The Law of Unintended Consequences

 Most people will be able to give you an example of "the law of unintended consequences" where the expected beneficial actions of a person, group, organisation or government turn out to have unexpected and unhelpful effects. For example, the town of Quelimane in Mozambique had a rat problem which...

Citizen Science - Turbidity (Part 1)

The Wye Alliance is a network of citizen scientists monitoring pollutant levels in the River Wye and its tributaries and working closely with the Environment Agency (EA). Citizen Science (CS) projects often work with basic instrumentation/equipment collecting vast quantities of data that regulatory...

Apple Bobbing on the River Wye?

 Mary & I were walking to the AGM of CPRE Herefordshire that includes a stretch of the River Wye as it passes through the city of Hereford. We noticed some green vegetative matter and the odd log in the water but didn't stop to investigate as we would have been late for the meeting. Some...

Classic Vinyl #2 Stevie Wonder - Innervisions

 A talent like Stevie Wonder only comes along once in a generation. A multi-instrumental singer/songwriter/producer who signed up to his first record deal (Tamla Motown) aged 11 and had his first #1 hit when only 13. Born 6 weeks premature in 1950 as Stevland Hardaway Judkins, he was blind virtually...

Bicester Trip and Snowshill Manor

 Having already visited two National Trust properties (Chastleton House and Waddesdon Manor) on our long weekend trip to Bicester, we went for the hat-trick by stopping off at Snowshill Manor & Garden on the journey home.Photo 1: Snowshill Manor (September 2024)The manor (village and land)...

Westonbury Mill Water Gardens

 In an earlier blog, I mentioned a visit to Westonbury Mill Water Gardens on our way to Knighton for a weekend away. I have just remembered that I forgot to tell you about the water gardens. They only open during the Spring & Summer (April to Semptember, inclusive) so you've got plenty of time...

Bicester Trip and Waddesdon Manor

 Following on from my earlier blogpost, while staying in Bicester we paid a visit to Waddesdon Manor. We had visited Waddesdon on two previous occasions: the first time when our youngest daughter was married at the Dairy, and, the second time, when we were passing and needed refreshments/facilities...

First Frost of Autumn 2024

 We experienced our first autumn frost of 2024 on the 11th October. It was forecast and occurred between 5 o'clock and 9 o'clock in the morning (Figure 1).Figure 1: Recorded Minimum Temperatures (12 am to 12 pm, 11/10/24)The data logger recorded a minimum -0 ℃, so just below the freezing point...

Higher Global Temperatures = More Rain

 Recently, I discussed the 'biblical' rainfall experienced in Hereford in September 2024. As global (and local) temperatures increase as a result of climate change, we expect precipitation levels to increase commensurately. This is just basic physics - warmer air contains more moisture so more...