Invasion of the Chiller Moths!

Moths are strange creatures. Usually we don’t think of them as terrifying creatures; that’s if we even notice them at all. But at this time of year, they’re all around us. It must be the heat that brings them out into the light. And the strange thing is that they’re really creepy. They only move in the corner of your eye, but it’s like a huge shadow has just passed you by. They may not seem frightening given their size; but they sure can get up to mischief. And they’re getting bolder. They really do enjoy relaxing on the ceiling; or even taking a seat. They’re not fast or don’t even bite; but they always have that drunken stutter when they fly. And when you try to chase a moth, the first thing it does is to fly straight into your blind spot right in front of you so that you lose track of where it goes. They've not yet eaten any of my clothes; they always seem in ecstasy as they try to get as close to the light as possible.   

Pembrokeshire

Pembrokeshire is just a fascinating place. There are gorgeous beaches, beautiful sunsets, fantastic scenery and friendly people from all walks of life. Take the relaxing area of Freshwater East. Peaceful with its scenic views, hideaway pub and relaxing atmosphere. Then there’s the  nearby town of Pembroke with a castle, stunning views from the keep and walks aplenty. Just a short hop away is Tenby, a seaside town with shops to match; large beaches and plenty going on. And then there’s all the villages in between, each with their own attraction and hideaway features to explore. The sea air is all around you but you are never too far from civilisation either. There are scenic walks aplenty both inland and coastal, which is what makes this national park so special. There’s great opportunities for wildlife spotting too; from puffins, dolphins and seals to crabs, fish and very friendly and polite seagulls. So why not visit Pembrokeshire; there’s something for everyone.

Dinorock

Denver the last dinosaur liked to boogie on his pink guitar, but how about a whole group? It's time to bring rock back to the Stone Age. It's time for ... Dino Rock! It's a rock band and the musicians are all dinosaurs! They could be a completely animated band like Gorrilaz; their records being recorded onto a stone cd or cave paintings found to record their existance. Or perhaps they could have been trapped in an underground cave for thousands of years during a lava storm; forced to rehearse. Or frozen in ice? Someone hears their music and starts drilling to find out what is going on. Maybe they discover a whole crowd of dinosaurs partying to the music! There needs to be just four or five members in the band itself; with different roles and colours so that people can remember them. We need jazzy alliterative rock names; and we need to keep this idea away from the big tv networks so it doesn't get poached. It could end up as a TV show with different adventures in each episode; or proper music which can make the charts! It needs some thought but Dinorock is in a time of its own.  

Get in and level up!

So it’s a heatwave here in Blighty and it’s currently a 'Level Three', but just what does that exactly mean? You have the Richter scale to measure earthquakes, defcom to measure terror threats, but level 3 sounds like you’re making slow progress on Candy Crush. And what was level one; snow in winter? So to cut through the media jargon I visited the met office and looked it up. Level three is actually a heatwave level, where we are advised to take precautions such as wearing sunblock, drinking plenty of fluid and generally keeping an eye on one another (level four is a kind of stay indoors in a cool area and actually phoning your friends, family and elderly neighbours to see if they’re still alive). We’ve apparently never experienced level three in this country before; which is probably why no-one’s heard of a heatwave level in the first place. But life must go on. And if that involves more BBQs and reasons for staying up later then I say get in! 

Save the Wishing Well

Members of the Redditch & Bromsgrove branch of the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) are calling for

Bromsgrove residents to help save a much loved public house. Bromsgrove District Council have received an application to convert the Wishing Well into a Health Clinic.

The Wishing Well was a fantastic music venue for people to support local bands in a friendly and informal atmosphere. It was previously known as the Shoulder of Mutton; and there has been a public house on this site for over three hundred years. Removing the public house from St. John’s Street will erase an important landmark from Bromsgrove’s history.

We’d like to ask as many people as possible to object to the application to preserve a part of Bromsgrove’s heritage; and to call on council planning officers to draw up safeguards to protect community assets such as pubs.

You can object to the application through the below link (deadline Friday 19 July):

http://appuview.bromsgrove.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=summary&keyVal=MON8HCDP3S000

Chicken on a Raft

I sometimes feel like I’ve been stuck with a chicken on a raft. I can’t get rid of it. Wherever I go, the chicken is always following me. And now, thanks to a random website generator; I’ve now got an annoying folk song in my head telling me all about it. There is a chicken on a raft wearing sunglasses. There’s a chorus which is really persuading me not to stay here too long. There’s even a timer to tell me how long I’ve been stuck with a chicken on a raft. And there is nothing else. The only thing you can do is to stop or go elsewhere. Close the chicken down and continue with whatever you need to do.  It’s a great way to record how much time is being wasted and it really makes you conscious of what you need to achieve. What it doesn’t do is do your tasks for you.

Go try it.www.chickenonaraft.com

Back to the Stone Age...

I find it very odd that this year's pollen forecast is sponsored by a major pharmaceutical company. Not only is it harder to determine the pollen hotspots, it also raises the question of the reliability of data. They've got the perfect platform to market their products directly in front of the people who need the information the most. And they've got a great chance to manipulate the data too. Medical sales are hardly going to soar if the data is to predict a low pollen count. And yet it's the same information each day with no mention of facts and figures. Come to think of it, there's not even a date and time so there's a good chance that the site isn't even being updated. It makes life annoying when we rely on these agencies to gather data to help us make decisions then find they've outsourced the research to someone else for financial gain. The information becomes very questionable and unreliable. And there's no one else who is prepared to monitor the information for us. It's back to the stone age...