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We need our hedgerows back – urgently. They are part of ‘nature’s toolbox’ to help us reduce our carbon emissions. That was the recent message from the CPRE countryside charity which points out that there were twice as many hedges in England before the Second World War.  Since then thousands of kilometres of hedges have...

The old saying ‘Kissing is out of season when the gorse is not in bloom’ is based on the fact that it is a rare time of year when a flower or two cannot be found. The bush itself, growing on heaths and moors is well-known for its vicious spikes. This is its answer to...

Glastonbury Festival. The name conjures up images of world-famous bands and singers making loud music before enthusiastic crowds who are up to their knees in mud. The statistics for the famous Pyramid stage are impressive: standing 25 metres tall, it has 292 audio speakers and 8.5 km of cables for video and audio. It has 354...

There is growing concern in the Government, among campaigners, and among scientists over how coronavirus has sparked an increase in single-use plastics. Not only are millions of disposable masks and gloves now ‘out there’, but there has been also a huge increase in disposable cutlery, sachets and containers. One study by UCL estimates that in...

All in the month of August Atomic bombs over Hiroshima and Nagasaki Whatever happened to Christopher Robin? 125 years of the Proms in London The stately Rosebay Willowherb Support your local charity shops Good news about potholes Watch out for this predator Concern for the children Please, please, stop buying compost with peat in it ...

It was: 250 years ago, on 22nd August 1770 that British explorer Captain James Cook discovered eastern Australia, named it New South Wales, and claimed it for Britain. 150 years ago, on 4th August 1870 that the British Red Cross Society was founded. 125 years ago, on 10th August 1895 that the Proms (Promenade Concerts)...

Atomic bombs were dropped over two Japanese cities 75 years ago. This first was at Hiroshima, on 6th August 1945, when the centre of the city was totally destroyed, and 80,000 people were killed immediately.  A further 60,000 died by the end of the year.  It was the first city in history to be hit...

One hundred years ago this month, on 21st August 1920, Christopher Robin Milne was born. He was the only son of the author A. A. Milne and appeared as a character in his father’s Winnie-the-Pooh stories and verses – a role he enjoyed at first but later found difficult to handle. The characters in Winnie...

It was 125 years ago this month, on 10th August 1895, that the Proms (Promenade Concerts) began in London. In fact, the idea of promenade concerts went back to 1838, referring to outside concerts during which the audience could walk about – but in the form introduced by Robert Newman at Queen’s Hall in Langham...

If wildflowers were to compete in terms of height, rosebay willowherb would have to be one of the contenders for first prize. By mid- to late-summer its height can reach four feet or so [120cm] with pyramids of pinkish-purple flowers cheering up the most unlikely places, for it is happy to grow on railway cuttings...

Are you feeling the financial squeeze just now, but still enjoy shopping? Why not visit some of your local charity shops? Never have charity shops needed you so much. Coronavirus has meant a huge drop in donations, and many charities face huge financial shortfalls. The good news is that charity shops are well worth visiting...

One good thing about lockdown has been quieter roads. Quieter roads are good because councils can then repair the potholes more quickly. This has included: Shropshire, where pothole gangs filled in more than 2000 during lockdown; Derbyshire, where more than 28,000 were filled; Suffolk, where 6,300 were filled, and Bury, where more than 1700 potholes...