And the winners receive their cup!!

In the middle of all that heat, the brave team from the British Hedgehog Preservation Society headed to Anfield to present Liverpool FC with the 2026 Hedgehog Cup!

There are going to be more pictures on the Substack version of this piece.

You have had the news already, but I thought it would be good just to share the images - and also remind you of the small things that can mean an awful lot to hedgehogs.

Liverpool FC got their mowing equipment labelled with BHPS ‘check’ stickers … this may seem like a small thing, but any steps which encourage the team who maintain the training grounds and surrounding areas to check for hedgehogs (and other wildlife too, of course) before ploughing ahead with mowers and strimmers, is important.

They also added hedgehog houses to the wildlife area beside the training ground - where they have been encouraging other wildlife too. Some of the women’s team spent time on a hedgehog rehabilitation course - learning how to safely handle a rescued hedgehog.

What we hope will happen is that other sports teams, not just football, will recognise the potential they have to do good for nature alongside their principle goal of keeping people fit!

And you can take this on further - a quiet word with the people who manage your local parks and sports fields can really make a difference … all we want is that people ‘think hedgehog’ before they act!

Now that the football is out of the way (…sorry - what was that? There is more football? Maybe there is, but I see no hedgehogs, so will try and ignore it for now!!) I just thought I would share a few other things with you.

First - I am thrilled to have been able to give away two copies of the RSPB Pocket Book of Hedgehogs, and two copies of The Bat Book to the winners of the competition. I had no idea whether that was going to work … so pleased it did!!

Now, in relation to those two new books of mine - I am going to ask a favour. For many it may be unpalatable, but … the reality is that reviews on places like Amazon do make a huge difference to book sales. So, if you feel an urge to help get the words about hedgehog and bat love out to more people, please consider writing a review (obviously if you hated the books, please resist that urge!!!) And - obviously, please buy the book from your local bookshop!

If you have other places you leave reviews - PLEASE - I have re-read them both and I am proud of what I have managed to do … now I just need people to read them.

It is equally valuable if you ask your local library to stock them!

After the flurry of the book launches I dived into one of the busiest times of the year for me as a photographer. No, I don’t do many weddings, my niche is music, initially choirs (it all started when my boy Pip was a chorister at Magdalen College, Oxford) and now on to many other things, including the Oxford Festival of the Arts, for whom I have been charging around like a summer fly (have you noticed an increase in the number of flies that are just taking up residence in your home? Our street WhatsApp group has been discussing it. They seem very reluctant to use the open door/window and would much rather land on a snoozers nose and wake him from his sofa-slumber!)

I love the music, but it is also an important time for me as it may surprise you, despite currently writing my 12th book, writing books is not my main earner!! This summer there has been an ‘early music’ weekend as part of the Festival of the Arts, where music on lutes and theorboes, recorders and the lirone (an instrument I had not seen before and made me think, as many things do, of a hedgehog) took us back to the 17th century.

There was a magical evening where an Italian sand artist created startlingly beautiful images while her companion played the piano. (If you are interested, they can be seen here ... )

The London Symphony Chorus came to Oxford and raised the roof of the Town Hall - I met the festival organiser in a supermarket buying so many bottles of water - it was peak heat that day.

Magdalen College Choir performed Monteverdi’s Vespers - that was a magical night as they sang with the remarkably named ‘His Majesty’s Sagbutts and Cornetts.’ Those two instruments lend a very different feel to the music - a sagbutt is a sort of early trombone, and a cornett, while sounding like a soft trumpet is shaped from a curved piece of wood!

There is still much to see at the Festival - including me! I will be talking about the iconography of hedgehogs (tell me you are surprised!) on 12th July at the Indie Book Fair - before rushing off to see Philip Pullman … I think he might have a bigger crowd!

Oh - and just before I go - THIS just landed in my inbox - Pets Magazine asked me a bunch of questions, to which I tried to provide coherent answers … and they called me a ‘hedgehog hero’!!!! Clearly, flattery will get me to work without payment!!