Environment

Roe deer reappear in Friars Cliff is hardly world shattering news. This headline reminds me of my life in the sticks in Shropshire. The newspaper hoardings would highlight significant events such [...]

Sparrows might not be able to sing but they sure can twitter. I see quarrels of sparrows, or rather I hear them, all over Friars Cliff, my little coastal retreat. They might be dull, brown jobs [...]

Once again, I am a slave to nature. However, I recall the condition from years before so it is not new to me. It is a state whereby the garden demands constant action from me, most of it hard [...]

Many councils in the UK are declaring a climate emergency including my own in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP). As a result, they have an action plan that has 153 measures to become [...]

It is a clash of perspectives; to be a vegan and an environmentalist. The two do not sit comfortably together. That ridiculous almond milk has attained the status of manna, a miraculous [...]

The pagan economy in Britain was built on trees. The small stuff we call wood. Timber, the big stuff, was difficult to cut with a Neolithic flint axe and had less value. The wood was used for hut [...]

The River Stour and Avon spill out into the sea through Bournemouth and Christchurch, two seaside resorts. It now appears that sea swimmers have to be warned off entering the water during heavy [...]

When Ann and I moved here, to Friars Cliff, in 2012, a green woodpecker popped into our garden every few days. It was like a ray of sunshine as this gaudy bird used our lawn as a catwalk. In case [...]

I want to cheer you up in the face of constant negativity; today I am the purveyor of good news. To hell with politics and Brexit. Friars cliff and the environment, where I live, are in good [...]

It’s an age thing, the need for artificial grass. As I grow older and less well I envisaged plastic grass as no less essential than a Stannah stairlift. There comes a time in the life of [...]