We now have five different nations and various multi-billionaires launching rockets to the moon. I mean, The Waste. All of them working separately and secretly so that those other humans on the other side of a man-made border (the worst human invention?) don't steal their knowledge.
If they really have to prove how great we are by boldly going to new planets and moons why can't they work together? Imagine if all those incredibly clever people concentrated on their common lunar goal, then all of the spare, unneeded scientists could work on improving things back here. Maybe they could solve the problem of energy storage. We desperately need a way of keeping hold of green energy for when the wind doesn't blow or the sun shine.
Stop playing with your big missiles and sort out a much more pressing problem here on Earth. After all, it's not rocket science
Massive thanks to the lovely Resurgence and Ecologist magazine for featuring our Let's Go Wild poster and leaflet in the latest edition
Brushes, jars and turps
A sketch for a lovely couple who live near the top of Gold Hill
Proud to have my watercolours on display in the Adrian Hill Fine Art gallery in Holt, Norfolk. Especially as the paintings are snuggled up to the work of some amazing artists including, ahem, a Mr Hockney, Lowry and Seago
……painter in front of paintings pic.
A great opening night to the Monarch's Way exhibition at Kevis House Gallery last night in Petworth. The show runs until 29 July and is part of the Petworth Festival Many thanks to all the very supportive people who came along to the beautifully curated gallery……and spilled outside when there wasn't enough room
Many thanks to Keri at This is Alfred for the interview about the Sustainable Shaftesbury Let's Go Wild interactive graphic and poster
Sustainable Shaftesbury has produced a free illustrated poster to encourage the town's residents to welcome wildlife into their gardens.
Advice about simple steps to attract hedgehogs, insects, birds and butterflies to their backyards is also available as an interactive graphic . The project has been put together by the council-backed Sustainable Shaftesbury committee and written by Angela King and Sue Clifford who, along with Roger Deakin co-founded Common Ground, the creators of Apple Day. Ex-Sunday Times Graphics Editor Gary Cook produced the illustrations to highlight that small, easy measures and changes to how we garden can help to reverse the 70% decline in biodiversity we are witnessing.
The group is offering the artwork free to other councils to produce their own versions of the poster and help sow the seed of relaxed gardening and the positive impact it can make on wildlife populations, further afield.
Over three quarters of the UK population are concerned about climate change and biodiversity loss and this poster, which features the town's star attraction Gold Hill, offers a range of solutions to combat it, many effort-free. For example, “Enjoy the quiet of No Mow May! Park the lawnmower for a while: welcome the wild flowers and listen to the grasshoppers. Check for slow-worms, hedgehogs, frogs and other creatures before strimming or mowing." Or "Let some of your garden go wild. Allow daisies, buttercups, forget-me-nots, clovers and mixed grasses to grow. Dandelion flowers are an important early food source for bumblebees and butterflies." Other advice includes "Plant fruit and nut trees, flowering shrubs with berries. Share a tenth (tithe) of your produce from apples to red currants with creatures great and small."
An interactive version can be seen here . The poster and leaflets are available free from Shaftesbury Town Council and throughout Shaftesbury. Contact Brie Logan, Town Clerk at Shaftesbury Town Council for free use of the illustrations. More information and interviews with Sue Clifford at sue.mclifford@btinternet.com
Many thanks to Jeannette Hardiman and Keri Jones at the brilliant This is Alfred radio programme for letting me mumble away about why I like Shaftesbury so much. Have a listen here