SOME OF THE SPECIES YOU COULD HELP
HORSE Common and the neighbouring RSPB Franchises Lodge reserve are home to many of nature’s jewels – and in time could attract many more.
NIGHTINGALE
In serious decline in Britain. The RSPB hopes its wonderful song could again be heard at Horse Common.
NIGHTJAR
Mysterious summer visitor from Africa which has a distinctive churring song at dusk and feeds on moths.
HAWFINCH
Its bill exerts a force of around 100lb, powerful enough to crack cherry stones. There are only about 5,000 pairs in the UK.
LESSER SPOTTED WOODPECKER
Declined by up to 70 per cent in 25 years. Deer eat low vegetation on which it relies.
WILLOW TIT
Loves damp woodlands but has declined by about 90 per cent in 50 years says the British Trust for Ornithology.
SUNDEW
Droplets on its leaves attract insects. The leaf then curls round the victim and digests it.
ADDERS
Could virtually disappear from the UK by 2032 due to habitat disturbance and mowing of their grassland habitat.
HOBBY
A regular summer visitor from Africa, this falcon is so fast it can catch swifts and swallows on the wing.
WOODCOCK
Secretive wading bird with a long bill. Males perform courtship flights in spring over woodlands and heaths.
REDSTART
Striking summer visitor which comes here from Africa. Loves old oak woodland.
I SAW very little discussion in the news about this, but last week was Apprenticeship Week. The very hopeful idea from this Government is to make apprenticeships far easier to obtain and less costly for employers to give out.
It used to be that if you didn’t go to university or another further education college, you were considered to be the thicker end of the wedge.
Well, I didn’t go to university or college – in fact I hardly went to school. I’m dyslexic… and probably have Attention Deficit Disorder judging by the way I behave. But there’s still a certain amount of snobbery about going to university.
Now, having a degree doesn’t assure anybody of having a job, and we can see every day that being academically clever, or being able to give the right answers in exams, doesn’t actually give you common sense or intelligence, as we are led to believe.
I know that many people say that university is the best way to earn good money and guarantee a job. But is that the case today?
Obviously if you want to join a profession such as medicine or law, there’s no alternative. But for many people nowadays, learning on the job is more important and there are too many graduates out there.
And before anyone says it: no, this is not “sour grapes” because I didn’t go to university.