Wordless Wednesday ~ "Parkland life and death"

To view other Wordless Wednesday participants click here.

Water Meadows and Mill Pond.

Over the Easter weekend we went down to Salisbury to see my son and his partner. The weather for April was glorious with a lovely deep blue sky and very warm temperatures. We decided to walk over the water meadows and have lunch at The Old Mill Hotel which is in West Harnham a small village to the south of Salisbury. Here are a few photographs of our walk.

Wonderful views of Salisbury Cathedral in the distance.

Circled by the rivers Nadder and Avon the water meadows are a designated site of scientific interest and are home to beautiful marsh flowers and a great variety of wildlife including otters. The water meadows were a favourite of the famous painter John Constable who painted many of his paintings of Salisbury Cathedral from here.

Local inhabitants!



Meadow grasses which made a lovely rustling noise in the breeze.



We ate at the Old Mill House which is a 16th century Tudor buiding built as England's first papermill later becoming a popular coaching inn. It was so warm that children were playing and paddling in the water. No health and safety here thank goodness!

Paddling in the mill pond.

From the mill pond to the cathedral.

Wordless Wednesday ~ " The Bluebell Wood".

View other Wordless Wednesday participants here.

Wordless Wednesday ~ "Daffodil Meadow"

View other Wordless Wednesday participants here.

Important news flash from the BBC.

I was driving into work this morning listening to a very interesting discussion about the troubles in Libya on BBC radio when the announcer interrupted with a "News Flash". Oh dear i thought, not another tsunami or maybe the nuclear reactor in Japan has exploded putting the world at risk.

No, Ed Miliband has announced that he is to marry his long term partner Justine Thornton.  (For those of you not in the know, Ed Miliband is the UK opposition Labour Party leader).

I'm so grateful that the BBC thinks that is should suspend everything and make us immediately aware of this most important news. I'm so glad the our national broadcaster is getting it's priorities right. Pathetic.

Wordless Wednesday ~ " The Archer's View".

For other Wordless Wednesday participants click here.

Save Our Forests. We won..... I think.

Further to my previous post regarding the government's proposed sell off of some of our ancient woodland and forests I was very pleased with their decision to shelve the sell off and even stop the proposed "consultation period" which was just a typical political blatant delaying tactic.

I applaud the government for listening to the people for once (who said petitions don't work?) and owning up and saying that they got it wrong and saying sorry. Maybe i'm being naive, but however much the opposition parties are trying to make political points from this turn around, it is refreshing that the present leaders have listened to the experts and public opinion (unlike the previous government - remember Home Information Packs) and changed their minds.

Olympic Cycling Road Race

Great news received this week that the mens and womens olympic cycling road race route will be in my county of Surrey and that part of the route will take the riders through my home town of Woking. What an opportunity to watch an Olympic event for free on my own doorstep! I feel so priviledged and proud that this is happening. Who would have thought!

The men's and women's events will take place in late July 2012 with a test event due to take place in mid August this year. The men's race distance is 250 km (156 miles) and the women's race is 140km (87 miles). The Mall near Buckingham Palace is the start and finish point and the course will pas through six London boroughs before heading into Surrey. The route is very scenic taking in the glorious Box Hill and some of the best Surrey countryside. Honestly, i can't wait.

Proposed cuts to the National Health Service.

The British Medical Association has weighed in on the new Prime Minister David Cameron's health care proposals.

The Allergists voted to scratch it, but the Dermatologists advised not to make any rash moves.
The Gastroenterologists had a sort of a gut feeling about it, but the Neurologists thought the Administration had a lot of nerve.

The Obstetricians felt they were all labouring under a misconception. Ophthalmologists considered the idea short-sighted.

Pathologists yelled, "Over my dead body!" while the Paediatricians said, "Oh, Grow up!"
The Psychiatrists thought the whole idea was madness, while the Radiologists could see right through it.

The Surgeons were fed up with the cuts and decided to wash their hands of the whole thing.
The ENT specialists didn't swallow it, and just wouldn’t hear of it.

The Pharmacologists thought it was a bitter pill to swallow, and the Plastic Surgeons said, "This puts a whole new face on the matter...."

The Podiatrists thought it was a step forward, but the Urologists were pissed off at the whole idea.
The Anaesthetists thought the whole idea was a gas, but the Cardiologists didn't have the heart to say no.

In the end, the Proctologists won out, leaving the entire decision up to the arseholes in London .

Save Our Forests - sign the petition.

The British government plan to sell off hundreds of square miles of publicly owned forests in England to landowners and companies on 150 year leases.I don't want to get into politics. I'm apolitical but this subject is close to my heart. The government is being very clever. They are using spin and a charm offensive to say only commercial woodland not ancient woodland is being sold off to private commercial concerns.

The worry is that the proposed sales would be unregulated and that the sold woods and forests would not remain open to walkers and riders or that the new owners would be able to charge for access or even turn some into housing estates. What is interesting is that the proposals only affects England, not Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland. Funny that.

If you feel as strongly as i do sign the petition here.