Our Secretary and Bat Expert went to the clinic of one of our local councillors today and afterwards she telephoned me with some very surprising news. It seems that the present Elected Councillors are every bit as unhappy with the work being done by the contractors in the Borough as is our group.
It seems that they inherited them from the previous Councillors who gave them a very long contract and a carte blanch to do as they pleased. Quite apart from the dreadful damage that they are doing to the environment they are costing the Council Tax payers a fortune. We have been asked to make as much fuss as possible and, if you will pardon the expression, to shake their monkey tree as hard and as often as we can.
I shall be seeing the councillor for our ward soon to do a little more judicious stirring. We thought that we should have to convince the council to curtail their activities but it seems that they are in as much need of our help as we are of theirs! This could not have come at better time as we are shortly to open a blog site and Twitter site for the group and we shall be involving the local press in our campaign. I feel that even people who have no interest whatsoever in the wildlife of this area will be unhappy about the cost of the contractors activities and so we should not find it difficult to gain support for our plans.
After months of banging on doors, endless e mails and telephone calls things seem to be falling into place for us and none too soon as one of our members videoed a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker in one of the threatened areas recently. I have not seen the footage myself but I have no reason to suppose that she would be mistaken as the difference in size between the lesser and the greater Spotted woodpecker is quite marked. Shot species is very rare indeed and we must move quickly to ensure its survival.
I must say that we are getting help from some unexpected quarters and the growth in pout=r membership can only help to spread the word more quickly. It seems likely that we shall form into several groups under an umbrella organisation. Some will deal with listed buildings and planning applications, some with local Parks and green spaces and some with the Allotments. We shall all support each others causes but it will make the fighting that we must undertake on a number of fronts easier to manage if everyone has a job to do in their area of special interest.
One or two of us will be active in all of the groups because of our specialist knowledge and this will keep the groups together and ensure that everyone’s views are heard.
Things are moving quickly now and I must say that our record of success so far has been remarkable considering our limitations. We are a force to be reckoned with and our numbers are growing daily. It is astonishing how many people want to join our fight, astonishing and heartening to those of us who have fought alone for so long. For the first time I really do feel that we have a chance of changing the way in which things are done in this community and that makes me very happy indeed.
Some thing else which cheers me is the thought of my sons home coming tomorrow, I cannot tell you haw much I have missed him, his cheerfulness and his jokes. I shall have his favourite meal ready for dinner and the biggest hug you can imagine. The fog which has shrouded the moors all week lifted today and he climbed the Tor in sunshine, to look over Kinder Scout and the Dales. I heartily recommend The Peak District to any one who loves to walk in wild places. Wynatts Pass .Burbage Ridge, and the lovely Manifold Valley are just a few of the spectacular places to visit. There is a stone circle at Arbour Low and of course The Grey Ladies, four mysterious stones in a wild and lonely place. There is Haddon Hall and Chatsworth house, Peveril Castle And more Caves than I can remember. If you like Pleasure Park there s Alton Towers and in Matlock Bath Gulliver’s Kingdom specially for the little ones and some of the most amazing caves plus a cable car which will take you from the town to the top of the Heights of Abraham.
Pa has been wonderful today helping me with the chores and larking about, there was a time when I thought we should b[never have times like this again and I am grateful for every day that he comes back to us. We shall have been together for forty years next June and I am planning some thing special to mark the occasion...more about that another time.
For now my son is coming home and I have Christmas to prepare for, more Christmas cakes to bake and decorations to put up, I love Christmas with all my heart, the sparkle, the fun, the pleasure of meeting old friends and making new ones. There is the joy of sharing with others the fruits of our harvest, the light and warmth of Festival. I may not be a Christian but I will not split hairs about who's festival it is , anything which makes people care about each other and share a common joy is fine with me. The birth of a child or a festival of light, either way it is a pledge for the future of all man kind and as such I embrace it happily.
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