#national hedgerow week

[jaketeachesdeath]

Its also the end of #nationalhedgerowweek did you know that our Hedgerows support 130 Biodiversity Action Plan species amongst those are lots of Lichens and Moths.

Theres also a fair amount of Birds as youd imagine.

Dunnock, House Sparrow, Starling, Bullfinch, Lesser Redpoll and Tree Sparrow are all species which rely on hedgerows for feeding and nesting.

But its not just Birds, Reptiles and Amphibians are also reliant on hedgerows as fantastic corridors away from the eyes of predators.

Common Lizard, Common Toad and Slow Worms are often discovered when carrying out important maintenance.

Theres also other insects that need hedgerows to thrive.

Stag Beetles, Brown Hairstreak and Brown Banded Carder Bee require hedgerows. However the Carder Bee is found exclusively in Coastal regions of England and Wales and the Hairstreak sadly only to small pockets of locations across southern and western England and Wales.

And lastly Mammals, obviously there's the Hedgehogs but lots of Bat species use them for hunting grounds sweeping up and down the clearings surrounded them and even roosting!

(Stag Beetles are from Europe, Brown Hairstreak is a Bred specimen from 1979 and Brown Banded Carder Bee is a from 2015, Slow worm was gifted from Birmingham in 2023 none of which were collected by me)

12/05/24

[reasonsforhope]

"In west England, a series of hills cloaked in heather and wildflowers are the target of a national restoration project that is already seeing success.

Similar to the story GNN reported on last week about the rewilding along the south coast and South Downs National Park, Sussex, volunteers are seeding old hay fields with native wildflowers and replanting traditional hedgerows to ensure wildlife can move freely through the region.

The region is called the Shropshire Hills, which by British law is designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and is managed and controlled so this beauty can endure. But while the area is indeed beautiful, the valley between the sections of hills known as Long Mynd and Stiperstones has for decades been under heavy hay cultivation, with farmers plowing up meadows and planting fast-growing commodity grasses.

As part of a project by the UK’s National Trust called Stepping Stones, volunteers have been working with landowners and local councils to turn some of these meadows back over to the wildlife, creating corridors of habitat to allow species like the bilberry bumblebee, pine marten, and curlews to move freely from hilltop to valley floor and back to hilltop.

Charlie Bell, project manager for Stepping Stones, told the BBC that the project is one part of an overall mission that aims to restore 97% of meadows that have been lost in the UK over the last 100 years.

“Many old meadows have been plowed up and re-seeded with more productive mixes of grasses,” she told the national broadcaster. “Fertilizers are often added to increase the growth of these dominant productive grasses, at the expense of finer grass species and wildflowers.”

Jinlye Meadows, on the Long Mynd side of the valley, is now thriving with native wildflower species like mountain pansy, and volunteers have recorded the area is thriving with bilberry bumblebees which are rare and in decline.

In particular, the meadows were covered last year in yellow rattle, also known as the “meadowmaker,” a key part of Ms. Bell’s strategy for restoring meadows. This native species attaches itself to the roots of grasses, slowing, but not sabotaging, their growth. This allows not only the flower to grow, but space for all manner of other flowers to grow as the grasses’ growth is [slowed down]."

-Article via Good News Network, July 11, 2024. Video via NT Midlands, June 19, 2023.

[eaglesnick]

“The Nation that destroys its soil destroys itself” – Franklin D Rooevelt

Last week I heard an inheritance tax bemoaning farmer claiming he was a “custodian" of the countryside as if that claim alone should exempt him from tax. But he is not the only one making this claim:

Sue Pritchard, Chief Executive of the Food, Farming and Countryside Commission said she sees:

“... farmers both as custodians of the countryside as well as food producers, putting nature-based farming at the heart of our future agricultural policy..."  (ffcc.co.uk: ‘Farmers are custodians of the countryside' 30/11/20)

The Farmers Union also claims British farmers are “custodians of the iconic British landscape." (NFU General Election Manifesto 2024) and accused the Labour government of “betrayal" with regard to the changes in inheritance tax.

The dictionary definition of “custodian" is:

 "A person who has responsibility for protecting or taking care of something or keeping something in good condition".

Lets examine how well British farmers have protected and taken care of Britain’s iconic landscape and the wildlife that lives within it.

Since the 1970’s 41% of all UK wildlife species have declined – mammals, amphibians, birds, reptiles, and insects. One of the main reasons for this is the intensification of agricultural methods.

“More than 50 conservation groups say the "policy-driven" intensification of farming is a significant driver of nature loss in the UK. The State of Nature report assessed 8,000 UK species and found that one in 10 are threatened with extinction."  (BBC News: 14/09/2016)

Needless to say farm leaders disputed the findings. Yet a team of ornithologists, zoologists, biologists and ecologists reported that the chief cause of declining bird populations in the UK was due to the use of pesticides and herbicides by farmers. Runoff from farms, including fertilizers and animal waste pollute waterways and soil, affecting the health  of ecosystems and the wildlife that depend upon them. Grubbing up hedgerows and cutting down woodland has led y to a loss of habitat for many of our native mammals and other species.

Not content with killing off Britain’s wildlife, many farmers are also threatening the health of British consumers, in particular the long-term wellbeing of our children.

The use of pesticides which contain “forever chemicals” are a direst threat to public health. PFA chemicals, which take centuries to break down in the environment, were found in 3300 samples tested by the UK government in 2022.

Farmers do not have to use these chemicals. They choose to do so because it increases output and therefore their profits.

“Common UK fruits, vegetables and spices have been found to be contaminated with long-lasting toxins known as "forever chemicals", prompting alarm over potential impacts on public health ...”  (itvX: 09/04/24)

“Profit before people” would seem to be the farmers' motto!

Rather than being “custodians” of the iconic British landscape farmers have traditionally been one of its worst enemies, bent on its destruction if it affords them a few more pennies in the bank.

In 1950, a Forestry Commission assessment concluded that we had 1 million km of hedgerow. By 2007, this reduced to 477,000km, a loss of approximately 52%. This loss of habitat for wildlife was the direct result of farmers deliberately removing hedgerows because by so doing they made more money.

Kemi Badenoch, objecting to rich farmers now having to pay inheritance tax (albeit only 50% of what everyone else has to pay) said:

 “This policy is  cruel, it is unfair and it is going to destroy farming as we know it”

I would suggest that “farming as we know it” isn’t fit for purpose.

“A study found that that UK is one of the world's most nature-depleted countries, with on average about half its biodiversity left - far below the global average of 75%. It means the UK is in the bottom 10% globally for biodiversity.”  (CBBC: 11/10/21)

This isn’t custodianship, this is environmental vandalism on an industrial scale. The destruction of habitat, the use of pesticides and herbicides, the culling of foxes, rabbits and badgers, the eradication of meadows. wetlands and grassland, have all contributed to the  catastrophic loss of biodiversity In Britain, and all in the pursuit of farmers making greater profits.

[go-scottishgal14]

LET'S SAVE THIS 550 YEAR OLD TREE!!

'Darwin's oak' to be felled to make way for Shrewsbury bypass -- note: planners have no other place to run the roadway???

DAMIEN GAYLE Updated 1 November 2023 at 6:50 pm, Daily Mail

As an eight-year-old, Charles Darwin may have sat in the shade beneath its boughs and climbed its branches. Two hundred years later, “Darwin’s oak” has been handed a death sentence to make way for a new road to bypass Shrewsbury.

Along with eight other veteran trees, the 550-year-old, open-grown oak tree, which has a girth of 7 metres (23ft), stands in the path of the planned Shrewsbury North West Relief Road (NWRR), an £80m bypass linking the northern and western parts of the town.

Despite a long-running campaign to save the ancient tree and its fellows, its fate was sealed on Tuesday night when Shropshire county council’s 11-member planning committee narrowly approved the new road, by six votes to five.

“It all ties in with Darwin’s theory of evolution,” said Rob McBride, a tree campaigner. “There’s too many dinosaurs on that committee.”

Shropshire county council describes the NWRR as the “next step in completing the ‘missing link’ in Shrewsbury’s road network”, completing a ring around the town of nearly 75,000 people. Proponents claim it will free up road space and take traffic out of the town centre, thereby improving air quality, reducing journey times and boosting the whole county’s economy.

“I absolutely accept that the NWRR divides opinions, but I’m confident that it will make a huge difference to people, not only within the town, but also in the surrounding villages,” said Dan Morris, Shropshire council’s cabinet member for highways, after the planning committee’s decision.

But critics say the planned new road “decimates” one of the last vestiges of countryside remaining in Shrewsbury. It will bisect the town’s “green wedge”, a green space that extends almost into the heart of the town, which McBride described as one of the few local areas not yet marred by development.

For five centuries, Darwin’s oak has stood as a landmark within that band of nature. It stands close to The Mount, the 1800 home of Robert Darwin, the father of Charles Darwin, and in countryside the naturalist explored extensively as a boy as he developed his love and curiosity for nature.

“It’s a majestic, impressive tree,” said McBride. “You can see it straight across the meadow as you come near the River Severn. There’s this low meadow and then it rises up into a hedgerow there. [It’s] just a brilliant landmark tree that many people, many residents use … to find solace and to connect with nature and to repair themselves, really.”

Shropshire’s decision came in the face of significant local opposition. About 5,000 objections to the new road were overruled by the planning committee when it passed the plan. Not only that, the Woodland Trust, the tree conservation charity, said the road’s approval rides roughshod over national planning rules that ought to protect ancient and veteran trees except in “wholly exceptional circumstances”.

Jack Taylor, the lead campaigner at the Woodland Trust, said: “Just weeks after the iconic Sycamore Gap tree was lost, we are now faced with the loss of another iconic tree. The narrow approval of the Shrewsbury North West Relief Road is a dark day for the environment and our natural heritage as it threatens the loss of this living legend, numerous other irreplaceable veteran trees, and will damage nearby ancient woodland. The UK needs better protection for these cathedrals of nature, before they are condemned to history.”

Local campaigners are still hopeful they can save the tree. A petition calling on the council to revisit its decision has reached 2,500 signatures. But if they fail, it means another living piece of Britain’s natural history will be lost for ever.

Shropshire Council has a facebook page where, hopefully, comments about this can be left; email to: customer.feedback@shropshire.gov.uk; write to: Feedback and Insight Team, Shropshire Council, Shirehall, Abbey Foregate, Shrewsbury, Shropshire, SY2 6ND. PLEASE WRITE THAT TAKING THIS TREE AND THE OTHERS DOWN IS JUST WRONG, THERE MUST BE ANOTHER WAY TO DO THIS ROADWAY WITHOUT TAKING DOWN THESE ANCIENT, MAJESTIC AND HISTORIC TREES!!

[sangyaoweek]

💚💛The people have spoken!💛💚

With a whopping 65.5% of the votes, the sangyao nation of tumblr has crowned as their Unofficial Sangyao Theme Song….

💛💚Shrike by Hozier!💚💛

Link and lyrics below so you can all bask in its amazingness:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=DOBHyBPPSow

Lyrics:

I couldn't utter my love when it counted

Ah, but I'm singing like a bird 'bout it now

I couldn't whisper when you needed it shouted

Ah, but I'm singing like a bird 'bout it now

The words hung above

But never would form

Like a cry at the final

Breath that is drawn

Remember me, love

When I'm reborn

As the shrike to your sharp

And glorious thorn

And I'd no idea on what ground I was founded

All of that goodness is goin' with you now

Then when I met you, my virtues uncounted

All of my goodness is goin' with you now

Dragging along

Following your form

Hung like the pelt

Of some prey you had worn

Remember me, love

When I'm reborn

As a shrike to your sharp

And glorious thorn

I fled to the city with so much discounted

Ah, but I'm flying like a bird to you now

Back to the hedgerows where bodies are mounted

Ah, but I'm flying like a bird to you now

I was housed by your warmth

Thus transformed

By your grounded and giving

And darkening scorn

Remember me, love

When I'm reborn

As a shrike to your sharp

And glorious thorn

Not going to lie, I (mod Bish) had nominated this song myself before Round 1. To me, this is one of the classic sangyao tunes, and an absolute banger of a song on its own merit. I’m delighted that this one won on Tumblr!

Interestingly, it didn’t get past Round 1 on Twitter, which surprised me a lot! That means that we’re definitely going to have a different winner over on the Twitter version of this mini-tourney (voting still ongoing as of posting this!).

I’ve been thinking about whether we should narrow it down to one winner across both platforms, but that involves maths I don’t know how best to do. If we hold it on both platforms again, it still wouldn’t help! Instead, mod Lux and I are probably going to do an informal poll over on the sangyao discord server to battle it out.

If you’re not already in the sangyao discord, hop on over and introduce yourself! We’d always love to have more people!

Though our mini-tourney’s ended, there’s still more sangyao to look forward to with Sangyao Week coming up. We hope you’re as excited as we are!

[aisphotostuff]

Robin in West Sussex Reserve by Adam Swaine Via Flickr: Robins can be found in West Sussex and across the UK, living in gardens, parks, hedgerows, and woodlands:Here in the UK the British Robin is our national bird. And with good reason - these enchanting little creatures make bold and fun garden companions. Their numbers don't seem to have been dented by the loss of natural habitats which is a result of increased development, particularly in England.The Robin in the photographs below was snapped a couple of weeks ago on one of my favourite walks.

[roman-catholic-mass-readings]

5th November >> Mass Readings (Except USA)

Tuesday, Thirty First Week in Ordinary Time 

or

Saint Martin de Porres, Religious.

Tuesday, Thirty First Week in Ordinary Time 

Liturgical Colour: Green. Year: B(II).

Readings at Mass

First Reading Philippians 2:5-11 Christ humbled himself but God raised him high.

In your minds you must be the same as Christ Jesus:

His state was divine, yet he did not cling to his equality with God but emptied himself to assume the condition of a slave, and became as men are; and being as all men are, he was humbler yet, even to accepting death, death on a cross. But God raised him high and gave him the name which is above all other names so that all beings in the heavens, on earth and in the underworld, should bend the knee at the name of Jesus and that every tongue should acclaim Jesus Christ as Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

The Word of the Lord

R/ Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm Psalm 21(22):26-32

R/ You are my praise, O Lord, in the great assembly.

My vows I will pay before those who fear the Lord. The poor shall eat and shall have their fill. They shall praise the Lord, those who seek him. May their hearts live for ever and ever!

R/ You are my praise, O Lord, in the great assembly.

All the earth shall remember and return to the Lord, all families of the nations worship before him; for the kingdom is the Lord’s, he is ruler of the nations. They shall worship him, all the mighty of the earth.

R/ You are my praise, O Lord, in the great assembly.

And my soul shall live for him, my children serve him. They shall tell of the Lord to generations yet to come, declare his faithfulness to peoples yet unborn: ‘These things the Lord has done.’

R/ You are my praise, O Lord, in the great assembly.

Gospel Acclamation cf. Ephesians 1:17,18

Alleluia, alleluia! May the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ enlighten the eyes of our mind, so that we can see what hope his call holds for us. Alleluia!

Or: Matthew 11:28

Alleluia, alleluia! Come to me, all you who labour and are overburdened, and I will give you rest, says the Lord. Alleluia!

Gospel Luke 14:15-24 'Not one of those who were invited shall have a taste of my banquet'.

One of those gathered round the table said to Jesus, ‘Happy the man who will be at the feast in the kingdom of God!’ But he said to him, ‘There was a man who gave a great banquet, and he invited a large number of people. When the time for the banquet came, he sent his servant to say to those who had been invited, “Come along: everything is ready now.” But all alike started to make excuses. The first said, “I have bought a piece of land and must go and see it. Please accept my apologies.” Another said, “I have bought five yoke of oxen and am on my way to try them out. Please accept my apologies.” Yet another said, “I have just got married and so am unable to come.” ‘The servant returned and reported this to his master. Then the householder, in a rage, said to his servant, “Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in here the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.” “Sir” said the servant “your orders have been carried out and there is still room.” Then the master said to his servant, “Go to the open roads and the hedgerows and force people to come in to make sure my house is full; because, I tell you, not one of those who were invited shall have a taste of my banquet.”’

The Gospel of the Lord

R/ Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

-----------------------

Saint Martin de Porres, Religious 

(Liturgical Colour: White. Year: B(II))

(Readings for the memorial)

(There is a choice today between the readings for the ferial day (Tuesday) and those for the memorial. The ferial readings are recommended unless pastoral reasons suggest otherwise)

First Reading Philippians 4:4-9 If there is anything you need, pray for it.

I want you to be happy, always happy in the Lord; I repeat, what I want is your happiness. Let your tolerance be evident to everyone: the Lord is very near. There is no need to worry; but if there is anything you need, pray for it, asking God for it with prayer and thanksgiving, and that peace of God, which is so much greater than we can understand, will guard your hearts and your thoughts, in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, fill your minds with everything that is true, everything that is noble, everything that is good and pure, everything that we love and honour, and everything that can be thought virtuous or worthy of praise. Keep doing all the things that you learnt from me and have been taught by me and have heard or seen that I do. Then the God of peace will be with you.

The Word of the Lord

R/ Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm Psalm 130(131)

R/ Keep my soul in peace before you, O Lord.

O Lord, my heart is not proud nor haughty my eyes. I have not gone after things too great nor marvels beyond me.

R/ Keep my soul in peace before you, O Lord.

Truly I have set my soul in silence and peace. A weaned child on its mother’s breast, even so is my soul.

R/ Keep my soul in peace before you, O Lord.

O Israel, hope in the Lord both now and forever.

R/ Keep my soul in peace before you, O Lord.

Gospel Acclamation John 13:34

Alleluia, alleluia! I give you a new commandment: love one another just as I have loved you, says the Lord. Alleluia!

Gospel Matthew 22:34-40 The commandments of love.

When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees they got together and, to disconcert him, one of them put a question, ‘Master, which is the greatest commandment of the Law?’ Jesus said, ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second resembles it: You must love your neighbour as yourself. On these two commandments hang the whole Law, and the Prophets also.’

The Gospel of the Lord

R/ Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

[catolinewsdailyreadings]

Tuesday of the Thirty-first Week in Ordinary Time

Readings of Tuesday, November 5, 2024

Reading 1

PHIL 2:5-11

Brothers and sisters: Have among yourselves the same attitude  that is also yours in Christ Jesus, Who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be grasped. Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; and, found human in appearance, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross. Because of this, God greatly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Responsorial Psalm

PS 22:26B-27, 28-30AB, 30E, 31-32

R./ I will praise you, Lord, in the assembly of your people.

I will fulfill my vows before those who fear him. The lowly shall eat their fill;  they who seek the LORD shall praise him: "May your hearts be ever merry!" R./ I will praise you, Lord, in the assembly of your people.

All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the LORD; All the families of the nations shall bow down before him. R./ I will praise you, Lord, in the assembly of your people.

For dominion is the LORD's, and he rules the nations. To him alone shall bow down all who sleep in the earth. R./ I will praise you, Lord, in the assembly of your people.

To him my soul shall live; my descendants shall serve him. Let the coming generation be told of the LORD that they may proclaim to a people yet to be born the justice he has shown. R./ I will praise you, Lord, in the assembly of your people.

Gospel

LK 14:15-24

One of those at table with Jesus said to him, "Blessed is the one who will dine in the Kingdom of God." He replied to him, "A man gave a great dinner to which he invited many. When the time for the dinner came, he dispatched his servant to say to those invited, 'Come, everything is now ready.' But one by one, they all began to excuse themselves. The first said to him, 'I have purchased a field and must go to examine it; I ask you, consider me excused.' And another said, 'I have purchased five yoke of oxen and am on my way to evaluate them; I ask you, consider me excused.' And another said, 'I have just married a woman, and therefore I cannot come.' The servant went and reported this to his master. Then the master of the house in a rage commanded his servant, 'Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in here the poor and the crippled, the blind and the lame.' The servant reported, 'Sir, your orders have been carried out and still there is room.' The master then ordered the servant, 'Go out to the highways and hedgerows and make people come in that my home may be filled. For, I tell you, none of those men who were invited will taste my dinner.'"

[petnews2day]

National Nest Box Week: how to help birds in your garden

New Post has been published on https://petn.ws/po80S

National Nest Box Week: how to help birds in your garden

National Nest Box Week is back, giving you the chance to get involved with bird conservation in your local neighbourhood and help nationwide efforts to boost bird populations across the UK. As our gardens and parklands become tidier, natural nest sites – such as holes in trees, old buildings and unkempt hedgerows – are rapidly […]

See full article at https://petn.ws/po80S #BirdNews

[catie-does-things]

Zutara Week Day 7: Easier

@zutaraweek

Ember Island, intermission. Zuko stepped outside for some air. He wasn’t looking for Katara, but he found her anyway.

AO3 / FF.N

After Toph had left him to investigate the snack situation, Zuko hadn’t gone looking for Katara. But even when he wasn’t looking for her, he seemed to always end up finding her anyway. That was what had really happened in Ba Sing Se, after all, and it happened again when he stepped outside the theater for some fresh air.

The intermission was almost over, so the gardens outside were empty, except for one aggravated waterbender pacing between the flower beds and talking to herself. Surprised by this sight, Zuko caught the tail end of her tirade before he could say anything to alert her to his presence. “...ridiculous idea that I would want to kiss him, when I - Oh!” Katara cut herself off as she spun on her heel and noticed she had an audience. “Zuko, I, um, didn’t see you there.”

“Sorry,” Zuko apologized instinctively, hoping the fact that he still had the hood of his cloak up meant that she wouldn’t be able to tell he was blushing as much as she was. Of course he had known the players’ interpretation of what had happened in the crystal caves was ridiculous, but hearing Katara outright dismiss the idea with such vehemence was still a little bit of a blow to his pride. He had no illusions that the two of them were anything more than friends, but he didn’t think she would have been quite so outraged at the mere suggestion. “I tried to warn you this theater company was terrible,” he offered in a half-hearted attempt to lighten the mood.

To his surprise, Katara actually laughed. The worry lines disappeared from her face and the tension in her shoulders relaxed a little, and Zuko realized she wasn’t laughing at him - she really thought his joke was funny.

“I’m not angry about the play,” Katara said with a vague gesture towards the theater doors where they would soon have to return. “I mean, yeah, it is terrible, but it’s just a show.” Her arms dropped to her sides and she rolled her eyes towards the clear night sky. “I wish everybody could remember that,” she added.

Now Zuko was lost. If she hadn’t been talking about the play, then what? He pushed his hood back and took a few steps into the garden, closer to Katara. “Did something else happen?”

Katara shrugged evasively. “It’s just…” She looked at him carefully for a moment, considering. “Promise you won’t say anything about this to anyone else?”

“I promise,” Zuko replied without hesitation. He had already broken her trust once, and that was enough for a lifetime.

Katara waited another moment, then took a deep breath. “Aang got upset because the play said he was like a brother to me.” She resumed her pacing between the fire lilies and the low hedgerows, punctuating her rambling explanation with sharp gestures. “But it was like he was upset with me, instead of the actors or whoever wrote it. And I sort of understand why, because I have been avoiding it, but just because he kissed me one time with no warning when we were about to invade the Fire Nation doesn’t mean he’s my boyfriend or anything!”

Whatever Zuko had been expected to be the thing that was bothering Katara, that wasn’t it. “Wait, slow down…” he said, but Katara ignored him. Now that she had decided to open the floodgates, it seemed there was no holding back.

“He was already so worked up and I didn’t want to make things worse, so I just told him I was confused and it wasn’t the right time.” Reaching the hedgerow, Katara spun around back to facing him. “And then he tried to kiss me again! Can you believe him?”

Her rant apparently at an end with this rhetorical question, she looked up at Zuko expectantly, slightly breathless, face flushed with anger or embarrassment or both.

“Oh,” Zuko said. He was not prepared for the turn this conversation had taken. Aang’s crush on Katara was obvious, but he hadn’t thought the Avatar was that serious about it. Nor had he realized how uncomfortable it apparently made Katara. “Did you tell him you didn’t want him to do that?”

“Of course I did!” Katara exclaimed. But then she deflated a little. “I mean, I reminded him that I had just said I was confused, and I think he got the message.”

The lanterns around the theater brightened and then dimmed, indicating it was time for the theater patrons to return to their seats. But Zuko didn’t want to just leave things there. “Maybe you need to be a little more direct with him,” he suggested. Not that he was in a great position to be giving relationship advice to anyone, but he did know Aang well enough by now to know how eternally optimistic the young Avatar was. If there was even a tiny chance, that was all he would see.

Katara looked back towards the theater doors with a frustrated sigh, but made no move to go in. “I just don’t want to hurt him,” she said. “He’s got so many other things to deal with right now, this should be the least of his worries.”

Her protective concerned sparked something like recognition, and the first dawning of a realization. “You know,” Zuko thought out loud, “that sort of reminds me of my uncle.”

Katara gave him a patient smile. “Are you going to tell me a proverb about clouds or something?”

It was Zuko’s turn to laugh. “No,” he said, shaking his head. “Not something my uncle said, but what he did...or didn’t do, I guess.” He ran a hand through his hair, trying to collect his thoughts. “You know, I was looking for the Avatar for three years, and Uncle was with me that whole time, and he must have always wanted me to realize the truth about the war and everything, and how my father didn’t care about me the way I wanted him to.”

Katara frowned. “Am I your uncle or your father in this analogy?”

“Neither,” Zuko replied hastily, looking away towards the lights of the town on the other side of the garden. “That’s not the point. My uncle never pushed me to see the truth until he had to, but when I did realize...it still hurt.” Katara had come closer, and was standing by his elbow now. “It’s a good thing, that I know the truth now, but...it had to hurt. There was no way around that.”

“So you think,” Katara said slowly, “that Aang is going to have to be hurt, too.”

Zuko looked back at her to find she was staring at the fire lilies at their feet. “Unless you change your mind,” he replied. She hadn’t outright said she’d made up her mind to begin with, even in this conversation with him, but given how upset she had been when he found her...well, Zuko didn’t think he was presuming too much.

And Katara didn’t argue that point. “But why now?” she protested instead. “Why can’t it wait?”

“Because he’s bringing it up now,” Zuko reminded her. “And if he thinks he’s mature enough to try to kiss you, he has to be mature enough to deal with rejection, too.” The theater lights flickered one last time, then settled to a low flame, leaving the gardens mostly illuminated by moonlight. Still the two of them stood there, Zuko waiting to see if Katara had anything more to say.

“Thanks, Zuko,” she broke the silence at last. “It’s much easier to talk about this with you than with him.” Then she hugged him, not dramatically throwing her arms around him like she had on the dock, but gently tucking herself into his side, arms around his waist. He hugged her back without thinking about it, because it was the most natural thing in the world.

“Katara? Are you - oh!” Suki’s voice came from behind them, and Katara pulled away from the hug, the picture of perfect innocence. Zuko tried to affect the same, though his heart was beating just a little too fast. “Sorry, am I interrupting something?” Suki asked, giving both of them a scrutinizing look.

“No, we were just about to go back in,” Katara answered smoothly, stepping forward and linking arms with Suki. “Let’s see how the rest of this disaster of a play goes.”

Suki laughed and let Katara lead her back towards their box, and Zuko followed behind the two girls. Hopefully, the play would be the only disaster they’d have to deal with for the rest of the night.

But when they slipped back into their seats quietly, the third act already begun on stage, and Katara reached over and surreptitiously squeezed Zuko’s hand in a final gesture of thanks, his heart skipped a beat, and he knew there was definitely going to be more trouble for him on the horizon.

[dansnaturepictures]

14th June 2020-Pictures out the back and Martin Down 

I took the first two pictures of a Collared Dove on a street light and flowers in the garden this morning/early afternoon. It was great to take a few around this time seeing some birds in the garden and some as we arrived back today with a Jackdaw on our roof notable. We deliberated about coming to Martin Down as we did two weeks ago with Turtle Doves and other bird and butterfly targets on the mind and somewhere else we hadn’t been since February where we might possibly see a certain bird. We went for Martin Down in the end the other place we shall try to go next weekend or during my week off that follows. I suppose I sort of needed to get a year tick to perhaps justify choosing Martin Down yet again the amazing wild and beautiful reserve is a place we visit so much at this time of year which I love as we have so many birds and butterflies to try any see. Since we started to see Turtle Doves here in 2018 we had always seen them in overcast conditions and on a Saturday. I wondered if this might be the Sunday to see them with a lot of cloud as we left. I was of course delighted when the earlier shining sun returned on the journey though. A journey that I enjoyed going through the lovely New Forest and on the way back too in the sun. 

We arrived at Martin Down, I took the landscapes the third and fourth pictures in this photoset on arrival, and kept our eyes open as we walked along the path from the lower car park beside thick hedgerow. Last year we saw a Lesser Whitethroat here and as we walked along there was a hive of bird activity. When all of a sudden a silvery bird darted across and then into the hedge a bit to our left then back across the path. We got it in the binoculars and could see it was a stunning Lesser Whitethroat. A brilliant start seeing one of my birds of the year an honour to see this my third ever of the species and see it for a second year running here. Great if we can add it to maybe we now can the deep pool of species we usually see/aim to see here it’s a brilliant bird. 

When walking along quite high up I was delighted to see a red covered field. We realised it was a lovely field of poppies that we had seen someone post a photo of on social media at Martin Down this week and we didn’t recognise it so wondered where it was and now we knew. I took the the fifth picture in this photoset looking towards it here and sixth of a general and green all over view not so long after in the walk. 

We walked towards where we know the Turtle Doves are. We spoke to a couple - at a greater distance than two metres away from them - who said they’d just seen Turtle Dove on the tallest projection of a clump of trees. The clump of trees they are known to go and we have seen them before. We proceeded towards it and heard one its such a marvelous call, I had thought I’d heard one right after seeing the Lesser Whitethroat but I could not be sure. We were then so happy to see a bird fly up, circle around a bit and go back into the trees and views of it flying revealed it was a Turtle Dove! It was so lovely to see their delicious brown plumage once more. It went deep back into the clump of trees and we took great pleasure at listening to it for several minutes. Just as we left the area it flew up again and we got a closer view of it flying. 

Especially after not seeing one last year for the first year since 2015 I was so honoured to see this incredible and iconic species. They are a credit to our countryside in springtime, a quintessentially British rural bird and I did just feel so lucky and happy. They are a thrilling bird to encounter. Seeing it and Lesser Whitethroat today took my bird year list to 158 a figure I am so happy with to put my list third behind 2018 and 2019 my two (in reverse order to that) highest ever year list totals so my year list has regained its position from pre-peak-lockdown in my top 3 year lists on given dates after this weekend a solid one of birdwatching. Seeing both of these birds here today, with really most of the key bird and butterflies species of this site seen by us in 2020 now it struck me depending on how the nation’s fight against the coronavirus goes too this could be the last time I visit this remarkable place or this side of the reserve. It is obviously just a very nice place to come for a walk and take photos too and we have traditionally come in August to look for things a lot too. 

But if this is the last time what a cracking four visits I had here this year! The first in winter when everything was normal supporting the Toyd Down visit nearby on the same day where we saw the Great Bustard and much more it was a top birdwatching and landscape photography trip here on a nice day with Grey Partridge seen here. Then after the strictest bit of lockdown so far it didn’t look like we’d be able to get back for ages but with social distancing obeyed we did and I had an amazing time seeing many butterflies Adonis Blue, Marsh Fritillary and many more as well as my first Hobby of 2020 soaring over late on. Two weeks ago like today it was a fantastic trip for many of the key birds and butterflies here with a Large Skipper photo one of my best butterfly ones this year and Turtle Doves heard purring here very close. We enjoyed once more what a biodiverse, beautiful and exceptional place this is we are so lucky to have this area of land managed so well for wildlife it is a credit to the country and region.

On a little walk that included great Skylark views flying and my first Chimney Sweeper moths since some seen here in 2013, we moved towards the adjoining poppy field in a nearby farm and marvelled at the deep sea of red we could see. It was a wonderful colour them all together. I captured this further in the seventh and eighth pictures in this photoset. It’s been a weekend of red fields for me with Stockbridge Down carpeted in little red flowers yesterday. Its interesting I don’t know if these poppies are new in this field but I’d not seen them here before so it was very interesting. We came here in July last year not a month I often do and it was interesting seeing scenes, butterflies and flowers I hadn’t ever here before. With butterflies particularly early this year some of those I saw today it did feel a bit like July. We had been in mid-June before but never seen the poppies so whether this is something that comes out late-June or into July and we just didn’t see them last year and they’re also a little early I don’t know. Very pleasant to see all the same. I took the ninth and tenth pictures in this photoset of Speckled Wood and a bush before we left.

Wildlife Sightings Summary: My first Lesser Whitethroat and Turtle Dove of the year, two of my favourite butterflies the Large Skipper and Small Tortoiseshell a lot of the latter about lately a bit of influx perhaos, one of my favourite moths the Cinnabar, Marbled White, Large White, Brimstone, Small Skipper, Meadow Brown, Speckled Wood, Common Blue, Woodpigeon, Carrion Crow, Blackbird, Skylark, Chimney Sweeper, bee and I heard Yellowhammer. 

A fantastic wild weekend again, great weather overall. I saw some truly special birds, butterflies, moths, views and much more and had great fun all whilst socially distancing.

[wigmund]

From American Bird Conservancy Bird of the Week; June 2, 2017:

Northern Bobwhite

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Colinus virginianus POPULATION: 5.8 million TREND: Decreasing HABITAT: Old fields and hedgerows, grasslands, open forests

Also known as Virginia quail or bobwhite quail, the Northern Bobwhite is native to the United States, Mexico, and the Caribbean. The clear, whistled “bobwhite” call was once a common sound throughout the birds' range. It's much more rare today; populations plunged between 1966 and 2014, resulting in an overall decline of 85 percent, according to the North American Breeding Bird Survey.

Habitat loss and the increased use of pesticides are thought to be the culprits behind this steep decline—a worrisome trend also noted in other birds sharing similar habitats, including Loggerhead Shrike.

A Bevy of Bobwhite

The Northern Bobwhite is divided into a whopping 22 subspecies (including the Florida subspecies featured in the video above). Some of these were formerly considered to be separate species, including the Rufous-bellied Bobwhite and Black-headed Bobwhite. One subspecies, the Masked Bobwhite, is federally listed as endangered.

Northern Bobwhite populations are non-migratory, particularly where there is good habitat available. This species is a popular game bird and is the well-studied subject of many different management programs. (For example, the University of Missouri Extension Service provides recommendations for landowners who want to increase quail on their property.)

Ground Gleaners

Like related New World quail species such as Gorgeted Wood-Quail, the Northern Bobwhite has a short, curved bill; a chunky, roundish body; and a short tail. They are ground-dwelling birds, preferring to walk or run, although they are capable of strong, short bursts of flight, particularly when fleeing from predators.

These quail are more often heard than seen, since they tend to stay within dense low cover where their dappled brown-and-white plumage provides excellent camouflage. But sometimes, especially when calling in spring, male bobwhites will occupy a highly visible location, such as atop a fencepost.

Northern Bobwhites feed by gleaning along the ground, consuming a largely plant-based diet of seeds, fruit, stems, and leaves. They add insects, spiders, and snails to the menu during spring and summer, particularly when providing food to their young.

Safety in Numbers

Each fall, Northern Bobwhites form groups, or coveys, of three to twenty birds. At night, these coveys roost in a close-packed, outward-facing circle with their tails pointing toward the center, probably to conserve heat and stay alert for predators. As a very social species, they stay in coveys until the beginning of nesting season each spring, when they begin to pair off.

Although seemingly monogamous during the nesting season, each member of a bobwhite pair may mate with several different partners, a strategy which ensures maximum genetic fitness and diversity. Both sexes work to build the nest, a simple scrape on the ground lined with leaves and grasses. These birds often weave dry grass or weeds to form an arch around the nest, which hides it from potential predators. In some south Texas populations, the female will leave the male to incubate and hatch one nest while she starts another.

Northern Bobwhite nest and eggs by National Bobwhite Conservation Initiative

Female bobwhites lay large clutches of 12 to 16 eggs, which both parents incubate. The hatchlings are precocial (they emerge from the egg covered in down, able to walk, with eyes open) and leave the nest shortly after hatching.

Young bobwhites are fed and cared for by their parents for several weeks after leaving the nest. In a good nesting season and in suitable habitat, female bobwhites can raise several broods per year.

Like Black-necked Stilt, Piping Plover, and other ground-nesting birds, adults may perform broken-wing displays near nests or fledglings to draw predators away.

Benefitting the Bobwhite

Like the Grasshopper Sparrow, Partners in Flight considers the Northern Bobwhite as a “Common Bird in Steep Decline.”

Fortunately, Northern Bobwhites can respond positively and quickly to habitat management changes on working lands, and ABC-supported projects are focusing on bringing back the numbers of this bird. (Read more about ABC's work with landowners in the Oaks and Prairies Joint Venture to restore habitat for Northern Bobwhite and other birds).

ABC also joins forces with other groups, including the Northern Bobwhite Conservation Initiative, to create habitat for the bobwhite and other bird species found in similar habitats, including Painted Bunting, Prairie Warbler, and Dickcissel.

[nic-and-annie-in-france]

October Break: Hiking in UK and Ireland

Since we had kind of reached our fill of big cities, museums, and palaces last year, the trip I planned for our first vacation this year mostly focused on hiking and sightseeing in nature. Did you know that the British usually say “walking” when Americans would say “hiking”? I think they’re just being modest.

It was nice to be around our fellow English-speakers for a change. However, in Scotland and Ireland, I sometimes had more difficulty understanding English spoken with the regional accents than I would have understanding French!

This was our itinerary:

Day 1: Traveling Aix-les-Bains > Chambéry > Geneva > London Luton Airport > Oxford

Day 2: The Cotswolds AONB (Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty)

Day 3: Sightseeing in Oxford, traveling Oxford > Manchester

Day 4: The Peak District

Day 5: Traveling Manchester > Kendal, Sightseeing in the Lake District

Day 6: The Lake District

Day 7: Traveling Kendal > Glasgow, lunch with K+A, relaxing (I had planned for us to visit Loch Lomond but a combination of lack of planning, gloomy weather, and fatigue made us nix it)

Day 8: Scottish Highlands

Day 9: Sightseeing in Edinburgh, traveling Glasgow > Belfast (via ferry)

Day 10: Giant’s Causeway

Day 11: Traveling Belfast > Dublin > Galway, sightseeing in Galway

Day 12: Connemara National Park

Day 13: Cliffs of Moher, traveling Galway > Cork

Day 14: Killarney National Park

Day 15: Traveling Cork > London Heathrow > Geneva > Culoz > Aix-les-Bains

And here are our miles walked over that time:

The weather/the season. The extended forecast for the UK and Ireland before we left showed rain every single day. However, we only got rained on less than half the time! I knew it was too much to ask for a repeat of the miraculously sunny vacation we had in Paris/Normandy in February, but I was still happy with the amount of dry weather we had. We also had the good fortune of being there to see the fall colors at their very best. Even our rainy and foggy days were enjoyable because of the cozy autumn ambiance.

Going car-less. I was worried that we would have trouble getting out to the trailheads if we relied solely on public buses and trains, but it mostly turned out to be fine. Let’s just say that in our experience, the British transport systems are much more punctual than the Irish ones! Riding instead of driving gave us both the opportunity to relax and enjoy the scenery as we traveled from place to place. Buses and trains in the area almost always had wifi or USB charging onboard (or both), which was an extra bonus because it alleviated my anxieties about missing our stop (we could follow the bus on Google Maps) and/or about my phone dying.

Walkers’ rights and public rights of way. In planning for the trip, I learned that in England, walkers/hikers have organized into formal clubs and won the legal right to have public footpaths and “rights of way” all over the country. I’m still kind of unclear on how this works legally (I googled “Can you just walk anywhere in England,” it didn’t help much), but we took full advantage of these walkers’ rights during our time in the region. We took paths that went through practically infinite sheep pastures, climbing over stiles or letting ourselves through cattle gates as necessary. I think it’s so nice that the country allows people to access the natural beauty of the countryside in a way that really doesn’t harm people’s private property much at all. The sheep never seemed to mind us, after all. It was great to have access to all these places, but even better was the way the English culture has helped to facilitate and accommodate walkers on their journeys. On several different websites I was able to find not only maps of hiking routes, but detailed turn-by-turn instructions for the routes which kept me, a navigationally challenged person, on the right path every time.

No buses in the Cotswolds. Blackberries. Our first hiking day was a Sunday, and no public buses run in the Cotswolds AONB on Sundays. We therefore had to rely on trains alone to reach a trailhead, so our options for starting and ending points were limited. We found a suitable out-and-back trail running from a village called Moreton-in-Marsh to another one called Stow-on-the-Wold. The map and instructions I found for it listed everything in kilometers instead of miles, so when I saw the distance involved, I assumed it wouldn’t be that much in miles without ever actually bothering to do the calculation. By the time we got back to our Airbnb in the evening, we had walked about 17 miles. Oops. Fortunately, our route that day had us pass by lots of hedgerows, and lots of those hedgerows had blackberries growing in them. At first we were hesitant to eat any of them, but as we walked further and further, and our stomachs got hungrier and hungrier, we were eating them by the handful. I’m still not sure whether to feel guilty about this; the blackberries didn’t belong to us, but the sheep in the adjacent pasture could never have reached them, and it seemed pretty unlikely that anyone was growing them on purpose. All I know is that these possibly-sinful blackberries sustained us on our accidentally super long trek that day, and we were both very thankful for them.

The bus at the Lake District. Bus tickets in the Lake District were not sold per ride, but per day, and they were pretty expensive. I was sad we had to pay so much just to get from one town to the next. They turned out to be one of the best value parts of our whole trip! First of all, a ride that is only 25 miles as the crow flies takes an hour and a half. Make it round trip and that makes three whole hours of your day. This sounds like the ride would be tedious and boring, but with the jaw-dropping scenery to look at the whole time, it was so much fun. I listened to The Prisoner of Azkaban on audiobook the whole time and tried to take pictures out the dirty bus window, nudging Nicolas every 30 seconds to show him another beautiful mountainside or lake. The icing on the cake was that the bus driver on the second day gave us a discount for our tickets!

Lunch with K+A. K and I usually check in with each other at the beginning of each school break to see what the other one’s plans are. On our second night, K texted me saying they were in Ireland and planned to go to Scotland later in the week. I told her it sounded like we were doing the same trip, just traveling in opposite directions. Sure enough, we realized that we would all be in Glasgow at the same time, so we planned to have lunch together. K suggested a restaurant where we could eat a three-course meal for £10 apiece, so we went there and caught up on our school years so far and compared notes on our travel itineraries. They had to catch a train soon after their meal, so we didn’t get to hang out for long, but it was nice to see some friendly faces in an unexpected place.

The ferry. We opted to take a ferry instead of a plane from Glasgow to Belfast. I expected that we would have to stand out in the dark and cold for two hours as we waited to arrive in Northern Ireland. The ferry turned out to be more like a cruise ship than the little Valley View ferry I’m used to. We sat in a huge lounge with lots of comfy armchairs and took a nap as we waited to reach the other side of the sea. There were at least two restaurants on board, and there was one room with a large TV where we were warned not to sit because the ferry was expecting four hundred soccer hooligans to come watch a game there. I also saw a sign for a Swedish spa on a different deck. It was a really cool way to travel—I wished the ride had been a bit longer!

Molly the pub dog and George the hostel cat. One of the things we miss most about home is the availability of our friends’ and families’ pets to play with and snuggle. It’s rare that we feel comfortable enough to interact with a stranger’s cat or dog over here. But after another hike in poor weather in Ireland, we stopped in a pub that happened to have a border collie named Molly curled up in front of the fire. As we sipped our coffee, Molly periodically got up from her spot by the fire and visited the tables of the people in the pub. We showered her with so much affection that she laid down under our table and let us rub her belly (excuse the poor quality picture). One of the hostels we stayed at had a permanent resident in George, the ginger cat who was usually found curled up on a window seat in the hallway. Whenever we came across him we gave him a quick pat too.

Traditional foods. Since Great Britain and Ireland are typically colder and rainier than France, their food is typically cozier and heartier. We had bangers and mash, scotch pie, haggis, fish and chips, English breakfasts, Irish stew, black pudding, and steak and ale pie. Yum on all counts.

Non-traditional foods. We were walking to our Airbnb in Manchester when a poster for Taco Bell caught our eye. Although McDonald’s, KFC, and Burger King are commonplace in Europe, we’ve never seen a Taco Bell. We immediately made plans to locate the TB and give it a try, and our dinner there the next evening didn’t disappoint. Although we had to pay about twice as much for it as we do at home, it was worth it to taste our favorite American comfort food so far from home. We also ate an entire Domino’s pizza in a public bus station. I felt like a criminal the whole time, but it was tasty.

Irish music. I love traditional Irish music. In grad school, I had a Spotify playlist of jigs and reels that was perfect for studying to because it was upbeat enough to keep me awake but instrumental enough that the lyrics wouldn’t distract me. We spent the last night of the trip in an Irish bar in Cork where musicians had gathered to play trad music. Music in a cheery pub was a nice complement to a day spent on a cold, rainy walk, as well as a perfect conclusion to our whole vacation. 

[art-now-uk]

Cottages at Dinas, Edward Dunn

This painting was painted plein air in the Preseli hills in Pembrokeshire, in Wales UK. The area is a place(officially) of outstanding natural beauty, and is part of the Pembrokeshire National Park. The subject is Dinas island, a headland that is almost, but not quite separate from the mainland. It is referred to as an "island" locally. It consists of little farms, with lots of small fields, and the abundance of hedgerows is typical of the region. In the summer the fields are changing colour with both the cutting for hay and the effects of the sun. Week to week the scene changes, and new shapes can be seen carved out of the landscape. I am interested in the combination of natural features, and lighting, along with the man- made marks and structures. This is a place I know well, and visit regularly. It always has something new to offer the eye.

https://www.saatchiart.com/art/Painting-Cottages-at-Dinas/953687/3368051/view

[casualarsonist]

Dunkirk review

God it took a lot of convincing to get my girlfriend to come see this. I’ll be as tactful as I can and say that her favourite films, or at least the ones she forces me to watch, are ‘lighter’...like, Disney light, so needless to say, her idea of a good night out does not typically involve watching an hour and forty minutes of Britain’s greatest military defeat played out at the cinema. More fool her. She cried like a baby through the whole thing and cursed the lights when they came up as soon as the credits started. At first I though she’d hated it, but the truth was that she was just so affected, and although I’m not a Brit, the sight of those boys returning to green hills and hedgerows felt like home. There’s something deeply patriotic about Dunkirk that is completely removed from the laughable flag-waving of Saving Private Ryan. It’s not the empty patriotism that a simpleton believes is literally embodied in an icon or a totem, but the true love of one’s countrymen that leads a nation to rally behind its defeated men in their darkest hour. Dunkirk is a dignified depiction that treats the evacuation as it was - an actual miracle that could have so easily gone the other way and left Britain a Nazi-occupied state. And while it isn’t an intimate character-driven drama that brings stories of real individuals to life, nor a sweeping epic that explores the cause of the disaster or the planning and logistics outside of the immediate area of the beaches, Christopher Nolan’s film portrays the razor’s edge of life and death upon which the soldiers on the beach were balancing in a way both visceral and affecting without being exploitative or (too) melodramatic.

A history lesson: the evacuation of Dunkirk occurred after the British and French troops were blindsided by the German army who, in breach of all decorum, invaded Belgium in order to walk around the French defences that the French had politely stopped building at the border. One quarter of the British army in Europe were pinned against the French coastline with nowhere to go and the entire weight of the German army and air force behind them. There’s no definitive explanation as to why Hitler didn’t push forwards and crush them, but the generally accepted reason is that the German supply lines were stretched too thin to resist a counter attack and they didn’t realise just how badly they’d paralysed the Allied forces. In any case, four hundred thousand British troops were stuck, harried by the bombers and fighters of the Luftwaffe who killed the sitting ducks on the sand and sank the ships sporadically arriving to pick up mere handfuls of people at a time. The British held the majority of their navy back to keep it safe and ready for the inevitable attack on the mainland, and so the men on the beach waited in despair. 

With this as a backdrop, Dunkirk (the film) follows three story threads that intersect at various points throughout their unveiling and converge in the final moments of the film: for a week we follow a group of young British soldiers trying to get off the beach, for a day we follow a father and son as they journey across the channel to rescue men from the beach, and for an hour we follow two RAF pilots as they battle bombers and fighters preying on the men below. It’s a structure that might not be unique, but one that I’ve not seen before, or at least seen presented in this way, and one I’ve certainly not seen delivered with such considerable success - a technique that is simple in its individual parts, complex when threaded together, and like a good recipe turns quality ingredients into a dish that is even greater than the sum of its parts.  Having the stories separated into different lengths of time means that we see events in one that haven’t yet played out in another, and we don’t realise until later that we were watching players we were acquainted with, and it’s a testament to Nolan’s ability as a writer that these three threads can have their own pacing and beats and yet converge climatically and in synergy with one another at various points throughout. Unfortunately it isn’t handled quite so deftly during the final conversion when the time-frame of the stories becomes cluttered like pieces of string intersecting and becoming tangled, and some tension is lost when we see the resolution to an event in one thread while the event is still playing out and attempting to hold dramatic weight in another.

But on the whole, it’s quite a successful gambit that rides the line between a personal and expansive scope without ever fully dedicating itself to either end of the spectrum. And this might frustrate those that have particular expectations of what the film has to offer - those looking for something akin to A Bridge Too Far and its diverse exploration of an operation on scales both large and small may walk away from the theatre feeling as if they are far less enlightened as to the greater meaning of the evacuation as they may have liked, whereas those looking for a hero’s journey will find themselves distinctly removed from the internal world of the characters on screen. It’s important to note that Dunkirk doesn’t try to ‘be’ any particular type of film, nor does it attempt to educate its audience on geopolitics of the 1940s. What it attempts to do is put the audience as best as it can within the shoes of the men on the beach and within the sky and on the sea. And it does this superbly. 

There’s a particular scene in which a boat is torpedoed, and we see inside the locked innards as an explosion precedes a total blackout and a second later a room full of men is suddenly and completely filled with water. We don’t see people in the act of drowning, we don’t see blood and fire and eyes going dim, we just hear the chorus of muted screams within the blackness, the throng of legs and arms failing like worms in a box writhing helplessly against one another, packed too densely and too disoriented to escape. We hear the banging of the fists against steel echoing outside the vessel as it is dragged underneath the waves. And it is utterly terrifying. I’ve read that there isn’t a single shot in the film that is entirely CGI, and Nolan’s commitment to in-camera special effects leaves this a triumph of modern filmmaking. I don’t know how they managed to stage a ship capsizing or film the dogfights and I don’t want to know, because to me it was as real as real gets. And when the nightmare is over and the green fields of Woking roll in (or what green fields there were in the 40s), you feel the relief that the boys feel. It’s stirring in a way that I, as an expat, didn’t expect to feel.

I think it stands correct that Dunkirk is one of the best war films ever made, although I can understand that one might feel otherwise if they were expecting something other than what it offers. I personally can’t fault an hour and forty of straight tension, and one of the most gripping and realistic depictions of what it was like to be a man on deck (or in the air) at the time. It isn’t a perfect film - there are moments in the story and its execution that misfire, and Hans Zimmer’s soundtrack, while keeping your heart racing, is keenly obnoxious at times – but the moments of implausibility, sappiness, and dramatic license for the purpose of entertainment are kept to a minimum. If you’re looking for the desolation of a man’s soul then look for Kubrick or Malick, if you’re looking for action and violence then look for Spielberg, but if you’re looking for a boots-on-the-ground depiction of endurance in the face of terror and fear and failure, then Dunkirk might be for you.

9/10 Outstanding

[roman-catholic-mass-readings]

5th November >> Mass Readings (USA)

Tuesday, Thirty First Week in Ordinary Time 

(Liturgical Colour: Green. Year: B(II))

First Reading Philippians 2:5-11 He emptied himself and because of this, God exalted him.

Brothers and sisters: Have among yourselves the same attitude that is also yours in Christ Jesus,

Who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be grasped. Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; and, found human in appearance, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross. Because of this, God greatly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

The Word of the Lord

R/ Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm Psalm 22:26b-27, 28-30ab, 30e, 31-32

R/ I will praise you, Lord, in the assembly of your people.

I will fulfill my vows before those who fear him. The lowly shall eat their fill; they who seek the LORD shall praise him: “May your hearts be ever merry!”

R/ I will praise you, Lord, in the assembly of your people.

All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the LORD; All the families of the nations shall bow down before him.

R/ I will praise you, Lord, in the assembly of your people.

For dominion is the LORD’s, and he rules the nations. To him alone shall bow down all who sleep in the earth.

R/ I will praise you, Lord, in the assembly of your people.

To him my soul shall live; my descendants shall serve him. Let the coming generation be told of the LORD that they may proclaim to a people yet to be born the justice he has shown.

R/ I will praise you, Lord, in the assembly of your people.

Gospel Acclamation Matthew 11:28

Alleluia, alleluia. Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest, says the Lord. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel Luke 14:15-24 Go out quickly into highways and hedgerows and make people come in that my home may be filled.

One of those at table with Jesus said to him, “Blessed is the one who will dine in the Kingdom of God.” He replied to him, “A man gave a great dinner to which he invited many. When the time for the dinner came, he dispatched his servant to say to those invited, ‘Come, everything is now ready.’ But one by one, they all began to excuse themselves. The first said to him, ‘I have purchased a field and must go to examine it; I ask you, consider me excused.’ And another said, ‘I have purchased five yoke of oxen and am on my way to evaluate them; I ask you, consider me excused.’ And another said, ‘I have just married a woman, and therefore I cannot come.’ The servant went and reported this to his master. Then the master of the house in a rage commanded his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in here the poor and the crippled, the blind and the lame.’ The servant reported, ‘Sir, your orders have been carried out and still there is room.’ The master then ordered the servant, ‘Go out to the highways and hedgerows and make people come in that my home may be filled. For, I tell you, none of those men who were invited will taste my dinner.’”

The Gospel of the Lord

R/ Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.