The Minkey

If they do tart the Vale up with a nod towards ED then it will probably attract a broader crowd than most of the current venues - which is a good thing, imo. I just can't see it as a threat to local business, those who prefer an indie atmosphere will continue to drink at the usual venues.

piquant

Umm - that would be a rat catcher ;-)

When I was a small child, I found a dead rat which became my special dolly for a short time until my father realised exactly what it was I'd been cuddling and kissing - I'm told he screamed.

Demise

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Uh oh - a feral pigeon has worked out how to use the hanging feeders. This is not good news..

"What route do you think the cycle superhighway should take that would get you cycling?" One that avoids other traffic: I love cycling but cycling in London traffic scares the shit out of me, especially junctions such as E&C.

I thought Al Jazeera largely comprised ex-BBC people, or was at the time Bush decided to drop a bomb on them - no guarantee the dead were replaced by the same. In this day and age, I don't think any of the news outfits are impartial so if Al Jazeera falls over at that hurdle, it simply joins the rest of its running mates - no better, no worse - though I've also thought of them as being more rounded in their coverage of the news. And one doesn't get the sense that American / UK news is somehow more newsworthy than similar news from other parts of the globe. Gets my vote.

Carrie - check out Woof's link. Your attackers sound like Blandford flys, especially given the proximity to water

Budgies are a hot climate bird so I don't think they'd survive. On the other hand, Ring-Neck Parakeets are familiar with cold weather so they stick around all year long - often coming down onto feeders. They looked extremely vivid against a snowy backdrop last Winter.

No, it isn't the same as thistle seed. I had some growing in the garden last year, underneath the feeders. This is what is looks like: http://farm1.static.flickr.com/85/282266617_b0ac14b2a0.jpg It takes a while for birds to realise there's a food source. I'm lucky in that I'm up by One Tree Hill and the trees edging the reservoir act as a bird highway, depositing them directly into my garden ;-) I had Greenfinches coming in long before I saw a Goldfinch. Now I see Goldfinches more regularly than any other small bird apart from the Sparrows.

Hi Sue - you can feed them Niger seeds but, from my experience, they are just as happy with sunflower seeds, especially hearts, or good quality finch mix. I regularly get them on my feeders even though I haven't had the Niger feeder up for several months.

At the tail end of its flowering season, I've finally identified a mystery wildflower in my garden as Flax. It's been sending out sky blue flowers all summer long. Lovely plant.

Haha - I don't think it is my spider, it doesn't appear to have moved out of the corner at all and it's nowhere near a crevice. Luckily, I don't mind spiders at all - they do a good job keeping down less welcome visitors. I have one of those really delicate spindly ones living in my kitchen window. Rest assured though, I am sensitive to the more delicate sensibilities of friends who call around, particularly if I know their phobic, and remove all traces of my housemates in advance ;-)

underhand

Interesting post hpsaucey - that looks remarkably like a distinctive looking black spider that's lurking in a corner upstairs, for want of a crevice maybe. Ooh err!! There's another spider which has invaded our shores called the False Black Widow (I think) which has a noticeable bite. I got spider bites for the first time in the UK three years ago when I was clearing old wood etc from my then new back garden. You can see the puncture marks and the bite blisters and makes the whole limb itch.

I lived in a house in Nepal for 3 months which was a row across a lake to the nearest shops, it was wonderful. Yes, you do have to be organised but it's worth it :-) I've also travelled through Spain in a converted horse lorry, we were parked up much of the time in remote places. One place we stayed for a few months was an 8 mile round trip on foot to the nearest shops and, in the days before mobile phones, the nearest telephone. It was pretty idyllic though. Before then I lived in a small village called Box in the Cotswolds but we did have a small local shop so it wasn't exactly remote, though countryside it most definitely was. So, yes, I could live in the country but I'd learn to drive this time round as I'm not so keen on walking miles in the pouring rain to get the groceries in ;-)

The sparrows are back - the last few days, I've had a flock of @ 20 or so visiting the feeders. Among them are a few very young ones. Like the goldfinches, I'm amazed they've bred so late in the year. The birdbath, a large 15" plantpot saucer, is proving as popular as the feeders The tomatoes are finally beginning to return a few ripe ones. I grew both Gardener's Delight and a large fruiting heritage variety, Brandywine, which make delicious tomato steaks. As for crickets, I stand corrected, they are indeed (more) active at night - I've had to conduct cricket rescues from the bedroom a couple of times recently. Thanks to all this rain, the lawn is now the same shade of luminous green :-)

Burning blims or moths.. During an infestation of moths years ago, I bought some moth repellant sachets which I hung off the clothes rail - it seemed to do the job nicely. As this was during the pre-web era, I had to buy them from a hardware shop. Nowadays, it's quite easy to find similar products online: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Moth-Killer-hanging-unit-RENTOKIL/dp/B002DYARYK/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

apple

My name is not, as you've come to believe, The Minkey.

I envy you your ripening tomatoes. What with one thing and another, I got mine going far too late this year and the crop will be small and late, if they manage to ripen at all. Watching the bird life out the window, I'm amazed to see a pair of goldfinch fledglings, fluttering their wings to be fed - could this be a third brood? It seems really late in the year for dependent youngsters. The parent birds have got the hang of the sunflower heads at last and are busy picking out the seeds. Last year, the squirrels made off with them, whole heads at a time.

RosieH: Margerine is a non-dairy spread. It's also full of crap. Gimme a bit o'butter anyday ;-) My hometown of Porthcawl is really excited about phase 1 of its 'regeneration project' - Tesco is coming to town. Hurrah, says the locals, just what we need. It's going to be sited close to the seafront on a bit of land that currently serves as a carpark. What incentive have Tesco produced in order to set up shop? Why, they're on a promise to create a carpark. Hurrah, says the locals, just what we need. Meanwhile, half the businesses along the high st will be forced out of business. Tesco - a pox upon their house.

I'm totally with DJKillaQueen on this one: Those are the conditions writ large - don't understand why people are arguing it..