-
Molly vs The Machines.
“You should watch this documentary if you want to understand, but I won’t be watching it with you”. These were the words from one of my closest friends who with inexplicable pain lost his daughter to suicide five years ago. I watched the film on Channel 4, and now write about it, because it is…
-
Turns out I speak 2 languages fluently.
Languages fascinate me. Probably because I can only speak one fluently (and a smattering of two others) when there are, amazingly, 6500 different languages in the world. Linguistics is another specialist field for the Anthropologist, studying how they are formed, how we use them in our everyday lives, and how they shape us. Think “brummy”…
-
David Attenborough, thank you!
Yes, I also want to congratulate David Attenborough on his special birthday today and personally thank him, along with all the teams supporting him, for the hundreds of hours of stunning footage of the natural world. I’m thick into reading about the ‘Natural World’ at the moment in preparation for my Master’s dissertation. I am…
-
Greece : Lesvos : The Birding
I’m with real experts. How is it that you can see a small, well-camouflaged bird sitting on a dead stick peeping above a sea of long grasses 500 metres away? Then identify it from the most minutiae detail. I’m in awe. Really. They, the birders, name themselves as an odd breed of people, but after…
-
Greece : Lesvos : The Island
It was a couple of enthusiastic birdwatchers (thank you, Jool) who made me aware of Lesvos. Still, it wasn’t until I cheekily invited myself to join my brother Mick, for a week away with a couple of his keen birdwatching mates, that I ended up visiting the island. Well, I never. What an overdue trip…
-
Greece : Lesvos : Birds with Wings
Whenever I travel between Turkey and Greece, my mind strays to the relationship between these two great historic nations. One that we are told, namely by politicians, is a fractured one and yet this has never been visible to me. This relationship is ever more pertinent when you ferry between Ayvalik on the Turkish Aegean…
-
“Our Power Our Planet”
Today is EARTH DAY. This year’s Earth Day Theme is “Our Power Our Planet”. Emphasising that it is people power, not only Government power, that can save our planet from the effects of climate change. This feels like a ‘big ask’ at the moment. When people and their communities, all over the world, feel ravaged…
-
Lastly: Laos
I lied when I told people that I didnt have a favourite animal on this trip. I did and see a couple of videos below ( courtesy of Nici). The first ‘short’ is one of my favourites, being hosed down to cool off. The second at the watering tank. Watch until the end to see…
-
Reflections: Laos
I fly home today. I have had an incredible time here in Laos. I have met some amazing people and animals. All places that I visited were so interesting, and the whole experience was, above all else, educational. Throughout the trip, I have tried to keep a positive outlook, but the truth is, behind the…
-
Spirit of a Nation: Laos
I’m just on a train from Luang Prabang back to the capital, writing my last two posts, before my flight home tomorrow. All the Lao people I have met have been utterly charming. They seem kind, quiet, serene, and clearly dislike conflict. My very kind request to “possibly have a weaker cup of coffee” the…
