Town v Down

It was very warm this morning as we walked through part of the “Golden Valley”. This lush and fertile flat farmland between the Cotswolds to the east and The Malverns to the west is one of the “gardens” of England. Apples and asparagus from the Vale of Evesham. Wheat and maize in the mini prairies that were being harvested as we walked. The imminent rain maybe a factor in this early urgency.

If you look closely at my blip you will see a crop of a different kind - new houses! They seem to be consuming farmland at an alarming rate. We saw one immediate casualty of this development; a poorly vole struggling slowly up the bank with flies feasting on its demise.

There’s no denying that we are short of houses across the U.K. but there’s also no denying that our natural habitat is under serious threat as these much needed homes sprout everywhere.

The Tokyo Olympics continue to entertain us. In 1986 I was a volunteer driver at the Edinburgh Commonwealth Games. I was issued with an 80’s uniform. Initially I was in the VIP pool but there were insufficient VIPs in the early days so, as I had a minibus driving certificate I was promoted to become a dedicated driver to the Canadian team. Two contrasting journeys stick in my memory. The first was taking the Canadian weightlifters from the village to Meadowbank. The suspension on the brand new bus creaked groaned and “grounded” on every corner. By contrast, taking the Canadian synchronised swimmers (now called artistic swimmers!) to practice at Rosyth MoD pool I was unaware I had any passengers at all. Before I drove them back to the village they invited me into watch their routine! No camera phones or social media back then!