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Oats, carrots and apples.

https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/105863 Provide a little help to EUCam in his "renegotiation"; you know he really needs our help!

Hi all,seein' as aam guilty of gaan off-topic,withoot realising it till it's done,a thowt a wud set this one away aboot my tame..[???????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!],disabled Herring Gull. Anybody else who looks after an injured/disabled bird or animal,a wud love ti hear from,being an avid wildlife lover!! Mebbe Mods can shift me comments and stories aboot Porcy,[where a strayed a bit!],owa ti heor,alang wi comments applied to him from other Members....is that possible? Just ti re-cap,aav had Percy,[hereinafter referred ti as Porcy!],more than three years since October past. A tuk him in as an outreach carer for Jon at Blyth Wildlife Trust,which was savagely attacked twice last year by scumbags,who wrecked cages,released baby hedgehogs which were being cared for constantly,as they don't hibernate as juveniles,and also released loads of other injured and sick birds and animals,in the middle of winter..leaving them to die. Here's wor Porcy! IMGP8338.AVI

Songs of Separation is a collection of music out on cd 29th of this month. It set me thinking about 'The Wife of Ushers Well' and other traditional songs. i wonder what others think about living in exotic locations far from home. The Highland Clearances and many of our ancestors left these shores for a new life. My own ancestors are include in a clan 'Moffet ' (lots of different spellings ) in the States. Maybe they missed home maybe not. The film 'How to make an American Quilt' is all about a Black American tradition of making a quilt that belongs in your future but signifies your past. Photographs are our past taken with us into the future but there is so much more. i remember singing 'Water of Tyne' at school a tragic tale of not being able to simply cross the river.

Also, it's bloody windy outside. This corresponds with plenty of foreigners coming over here. Statistics, you can't look past them. It's their fault. Close the borders, no more wind. Simple.

People will jump on anything to push the anti immigration card. First it's traffic jams, now this.

Miss Severs begum! Lucky for you Miss Jefferson at the village school had retired by you got there Now she was a REAL battleaxe. She could have taken on the IS and the Taliban single handed.

On the subject of alcohol yesterday evening was Burns Night. Maybe there could be the odd whiskey chaser. Plus a quote or two from Burns remembering that the 'Plans of Mice and Men often go wrong'. Basically 'Gan Canny ' and don't get a 'hangover' You could always have Haggis Neeps and Tattes. My guess it's too hot. (Jealous) Have a great time regardless.

Same from me, Brian but make mine a half!

Have a great celebration with your friends and family.

Have a pint for me Brian, have a great day

Haven’t read through the topic yet but there is possibly a simple reason for those stats. For years the cops have come along to our council meetings and Forum meetings telling us that the crime stats were down. All about the ‘fear of crime’ remember that one! I knew from personal experience that the last thing the cops wanted to do was give you a crime number and the only way to get one for a relatively ‘low’ crime was for an insurance claim. Well guess what, those stats have been used against them to justify cuts in the service! Now anything will get a crime number (directives from Chief Constables and I assume Crime Commissioners) to drive numbers up and show more cops are in fact needed! For my take I think we are about to see the REAL crime figures in areas for the first time!

I'll put it in the next council newsletter Maggie.........great idea.

Have a great celebration Brian, will it be the last before you become a republic?

BTW if you want to know what is happening in the Med, well.. apart for the ever increasing string of sinkings and drowning tragedies reported... all the local illegals have simply b'd off! In fact they'd become so much part of life here the place isn't quite the same. For the first time in years you don't get your supermarket trolley snatched and pushed for you. Seems like they all got Mrs Merkel's invite and headed North whilst the door was still open. Some nice guys amongst them anyone would trust, but many who already have a chip on their shoulder too. They've all got their smartphones and are reporting back to immigrant central where the best benefits are to be had, so I guess Sweden will still be on the list. The people who compute these things say it will be an astonishing four million when the weather improves. Post me some visiting cards and I will hand them out for you - I'm serious!

No, you don't see the word immigrant mentioned do you. The journos are pretty scared to go there. Have a REAL look at what is happening in your adopted country at the moment. At some point the rose coloured spectacles have to come off. Try this one for a start, but there are hundreds more Europe wide (all obviously only isolated incidents). 'She was an angel' First pictures of woman stabbed to death 'by migrant' at refugee centre Actually Sweden the Islamic terrorism hasn't actually started yet. You've got that to come!

Whow to this picture you must be a genius to have found IT blue barby much appreciated A Big THANK YOU.

I think it was an NCB /railways thing - if it worked do it again and don't bugga about wi it!! - pity the council cant learn that!!

Really appreciated Barby! Somehoo not wat a remember,aav aalwis had in me heed a black bridge exactly thi same pattern as the thi Blyth and Wanny ones!![steel construction] A shud be ashamed,a was up there plenty reet up inti thi 60's! Interestingly though,this is similar to what the opencast coal bridge was like,owa the river Bltyth,when thi Acoen Bank site led coal owa the waata ti Bebside pit.

as I previously posted = post beeching - the sidings at choppington station were used to store the steam engines prior to scrapping -- boychilds dream lol

More likely to be that the undergrowth was getting too bad and was cut back in case of fire plus it was winter when the growth was at its lowest. Dont forget steam was still king then and steam chucks out sparks and the viaduct was wood. Track sides were kept a lot neater then than they are now.

What won't we do for our four-legged friends, Vic!

I am quoting myself here! Well as promised here are the photos of the viaduct that took the railway up to the pits. Hope it is appreciated 'cos they took some finding!

On a happier note, these are my 'babies'. They cost me a fortune in crushed oats, sunflower seeds and carrots.They've learned to 'headbut' the bird feeder causing the seeds to gush out onto the ground and wait at the kitchen door for carrots. Not completely tame yet - they won't let me touch them but I can stand among them.

Unfortunately this is not 'unusual'. Found, along with his 4 dead Brothers and sisters, in a cardboard box by the side of the road on a freezing Cold day. Like Porcy, he's hand reared and 5 years on he's living a Life of luxury.

Looking after a Herring Gull has to be a long-term commitment,as the longest recorded lifespan of one,was in America,and the bird lived for a known 42 years,...the average is over thirty years at least! So not to be taken lightly! Fortunately I have generous help from friends who are fishermen,and who donate spare catches from time to time,to help with Percy's upkeep,cos his main diet is from cheap tins of dog meat,which I buy each week,supplemented with tins of cheap sardines as a treat once a week,and food scraps of fat etc,from our table.

Porcy was aboot eight or nine months old on that clip,he hadn't had his first years moult. Note the smaller black beak and dark legs,also his disabled wing which he cannot straighten out,compared to his good wing which is pretty massive when spread fully!