h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

About 3 years ago I went on a whale watching day trip from Mull. We didn't see any whales but we did see porpoises and seals. It would have been nice to see a whale or a basking shark but I was happy to have seen the porpoises and seals. It was a lovely day's sailing too. I bought some sea sickness pills before I left home and left them behind so I bought another pack in Oban and left them at the B&B. I needn't have bothered. It was a beautiful day and the sea was like a mill pond. I can imagine how seeing a that large dark shape under the water would make the hair on the back of your neck prickle. Wow!

I haven't seen a whale on the webcam yet but yes, I've added the Africams site to my "Favourites" address list. I saw a leopard today. It's funny you know - we see all those wildlife programs on tv and I find I'm very surprised at how much more enthralling it is to see a leopard on a webcam. The picture quality isn't brilliant and the picture's updated 3 or 4 times per minute and there's often nothing to be seen but when you see something, it's all excitement. There's a leopard looking at the camera then, a few seconds later there's a leopards behind . . . and off he goes. 'Swonderful.

I had a bit of bad experience earlier that made me decide for definite that I'm going to change over to BT's Surftime. There was a link over to Microsoft where you could download some audio software so you could listen to some wildlife sounds. I tried to download it. It downloaded for about 50 minutes then stopped and a few minutes later there was a message saying the software couldn't be downloaded due to a "timeout". I could have spat - only I'm too polite for that and it might have shorted out my keyboard - oh yes, and it's against h2g2's membership rules. It's a shame there's not one of those smileys doing a snarl because the isn't quite enough to express the level of annoyance. Anyway, at least it cornered me into making a decision.

You can't beat a good g&t when the conditions are right for it. It's the juniper flavour that makes it. You have to be in a good state of mind before you drink gin though because it's apt to act as a depressant if you're already going that way. What's your preferred beverage?

I'll be interested to know what the RSPB's response is to your enquiry. It would be surprising if they didn't try to find out what effect cats have on bird populations.

Juniper sounds pleasant - I'll bear it mind to try. I think I have too sweet a tooth to enjoy most drinks. I just don't particularly like the taste. I do like the loose sherry you get in Southern Spain however. And the damson wine I once made which was more of a port. Usually I stick to white wine. I have only once or twice had red wine that I really enjoyed.

It must be that the Africam pictures are "live", or almost. What you see will be gone in a few seconds and its a privilege to see it. Well thats how I felt watching elephants messing around in the pool at Etosha. Or a rhino appear for three frames at night.

On timeouts, I got three of those trying to get to the end of a forum thread yesterday. It does happen on BT but I haven't had many problems with them. And they answered an e-mail I sent asking for help (instead of using the expensive helpline no.)
I'd like to hear the sounds too but haven't tried yet as the first thing I need is another cable for the speakers. I was using the electric kettle one but it got inconvenient! Keep forgetting to buy another.

I've done it. I've signed up for btinternet and surftime and I'm using it right now. I'm a bit surprised because I came to h2g2 with a different ISP and it still knows who I am. I thought: "groan, I can't remember my password. I bet I won't be able to get in" - but here I am in. Must have something to do with those "cookie" things.

I think my webcam habits will probably become more like your own now that I don't have to worry about the size of my telephone bill. It's a fabulous resource for people interested in wildlife and conservation. I told one of my friends about the leopard I saw and she was almost as cocker-hoop as I was.

If you keep getting timeouts, you'll be lucky if you manage to load the audio software. It takes ages and I don't think it took so long because I've got a slow old machine. It's a relatively quick, new machine with a big memory. I'll have another go anyway, at the weekend. Now that I'm not running up an enormous bill, I won't be so miffed by a timeout after almost an hour.

I know the Spanish wine you mean. I used to live in Malaga and I liked the sweet red wine there called "Pedro". Is that it? I used to like sweet things but, unaccountably, over the years, I've lost my taste for sweet things and one of my favourite alcoholic beverages now is a Margarita which is sour enough to make your eyes water.

Doesn't everyone have a spare kettle flex in the kitchen cupboard under where the kettle lives? When my kettles die I always keep the flex so I've usually got a spare or two. I bet you have half a dozen friends and neighbours with a spare kettle flex they have no use for. Perhaps if you casually mention your shortage in that area, someone will just reach into their cupboard and hand you one.

Gooday StM and Wazungu,

Wazungu, the joy of a gin and tonic cannot be adequately described, it simply has to be experienced. Preferably late afternoon, outdoors, with a friend. StM's suggestion of having it with a slice of lemon is highly recommended. About three parts tonic to one part gin. Ice is I think essential, but not too much or it will dilute the mixture as it melts, which is why I prefer two cubes instead of StM's three. It is crucial to use decent gin, the cheaper stuff just does not do the trick. It is often said that drinking gin can cause one to become depressed, although it's never happened to me, but then again I've never gone on a gin bender. One to relax and maybe one more to achieve a state of tranquility and peace with the world. Maybe you might think about trying one on Barra. Take care y'all.

Walter.

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Ev'ning all,

I will have to try gin. I think you've already recommended a brand Walter! But maybe not on Barra. Its likely to be a bit bracing outdoors in the late afternoon there.

Happy surfing StM. All the old kettle flexs around have the old round ending that used to go into old kettles. Maybe one will come up at the next village hall silent auction.
I don't recognise the name Pedro. The first loose sherry I had was from near Casares. Bought in a shack at the side of the round and siphoned very unhygienically by mouth from large wood vats into whatever old bottles you took along.
The second lot was brewed in Frigiliana and went by that name. It was slightly lighter. All I've seen of Malaga is the airport. What's it like to live there?

The RSPB statistics are a bit hair raising (and vague) Wazungu. Eight million cat isn't surprising because there are 56 million of us, so that's only one cat for every seven people. If the cat numbers had been higher I wouldn't have been surprised. The range given for the kill rate is so wide (20 million to 80 million birds) that it seems fair to say that the RSPB doesn't really have any idea of the true figures. It's interesting that they have been so cautious in attributing a link between cat predation and reduction in bird populations. That seems to be to be a little over-fastidious. The argument that blackbird numbers should decline in line with song thrush numbers if cats were implicated doesn't really convince me. Blackbirds could be better at spotting predators, quicker at getting away, less likely to draw attention to themselves by singing etc - none of which says anything about cats decimating the song thrush population. There's no doubt that the main reason for the decline in bird populations is human activity and keeping large numbers of cats (and letting the cats wander off and do their own thing) is just one human activity among many that's likely to be detrimental to the survival of some species of birds. I wonder when their current research project will be completed.

Walter, my gin requires 3 ice cubes. It's important to me. It would be nice if they wouldn't dilute the gin but there's a balance that has to be established isn't there? The drink should be served at the optimum temperature and strength. Perfection's not easy to come by so compromises sometimes have to be made.

Pedro isn't a sherry (it's such a long time since I had any I can hardly remember). My brother used to order a Seci-Pedro because it was too sweet for him on it's own. That was a dry red mixed with the sweet Pedro wine. The loose sherry, siphoned unhygenically by mouth sounds like the norm when I was there - half a lifetime ago. My brother had a Norton Commando 750 motor bike and we used to go for rides in the mountains at the weekends. We'd stop at some little pueblo with a bar and order a vodka and orange and the barman would get a long glass, half-fill it with vodka and then top it up with Fanta orange pop. If someone offered me such a drink for the first time now, I'd think yuk! But it was so refreshing and, of course, I liked sweet drinks then. I think I could probably enjoy one now just because of the nostalgia.

I liked living in Malaga. I had an apartment on the Paseo Maritimo (marine walk). We used to teach English using a system cooked up by the school I worked at, whereby you never translated anything into Spanish for the students. We worked from early in the morning to late in the evening with a big break in the middle of the day for siesta. I never really learned Spanish beyond the basics (I was there about a year) because our community was mainly just the people who worked at the language school and their circle of friends - all English speaking. Shame really.

Re the RSPB, they did say the figures were out of date. I agree with you that they're being very circumspect but they have a lot of credibility and I suppose they don't want to lose that. They also campaign against the popular belief that sparrow hawks and magpies make a difference to song bird numbers. Their research has proved otherwise. They might undermine their case if they made statements on cat predation without having done the research. I'm waiting to see what the findings are on the thrushes. That may mention cats.

I've only driven through Malaga, usually hair raising for a variety of reasons . Once on the way to Casares and twice to Nerja. The mountains inland are wonderful. The white towns perched on mountain ridges, the wild flowers - that was unexpected. Small holdings everywhere growing avocados, almonds, custard apples...and the markets - all that fruit, it never tastes like that from our supermarkets. It won't be like that on Barra. Local produce there; shellfish, crabs, sheep. All the fish goes straight to the mainland hotels. We were once given a bucket of crab legs to enjoy ourselves with. Kept us occupied for some considerable time.

You're right of course. Why should the RSPB draw what might seem like obvious conclusions before all the research is in? It's important that when they do declare a result, their conclusions are taken seriously. I may be impatient because some birds are likely to be reaching the point of no return and we don't even know what that point is, or how close the various species are to it. Proper rigorous research takes a long time and by the time the facts are known beyond a shadow of a doubt, it may be too late for some species. Meanwhile, we can see what appear to be obvious causes of the birds' demise continue unabated.

I was in a neighbour's house at the weekend and they were saying that some other neighbours up the road were very upset because someone had shot and killed both of their cats. I was shocked and upset to hear about it - and additionally upset to hear that yet another neighbour, whose garden shares a boundary with mine is suspected in the crime. As I mentioned near the beginning of our chat, I'm fond of cats and I would take a dim view of any form of brutality towards any sort of animal, in any case.

It did occur to me however, that a great many people shove their cats out of the house in the morning then go to work. If you ask, what do you think your cat does all day while you're away, they seem happy to concede that the cat's following its nature - hunting. Well that's what cats do. It's just nature. I think people behave like this because it's what cat owners do. It's taken for granted that if you have a cat, you let it do whatever comes naturally. Dog owners don't do that. We don't because it's not what responsible dog owners do. I could turn my dogs out to do their own thing and they'd be happy to form packs with other neighbourhood dogs who'd also been turned out and they'd go and kill sheep and anything else - because that's their nature. A local farmer would shoot them and that would be the end of my dogs. I would be devastated if someone killed my dogs, but if I let them run wild, it certainly wouldn't surprise me if someone shot them. So I think people who keep animals have to be responsible for those animals. It would be nice if they could just be allowed to do what comes naturally but we're not living in a state of nature and the balance is skewed in favour of the domesticated predator.

The roads of Malaga were also hair raising when I was there. The highway code was uhmm, well ... there wasn't one that I could detect. And parking places were anywhere it was physically possible to put your vehicle. Spain's a fabulous country. It always makes me laugh when I hear people who've only been to the tourist areas saying that it's an awful commercialised dump of a country. They only need to go a few miles from the tourist areas and they'll find spectacular scenery and there's lovely architecture in the towns. Did you ever go to Granada? It's beautiful. I loved those custard apples. They call them chilimoyas - bound to have spelt that wrong. I bought one from Waitrose about 10 years ago. It wasn't very nice at all. I must say, I don't find the idea of a bucket of crabs' legs very appealing. That, I would imagine, is the Barra sense of humour for you.

Good evening Walter,
I have a potato update.
Tonight a subcommittee was formed to oversee digging up of competition potatos in the last weekend of September. Some competitors are reported to be impatient to lift the crop - due to wireworm. It was decided that they could dig them up early if they contact the subcommittee to oversee the unearthing. They will have their crop weighed and the results entered with all the others on 30/9. There may be some confusion to come however as the dishing out of potatos at the beginning "got a bit out of hand" and there's now no known complete list of entrants! However I'm sure it will all get sorted out in the pub, as most of the village's affairs do.

Although no one there has yet managed to find out who removed the village bench. Rumours are flying. There are suggestions of a link with the mystery of the overnight disappearance of the bus shelter not so long ago.

StM,
that is terrible, the cat shooting I mean. I wonder if it was to do with birds, or about the other things cats leave in the garden. All I want is some sort of campaign 1. to get people to think seriously before having a cat, and 2.to encourage spaying/neutering of pet cats to reduce the number of strays.
The most I do to discourage cats is bang on the window or chuck a glass of water in their direction. Just the contents - not the glass.

I think sometimes we need to be impatient. But I've been an RSPB supporter for more than 20 years now and I'm impressed with what they do. I'm willing to trust them on this one.

Your missing village bench and bus shelter reminded me of a couple of incidents that took place here. When we still had a nice traditional red 'phone box on the green we all woke up one morning to find some smart Alec had painted it bright blue. Then a couple of years ago, one of the houses in the High Street was observed to have sprouted a wooden porch overnight. The owner was very puzzled. Village youth ah? They're a mischievous lot. Little monkeys!

The cat killings were terrible. I doubt very much that it had anything to do with birds. If the prime suspect did it, I think he's just a nutter. I was dismayed to hear that it was thought to be him because I thought the police had confiscated all his guns (3 of them as far as I know) when he attempted to shoot my next door neighbours' son through his bedroom window. He was provoked by the boy on a regular basis but I don't think a well balanced person would have resorted to those tactics. In any case, if he did it, it means the police didn't get all his guns and he would have done it for no other reason than the cats were in his garden. Another of my neighbours is a keen ornithologist and I know he used to go shooting and he dislikes cats. The difference is, he isn't a nut case and so he wouldn't do such a thing. There's a big house and land at the back of us where cats have been poisoned and killed in traps (I think they're called jin or gin traps) and that's to protect birds. It's not for the benefit of the birds though, it's because they breed pheasants for shooting and they kill anything that competes with or threatens the pheasants. That includes birds of prey, foxes, squirrels - practically anything that moves if it isn't a pheasant. It's illegal to use those traps but it seems that it's quite difficult to catch them at it.

On the whole, I think people who care about one type of animal tend to respect other animals as well. Even if they love the wild birds in their garden and don't like to see cats stalking them, they normally take the sort of action you take. They bang on the window, hiss, shout, put down cat pepper and so on. I didn't think cats came into my garden because of the dogs but I recently had a security light fitted and was surprised when it came on several times for no apparent reason. When I went out to check, guess what - cats! My dogs are obviously not barking enough.

Gooday Wazungu and StM'

First things first - Wazungu, I do hope that you have a beaut holiday and look forward to hearing how you enjoyed it. And a progress report on the potato-growing competition.

StM, speaking of the old-style red telephone boxes on village greens. One of these delightful conveniences was located on the tiny green opposite my sister's house. Some years ago the authorities (Telecom?) decided to remove it and substitute one of the newer models. My sister headed a protest group that was successful in having the decision overturned and as far as I know, the old red telephone kiosk stands on Penny Pots green to this day.

And speaking of village bench seats that go missing, I think the case of the disappearing seat outside Earls Colne Priory remains unsolved to this day. The seat was installed to commemorate the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, but some years later mysteriosly vanished. In time, it was replaced. Do you think the statute of limitations applies to crimes of this nature, or should I say no more? Take care, y'all,

Walter.

Good evening,
StM your neighbour sounds horrendous.

And Walter! It sounds as though you may have a personal interest in whether or not the statute of limitations applies.

Ash's red phone box got replaced by what Bill Bryson rightly refers to as a shower cubicle.

Thats all, I have a whole list of things to do yet before getting an early night, ready to be up tomorrow at 4.30am.

Take comfort: most of my neighbours are nice people but every village has its village idiot. We seem to have a couple. If your village is going short of one, perhaps you'd like one of ours. Just kidding.

Hope you have a wonderful holiday Wazungu. If you should happen to try a gin and tonic while you're away, think of us and raise your glass.

Byeeeeeeeee

Hiya Walter. You missing Wazungu? So am I. I found a thing on our friendly, beneficial worms that might shock you folks and thought I'd bring it over here because it's the sort of thing that interests us and also just to keep the place warm.

Our lovely little earth worms that are being murdered in their own home by those naughty New Zealand flat worms - our earth worms that we depend on to turn leaf litter and gunk into compost and distribute it through the soil - those very earth worms are causing mayhem in the hardwood forests of Minnesota. There the Ecological Society of America refer to our sweet little slitherers as "invading European earthworms". They say that our earth worms "appear to be causing widespread loss of native forest plant species and affecting the stability of hardwood forest ecosystems". They say they "have documented significant damage in the Chippewa National Forest and in isolated forest preserves in and near the Twin Cities area in southern parts of Minnesota". European settlers who arrived in the 1800s brought the worms in potted plants. Apparently they consume the forest floor covering that the native plants depend on and require for seeding and "99 percent of the populations of native plant species normally found in hardwood forests ... are destroyed in affected areas". Isn't that terrible? I thought our worms were harmless and wholly beneficial. It just goes to show that any species in the wrong place is a potential hazard to the native species of that area.

Walter, your sister sounds like a force to be reckoned with. Good for her. We have one of the shower cubicle type Wazungu mentioned. It's entirely without character. I think British Telecom were trying to stop vandalism and people using the boxes as loos. Now they're open at the bottom and there's minimal opportunity for the writing of graffiti. I liked the old ones but you can see it from BT's point of view - if you try really hard.

Gooday StM,

Nice to hear from you. Yes, Wazungu is missed but it is only for a week so I guess we will survive. My sister is a force to be reckoned with but for all the right reasons - I was so immensely proud of her when she took on the authorities over that telephone box. I found your pieces on the worms just fascinating (perhaps I'm weird); it is a striking example of how disturbing natural balances in our environment can have the most unwanted and profound effects. Like you I feel very strongly about nature and the environment but when I get on a soapbox about these things usually find myself being labelled a 'greenie' or a 'left-wing looney' or some such pejorative term. So it is great to chat with a kindred spirit. I don't think we have this worm invader. We did a fair bit of digging in the garden last weekend and the soil was chock-full of earth worms and those red worms that seem to gather in large numbers under the compost. And the little critters are busily working away, minding their own business and continually improving the condition of our soil for free. One import that we have noticed in increasing numbers in recent years is the bumble bee. I confess to being particularly fond of these creatures, but understand that concerns are already being expressed by some apiarists that BBs may represent something of a threat to the native honey bees. Like the European wasp (which has proliferated here like stink) BBs were 'introduced' by accident. Another of our imports, deliberately introduced, was the fox, although there are none in Tasmania. My favourite import, and one which I am certain does no harm to anyone or anything, is skylarks. And Horse Chestnut trees. I better do some work, so for now, take care.

Walter.

Gooday Walter. The worms in your garden sound like our British worms. Are they different? If not, they'd probably cause the same sorts of problems as our earth worms in those hardwood forests of Minnesota. The problem seems to be that the forests where the damage is occurring have developed without the sorts of worms we depend on to process leaf litter and improve the soil. It seems that the covering of detritus/leaf litter on the forest floors in the Minnesota region, constitutes the exact sort of mulchy material the plants of that ecosystem requires for seeding and our worms have come along and turned it into something else - the sort of soil that the plants of our ecosystems prefer.

What are our bumble bees up to over your side of the planet? I wouldn't have thought they'd present any problem to native New Zealand bees. I don't know that much about bumble bees to be honest, but I thought they could be found in most areas with a temperate climate. It's not like the African bees that can interbreed with European bees producing a more aggressive bee, is it? I didn't think bumble bees would breed with other types of bee. But speaking as someone who knows very little about the habits of bees, there's plenty of scope for me to be mistaken. It comes back again, I suppose, to artificially introduced species having unpredictable effects and once the disastrous consequences become know, it's too late to do anything about it.

Wasps seem to be universally loathed but I stick up for the yellow and black stripy varieties that annoy us when we're out having a picnic. They eat some of the creatures we regard as plant pests like aphids and some of those caterpillars that can swarm all over a tree and completely strip it of leaves. Also, there are little tiny wasps that parasitize other pests that ruin commercial crops and plants. I feel quite sorry for the poor old pests really, but some of those little wasps are used instead of pesticides and thereby remove the need to use toxic chemicals.

How could anyone be offended by skylarks, foxes or horse chestnut trees? Actually, if New Zealand finds our skylarks a problem at all, please send them back. We're getting short of them here.

Gooday StM,

Sorry, I've only just caught your last posting. No, good friend that you are I am not going to support any move to return our skylarks.

You are right, as always, about wasps, but I am still grumpy with them after being stung TWICE the weekend before last, and they are not even supposed to be out and about in Winter. Although Spring can't be far away. The days are noticably longer, and tomorrow we begin daylight saving (early this year for the Olympics), so darker mornings for a while but even more light in the evenings, which of course means gin and tonics on the terrace even if we have to wear overcoats, scarves and gloves! The daffodils, jonquils and snowdrops have burst through into full display, the leaves are starting to appear on the Birches and the Willow, and last weekend we mowed the grass which had become quite unruly. And by my reckoning the swallows should arrive some time next week.

Wazungu, if you get to read this: hope your holiday was super and that you can find time to give StM and me a full run-down. It will be great to have you back. Take care both,

Walter.

Gd'evning Walter, StM,

Thankyou for keeping the place going . One thing that keeps striking me since coming on h2g2 is how much I take for granted in terms of context. It would never have occurred to me that something as harmless here as an earthworm could cause havoc elsewhere. And despite knowing that you, Walter are clinging on upside down on the other side of earth, its never hit home that you're at the time of year when everything is starting while our summer is ending. Hay is coming in, my Housemartins have flown and I can see winter coming.

Barra was beautiful. Seven days of almost unbroken sunshine in the Hebrides can't be beaten. (I didn't pack for sun! I now have heat rash and sunburn.) We spent whole days on white sand beaches, swimming, collecting shells, making obstacle courses from whatever we found on the beach, old fishing net, wood planks, buoys,tyres.... Or just sitting on rocks watching the sea, looking out to the other islands. I can't describe the colours you get there, the sea is every shade of blue and green in the sun, and in the evening shades of blue, grey and purple. It was so still some evenings the islands seemed to float in the air. Barra is full of life.. It has a working population, two schools, lots going on, the sea is full of shellfish, crabs, seals. Lots of seals. And there are flocks of curlews and lapwings, not just the odd one. We watched four buzzards float over the top of a hill and mock fight and dive and chase each other. The grass has to fight for survival with all the wildflowers and heather.

I'm finding it difficult, as always, to get used to being back home. Going back to work will help, bring me back to earth with a bump. No G and T's yet, I took a box of Tesco Hock to Barra. Thats become a tradition now, we all like it, so we can share it and it just lasts the week.
No whales, or otters this time, but sharing a bay with forty odd seals, some singing to a background of muttering Eider duck was good. So was watching Great Skuas.

One thing about the skylarks, StM, if we do run out here, we would have a supply to reintroduce them from. As they've done with the Sea Eagles, which I would love to see. So maybe Tasmania should keep their skylarks.

Gooday Wazungu,

WELCOME BACK. Will chat later. Take care,

Walter.