The Big Blog

I read this article about a white tiger that mauled to death a zookeeper in New Zealand and although shocking, it?s also a plain fact that a tiger is a wild animal, a predator, and will always have these instincts, so when you walk into an enclosure you run the risk of this happening.
What I [...]

My cat has been getting an extra supplement to her diet in the form of an influx of Painted Ladies (Vanessa cardui) butterflies who have come over to our shores after migrating from North Africa and the Mediterranean. There were a dozen or so in the garden late yesterday afternoon, enjoying the sun and also [...]

I went down to Ramsgate beach again this morning and I can report that it?s completely clear of the timber that covered it last week. I was a little less prepared today and only had my camera phone but as you can see from the photo it looks as if nothing had ever happened.
Even the [...]

On Monday night a cargo ship shed its 1,500 tonne load of timber into the sea and over the last couple of days it?s been washing up on the Thanet coast where I live. This morning I had the chance to pop down the seafront with my camera and took quite a few snaps as [...]

I?m not sure how many of you know that Ramsgate Harbour has its own webcam that transmits 24 hours a day. If you watch the actual stream it?s not very interesting as it only refreshes every 15 seconds, but if someone sets up something clever and captures the images for 24 hours and makes a [...]

On Monday night I watched Living Without Money on ITV where reporter Jonathan Maitland tried to live without any money for two weeks.
This task is not about living rough on the streets – although he does spend one night sleeping in a park – but rather tapping into the community spirit of a growing movement [...]

In March, Jessica, the family cat died. It was a very sad time as she definitely was one of the family and we?d had her (she?d had us) for around 14 years. Eventually old age took its toll and she had to be put down. That?s all I?m going to say but those of you [...]

The BBC reported yesterday that Marks & Spencer is to begin charging its food shoppers for carrier bags, with customers paying 5p per plastic bag, all of which will be donated to an environmental charity Groundwork which invests in much-needed green spaces in neighbourhoods.
We use an awful lot of carrier bags in the UK, about [...]

I?ve been playing a fair bit of golf recently and to be honest I?m not very good at it. Still, with the sunny (yet cold) weather we?ve been having, it?s been nice to have a round and get a bit of a walk. I usually play at Stonelees which is only down the road and [...]

The last weekend before the Freshers arrived, I went for a random walk to savour the last of my freedom and took quite a few pictures too.b It?s wasn?t a long walk but it was a lovely day and just nice to get out.
Here?s a few photos:

There were loads of ?Cabbage Whites? flying around, and [...]