The call of the curlew
QUESTION Where in the UK are the breeding strongholds for waders, such as the fast-declining curlew?
I AM a moorland gamekeeper in the North of England. From late March, curlews, lapwings, redshanks and plovers start to arrive on my doorstep after spending winter near the coast.
These fantastic birds come to make the most of the brilliant habitat of the uplands — studies suggest their numbers are five times higher on managed grouse moors than unmanaged land.
Curlews were moved to the red list of threatened UK birds last year after a 46per cent decline since the early Nineties.
However, in the uplands of Northern England, curlew populations are bucking this trend and are remaining stable.
Gamekeepers and farmers provide a safe habitat by keeping constant pressure on foxes, stoats and weasels. All of these predators are increasing in number, which is detrimental to bird life.
Most wading birds, including the curlew, nest on the ground, where they are vulnerable. They need protection, or at least some help, from us.
We control populations of corvids (crows and magpies) because they are prolific egg and chick thieves and will have a huge effect on the number of waders.
There is nothing more enjoyable than to wake up to the call of the curlew while it soars over the meadows and moorland.
If you want to see curlews, visit the Yorkshire Dales, North Pennines, North York Moors and the P eak District — you will see far more birds there than in a local park. At this time of year , birds are nest - ing, so please stick to the paths and keep dogs on leads.
Wading birds have a hard enough time with the British weather and the loss of their habitat. Surely we should all be doing our bit to help by reducing the predation pressures?
Even the RSPB carries out control to ensure the survival of vulnerable species — it makes sense.
Richard Bailey, Buxton, Derbys. QUESTION Many people claim to have seen heaven in near-death experiences. Has anyone seen hell? IN LIFE After Life (1975), Raymond Moody coined the term near - death experience to describe the mystical, transcendental or bizarre visions associated with impending death.
One of the best known is from George Ritchie during World War II, published in his 1978 book, Return From Tomorrow.
Suffering from pneumonia, Ritchie was brought to a U.S. Army hospital in Richmond, V irginia. He was pronounced dead, but was revived nine minutes later.
During those nine minutes, he experienced a vision he described as hell. He described a barren wasteland where hideous creatures were engaged in vicious battle: ‘Even more hideous than the bites and kicks they exchanged were the sexual abuses many were performing in feverish pantomime. Perversions I had never dreamed of were being vainly attempted all around us.’
This experience would inspire Ritchie to become a psychiatrist and write several books on the subject.
Angela Dyer, Lancaster. MY GREAT-GRANDMOTHER was a nasty and selfish woman in her old age. Even at her 90th birthday party she was unpleasant, accusing the family of not being able to wait until she died — and she very nearly did that same day due to a sudden cardiac arrest.
Her son (my grandfather) gave her CPR while an ambulance was called, but within minutes she was so pale and still that she appeared to be dead. Just after the ambulance arrived, she let out an ear-piercing scream and grabbed hold of the paramedic’s arm as he kneeled beside her. With her eyes closed, she asked if anyone could hear her and begged them to save her.
She seemed determined not to let go, but after yelping: ‘ Just pull me out,’ became motionless again, though alive.
Later, she recounted to us that she felt herself floating and then falling at a speed into almost complete darkness, where angry voices tormented her — trapped in nothing, she felt she was in hell.
It was an experience that seemed to cause deep trauma because she became an anxious and subdued person before passing away the following year.
She was not schizophrenic nor do I believe she went to hell. The electric surge in a dying brain can lead an individual to believe they are anywhere. Perhaps unpleasant people are doomed to see unpleasant things.
Eric Carpenter, Bath.
QUESTION Under the Soviet regime, people used humour to express their desire for freedom and reform. What were some of these jokes?
FURTHER to earlier answers, I lived in the USSR and Belarus for 50 years before I married an Englishman.
Jokes (Russians call them ‘anecdotes’) are an essential part of life. Here are a couple from the Seventies.
The mole takes his young son out from their burrow . They enjoy the warm sunshine, soft grass, fresh air and the pleasant smell of flowers.
The youngster asks: ‘Daddy, it is so nice here. Why do we live in our burrow where it is dark, cold, cramped and stinks?’
‘Because that is our Motherland, my dear,’ the mole replies.
Here’s another one: How do you know a woman is rich? In Britain, a rich woman would buy a car matching her eyes; in France, a rich woman would buy a car matching her lover’s eyes; in the USSR, a woman is rich if she can afford to wear brand new tights under her trousers.
Sofiya Finbow, Cheltenham, Glos.
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