I don’t often go to the pub - my ears don’t like the noise! But to celebrate my eldest getting into their second year of Uni, after a meal in town, we headed to The Jolly Postboys for a half, with our rescue hound, Ogli.

If you would like to see more photos (including the lovely Ogli!) - or comment - please pop over to the Substack version, thanks.

Hiding around a corner I managed to find a space that was not too loud (it is strange, I can still hear a hedgehog snuffle at quite some distance, I can hear goldcrests high-pitched piping in the cedars in the park, but when beset by the cacophony of a crowd I am left unable to hear a single conversation!) - and had a very pleasant time.

The short walk home required a pause for a pee on the verge (that was Ogli, not me!) and I walked on a few steps before my eyes triggered my brain to stop and look, even before I knew what I was supposed to be stopping and looking for!

Do you get those moments? When your subconscious kicks in so effectively?

And there, in the dark, was the hint of a hedgehog … I asked the other two (and the dog) to stop and look … they had no idea what I was going on about until I put my torch on dim and pointed towards the shape I had seen.

A hedgehog - only the second I have seen in this estate this year. I used to see them every summer, but the last 10+ years they have become a rarity. I get reports of sightings from other people in the area - unsurprisingly, as I am often greeted, apologetically, as if I would mind, with ‘oh, you are hedgehog hugh - sorry, I don’t know your real name!’

So - why the update? Well, as I lay on the grass to look closely (they were a healthy looking youngster, this year’s I am sure, I did not touch and interfere as no sign of any need for help) I was overtaken by a profound sense of awe and wonder. Here I was nose-to-nose with a wonderful, sentient, and beautiful predator - in my estate in east Oxford. And despite it being nearly 40 years since I started my hedgehog journey, I am still as amazed as I was when I started. 

Zoe took a photo as I pondered this - long exposure and me being all Victorian and still - and realised that it comes down to one simple word - ‘love’ - right from the first I have felt a special connection to this animal, and it remains undiminished.

Now some people may see this as odd, or even pathetic, and I am interested in the worry that some have for the sort of ‘confident vulnerability’ that comes with expressions of deep and true feelings. 

This is an idea that the amazing Robin Ince talks about in his most recent book, Normally Weird and Weirdly Normal … I should be honest here, Robin is a friend, but even given my potential bias, please, do track him down as he tours the country, and read his book!

Robin talks about how we can embrace our vulnerabilities, anxieties, and perceived weaknesses, and turn them into strength and connection. It got me thinking about this group - and how many of us would do the same, even if they felt a little silly? Have you ever got down and looked into the eyes of a hedgehog? Let me know (in the Substack version) if you have ever committed acts of confident vulnerability!! 

What also pleased me, in retrospect, about this moment in time with the hedgehog was how genuinely I felt moved by the moment of connection … I have been talking and writing about hedgehogs for so long, but seeing them so rarely, that I did worry the glamour had worn off - that I was just being performative. Well, this showed that was not the case - I am still nuts about our prickly little friends - and I hope you are too!

More odds and ends from me on X, Bluesky and Instagram - have a follow and see what strange things go on in my life that I don’t bother you with on here!!