Nice People Thread No. 15, a Cyber Summer

Spirit_2

silvercar wrote: »

Flexi boarding - is that just a posh way to say she will come and go as she wants, but probably stay over sometimes?

Well done on her for getting the job. DS2-GF is doing CIPD as part of her grad scheme.

Flexible boarding as an offering many boarding schools have if they have a day school too.

There is no sometimes about it. Wednesday and Thursday nights we are told so she can do horsey stuff weds, thurs and friday am. She has negotiated a woking pattern so that thurs and fri she will get to work later . Work/life balance and such like.

Pyxis

:eek:

On now...BBC4 The Last Seabird Summer.

"Why have so many colonies of seabirds been wiped out?"

PasturesNew

Pyxis wrote: »

"Why have so many colonies of seabirds been wiped out?"

Have they?
Why should we/do we care?

Less to poop on your car.... or plod about on the roof like they own it.

Sounds like a lot of middle class people poncing about on jollies 'worrying' about things of no actual importance

Pyxis

Pastures, a lot of the birds are puffins, and we're talking about huge colonies of birds living on islands that have been almost wiped out.

Partly due to hunting but also something's happened to the sea to make it less sustainable for the small fish that the birds need to feed their young.

PasturesNew

I didn't even go in for spaghetti hoops.... I never buy spaghetti hoops .... so why did I just buy four cans?

Because I am terminally tight, that's why.

Regular/full sized cans, they're 29p/can .... but 4 for 64p.

So ... there'll be some cheap teas in the future.

2 slices of my 36p/loaf bread and half a can of hoops = 12p meals

chris_m

Pyxis wrote: »

Pastures, a lot of the birds are puffins, and we're talking about huge colonies of birds living on islands that have been almost wiped out.
Partly due to hunting but also something's happened to the sea to make it less sustainable for the small fish that the birds need to feed their young.

The Puffins on the Farne Islands, which I've photographed several times, have been hit with a few "whammies". A couple of years ago, IIRC, the islands were hit by a storm surge, wiping out many chicks in their nests.

On top of that, the sea temperature is rising, so the sand eels (their main diet) have moved further north - great for the colonies further north, not so good for those on the Farnes.

PasturesNew

chris_m wrote: »

... Farne Islands, which I've ...

... now got to Google as I've never heard of the place

Edit: £15 for a 2.5 hour boat trip to see puffins

http://www.farne-islands.com/trips/stapleisland.htm

chris_m

PasturesNew wrote: »

Have they?
Why should we/do we care?
Less to poop on your car.... or plod about on the roof like they own it.

Depends on the birds - I'd agree with you regarding herring gulls and black-headed gulls but there are many other species that are not a nuisance but are finding things more difficult.

chris_m

PasturesNew wrote: »

... now got to Google as I've never heard of the place
Edit: £15 for a 2.5 hour boat trip to see puffins

Off the Northumberland coast, near Seahouses.

Important breeding grounds for Atlantic Grey Seals, Puffins, Sandwich Terns, Arctic Terns, Guillemots, Razorbills, Shags, Fulmars, and Kittiwakes in the main.

I think we paid around £35, but we had the boat for the whole day landing on Staple Island and Inner Farne, as well as hanging around some of the reefs to photograph the seals as well. Don't know about the public trips, but Billy Shiels certainly did us proud for our charters.

Pyxis

PasturesNew wrote: »

Have they?
Why should we/do we care?

Less to poop on your car.... or plod about on the roof like they own it.

Sounds like a lot of middle class people poncing about on jollies 'worrying' about things of no actual importance

Gulls only do that because they are attracted to the areas where humans leave their edible detritus lying around, making it a 'sustainable' food source for the gulls.

If humans weren't so filthy, there wouldn't be a gull problem.