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Is it just me, or did the BBC go out of its way to find ridiculous contestants for its ‘Wildest Dreams’ programme? In case you haven’t seen it, the premise is this: nine ‘ordinary people’ were flown out to Africa to learn the skills of wildlife film-making, facing a different challenge each week, with the worst performer being sent home.

I’m a little bitter because I would have loved to be on the show myself (I certainly didn’t see… Continue reading | 1 Comment

I take biscuits very seriously. A good cup of tea and a biscuit can be the only thing which keeps me going at half past three in the afternoon. They are a great source of debate – how much chocolate coating can a biscuit have before it becomes an item of confectionery?  Is the Jaffa Cake a cake or a biscuit? And why do they still insist on putting Bourbons into Family Favourites tins when no-one likes them?

Something… Continue reading | 3 Comments

Frogs are one of my all-time favourite creatures. They’re right up there with cats, primates, whales and the slow loris for me. So I was quite concerned to read how human consumption of frogs is having a devastating effect on populations around the world; up to a billion frogs a year are taken from the wild for us to eat.

I suppose I’d presumed that frog-eating nations (for it’s not just the French – America buys almost as many) had… Continue reading

I’ve been following the sit-in protests at the Vestas factory on the Isle of Wight over the past few weeks. Not least because I’m heading to the Isle of Wight for Bestival on 10 September, and if it pisses it down, joining the protesters inside the factory may have meant a welcome rain shelter.

The story today is that the sitters-in have now left the turbine blade factory, after bailiffs obtained authorisation to enter and chuck them out.

I had not realised that, until almost exactly one year ago, Vestas had a blade factory in Campbeltown, Scotland… Continue reading

I know, I know – the film is three years old now and it’s shameful that I’ve not seen it til now. I missed it at the cinema and only got round to watching it last night courtesy of LoveFilm.

It’s basically a glorified slideshow, by former US vice-president Al Gore, which means it doesn’t have much in the way of cinematography. But the message he gives about climate change is convincing and powerful… Continue reading