"Thinking like a Geographer" (OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO)

I love this.....absolutely brilliant. My classes will be watching this.

Talking Dog Prince - That's Life: SAUSAGES!

Olympic Park - Habitats for Humans

http://queenelizabetholympicpark.co.uk/

I was lucky to visit the recently-opened Olympic Park today and what an eye-opener it was. It was a classic urban mix of native wildlife - reed-filled fringes of the River Lea alive with reed warblers jostling with 'meadows' of arable weeds - and the exotic.....the largest terrapin I have ever seen swam lazily down the river below the bridge on which we stood. Otter holts have been installed and japanese knotweed 'removed'. I would love to know how they did that! All very impressive and it shows that habitats can be created very successfully with sufficient investment.

Totternhoe Knolls, near Dunstable.

Today was the longest day of the year and what a glorious one. We decided to visit a site that I was aware of but had never visited before - Totternhoe Knolls, a small area of chalk hills close to the edge of Dunstable on the Beds/Bucks border. We were not disappointed. Butterflies were present in profusion and we saw plenty of day-flying burnet moths and the black and yellow-striped caterpillar of the cinnabar moth feeding on ragwort. The flora was also incredibly diverse. The highlight of the visit for me was hearing a corn bunting - a jangling 'song' that really reminds me of the South Downs of twenty years ago - but a far less familiar sound these days.We didn't hear any turtle doves although they were seen there in May. The trig point at the summit appears to be sited on the remains of an old hill fortification and affords great views to the north and towards the Chilterns in the South. I am sure we will be visiting this lovely spot again in the near future.

Unemployment Insurance History Of The World

Some good newts........

I was having a bit of a tidy-up in the garden last weekend and decided to move around a few pots. After finding numerous clusters of snails, I noticed a small cluster of newts, barely a few centimetres long, wedged tightly within some damp gravel. I carefully moved them to a safe place while the work was ongoing and then put them back, still together, where I had found them. It never ceases to amaze me how wildlife can find a home so close to us and go completely unnoticed.

Meet Migaloo: Extremely rare white whale spotted off Australia coast

Tony Yeboah - Leeds United Goals - All 32

This man had everything. Pace, strength, skill and integrity. It was a privilege to see him play and I wonder what he would be worth in today's football transfer market. The early goals are good but fairly standard stuff....but some of his later ones......

Tenpole Tudor - Swords of a 1000 Men

Rik Mayall's Noble England (OFFICIAL VIDEO)

McDonald's World Cup 2014 Advert

Rik Mayall Live 1981

15 Top Rik Moments

Boring Cornflakes - The Young Ones - BBC

Plants in close-up.........

Fledgling blue tit......

This baby blue tit, along with three others, had just emerged from a rather deep nest box in my back garden and had obviously exhausted itself in the process. You can hear the others calling in the background. They are incredibly vulnerable to predators at this stage and stay well-hidden. Their biggest enemy, however, is rain and low temperatures. Outside the nest and the warmth of brooding parents or their brothers and sisters they can very quickly become chilled, weaken and die. This weekend's predicted downpours are particularly unwelcome for that reason....

Environmental Science & Weather : How Does Hail Form?

http://www.express.co.uk/news/nature/480038/Shock-UK-weather-warning-Tornadoes-hail-thunderstorms-and-lightning-to-ravage-Britain



Not that the Daily Express ever exaggerates impending weather events (weren't we supposed to have a hundred days of snow starting last November....?) Warm unstable air from the Continent does look as though we will be having some pretty hefty thunderstorms initially on Saturday but hopefully that will be a precursor to a spell of warmer weather. The real tragedy concerns the huge number of recently-fledged birds who will become soaked and chilled and inevitably die over the next few days.....