I am so delighted to be able to announce the arrival, soon, of my latest book, Five Nights Out. 

There is a chance to comment and see more photos over on the substack version of this update (FREE to join up - only pay if you can afford to)

I have had the pleasure of working with the publishers Graffeg for a few years now - we have done monographs on hedgehogs, beavers, water voles - and bats (coming next spring). They contacted me to ask if I would consider writing a short book for the Quick Reads series - about hedgehogs.

That would have been my 4th hedgehog book (I have a 4th in mind and it was not going to be this one - I would have ended up plagiarising myself!) So - we had a chat and over just 10 minutes or so I developed the idea of Five Nights Out.

My many years of studying hedgehogs have really developed my love of the nocturnal life. We miss so much if we ignore the night. This was to be a short book, aimed at people who might have dropped out of the habit of reading, that brought the thrills of the night to life - and is only possible thanks to the Books Council of Wales.

And rather than concentrate on hedgehogs I suggested I bring in five animals - yes, there had to be hedgehogs, but they share the book with badgers, owls, bats and moths. Very short chapters just illuminating the wonder of the life that carries on when we are tucked up in bed.

Oh - why not give you a sneak peak - here are the first three paragraphs!

We are an animal of the day. We rely on our eyes to bring in the most important information about the world around us. Yes, we use our other senses, sound, smell, taste and touch to help paint a fuller picture, but it is sight that is key.

It can be easy to think that we live in a daylight world – we see the flowers, hear the birds, watch butterflies – then we go to bed and it all stops. Or rather, we stop paying attention.

However, what goes on at night is every bit as, and I would argue often more exciting, than what is around in the day. If we shut our doors, windows and curtains, we could be missing out on half of the life with which we share the world around us.

The title was in part inspired by my son’s passion for a game called Five Nights at Freddies - and apparently the designers have accidentally gone for very similar font too! 

Anyway - the book is officially launched on the 24th September - it will be available through your local bookshops - they might have to order it - but otherwise there is the evil empire with stocks ready to go … and I have not even seen a copy yet!!

So hope you enjoy it and I REALLY would love people to splash out an extra £1 (oh, I forgot to say, the book is only £1!!!!) and get a copy for your local school too …

In other news - promo time again.

I am doing an event at Thyme, Lechlade - being interviewed about my work on hedgehogs and wider conservation issues. 

And please consider a massive Christmas treat to yourself with a ticket for the fundraising ball I am hosting at Kings College, Cambridge … well, I say hosting - all I am doing is acting as the Master of Ceremonies - the good fundraisers from Shepreth Wildlife Conservation Charity are doing the hard work.

This will be to celebrate the wildlife park’s 40th anniversary and the fact that they have raised over £650,000 for conservation around the world so far. 

And finally - if you are at a loose end this weekend, there is the last (well, nearly) festival of the year taking place in Oxfordshire - SeptemberSong is the autumn sibling of the wonderful Wood festival at which I host the Kindling stage. I will be talking on Saturday at 1155 about Linescapes, about habitat connection - in particular reconnection - so LOTS about Hedgehog Street and the work to try and get our gardens joined up!