08:40

As I sit here on the T (that’s the subway, not the sandwich, the Tube. Not that you’re a tube, I’m just saying. It’s mass-transport, look it up) en-route to Harvard, some bloke at the head of the carriage is giving it large on the ‘air’ drums. Absolutely hilarious. Full of energy, it lacks the pathos of the cardboard-cutout-banjo playing scouser who plays outside the dole in Williamson Square in Liverpool city centre.

Still, there was a real live banjo performance on the subway platform before boarding. So the rich cultural experience builds

Wow, I only wanted an egg barm!

- Bridgey

So, I decided now that Harvard is my kind of place. Quite apart from the proliferation of sun-tanned beauty and the predominance of Apple Macbooks over PCs, which was evident from a stroll around Harvard Yard. I found a placed called Tory Row and asked for a coffee and … oh, “Can I get a sandwich?”

Boy did I get a sandwich! I got a double egg in a muffin with a secret hidden sausage … and a bowl of spiced fries. Brilliant.

I’m just loving the service culture. Here I am in Harvard square, scoffing brunch to the accompaniment of “Stuck in the Middle With You” and “Tears of a Clown’. Bonza!

I’m thinking that the marriage of the American service culture and the good-manners (sic) of the British is a marriage made in heaven. Blimey how many thank-yous can we fit in a conversation?

So first impressions? Well the city of Boston itself is neat. It has oodles of that unique blend of retro-modernism that has Brits shaking their heads in bemusement sometimes. You know, at those quaint school buses, trucks pushing huge bonnets, or the patriotic esteem in which firemen are (rightly) held here.

I’m just saying … Boston has the loudest sparrows I’ve ever heard

- Bridgey

Haven’t had much time to explore. Just a sweaty mooch in the city on the way to the apartment (hey who knew it was going to be 90F here in September?), which put me in the mind of Manchester (England). Whilst the apartment itself is situated in what would be the mirror-Salford. A real eclectic college mix. Not rough, just interesting.

I had a long and weary – it was midnight to my body – stroll to the Museum of Fine Arts (MFA) Wednesday evening. It was impressive. Especially the Asian and Oriental sculptures (for example). But in the end was too tired to do it real justice. I probably missed as much as I saw. The Chinese and Japanese paintings were beautiful though. And there was a (patron-donated) Maple and Walnut (coffee) table that was just fabulous.

Before I went into the MFA I realised I was starving. So I went into the first place I spotted in the vicinity. What luck. I had a terrific pepperoni pizza slice (x2) at University House of Pizza (UHOP) right opposite the Huntington entrance to the MFA. What’s more I caught the early innings of the Redsox game from Baltimore. Cool. I saw the end of that sorely needed win on cable at the apartment later.

I’m just saying … Boston has the loudest sparrows I’ve ever heard (although I don’t know for sure they’re sparrows, just the commonest street bird and look about the same). These are, to their timid British cousins, what Dame Edna Everidge is to the Queen.

And the crickets, I guess ‘circadda’, join in the evening chorus to. It’s a fascinating glimpse at evolution in action, because Boston’s array of emergency service vehicles have a startling range of audible sirens, buzzer, bells and horns at their disposal. Nature is just about out-competing them.

We live in interesting times.

The Badger Trust refuses to concede defeat in their battle to overturn the decision of the Welsh Assembly to instigate a badger cull in West Wales.

The trust yesterday applied to the HIgh Court for permission to take their case to the Court of Appeal. There they hope logic and compassion will overturn the rejection of its challenge to the legality of the Welsh Assembly Government’s (WAG) decision to kill badgers as one of its measures intended to eradicate bovine tuberculosis (bTB) from Wales.

Specifically the trust are concerned that this case may lead to a more widespread cull of wildlife across the UK as Chairman of the Badger Trust, David Williams, explained:

“This case has raised matters of much wider public importance – in both legal and non-legal terms. The judgment in the judicial review could be interpreted as giving a green light to the killing of all sorts of wildlife across England and Wales on the flimsiest of evidence of any benefit in the form of disease prevention.

“Worryingly, the judgment explicitly rejects the Trust’s argument that before a cull can be lawful a balancing exercise needs to be carried out, which weighs up the harm posed to badgers (in this case) against the potential benefit in terms of disease reduction.   

“As a registered charity we have a duty to work for the welfare of badgers for the public good. Consequently the Trust must do all it can to ensure that the legislation that is clearly intended to protect animals does so, and that any exceptions to prohibitions have to be rigorously tested.”

The Badger Trust has been working closely with Save the Badger, the umbrella organisation set up in Wales to co-ordinate the activities of all organisations working to combat the cull of badgers in West Wales (and possibly elsewhere in the future).   
Now it seems there has been something of a breakthrough. John Evans (Save the Badger) was delighted to hear that weeks of working to persuade the media to give the plight of the badgers some viewing time had finally paid off. It seems he has succeeded in persuading some of the landowners living in the IAPA to speak openly to ITV journalists about their personal experiences and how this proposed in the beautiful part of Pembrokeshire and environs is affecting their lives.

It is hoped that the resulting footage will be shown on the ITV Wales Local News programme between 6.00 p.m. and 6.30 p.m. tonight (Thursday 6th May). However, if the Election takes precedence, then the footage may be shown on Friday 7th May at the same time.

With the exception perhaps of the beloved robin, no bird is more welcome in my garden than the treasured thrush; with its beautiful speckled cream waistcoat and rich song.

So I was delighted tonight – as I walked into the conservatory – to spy a healthy pair of thrushes grazing for worms on our lawn.

Or perhaps like the cheeky blackbird I am watching now, they were collecting twigs and moss to shore-up their nests.

The following press-release was issued by The Badger Trust today. It is a sad indictment not only of the judicial process but also of the common-sense of an elected assembly.

Despite clear evidence as to the lack of effectiveness of such a cull in reducing the spread of bovine TB, the motion to cull plods ponderously on towards its inevitable and devastating conclusion.

Can it still be stopped?

Perhaps. But only with concerted action. We have seen the effectiveness of social media in campaigning and changing events. So I urge you to email, tweet, facebook and myspace your feelings about this dreadful act. Whilst parliament sleeps, your local councils, the Welsh Assembly, your MP and prospective MP will able be contactable. www.theyworkforyou.com.

Doubts linger over wisdom of Welsh badger cull despite rejection of judicial review.

This morning, the High Court, sitting in Cardiff, handed down judgment in the Badger Trust’s judicial review challenge to the Welsh Assembly Ministers’ decision to press ahead with a mass badger cull in May 2010.

Mr Justice Lloyd Jones finally concluded that the Welsh Ministers do have the discretionary power to carry out a cull under the Tuberculosis Eradication (Wales) Order 2009.

However, he noted that it was for the Ministers, rather than the court, to undertake a balancing exercise between the costs and benefits of the proposed cull.

Campaigners have urged the Minister for Rural Affairs to revisit the decision with a fresh eye in the light of the court’s judgement.

The court emphasised the importance of the challenge and said that the Badger Trust clearly had a legitimate public interest in bringing the case.

Gwendolen Morgan of London law firm Bindmans LLP represents the Trust. She said today:

“Whilst the Badger Trust is disappointed with the outcome, it welcomes the close scrutiny to which the court subjected the Minister’s reasoning. Serious issues have come to light in the course of these proceedings which now need to be grappled with at a political level.”

In her statement to the Assembly on 13 January, the Minister confidently announced that the proposed cull would yield a 9% overall reduction in cattle TB two years after the last cull took place.

However, what emerged in evidence painted quite a different picture.

In fact, the Minister conceded that: Bovine TB will increase dramatically on lands adjoining culled land; The best case scenario of a 9% ‘overall reduction’ in bovine TB in reality only amounts to a 6% decline in the rate of increase over all cattle herd breakdowns; Any benefits observed in the first year’s post-culling will dissipate as badger numbers increase; The longer term prognosis (that is, 30 months post-cull), is that there is in fact no ongoing benefit from culling.

This gloomy long-term prognosis for culling was based on peer-reviewed evidence, which came to light at a meeting held before the Minister made the Order to cull. It appeared to play no part in her decision making.

In light of these points clarified in the judgment, the Badger Trust hopes that the Assembly Government will now conscientiously reconsider the matter with the benefit of all the relevant information.

The Trust also welcomes the court’s emphasis on the benefits of vaccination in combination with strict cattle controls.

In the hearing, the Minister confirmed that the option of badger vaccination is under active consideration.

Now that it has been licensed for the UK on 25 March, the Trust would urge WAG to take advantage of vaccination as a viable, more humane and cost-effective alternative to culling.

David Williams, Chairman of the Badger Trust, said:

“Whilst we are disappointed that, although permission was granted, the Minister’s Order was not quashed, this was not a simple case about winning or losing. Important issues emerged in these proceedings, which ought to give the Minister serious cause for thought before proceeding with any cull. We hope that compassion and sense will prevail in light of the latest evidence. Meanwhile, we will carefully consider appealing the judgment.”

Brian May, supporter of the Badger Trust, and Queen guitarist said:

“This is a disappointment, of course. But not just for thousands of badgers. The irony is that it is ultimately a tragedy for farmers too – the very farmers who have been pushing for badgers to be culled. The decision to cull cannot lead to any significant long-term gain in the fight against bovine TB, even with the complete extermination of our native badgers. I believe all this will be seen in a few years time for what it is … a tragic wrong turn, which did nothing to solve the problem of TB in cattle. For the sake of all involved, we will not be giving up the fight for what is right.”

Ian Bridge

Just a short post to announce that I have decided to stand as a Green Party candidate for the local council in their forthcoming elections.

I decided to do this not because I want a career in politics, nor because I’ve got charisma or charm or personality or looks; I decided to do this because I care. I care about people – heck I am one – about our community and about our environment.

I’ll keep you all posted on how the campaign develops via this blog. Whilst winning is unlikely, the standing itself is like the first ripple on a calm sea. More will follow, then bigger waves and soon, perhaps, the tides may change.

Regards

Ian Bridge

Every so often my daily commute is enlivened, energised by a natural event or sighting. Certainly that has been the case twice recently. My rat run from the M6 motorway takes me through a small slice of rural Cheshire, where I have twice now glimpsed an unidentified hawk as I sped by.

Just the sight of this creature perched majestic and menacingly on a fence pole or as yesterday, in a hawthorn hedgerow, is enough to lift my spirits.

Quite why the hawk is such an inspiration, I cannot say Perhaps it is simply the rarity of these sightings, or perhaps it is the impressive size and the powerful presence it projects.

Sadly the hawk does not have such an uplifiting effect on everyone though. The RSPB have been campaigning strongly recently against the routine killing of wild birds of prey in the British countryside.

Indeed they have presented a 210,567 name petition to DEFRA wildlife Minister Huw Irranca-Davies in January, with each signatory proclaiming their objection to the killing of birds of prey and demanding action to curtail it.

Encouragingly this was the biggest petition the RSPB has ever handed in and Irranca-Davies responded by describing the killing of birds of prey as “a serious issue”, one which “we need to stamp out”.

Of course in order for that to happen, we as ciitizens have the responsibility as individuals and organisations to report crimes against birds of prey so that action can be taken.

What else can you do? Well you can ask your MP what they intend to do to protect birds of prey in your locale. With a general election pending it would be an opportune time to canvass support.

Especially as many MPs are signing up to an Early Day Motion, which recognises the importance of the RSPB’s work for birds of prey, and underlines the need to stop the killing.

Email your MP now, to ask if they support EDM 654; and what they are doing in your neighbourhood to support birds of prey and wildlife in general.

Saturday was one of those jewels that so enliven the British winter. A bright, crisp morning gilded by the sun, which having burned off the last of dawn’s mist, set to work on mitigating the 2.5c temperature.

That was good enough for me. The quite shelter of our patio caught the full glory of the winter sunshine and with no breeze, it was warm enough for me to enjoy my breakfast coffee al-fresco. All in all it’s my favourite sort of day. Fresh, dry, full of promise.

The aroma of the dark roast aribica coffee, the warmth of the sun and the song of the birds were a sensual delight. Sitting back at the table, eyes closed, I soaked in the song of the Robin, Blue-tit, Chaffinch and raucous ‘Jack-jack’ of our friendly neighbourhood Jackdaw gang.

It’s chillier tonight than it was Monday. Certainly if feels colder than the 3c the car thermometer indicated. As Tanya and I walk briskly up the main path and past the pavillion, we startle a pigeon in the trees above is. The bird scutters and I expect mutters to itself of the crass human below.

A little further on we hear the first hooo-hoo of what I am convinced now is a Tawny Owl. I haven’t seen it yet, except as a fuzzy object against the dark grey dusk skyline, but from the hoo-hoo-hoo-hooo call and the size of the shape I did see, I think it must be the Tawny.

As we cross the footpath at the head of the lake our friend is in full call, but low and muted. We turn right to go alonside the lake and as we do so hear a strange, wheezy bark from on the water. I’d no idea what is was but was keen to find out. Walking further up the ducks came into sight. The noise grew clearer and more directional.

Our friend the owl was silent now, perhaps scared-off by a group of revellers on their way from the village across the playing fields and on into the town centre.

But the source of the wheezing, barking is now apparent. It’s the swan. I don’t know if it is warding off a threat, or is in distress. But it’s the oddest of noises.

We double back at the top of the lake and walk back towards the playing fields at the edge of the copse. No sound now of Tawny. I thought it may have flown, despairing of catching anything with clot headed humans banging around.

But as we cross the bridge over the stream, it’s there again, and in it’s favourite spot too. Ever so quietly, hoo, hoo-hoo, hoo-hooo, hoo-hooo. The noise is so soft, yet so thrilling, and possibly even chilling. As we walk onto the field, I scan the treeline for another sighting. But this time I can see nothing. When the hoot comes again, it’s obvious our friend is deeper into the copse.

I resolve to disturb his roost now longer tonight and step on with Tanya. Barely a stride had I taken before the gentlest of noises alerted my. Two mights flaps of those wings and then a long, gentle glide, quickly took the owl out of sight and into the night. But the glimpse was enough for me. I walked home with joy at the image.