Sorry for the sudden rush of updates - but I felt moved to comment on how today, the most impressively palindromic day of my lifetime - 02022020 - is also Hedgehog Day ... and to point out, as I did on BBC Breakfast this morning, what utter nonsense it is because ...

EVERY DAY IS HEDGEHOG DAY!

Also - the mythology behind this date being somehow hedgehog related is, unfortunately, poppycock! The story was invented by the pet hedgehog keepers of the USA - they decided that Groundhog Day - first celebrated in 1887 in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, had come over from Europe where there was an ancient tradition of Hedgehog Day - where the same thing was true as with the Groundhog - that if it could see its shadow there would be another 40 days of winter.

There is no such tradition and no evidence for one - BUT - where do such traditions come from anyway? They arrive because people invent them - so I am willing to embrace Hedgehog Day - with the caveat that we do not garner it with unnecessary fictional history - and most importantly that we use it as a spur to remind us that every day is hedgehog day!

And in this instance it gave me a great opportunity to get up very early (knowing the alarm is going to go off at 0530 and knowing oversleeping is not an option is, for me, the surest way to ensure I wake at 0230, 0300, 0330 etc) to do two slots on BBC Breakfast. Using this opportunity to talk about the new Hedgehog Street App - the petition and how we can all help hedgehogs by being a little less tidy in the garden. It looks like we recruited at least another thousand signatures ... this is important - lets all keep sharing and encouraging ... 

So - Happy Hedgehog Day to you all - may your prickles never dull!