Jamie's 21st birthday party.
Thursday, 23 April 2009
“Protest long enough that you are right, and you will be wrong”...
G20 Protest pics. Fun day out... until the police showed up.
jme
Sunday, 19 April 2009
Red Kite Progress (Written by Jamie for CBTR)
Whether it be the looming silhouette of a Buzzard circling high above or the grayish blur of a Sparrow Hawk whizzing along the hedgerows, there are few sights more exciting than that of a bird of prey, and none more so than the distinctive Red Kite. The forked tail and chestnut-red colouration is immediately recognisable and rather surprisingly a very familiar site to me. I get to witness these magnificent birds almost every day of the week. But how is it that a rare bird I would have had to travel to Mid Wales in hope of spotting a few years ago, is now suddenly thriving on my doorstep (as pictured below), amidst the suburban sprawl of Woodley?
The truth is that once upon a time the Red Kite was as much a London bird as the Ravens in the Tower of London. The streets of Shakespeare's capital were full of Red Kites. "The city of kites and crows," he calls it. Surprisingly, Red Kites are neither particularly strong nor aggressive despite being such large birds (with a wingspan of up to five-foot). They are primarily scavengers and opportunists, which is what made them so successful in 16th century London, feeding on the plentiful rubbish in the streets. The Kite is not capable of opening up sheep or lamb carcasses by itself and has to wait until more powerful birds such as Ravens or Buzzards have made the first inroads before it will attempt to feed. Red Kites are however predators and do take a wide variety of live prey such as earthworms, small mammals, amphibians and birds. They usually pair for life, although this is thought to be more because of a mutual attachment to the same territory and nest site, rather than any great attachment to each other. He he.
Persecution meant that these birds were exterminated in England, Scotland and most of Wales by the end of the last century. This was due to a series of vermin acts set out in the 16th century, requiring 'vermin' which included the Red Kite to be killed, perceived as a threat to expanding agriculture. Such persecution continued throughout the 17th and 18th centuries and the final blow came towards the end of the 18th century, when increasing numbers of Gamekeepers were employed on country estates. These men were responsible for killing off the final few Kites and by the late 18th century Red Kites had bred for the last time in England and Scotland. If it wasn't for the initiative of a few local landowners in rural Mid Wales, who had the foresight to safeguard these beautiful birds, the Red Kite would have probably reached extinction, down to only a final few breeding pairs. It is said that the Red Kite was so close to extinction, at one point the entire population of Kites in 1977 emanated from just one female bird!
Over a period of a 100 years efforts to maintain a fragile breeding population were made by committed generations of landowners, rural communities and dedicated individuals. Then in 1903 the first official Welsh Kite Protection Program was established, now the longest continuous conservation project in the world. In 1989 British conservationists began ambitious schemes in the Chilterns to reintroduce Milvus milvus to its former haunts, using a few young Welsh birds. Red Kites started breeding successfully in the Chilterns area and eventually in 1999 up to over 130 breeding pairs were recorded. So successful have the re-introduction programs been that in the latest assessment birds of conservation concern in the UK 2002-2007, the RSPB removed the Red Kite from it's red list (species of highest concern), to it's amber list (species of medium conservation concern), an action that was unthinkable when the last assessments were made in 1996.
So the next time you're out and about, driving down the M40 to your favorite fishing spot, keep a look out for this amazing bird. Alternatively, you could wait a few years and you may see one flying above Nike Town on Oxford Street! Still very much at risk from Egg thieves and the use of illegal poisoned baits, I hope these beautiful birds are allowed to continue there success and grace our skies for centuries to come.
jme
The truth is that once upon a time the Red Kite was as much a London bird as the Ravens in the Tower of London. The streets of Shakespeare's capital were full of Red Kites. "The city of kites and crows," he calls it. Surprisingly, Red Kites are neither particularly strong nor aggressive despite being such large birds (with a wingspan of up to five-foot). They are primarily scavengers and opportunists, which is what made them so successful in 16th century London, feeding on the plentiful rubbish in the streets. The Kite is not capable of opening up sheep or lamb carcasses by itself and has to wait until more powerful birds such as Ravens or Buzzards have made the first inroads before it will attempt to feed. Red Kites are however predators and do take a wide variety of live prey such as earthworms, small mammals, amphibians and birds. They usually pair for life, although this is thought to be more because of a mutual attachment to the same territory and nest site, rather than any great attachment to each other. He he.
Persecution meant that these birds were exterminated in England, Scotland and most of Wales by the end of the last century. This was due to a series of vermin acts set out in the 16th century, requiring 'vermin' which included the Red Kite to be killed, perceived as a threat to expanding agriculture. Such persecution continued throughout the 17th and 18th centuries and the final blow came towards the end of the 18th century, when increasing numbers of Gamekeepers were employed on country estates. These men were responsible for killing off the final few Kites and by the late 18th century Red Kites had bred for the last time in England and Scotland. If it wasn't for the initiative of a few local landowners in rural Mid Wales, who had the foresight to safeguard these beautiful birds, the Red Kite would have probably reached extinction, down to only a final few breeding pairs. It is said that the Red Kite was so close to extinction, at one point the entire population of Kites in 1977 emanated from just one female bird!
Over a period of a 100 years efforts to maintain a fragile breeding population were made by committed generations of landowners, rural communities and dedicated individuals. Then in 1903 the first official Welsh Kite Protection Program was established, now the longest continuous conservation project in the world. In 1989 British conservationists began ambitious schemes in the Chilterns to reintroduce Milvus milvus to its former haunts, using a few young Welsh birds. Red Kites started breeding successfully in the Chilterns area and eventually in 1999 up to over 130 breeding pairs were recorded. So successful have the re-introduction programs been that in the latest assessment birds of conservation concern in the UK 2002-2007, the RSPB removed the Red Kite from it's red list (species of highest concern), to it's amber list (species of medium conservation concern), an action that was unthinkable when the last assessments were made in 1996.
So the next time you're out and about, driving down the M40 to your favorite fishing spot, keep a look out for this amazing bird. Alternatively, you could wait a few years and you may see one flying above Nike Town on Oxford Street! Still very much at risk from Egg thieves and the use of illegal poisoned baits, I hope these beautiful birds are allowed to continue there success and grace our skies for centuries to come.
jme
Friday, 20 March 2009
Sunday, 15 March 2009
Zippy
Starg and I wear QOS zip top and cardigan backstage at The Lexington.
www.queensofsounds.com
jst
Wednesday, 4 March 2009
Sunday, 1 March 2009
Beggars Belief
by Linda Serck
Reading's Beggars are ditching all their old songs to forge ahead with a brand new sound. BBC Berkshire laments, while co-frontman Justin Girdler assures us it's a step in the right direction.
Well, after writing this I may as well get my copy of Beggar's promo album sampler and fling it in the bin.
The jaunty gems on that disc, once the staple of the 60s and Libertines-influenced Reading band, are making way for a whole new direction in sound.
"We're still writing pop songs," co-frontman Justin Girdler assures me, detecting the disappointment in my voice, "it's not like we've gone into opera or something ridiculous, we've pushed our sound a lot recently and we've come up with quite a new modern twist on things."
Beggars formed three years ago with brothers Justin and Jamie Girdler fronting a band infused with infectious harmonic pop hooks redolent of The Beatles, The Kinks and The **’s.
Now songs such as You And Me, Eulalia and Someday Too Soon are being scrapped - for good.
"We got into a lot of different music over the last few years," says Justin. "When we first took the band seriously we were very much 60s boys and all of our influences were coming out of that time period.
"I think just naturally we started looking for newer inspiration and something a bit fresher - we've always been the type of band that moved on."
Two new demos have made it on to their MySpace - Lie Upon Lie and Tolerate. While the guitar-driven pop is still prevalent, the darker electronica kick to the tracks is certainly a far cry from their Beatles-esque harmonic sing-a-longs of old.
"We wanted to have more of an upbeat thing and we wanted to bring in more synth sounds and a bit more of a funky feel to some songs," says Justin.
He cites Michael Jackson among the band's current influences.
"He's got that nice mix of modern upbeat dancey sound, but with quite soully vocals and 'pop'."
Beggars recorded the demos with Ferg '500' Peterkin, who's worked with Depeche Mode and The Horrors, "so he's really good with twisting knobs and making funny sounds."
And the band are currently holed up in the studio rehearsing and recording more songs.
"We're really confident with the new stuff," says Justin. "We just hope people are ready for it. I think new our songs a lot more exciting, we've got some really great choruses in the new stuff and some interesting things going on.
"We're just not the skinny-jeaned indie band that people remember from a few years ago."
Reading's Beggars are ditching all their old songs to forge ahead with a brand new sound. BBC Berkshire laments, while co-frontman Justin Girdler assures us it's a step in the right direction.
Well, after writing this I may as well get my copy of Beggar's promo album sampler and fling it in the bin.
The jaunty gems on that disc, once the staple of the 60s and Libertines-influenced Reading band, are making way for a whole new direction in sound.
"We're still writing pop songs," co-frontman Justin Girdler assures me, detecting the disappointment in my voice, "it's not like we've gone into opera or something ridiculous, we've pushed our sound a lot recently and we've come up with quite a new modern twist on things."
Beggars formed three years ago with brothers Justin and Jamie Girdler fronting a band infused with infectious harmonic pop hooks redolent of The Beatles, The Kinks and The **’s.
Now songs such as You And Me, Eulalia and Someday Too Soon are being scrapped - for good.
"We got into a lot of different music over the last few years," says Justin. "When we first took the band seriously we were very much 60s boys and all of our influences were coming out of that time period.
"I think just naturally we started looking for newer inspiration and something a bit fresher - we've always been the type of band that moved on."
Two new demos have made it on to their MySpace - Lie Upon Lie and Tolerate. While the guitar-driven pop is still prevalent, the darker electronica kick to the tracks is certainly a far cry from their Beatles-esque harmonic sing-a-longs of old.
"We wanted to have more of an upbeat thing and we wanted to bring in more synth sounds and a bit more of a funky feel to some songs," says Justin.
He cites Michael Jackson among the band's current influences.
"He's got that nice mix of modern upbeat dancey sound, but with quite soully vocals and 'pop'."
Beggars recorded the demos with Ferg '500' Peterkin, who's worked with Depeche Mode and The Horrors, "so he's really good with twisting knobs and making funny sounds."
And the band are currently holed up in the studio rehearsing and recording more songs.
"We're really confident with the new stuff," says Justin. "We just hope people are ready for it. I think new our songs a lot more exciting, we've got some really great choruses in the new stuff and some interesting things going on.
"We're just not the skinny-jeaned indie band that people remember from a few years ago."
Mulholland Drive
A puzzling, peculiarly strange nightmare. Mulholland drive left me creeping, perplexed and terrified up the stairs to my room last night!
David Lynch's mysterious 2001 film contains a typically weird character base; paraplegics, lesbian amnesiacs and eccentric espresso connoisseurs are blended curiously with seemingly ordinary everyday people.
Shortly after arriving in Hollywood, bright-eyed, aspiring actress Betty stumbles upon Rita, still reeling from the car accident the previous night. The two begin to piece together suspicious clues to discover who Rita really is (or was) before the crash and what trouble she seems to be in. Subplots converge like switching characters and settings in dreams, providing clues themselves to what appears to be going on.
More complex than Blue Velvet, though at least as strange, channelling the nightmare vision of Eraserhead with the undertones of terror contained in Roman Polanski's Rosemary's Baby. Set aside the early hours of a Sunday morning and i have a morbid hope it does the same for you as for me!
dan w.
Mulholland Drive
(David Lynch, 2001)
Tuesday, 24 February 2009
Import/Export...
Ulrich Seidl's Import/Export is a bleak societal commentary on the inevitable exploitation brought on by capitalism. It's documentary style narrative tracks the opposing routes of Olga a Ukrainian single mum and Pauli an Austrian head-strong security guard. It drags you through the depressing truths of life at the bottom of the food chain and the decency that persists even in the most soul destroying situations. It is both shockingly beautiful and darkly funny. You simply gotta watch this film!.... at a comfortable distance!
jme
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