Category: Nature

Otter Hunting

“Twilight over meadow and water, the eve-star shining above the hill, and Old Nog the heron crying kra-a-ark! as his slow dark wings carried him down to the estuary.” (First line, Tarka the Otter, Henry Williamson, 1927)

A State of Grace

A friend from America was visiting London recently. I took him to The Grenadier for a Bloody Mary, Ognisko (aka the Polish Hearth Club) for lunch and Opera Holland Park (for Hansel and Gretel). He also was taken by the Judge to the White’s tent at (Royal) Ascot, ticking a 4th box of things he… Continue reading A State of Grace

On The Wing

I planted this wisteria floribunda ‘Alba’ in March 2016 and now it is living up to its name with abundant, long tresses of white blossom.

The Green, Green Grass

The Byzantine emperor (610 – 641), Heraclius, is mentioned in James Heneage’s The Shortest History of Greece. True to his title Heraclitus is not.

From Alpha to Omega

What common feature does England, Italy, North and South America have – and the Peloponnese for that matter?

Easter Eggs

The peregrine falcon has laid four eggs this year in the nesting box on a high, north-facing ledge on Charing Cross Hospital.

A Feather in His Cap

I confuse Aubusson and Audubon. You will know the former is a village in central France famous for the production of rugs – a French Axminster, if you will.