While excavating our study I came across buried treasure in the shape of my old nature diary. It was homework for the Easter holidays in 1964 and the combined efforts of my mum and dad won me first prize. As it's the only first prize I've (well I think I had some input) ever won I kept it but had forgotten where I had put it. Reading it was very sweet as I had dutifully recorded things that I'd seen during a trip down to Devon to stay with my great-aunts and then my one and only visit to Whipsnade Zoo, which my dad had illustrated for me. I think I traced his drawings so it wasn't quite cheating! Inspired by my nature spotting in 1964 I decided to see what I could see while out on a walk this week. In 1964 somebody, probably not me, had spotted a chaffinch, in 2021 I spotted pigeons, seagulls, and a flock of parakeets. The parakeets would have been a 10 days wonder in 1964, now they are rather an annoying nuisance, which probably need culling. I also managed to see a wren, which I was quite happy about, but I do think my bird spotting abilities are rather lacking.
Back to the meme.
February
1. What are your favorite indoor activities?Reading, eating, watching telly, listening to music, the radio or podcasts. I used to enjoy going to the theatre, concerts, ballet, art exhibitions and museums and I hope I will be able to again.
2. What are you favorite outdoors activities?These days mainly walking. I wouldn't say I enjoy gardening but I do do it. In happier times I used to enjoy travelling by train, visiting historic sites, walking in London and by the sea.
3. How do you feel about plastic surgery?Excellent for medical purposes or if dislike of one's features is causing mental health problems. If it's only being done for reasons of vanity I can't see the point. The people who look best in old age are always those whose lived experience shows in their faces.
4. What responsibilities do you think the media have, if any?That's another big question and depends on how you define the media which is a huge and quite disparate area. For broadcasting the original principles Lord Reith put forward for the BBC were to "to inform, to educate and to entertain" and I think they are still good ones today. Obviously (or it should be) a news provider also has a paramount responsibility to the truth and to stay free of political interference in whatever subtle or unsubtle ways it might manifest itself. I would also say that the media in general should take a leaf out of the medical profession's oath and "do no harm", which is where I think social media organisations should take a long, hard look at themselves.
The rest of February's questions are behind the cut.
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