Taexalia
wild.life
Worrying Decline at Isle of May Puffin Site
BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Decline at biggest UK puffin site Regular readers will know that I am a regular visitor to the Scottish Seabird Centre where I enjoy getting up close with the bird colonies that nest on the Forth Islands via some funky remote control camera links. Sadly the Puffins in the Forth are facing challenges these days that put their longterm presence in the Firth of Forth at risk. Volunteers have spent winters cutting back the non-native Tree Mallow plants that have ... read more
Oily Thorn
"It's Scotland's oil." This has long been a call to arms for nationalists in Scotland. I have even been known to mutter about the fact that Scotland is oft referred to as the only nation in the world to have struck oil and become poorer. I remember seeing graffiti as a youngster, I think it was on that railway bridge on the A96 that now has traffic lights (ye ken the een that has the 45 degree blin corner and sometimes a neddie in the field on the richt heading North?) - the graffiti said ... read more
Salmond Met With Trump Golf Team The Night Before Ministers Called In The Application…
"Mr Salmond is forbidden to take part in the planning process."Salmond's Meeting with Trump Team This is not my opinion, it is written into the role of First Minister and should be adhered to by anyone holding the role of First Minister. Since Alex Salmond has been very vocal this week in demanding Wendy Alexander resign over allegations of sleaze, I would like to ask Alex Salmond to resign because it seems to me that his actions are just as questionable. Mr Salmond says ~ "As first ... read more
*Stuff*
I have been thinking about *stuff* today, actually I've been thinking about *stuff* for some time. I mean I seem to be on a constant collision course with *stuff* - tidying it, organising it, de-cluttering it, recycling it, getting depressed about it and wondering just how we manage to accumulate it. I don't even buy that much, aside from books so I'm really not a big offender in the shopaholic consumer field. This year I have donated bags and boxes of *stuff* to charity in an attempt to ... read more
Martin Ford Speaks About Decision To Reject Trump Plans
Original 106 Aberdeen - Martin Ford Podcast This is a very interesting piece that was broadcast this morning. It is clear that the media in Aberdeen/Aberdeenshire is biased - listen to the interviewer interrupt Martin Ford as he speaks which is yet another form of bullying. There is absolutely no need to build on the SSSI and the importance of the SSSI is the major reason this application should be refused. The issue of building on the SSSI is of importance to everyone in the UK - because ... read more
Strange Happenings In The Corridors Of Power
Well the controversy about the sand dunes at Menie Estate continues. Quite why people think it is OK to ignore the SSSI status of this site is something that concerns me because this is not just about Donald Trump, this is about the conservation of our natural habitat all over these islands - if the SSSI status of these dunes is ignored then how many more developers will argue their right to build on them? Now the Scottish Government have "called in" the plans, and Martin Ford is facing a no ... read more
Is Aberdeenshire Council Corrupt???
Regular readers know my feelings about Donald Trump and his plans to annihilate a sand dune system to turn it into a golf resort resplendent with a monstrous hotel that would blight the landscape, hundreds of houses and some condo towers. The fact that these sand dunes are now a rare type of eco-system and have SSSI status seems to be ignored by Trump, his organisation and various people in Aberdeenshire. It was a short moment of celebration when it was announced that the infrastructure ... read more
Trump Trumped!
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/north_east/7118105.stm Breaking News - Donald Trump's plans to build tower blocks, houses and golf courses on 4,000 year old sand dunes with SSSI status have been rejected! I am lost for words over how ecstatic I am to be typing ... read more
Eco-Friendly Cleaning Is The *Most* Fun!
I kid you not, I have just had a blast! I am now bereft because my wee abode only boasts three plug-holes and I am considering going door to door with my cup and ingredients offering to do domestics for free. You see I am a child of consumerism, by the time I came along marketing had become big business and the simple pleasures in life had been obscured by catchphrases teaching us that the only way to domesticity was the use of the latest triple action wonder product. The problem is that ... read more
Donald Trump – Environmental Destruction – Trumpton and Aberdeenshire
Nope. He hasn't run away with his tail between his legs yet. He even promised to if we said we didn't want him. We even wrote to his friend neil@trumpgolfscotland.com and told him - which was funny because if you were an American you got a lovely paragraph from said Neil explaining how positive the people of Scotland were towards the idea. If you were, like me, actually from Scotland you got a curt one liner telling you your comments had been noted (translation - ignored and deleted). So if ... read more
Little White Balls
Yes the landscape of the North East of Scotland is yet again being recognised, and who can blame anyone for falling in love with that area of the world? I'm biased because I was born there and, despite accidentally moving to Edinburgh and settling here five years ago, I'm still a local quine, ken? "Ury Estate is a fantastic landscape that commands great views across the surrounding countryside and out to the North Sea, offering us a wonderful opportunity." Sounds good that quote, doesn't ... read more
