“A good name”, the good book says, “is better than riches”, but in my book a bad name definitely travels further. Some years ago now, I was doing a prospective university visit with my son at Warwick University in Coventry. This was our sixth university and lunch followed the familiar pattern of being decanted aroundContinue reading “Twin Towns”
Author Archives: Ian Bond
To see a thousand things – April
I took my eye off the ball a bit in April. I’d had in mind that it would have been a bit of a banker, you know with spring and all that. But spring seemed to be in short supply, poking its head out occasionally between pockets of frost in what I’m told was theContinue reading “To see a thousand things – April”
Tales of a timid traveller – (Part 2) Awakening)
It was Aristotle who said, “Hope is a waking dream”. I’d always dreamed of seeing wildlife in Africa but I wasn’t entirely sure that I wasn’t still dreaming as we’d flown into the Selous reserve, over masses of hippos that looked like water vole latrines on the riverbanks far below us, then stopped in anContinue reading “Tales of a timid traveller – (Part 2) Awakening)”
To see a thousand things – March
March was a much better month; it just was! The weather got better, so much so that according to the papers we had the warmest March day for 53 years (when I say we, it was the Telegraph so it will have meant that the south had the warmest day for 53 years, but IContinue reading “To see a thousand things – March”
Where didn’t the Hedgehog cross the road?
We all look for signs of spring, whether it’s the song of birds at dawn, the smell of the first cut of grass or just the drive home from work in the light. But there’s another sign of spring that I always note, though never look forward to. Spring marks the beginning of squashed HedgehogContinue reading “Where didn’t the Hedgehog cross the road?”
Tales of a timid traveller – (Part 1. ) Into Africa
Tues 6th November 2007. Seventeen hours after setting off from Darlington and 40 years after wanting to be “Daktari”, I was finally in Africa. On the journey I’d managed to doze for an hour and learn three words of Swahili. My son, Michael, had slept a little better but learnt less Swahili. We landed inContinue reading “Tales of a timid traveller – (Part 1. ) Into Africa”
To see a thousand things – February
Phenologists (that is people who study the seasonality of nature and not to be confused with people who feel the bumps on your head) reckon that nature’s calendar is gradually creeping forward. Well it took a big leap this month, as February stole March’s clothes as a month of two halves. The first half was eitherContinue reading “To see a thousand things – February”
A thin place
Maybe its just the ozone blowing off the waves but there is something intangible, almost ethereal, when you stand on certain parts of the north east coast; something that reaches inside of you and makes you contemplative and elated almost at the same time. Some would go even further; I once heard Lindisfarne, with itsContinue reading “A thin place”
Muntjac deer- divven’t come here
Muntjac deer – divvent come here Wor woods are auld an’ frail We fear you’ll eat wor bluebells An’ dry oot the Scarborough Snail Muntjac deer – divvent come here There’s ne room in wor ark To add to wor biodiversity A Chinese deer wot barks Muntjac deer – divvent come here Yee knaa you’llContinue reading “Muntjac deer- divven’t come here”
To see a thousand things – January
That Julius Caesar has a lot to answer for! What was he thinking of, making January the start of the year instead of March? Had he not heard the saying that, “The blackest month of all the year is the month of Janiveer” (alright, I pinched that one from the “Country Diary of an EdwardianContinue reading “To see a thousand things – January”
Raven on the Wing 