Taxing times in a Royal park

None of us like to pay tax but here's a "good" one.

Traders near Bushy Park are refusing to pay a "deer tax" introduced 500 years ago by Henry VIII. The tax was intended to compensate Henry for the loss of any deer which jumped over the wall and escaped from the park.

The Royal Parks say the tax is effectively a rental charge for the use of land near the park. Trader Lawrence Phipps has to pay £1,400 for a five metre wide strip of land next to the perimeter wall.


A Royal Parks spokesman said:

The Royal Parks charges an annual licence fee to owners whose property encroaches on Bushy Park.

All revenue raised from licences and rent contribute to the maintenance of the park.

The Royal Parks staff are always willing to discuss any concerns owners may have about the level or structure of charges.

Twickenham MP Vince Cable said the tax was "outrageous".

This is just a bizarre anomaly, a tax that originated hundreds of years ago because of what was happening in Tudor times.

The traders today are faced with the burden of paying it.

A bit of a wrong turn

An 81 year-old Australian became lost an early mornings trip to the shops. He ended up almost 370 miles from his starting point.

Mr Steward told police he failed to stop because he "liked to drive".

Mr Steward was visiting friends in Yass and went out to buy a newspaper on Monday morning. After more than eight hours and after taking a wrong turn on the highway he asked Victoria state police for help.

He said:

I just went out on the road to have a drive, a nice peaceful quiet drive.

I didn't know where I was going but I knew it was somewhere, and with a bit of luck I would eventually find my wife again.

Bonnie & Clyde

Do you really want yet another spot update? well I'm still spotty but they are VERY gradually going. I just hope the ones on my face goes soon.

Anyway this is a sweet story eventually!.

Two dogs were brought into a Norfolk animal shelter after being found wandering the streets in a rain storm.

The dogs are called Bonnie and Clyde and Clyde is blind.

When they are together Clyde appears as capable as a fully sighted dog - but he won't move unless Bonnie is nearby.

Bonnie guides him on walks or towards food and lets him rest on her when he becomes disorientated.

According to Cherie Cootes, who runs the Meadown Green Dog Rescue Centre in Loddon, Norfolk:

He totally relies on her the whole time. When she walks she tends to stop and make sure he's there - she does look out for him.

The dogs will be re-homed as a pair.

Want a job?

Given the high state of unemployment at the mo this might be of interest.

A job centre (and the local press) is advertising a vacancy at tourist site Woookey Hole, no shock there but the role is for a Witch (the previous witch retired).

Apparently applicants must be able to cackle and not be allergic to cats.

According to Daniel Medley of Wookey Hole:

We are witchless as the moment so need to get the role filled as soon as possible.

Wookey Hole wants the appointee to go about her everyday business as a hag, so that people passing through the caves can get a sense of what the place was like in the Dark Ages.

This was when an old woman lived in the caves with some goats and a dog, causing a variety of social ills, including crop failures and disease

Apparently ambitious witches looking for a "key career move" should arrive dressed for work armed with any "essential witch accoutrements".

Due to sexual discrimination law, the job cannot demand that the post is filled by a woman - shakes head.

The £50,000-a-year salary is pro rata. The salary is based on work done as needed, largely in the summer holidays, but also at Halloween and at Christmas.

The advert says that Interviews, which will involve on-site assessment incorporating a range of standard tasks, will take place on 28 July at 1100.

Oldest Bible Online

Although of little practical use to most of us 800 pages of the earliest Christian Bible have been put online at Codex Sinaiticus.

The bible is from the early 4th century and written in Greek on parchment leaves. By putting it online it is available for study by scholars around the world creates opportunities for collaborative research that would not have been possible just a few years ago.

The Codex Sinaiticus was found in 1844 after lying undisturbed in a Sinai monastery. It was then split between Egypt, Russia, Germany and Britain.

Dr Scot McKendrick, head of Western manuscripts at the British Library, said:

This 1,600-year-old manuscript offers a window into the development of early Christianity and first-hand evidence of how the text of the Bible was transmitted from generation to generation.

This link on differences to what we know now may interest.

The Bamboo Bike

It looks like we are returning to more normal temperatures this weekend.

There is something perverse about the British. We moan like crazy about how rubbish our summers are and as soon as we get temps in the mid 80's we whine like mad about "how hot it is".

A nice sunny mid 70's is my personal ideal.

Anyway lets get on with todays blogs.

I was watching a repeat of QI recently and they mentioned the amazing properties of Bamboo (fastest growing plant - can be 4ft a day, incredibly strong when treated).

So it was iwth interest I read this story about a company called Zambikes.

Zambikes is a Zambian company that makes bicycles with a frame made out of Bamboo! At the same time Zambikes was starting producing the bikes Santa Cruz-based bike designer Craig Calfee was experimenting with bamboo as a material for bike frames.

Now it looks like Zambikes will be exported to the US. The bikes are pricey $475 (£290) for road or mountain bike frames, and more than $900 (£550) for a finished bike. However it is hoped that the green properties of the bike will help them sell.

Zambikes doesn't make a profit yet but I hope it does well.

Out of Date

An error at the Royal Mint means that 1000's of "faulty" 20p coins have gone into circulation.

As you may know coins were redesigned last year and on the 20p the date was moved from the tails to the heads side. A number of new design 20 pence coins have been incorrectly struck using the heads side of the old design and tails side of the new version. This means that the coins have no date.

According to coin collectors 20p coins accidentally issued with no date on them could be worth £50 each.

British coins have had a date printed on them since 1662. This is the third error since decimalisation was introduced in 1971.

Between 50,000 and 200,000 of the coins are thought to be in circulation.

The coins are legal tender.

Farewell to a part of my childhood.

Why is it that somedays I struggle to think of anything to talk about and the next day I want to write 5 things at once?

When I got in last night and saw Shane's message I thought ah right that's tomorrow done.

I then had an idea for a post which will interest no one probably but I'll write it anyway (bet you can't wait!) and I awoke this morning to two other things worthy of comment.

Firstly I awoke this morning to hear that Michael Jackson had died. I expect lots of people to either be crying there eyes out or criticising him for his lifestyle choices and the allegations. I have to admit I was never really a fan but I can acknowledge he wrote some really memorable tracks. He had a troubled life and somehow I'm not surprised. He's at peace and I'd prefer to remember the music rather than the rest.

On a personal note I was more sad to hear that Farrah Fawcett had died of Cancer. For a generation of people Farah was THE sex symbol. All blonde hair and teeth. It all seems very innocent nowadays but Farrah was at her most famous when I was about 14.

She tended to play roles were here hair and teeth were the most interesting but later in life she gained some acclaim for her acting gaining a golden globe as well as 3 Emmy nominations.

She appreared nude in Playboy in 1995 aged 48 and it was the biggest selling issue of the 90's.

This is how many people will remember her. It sold in huge numbers.

You have to wonder.

Sometimes the pure viciousness of some people astounds me.

For example this story of Dave the cat that had a 14 inch crossbow bolt fire at him!! Luckily Dave is making a full recovery.

You have to wonder what motivates these morons to do something like that.

Some goodnews though was that Lucy a 17 year old border collie went missing from her home in Cornwall in February and was found 550 miles away in Scotland and returned to her family. The assumption is that Lucy was abducted.

And lets give a thumbs up to German tennis player Tommy Haas. His second round opponent had to retire injured, now he could have wandered off and gone back to his rented house, but no! Instead Haas played some shots with various of the ball boys and ball girls.

It didn't cost him anything but he probably made a few kids years! Nice one Tommy (and I hope he does rather well).

Duck Tale!

When I saw this story I thought it was perfect for the blog! Do check the video on the page.

Crispie the Aylesbury Duck was abandoned by her mother and Terri Seabright manager of the Mill at Gordleton (near Lymington in the new forest) has adopted her.

Terri has taught Crispie to swim and takes Crispie to the Mill. Crispie is such a star that she her own web page and there are people who only book tables if Crispie is visiting that day. Crispie only features Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday Lunchtimes and the web page gives dates of planned absences!!

When I'm in the New Forest next May (holiday ALREADY planned :D, want to go to the Isle of Wight) I am going to have to visit.

Well you have to smile

Well the expenses scandal rumbles on. I must admit I am slightly concerned by how many MPs, from all sides, find filling a form in so difficult.

"ah yes I know my mortgage finished 2 years ago, it was an adminstrative mistake" (which happened for 23 months) so that's alright then. I wonder if people claiming benefits can make the same defense?

But one story is really priceless. Yes step forward Conservative MP Sir Peter Viggers.

Sir Peter didn't fill forms in wrong or keep switching his first and second homes to avoid capital gains tax. Oh no Sir Peter bought a floating Duck Island to protect the ducks on his pond and charged the £1,645 to expenses.

If you want more info, a picture of the island and a rather amusing cartoon

Library Cat

For the past two years a Kent library has had an almost daily visit from Fidel an 8 year old cat rescue cat.

Fidel spends the day on his favourite blue chair and only leaves of an evening when he sees his owners returning home.

Apparently staff never encourage Fidel with food and in the past used to be him back outside but he always came back in.

According to a spokesman from Kent County Council sometimes Fidel can be found waiting at the front door before staff had arrived.

Well some sanity

I was around Dad's tonight and flicking through the local paper when a story caught my attention.

Now you MAY remember this story about Bilbo, Britain's only lifeguard dog, who was banned from his duties at Sennen cove?

Well 1500 people have petitioned for Bilbo to be reinstated as a working dog and officials have relented.

Footage of Bilbo here.

I'll be in Cornwall next year (Pete planning holidays already!!) so no doubt a trip to Sennen eh OC!!

Castaway Dog

A pet dog called Sophie Tucker was washed overboard when her owners Jan and Dave Griffith sailed through stormy waters off Queensland last November.

The couple believe that there pooch had been lost but Sophie swum 5 miles across shark infested waters to the largely uninhabited St Bees Island. On the island she survived on a diet of baby goats until rangers, who patrol the island, spotted her.

The rangers captured her and thought she was a wild dog until they were contacted by the Griffiths.

Mrs Griffith said:

She was seen on St Bees looking pretty poor and then all of a sudden she started to look good and that was when they discovered she was eating baby goats.

She had become quite wild and vicious. She wouldn't let anyone go near her or touch her. She wouldn't take food from anyone.

There was an emotional reunion when the Griffiths met the rangers' boat bringing Sophie Tucker to the mainland.

We called the dog and she started whimpering and banging the cage and when they let her out she just about flattened us.

Apparently Sophie has readjusted well to home comforts.

More info and a video here

Whoops, don't uspet the kids

I don't think this 18 year-old will be very popular when he comes back from travelling.

Village for Sale

If you have a spare £20-23 million (i did look down the back of the sofa but 50p and an old barley sugar were all I could find) then you may be interested in the following.

The village of Linkenholt (population 40) in Hampshire (near Andover) has been up for sale by its present owners the erbert and Peter Blagrave Charitable Trust. For your money you will own a manor house, 22 houses, 1,439 acres arable land, 103 acres of grassland and 425 acres woodland, a cricket field and a commercial shoot. Currently all of the properties are rented out.

There is a blacksmith and a shop run from a front room. The villagers are naturally concerned that new owners will want to change the place.

According to Colin Boast the Blacksmith:

We just hope that someone will buy it and keep as it is. The most important people in this are those who have been here forever. It will be very difficult for them if the village is changed or if their homes are not as secure as they have been.

There has to be a fear that any new owner will try and maximize profits.

Oh the 12th century church of St Peter (congregation 16) is the only few building not included in the sale as it is owned by the diocese of Winchester.

Wife for Sale

Gary Bates, a 38 year old self-employed builder from Gloucestershire England, has a death wish.

Bates has been married a year and after getting fed up with his wife's nagging decided to place a small-ad in the magazine Trade-It.

It read:

Nagging Wife. No Tax, No MOT. Very high maintenance -- some rust

Bates said,

She was nagging me for doing something small, while she was watching some rubbish on TV. So I just thought I'd put an ad in to get rid of her.

I didn't think anyone would ring up but I've had at least nine or 10 people calling about her. It's gone mad. There was no one I knew -- just people asking, 'Is she still available?'

The advert in the magazine's Free to Collect section also included some of his fishing tackle.

Apparently his wife at first gave him "a bit of an ear-bashing."

although now "She's seen the funny side of it now though!"

I bet that's been filed for "future reference".

a pony a lamb and some bird info.

Young Jan mentions a lamb that was adopted by a palomino pony. Click here for a pic of said pair!

Anyway according to the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) three bird species (Robin, Great Tit and Garden Warbler) had their worst recording breeding season last year.

According to the BTO's Mark Grantham, last year's wet and windy summer played a large part in reducing the number of chicks birds were able to successfully rear.

A further 8 species saw productivity fall significantly below average in 2008. Though 2007 was also very wet the rain in 2008 fell at the end of the breeding season with a greater effect on later breeders. Only the Reed Warbler had a slightly better than average breeding season.

Blackbirds, Great Tits and Song Thrushes saw productivity drop by more than 30 per cent.

It was interesting to note that Long Tail Tits had a good year as I have noticed some sizeable flocks. It's believed that milder winters mean that more are surviving.

Nice one Gail

When the lovely Jan was up a few weeks back we watched one of the semi-finals of University Challenge. This was won by Manchester University who looked a good bet for winning the whole thing.

One of my colleagues had the Sun in the office and as I perused it I found an article about the final and Corpus Christi Wondergirl Gail Trimble. Apparently Ms Trimble had scored a higher percentage of her teams points than anyone in the shows history. The Sun asked her a series of questions of which she knew none (I don't remember the name of that 12 year old kid who became a dad either).

Anyway I turned the final on with exactly 4 minutes to go and Manchester were winning 175-150. Apparently Ms Trimble had been quite quiet up until this point and then suddenly bang! It was almost like she decided she ought to answer questions and they ended up winning by about 70 points.

Curiously Ms Trimble has received a lot of criticism in blogs for being smart and smug! You what? I don't think she came across as smug, if I'd have won some like that I'd have had an earsplitting grin! Indeed in this interview she seemed a quite pleasant person.

There does seem a tendancy in this country to laud people who are stupid. God forbid you actually can be bothered to be learn something. I also wonder if we'd have seen quite the same level of interest if she had been male? The captain of the 1998 winning team was an attractive young woman called Sarah Fitzpatrick who was made a offer to pose topless - she refused.

By the way it does mean she is "the cleverest woman in the country"? Uh no! It mean she has a good memory and is quick. Have a good general knowledge doesn't make you clever. I bet she a bit bright though!

Is that a Pigeon down your trousers or ....

A man was caught with two pigeons down his trousers after he got off a flight from Dubai to Melbourne.

The live birds were wrapped in padded envelopes and held to the man's legs by a pair of tights under his trousers.

Australia has very strict laws about the illegal importation of wildlife, plants and food. The man could face 10 years imprisonment as well as a fine of A$110,000 (£50,000).

The man also had two eggs in a vitamim container.

Oddly the Pigeons weren't even rare!