The moth that appeared on our summerhouse door to announce Spring on 1 March, which featured in Blog 10, is a Dotted Border, Agriopsis marginaria, which flies Feb-April. The female is flightless and the larvae feed on many broadleaved trees and shrubs – info kindly given me by the North Devon moth expert John Breeds. I can indeed see the dots on the lower border of the wings.
North Devon’s councillors met last Monday morning to discuss Local Government Reorganisation.
The Independent and Green councillors argued for the council (NDC) to look seriously at the option of linking up with the other rural district councils in Devon to see if we can form a unitary authority. I’m pleased to say that this option will be looked at. NDC members will be voting on the options on 19 March.
Many around the country think the Government’s push towards abolition of district councils is too fast, unthought-out and unlikely to save money while definitely reducing democracy. More info HERE>
We Greens sincerely hope that political parties prioritise the needs of their communities and not party political advantage. Meanwhile, our members are campaigning across the nation for the county council elections to be held on 1 May. We shall be helping the excellent Green candidate Cllr Sara Wilson in Ilfracombe next weekend.
My wife and I watched the documentary Gaza: How to Survive a War Zone aired on 17 February.
A moral panic soon erupted when it was revealed that the father of the boy who narrates part of the film (photo above) is a deputy minister of Agriculture in the Hamas administration. The panic, and withdrawal of the film from BBC iPlayer, has already been eloquently opposed by over 500 leading figures in the UK. I agree with them.
The discussions I heard about the film on the BBC did not spend a second on debating whether the film was biased. It wasn’t: it confirmed the horrific and continuing brutality of the Israel Defense Force and the right wing government that directs its operations. More on this HERE>
The BBC needs to look at its own shocking and unacknowledged pro-Israel bias, not this film. Meanwhile the Oscar-winning documentary No Other Land was shown at 11.15 pm on C4 on Tuesday 4 March – great but why so late?
We have been away in Suffolk helping a friend I’ve known since 1965 celebrate his 80th birthday.
Peter trained and practised as an architect. I have accompanied him on many ‘peregrinations’ to look at buildings, mainly new ones. He has opened my eyes to so much that I would have missed. Peter has marked his big birthdays by inviting pals to stay with him in Landmark Trust houses.
This time it was the New Inn in Peasenhall, pictured above, which was new in the Fourteenth Century. It has been beautifully restored by the universally-admired Landmark Trust, which looks after the accommodation on Lundy.
Our stay included visits to some of the great churches of Suffolk, including Blythburgh and Southwold. We walked along the dunes from Southwold to the fishing harbour on the River Blythe, then returned to the town along the road across the marshes. We saw a flock of Lapwings and a trio of Greylag Geese.
The names of the local railways stations bring back the books by Arthur Ransome I loved in my boyhood – Oulton Broad and Beccles summon up the Swallows and their chum Tom Dudgeon. I also noted the’ Katcha bookable bus service’ advertised on the trains – is this something we might emulate in North Devon?
We can’t but be hyper-aware of the immoral antics of the felon in the White House, who threatens US allies and fawns over mass murderers like Putin and Netanyahu. I had been surprised that no one has lately mentioned the story from a few years ago that Trump is terrified of Putin because of a compromising video of Trump cavorting with prostitutes in Moscow obtained by the Russian secret service. I was pleased to see references to Kompromat– plus a way to deal with Russian aggression – in this excellent article>
It’s good to be back home and enjoy the sight of newborn lambs in the fields around us. I hope you’ve enjoyed the fabulous sunny days that brought in Spring.
Thanks for reading.
Mark