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Bill Oddie as a child would cycle to a reservoir a few miles away from his home, which is very close to where my sister now lives. This is getting spooky. I also had a colleague who was a dead ringer for Kate Humble, who of course co-presented with Oddie. Even more spooky, and probably the ex-Goodie requires a thread of his own. Unless he has been seen in ED Sainsburys


On moths I get some other brown ones in the house, but they don't crumble to dust when you hit them so probably not clothes moths.


On wildlife when will I see the newts and frogs - double figures last year of each in the pond but only one frog sighing so far this spring. Saw some water snails in a ponds in Lambeth today, anyone recommend getting some for the garden pond and if so where?

BrandNewGuy Wrote:

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

> Bill Oddie went to my school (KES Birmingham) and

> was allegedly expelled on his very last day for

> diverting all the traffic from the main road down

> the school drive and round in front of the main

> door...



:)) :)) :))

Nigello Wrote:

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> Any help re the rasping bird would be gratefully

> received. Thanks


I can't think of anything pigeon-sized that makes the noise you describe. The only other pigeon-like bird that I can think of that vaguely fits the bill (beak?) is a collared dove but they don't "rasp" so far as I know.


I had a Garden Warbler in (fittingly) the garden today. Don't see them very often here but they've been on the up for a couple of years now. Might have to declare a "Buzzard Free Zone"!

Nigello Wrote:


I saw a slim, almost elongated pigeon-sized bird, perched on TV aerials and screeching/squawking raspily and with a slightly fanned tail. What coukd it be? It?s not a jay or magpie or jackdaw/crow. I think I heard two of them.

& ---------------------------------

> It wasn't pigeon like in any way other than its size. I thought it was a corvid but they were too light in colour.


Green woodpeckers are about the length of a pigeon but slimmer, with a slightly fanned tail and have a loud call, although I wouldn't say it was rasping. Their call is likened to laughing and is reproduced on the RSPB website

https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/green-woodpecker/


Could that be the bird you saw?

Many years ago I was listening to a radio phone in where a woman was trying to get a bird, currently in her garden, identified.

The panel suggested various birds, eventually setting on one bird which they said was about the size of a blackbird.

"Oh no" said the caller "It's about 2 foot tall"

It was something that had escaped from the local zoo

Lynne Wrote:

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


> "Oh no" said the caller "It's about 2 foot tall"

> It was something that had escaped from the local

> zoo



:)) :)) :))



It's a bit worrying if the zoo hadn't noticed that it had escaped! (Or maybe they had but didn't know what to do about it .....)

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  • Latest Discussions

    • Thank you to everyone who has already shared their thoughts on this. Dawson Heights Estate in the 1980s, while not as infamous as some other estates, did have its share of anti-social behaviour and petty crime. My brother often used the estate as a shortcut when coming home from his girlfriend’s house, despite my parents warning him many times to avoid it. Policing during that era had a distinctly “tough on crime” approach. Teenagers, particularly those from working-class areas or minority communities, were routinely stopped, questioned, and in some cases, physically handled for minor infractions like loitering, skateboarding, or underage drinking. Respect for authority wasn’t just expected—it was demanded. Talking back to a police officer could escalate a situation very quickly, often with harsh consequences. This was a very different time. There were no body cameras, dash cams, or social media to hold anyone accountable or to provide a record of encounters. Policing was far more physical and immediate, with few technological safeguards to check officer behaviour. My brother wasn’t known to the police. He held a full-time job at the Army and Navy store in Lewisham and had recently been accepted into the army. Yet, on that night, he ran—not because he was guilty of anything—but because he knew exactly what would happen if he were caught on an estate late at night with a group of other boys. He was scared, and rightfully so.
    • I'm sure many people would look to see if someone needed help, and if so would do something about it, and at least phone the police if necessary if they didn't feel confident helping directly. At least I hope so. I'm sorry you don't feel safe, but surely ED isn't any less safe than most places. It's hardly a hotbed of crime, it's just that people don't post on here if nothing has happened! And before that, there were no highwaymen,  or any murders at all .... In what way exactly have we become "a soft apologetic society", whatever that means?
    • Unless you're 5 years old or have been living in a cave for several decades you can't be for real. I don't believe that you're genuinely confused by this, no one who has access to newspapers, the tv news, the internet would ask this. Either you're an infant, or have recently woken up from a coma after decades, or you're a supercilious tw*t
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