The morning JackFM came to breakfast...

This morning we had the very great pleasure to welcome our friends from JackFM to Longworth. They brought their caravan, parked it outside and did the Jack's Morning Glory programme. We had a great time and we hope everyone that came along did too!

Sally Pointer: Creator of Plague Rats

I had the pleasure of meeting Sally Pointer this weekend. Sally makes the best cat toys ever, known as Plague Rats. You can take a look at her website here.

I took the opportunity to ask Sally a little about the history of plague rats and how they are made.

Bat Detecting

Towards the end of last summer, we bought a bat detector. This evening it was great to see bats flying around the house again. So here's a little video about the detector and what it sounds like when the detector finds bats!

In case you don't like bats, you can't see one - just hear it!

The G20 Protests in London, 1st April, 2009

With the G20 meeting in London on the 1st and 2nd April, protests had been planned on both days; protests against Climate Change, War, the Global Economy. Oh and a little anarchy for good measure. Some 5,000 police were deployed on the streets of London to keep the peace.

One of the protests, Financial Fools Day, was planned to take place at the Bank of England, which is just down the road from work. On the way in and out of the office, I shot a little video.

There was a sense that there were more police and curious office workers there than actual protesters. By and large, the feeling was ok - I didn't feel uncomfortable at any time. A friend said that he became a little concerned when Police donned riot gear. I would have too. But when I was there, the crowd was good natured.

A flying start at the Cotswold Falconry Centre

Julie bought me a 'Flying Start' session at the Cotswold Falconry Centre for Christmas. I went over there this morning and had a very happy couple of hours. I got to handle a number of birds, some of which I've videoed here. I was also able to fly a Harris Hawk, named Ben - how magical to have him flying back to my glove.

Anyway, here's a video. Not my best production, but holding the Flip in one hand and making sure the bird is comfortable in the other is an interesting balancing act. Literally! Dropping an eagle might be a bad thing.