Hi there - sorry there has been a bit of a delay in updates, I ended up having a bit of a holiday! First, I went with my wife, Zoe, to Rewilding Combeshead - north of Dartmoor. This is a fascinating project - sprung from Derek Gow's ecological consultancy work, which in turn led to him breeding water voles and beavers, among many other species. Went for a walk on the first evening and got some gorgeous views of beavers - astonishing ecosystem engineers. Hence the non-hedgehog photo! I cannot recommend a holiday there highly enough (though for transparency sake I should say he gifted me space on his field - though we have been working to help promote his enterprise too).
From there we went to Bath and a night in the poshest hotel I have ever been to - the Royal Crescent - the bed was amazingly huge! The bathroom bigger than all of our downstairs at home! And this too was from the barter economy - I had done a lecture for them earlier in the year and they offered to pay me in a night at the hotel so was able to surprise my wife with a night of luxury! This was not entirely random - the hotel had noted hedgehogs on their grounds and had asked me to help by offering suggestions for keeping them safe.
Enough of that, sorry - though I am interested in how these reciprocal relationships grow, and how important they are in building resilience in society .... I imagine some of you will have found that the process of asking neighbours about making hedgehog holes has kickstarted the sort of support networks that really turns streets into communities.
So, talking of holes ... the competition for Britains Biggest Hedgehog Highway is still running - until 10th September - so get your entries logged soon. I am so looking forward to seeing what comes from this - and while Kirtlington will take some beating, when I was talking at an event in Liss, Hampshire, I was amazed at how determined they seemed to top Kirtlington! Maybe let me have a sneak preview (drop a note onto the Hedgehog Highways Facebook Group (if you use FB)).
The competition has led to me doing lots of local BBC Radio interviews - anyone hear me? Some more interested presenters than others ... one just introduced me as a 'hedgehog nut' to which I took exception (I was tired!) - every interview the challenge is to get the information I need to get across without too much distraction from questions I am being asked!
Anyone near Cambridge on Bank Holiday Monday? I am a Patron for Shepreth Wildlife and Conservation Charity, which runs a hedgehog rescue next to the small zoo. 29th August there is a Hedgehog Day - I will be talking about our work (from within a tigers' cage ... from which I hope the tigers have been removed) as well as delivering a full talk in the large lecture hall. It is always a wonderful day out - loads of enthusiastic hedgehog people all in one space!!
Closer to home, for me at least, I will be talking about hedgehogs (you know my wife teases me about this ... oh, what was that interview about she will ask, all disingenuous ... or what are you giving a talk about ... she knows very well that there is little more than hedgehogs in my brain!) in Kennington, just outside Oxford, on September 3rd ... just in case you are near!
Okay - that should do for now - I am writing this while awaiting the bad news from the mechanics doing my car's MOT ... not looking forward to hearing how bad it is ... as I handed over the keys I was asked whether there was anything of value in the car - and as they said that I remembered ... 'yes, my beaver stick' - the look I got!!! Had to explain it was a stick that had been gnawed by a beaver and it was valuable to me!
Finally - wish me (and Pip) luck .... Thursday is GCSE results day ... and good luck to all of you out there in a similar moment of apprehension!