We were robbed, well to more precise Hol was the victim of cyber-crime luckily the bank thought hang on a minute that’s a bit odd and they refused the first request for $600 in the United States but they let them have a hundred bucks presumably because they felt sorry for such hard working tea leaves. In the end though they cancelled the card and reimbursed the money but there are some worries as it seems that it was quite easy to get the card number and use it fraudulently also what would have happened if she was in the US of A and they stopped her card. The connotations are seemingly endless and it’s like imagining infinity as it does yer ‘ead in.
On to more enjoyable things I have started to dabble into the how to get to ---------- game. In this case owing to responses from Ian and Jackie the subject is filled by Costa Rica. However expanding on the subject I looked at Beliza, several Caribbean islands and Sri Lanka. All have their good points and bad points but it seems that CR is the favourite. Apparently the mammals are quite specky, but the poison arrow frogs are to die for. Small joke but they must be fascinating. As for the birds well slap my thigh and get me there. The only drawback is that you have to get there via, once again, the good ‘ol US of A. So I floated the idea of a birding trip to somewhere exotic and giving four choices there was no dissent everybody voted for Costa Rica. It cannot be next year but the year after sounds the go. I’m looking forward to the discussions that will ensue but never one to sit around I have already ordered the field guide so I can start to learn the avifauna. Now what to do next year.
We had a pizza night to celebrate Manny doing her confirmation talk for her PhD and it,s quite amazing how much beer, wine and a variety of spirits can be imbibed in an evening. I confess to liking limoncello. Still a good night was had by all and Julian picked up his new car the following morning, which is a brand spanking all the bells and whistles Skoda. Including handlebars and a bicycle pump in case of punctures, only joking.
When all else fails there is always sport. The English cricket team never fail to delight or dismay so you never know what you are going to get. After the test matches in the Caribbean who would have thought that they would annihilate the kiwis. Then there was the disappointment of the under 20 Rugby World Cup when the rotten old kiwis beat us up. But at least we got to the final. Football is a delight with England seniors in cruise control and the under 21’s nearly through to the knockout phase of the European tournament. The Copa America is going strong, loved the big punch up when Brazil met Columbia, which resulted in red cards and handbags a five paces and the Chile Mexico game that finished three each. Australia made a trip to Kirgizstan I think well it was a stan of some species and came away with three world cup qualifying points and a taste for fermented camel milk probably. But the big game was Japan and Singapore in the same qualifying stage when the mighty Singapore team were held to a nil nil draw by the minnows of Japan. It was a truly bizarre game as Singapore managed half a shot on goal and I think Japan missed hundreds of goals that on any other day they would have scored twenty.
Finally if you have time check out the fire group blog. Holly is the editor of the group but don’t let that put you off. The thing is there is the most amazing film sequence of a Superb Lyrebird going completely nuts at a camera with a surprisingly dramatic end game. It’s at fireecologyanddiversity.com and is well worth a squiz. If it doesn’t work email me and I will check out the address.
On to more enjoyable things I have started to dabble into the how to get to ---------- game. In this case owing to responses from Ian and Jackie the subject is filled by Costa Rica. However expanding on the subject I looked at Beliza, several Caribbean islands and Sri Lanka. All have their good points and bad points but it seems that CR is the favourite. Apparently the mammals are quite specky, but the poison arrow frogs are to die for. Small joke but they must be fascinating. As for the birds well slap my thigh and get me there. The only drawback is that you have to get there via, once again, the good ‘ol US of A. So I floated the idea of a birding trip to somewhere exotic and giving four choices there was no dissent everybody voted for Costa Rica. It cannot be next year but the year after sounds the go. I’m looking forward to the discussions that will ensue but never one to sit around I have already ordered the field guide so I can start to learn the avifauna. Now what to do next year.
We had a pizza night to celebrate Manny doing her confirmation talk for her PhD and it,s quite amazing how much beer, wine and a variety of spirits can be imbibed in an evening. I confess to liking limoncello. Still a good night was had by all and Julian picked up his new car the following morning, which is a brand spanking all the bells and whistles Skoda. Including handlebars and a bicycle pump in case of punctures, only joking.
When all else fails there is always sport. The English cricket team never fail to delight or dismay so you never know what you are going to get. After the test matches in the Caribbean who would have thought that they would annihilate the kiwis. Then there was the disappointment of the under 20 Rugby World Cup when the rotten old kiwis beat us up. But at least we got to the final. Football is a delight with England seniors in cruise control and the under 21’s nearly through to the knockout phase of the European tournament. The Copa America is going strong, loved the big punch up when Brazil met Columbia, which resulted in red cards and handbags a five paces and the Chile Mexico game that finished three each. Australia made a trip to Kirgizstan I think well it was a stan of some species and came away with three world cup qualifying points and a taste for fermented camel milk probably. But the big game was Japan and Singapore in the same qualifying stage when the mighty Singapore team were held to a nil nil draw by the minnows of Japan. It was a truly bizarre game as Singapore managed half a shot on goal and I think Japan missed hundreds of goals that on any other day they would have scored twenty.
Finally if you have time check out the fire group blog. Holly is the editor of the group but don’t let that put you off. The thing is there is the most amazing film sequence of a Superb Lyrebird going completely nuts at a camera with a surprisingly dramatic end game. It’s at fireecologyanddiversity.com and is well worth a squiz. If it doesn’t work email me and I will check out the address.