, is history. This timeline shows the extent of the violence and killings; an appalling roll-call. Nothing like this has happened in Hong Kong so far but the international community, whatever that means, is censorious of the Hong Kong administration. As far as I can see it’s a picnic in the park by comparison to the horrific events that played out in Northern Ireland over so many years.
Bali’s owner has warned me not to take him swimming in Richmond Park. She has heard that a dog died there after ingesting blue algae; real name Cyanobacteria.
Cyanobacteria are arguably the most successful group of microorganisms on earth. They are the most genetically diverse; they occupy a broad range of habitats across all latitudes, widespread in freshwater, marine, and terrestrial ecosystems, and they are found in the most extreme niches such as hot springs, salt works, and hypersaline bays. Photo autotrophic, oxygen-producing cyanobacteria created the conditions in the planet’s early atmosphere that directed the evolution of aerobic metabolism and eukaryotic photosynthesis. Cyanobacteria fulfill vital ecological functions in the world’s oceans, being important contributors to global carbon and nitrogen budgets. – Stewart and Falconer.
So it’s good for the environment but bad for dogs (and humans). The other blue thing that’s deadly for dogs is agapanthus blooms, so this year they were all cut before they flowered. It will be interesting to see if they flower more profusely next year.
