With an Access All Areas pass the opportunities to get some good photos and video footage were endless at this year’s reenergised Edinburgh’s Hogmanay party. These are… Read more “Hogmanay in Edinburgh 2018”
Category: Edinburgh
#2 Today I am……
Setting up a masterclass which you can come along to. I use my phone all the time to make videos and tell stories for my site The Edinburgh… Read more “#2 Today I am……”
Recycling has got me tied up in knots
We live in a World Heritage site. I am reminded of that every time I go out of the front door and look up at the glorious… Read more “Recycling has got me tied up in knots”
Feed the Birds
The RSPB put out a call for the Great Big Garden Birdwatch last month, a very noble enterprise and one which must give them a great deal… Read more “Feed the Birds”
Escapology
In Essex last month police told the public to stay indoors till they investigated a report of a lion which was apparently on the loose in a field there. Except it wasn’t. Or at least it doesn’t seem to have been. The police were eventually stood down and there were no more sightings after that.
The Essex police said:-“Officers had spent Sunday night searching for any trace of an animal and the operation continued on the morning of Monday, August 27. However, the force ended the search at 2pm on Monday after finding no trace of any big cat.”
I visited Dublin Zoo this year, and thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience. The zoo there is flat, unlike ours here in Edinburgh which is perched on the side of a hill, making a visit seem more like an expedition. It was a much more pleasant walk in Dublin where the zoo is part of the Phoenix Park. But the other factor is that the animals have some apparent freedom. In Edinburgh there is a proliferation of cages and wire, whereas in Dublin where they have used moats, water barriers and wide spaces to obvious advantage.
It came as little surprise, to me at least, that a Scarlet Ibis had made a break for freedom from Edinburgh Zoo last month. Apparently, a squirrel had gnawed through part of the cage where she and her fellow beautiful red birds were housed, and before anyone realised, she had literally taken flight. There were several sightings over a few days, and I saw the bird myself one morning down near the River Forth. Twitter went a bit mad about the bird, and several news outlets carried the stories of the various sightings over the time she was at large.
But then the rather sad news came that the bird had been recaptured, and was now back in the zoo. Of course it could have been worse. Some predator could have caught up with Cherry, and her fate could have been a dire one.
But the perverse side of my nature wanted her to have a bit of a life outside for a while, and perhaps even have some more real life adventures.
Of course it might have been different if Cherry had been a lion…..
Trains and boats and planes
In Scotland we have an ongoing transport problem. In some areas of the Highlands there is little or no public transport at all, since the demise of… Read more “Trains and boats and planes”
The Edinburgh Reporter
In Edinburgh we have wonderful buildings and monuments. The city is a World Heritage Site due to the high quality of architecture and the detailed planning used… Read more “The Edinburgh Reporter”
Counting on public accountability
Sir Fred Goodwin, erstwhile head of Royal Bank of Scotland and now public enemy number 1, has got a new job, The Scotsman reports today.… Read more “Counting on public accountability”
Globespan grounded
It’s snowing! At least, here in central Edinburgh it is snowing that horrid slushy, wet stuff that doesn’t even cover the pavements, but makes you feel… Read more “Globespan grounded”
Asimo
What a cute little guy Asimo is. He is shiny and white, looks as though he may be wearing a kind of spacesuit and has… Read more “Asimo”
Strip Searched
Is this an invasion of my privacy? Does this contravene my (newly acquired) human rights in terms of the Human Rights Act 1998 or indeed any rights which I… Read more “Strip Searched”
Phyllis Stephen blogs 