Thanks to Millie Bowles and Kent Online for the Headline.
Living close to Cotswold Wildlife Park , it is really good news that the “crash” of six Southern white Rhino’s from the South Lakes Safari Zoo which closed in 2024 are being rehomed at Wingham Wildlife Park and will be part of the expansion of the parks exhibits while also playing an important part in educating the public about these beautiful animals.
Filed under Short Stories
Thanks to Paloma Chavez and People Online for the Headline.
John Steinbeck’s famous Novel “Cannery Row” is trumped by a real life story .
A sardine cannery which was opened in 1917 and became the largest cannery in Monterey on the famous “Cannery Row”.
Due to the decline in the sardine population, despite switching to packing squid the cannery was forced to close in 1973.
However a group of Marine Scientists felt the site would be suitable for an Aquarium that would help educate people about the local marine ecosystem in Monterey Bay. A project that Steinbeck himself would have enthused about being fascinated himself by Marine Biology.
The money for the project came from the parents of two sisters who had also studied Marine Biology, Nancy Burnett and Julie Packard. In 1984 the Monterey Bay Aquarium opened it’s doors in October of that year.
The Aquarium has not only boosted Monterey’s economy by attracting visitors , it also has made landmark achievements in the field of Marine Biology being the first aquarium to feature a living kelp forest. It is also the first aquarium to successfully display and release juvenile great white sharks and also they have a Sea Otter Programme to study the threats to their habitats and reintroduce stranded pups to the wild.
In 38 years the Cannery Row Aquarium has introduced more than 70million people to the ocean nearby to Monterey and also further afield. Which is a phenomenal amount of people .
Thank you to Notes from Poland for the Headline
When Politicians spout their own rhetoric particularly at a an event organised for United States Military Cadets ( in this case in Tennessee). They end up not only looking foolish but causing upset by their lack of respect to those who fought and gave their lives side by side with Americans.
The Secretary of US Defence Hesgeth took a pop at the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) which as a serving US Army Officer based in Afghanistan he was part of.
In what only can be described as “bar room bravado” by saying in his speech to the young Military Cadets that the US got no support from the over 50 Countries that were part of the ISAF in Afghanistan and that among the American’s the joke was that ISAF stood for I Saw Americans Fighting.
Rightly so this upset the Polish Government as they suffered heavy losses in the Ghazni provence .
Why Secretary Hegseth believes his own rhetoric is unquantifiable, but there definitely should be some control over what he says to Military Cadets who in the future may have to work with NATO Allies.
Or is this a concerted political effort to say America doesn’t need to work with other Countries, if so it is misguided.
Filed under Short Stories
Thanks to Grace Wood and BBC Online News for the Headline.
British wool has gone up 70% in the last year, possibly due to a supply and demand issue. However, the longevity and durability of British Wool is to be valued in today’s throw a way Society. The average person in the UK discards 16 items of clothing per month.
A woman called Sarah Turner is taking a stand to show there is a better way. She is wearing a British Wool navy blue, herringbone shift dress everyday for 90 days, this includes dog walking and a black tie dinner in Blackpool. Sarah is the founder of laundry and body care firm little Beau Sheep, so there will be no problem with “odours” as I’m sure the dress will be perfectly laundered.
Also she says that Wool is thermoregulating so will be perfect for all sorts of weathers, though she is relieved that we are coming into the colder months.
Namaste and Thank You for Reading.🙏
Filed under Short Stories
Thanks to Flora Grafton and BBC News Online for the Headline
The Yorkshire and Humber Regional Organised Crime Unit(YHROCU) issued a warning to ATM users about a ‘cash trap’ scam. Currently Yorkshire is being targeted.
The unsuspecting ATM user requests cash and it is debited from their account however at the point of despatch the money is held back by a device fitted to the machine. The ATM user then will have to contact their bank, but by the time they have done that the money has been collected by the criminal and the ATM user has been defrauded.
The Police have asked that members of the Public be vigilant when using ATM’s, they should check the machine for any unusual attachments, loose fittings or signs that it may have been tampered with.
If cash does not dispense but your bank account is debited, report the matter to your bank immediately and contact Report Fraud or you local police force.
Namaste and Thank You for Reading. 🙏
What’s something you’ve done that you never thought you could?
I never thought I could crochet,
It always seemed beyond me,
Then one day someone gave me a tip,
In a seaside cafe on a day trip,
Don’t worry about the silly pattern,
Do your chain and sink your hook like a slattern,
A few along and then chain again,
You’ll soon begin to feel that zen,
Somehow the colours come together,
And that shawl you’ve made will be as light as a feather.
Thanks to Lee Trewhela and Cornwall Live for the Headline
The St Mawes Pier and Harbour Company wants to convert a small harbourside cottage into a building with toilets, showers and changing rooms for sailors. The St Mawes Pier and Harbour Company say that it is needed in order to reduce pollution in the harbour and provide support for a local business.
The cottage to be converted is called” the Tiddler ” and is part of a 17th century listed building which also includes another neighbouring cottage which is owned by a local St Mawes lady but is a holiday let.
She has objected to the plans that have been submitted to the Council as the walls are paper thin and the facilities would be open from 6am to Midnight and would cause excessive noise with people queuing for showers standing right outside her living room window.
She has support from a local Councillor ,it has been pointed out that St Mawes Sailing Club which is immediately next door already provides purpose built facilities for visiting yachts people with toilets and showers.
Interesting that the Harbour Company feels the need to have their own.
Namaste and Thank You for Reading.🙏
Filed under Short Stories
Thanks to Guy Hedgecoe and BBC News Online for the Headline
Nearly a decade ago , Catalonia and a group of Politicians claimed independence from Spain and rebelled against the Spanish Government until Madrid imposed direct rule on them and arrested the main protaganists who were eventually tried for treason and sent to jail.
Some of the Politicians left Spain prior to their arrest and one of them Carles Puigdemont fled to Belgium but continued his campaign for Catalonian Independence while living in Belgium.
However, ten years have resulted in a damping down of calls for Catalonian Independence and as a result the people who were arrested have been released and all the arrest warrants pertaining to those who went into exile have been cancelled. As a result Carles Puigdemont can now return to his homeland.
Thankfully although the Catalonian Independence arguments can continue, it does seem a very civilised end to what was a very turbulent period in Spanish Government although thankfully without the horrendous consequences of their civil war.
Namaste and Thank You for Reading.🙏
Thanks to BBC Online News for the Headline
Alan Hannay worked as a professional chauffeur all his life and relied on his memory to drive clients around London. Amazingly at the age of 70 he attended evening classes to improve his reading, but he didn’t find it easy learning within a group.
It was when he was asked by one of his grandchildren to read them a bedtime story that he decided to try another way. This time with a Charity called Read Easy and it worked. He enjoys reading for about an hour and a half each morning and goes to the class twice a week. It has given him a new confidence.
Filed under Short Stories
Stoats are legally protected in Ireland and Northern Ireland, actually it is the Irish Stoat that is protected and is unique, native and a near endemic subspecies that has lived on the Island since it is believed before the last Ice Age. There are some Irish stoats on the Isle of Man and although once branded as ‘vermin’ and heavily targeted by gamekeepers, poultry farmers and the fur trade. Legal protection halted indiscriminate trapping and killing.
They do suffer ecological pressures , from modern threats such as losing habitat such as hedgerows and dry stone walls) road traffic accidents and indirect risks like myxomatosis. However, they are fast moving and quite small , so it is hard to monitor their population.
The Eurasian Stoat does not have any legal protection in England , Wales and Scotland and as a species of least concern . It is the Eurasian Stoat that is subject to trapping when it is in an area that has no other predators and can end up destroying local wildlife.
Filed under #HeadlineTherapy
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