Jewels In The Sand.

The other day my son said I was passionate about things; which seemed odd, because I don't remember being passionate about very much. "With regards to what?" I asked. "Stuff", he responded waving his hand in the general direction of a bookcase, politely avoiding the word obsessive. Clearly I have a fondness for books.... and quite a lot else. Who needs to buy art when can own a paper cup: their colourful exteriors and empty interiors a metaphor for the human condition. Whoops, I mistakenly thought I was exhibiting at The Tate Gallery. I find the design of paper cups…

When In Doubt – Go To The Beach.

I presently live in British Columbia, where the car number plates say 'Beautiful British Columbia' - but really, it isn't like that down on the Lower Mainland where there's a competition to see how quickly the whole area can be covered with houses; planning isn't an issue though because there doesn't seem to be too much of that - it's just one big urban sprawl of grey and drab cow dung coloured houses, which, more often than not, are oversized for the land that they stand upon - it's ugly stuff and to add to the nastiness of the burgeoning…

The New Forest’s Overgrazed Heathlands.

Overgrazing the New Forest - a major contribution to species decline. I wrote recently about ‘The New Forest’ and the obvious truth that it has a litter problem, but there is something more consequential going on that has been bothering me for years - the fabric of the Forest is being eaten away by herbivores more quickly than it can regenerate, and rather like the litter - there is no sign of a change for the better. The New Forest, for those who don't already know, is a patchwork of habitats ranging from lawns, through open heathlands to forests and…

HAWAII: JUST ANOTHER DAY IN PARADISE. PART 2 – INVASIVE SPECIES.

On my first visit to Hawaii I saw a bumper sticker that I found amusing, because clearly there are no bad days in Hawaii. Every day on a tropical island seems pretty much the same to an outsider; barring the occasional storm, pleasant weather and spectacular light are the order of the day, but maybe there are more problems in paradise than most of us realise, although suggesting a luggage sticker has been designed with irony in mind might be stretching it a bit. There are odd little things you notice. You might for example begin to wonder what's going…