30/01/2012 by admin.

Bird watchers in America are reporting a mass exodus of snowy owls from Arctic into the lower 48 states. The beautiful birds have been seen from coast to coast in a southern migration described as unbelievable by the owl research institute. The migration has baffled the experts with no logical explanation coming to the fore.

Snowy owls have been in the limelight for a number of years due to Harry Potter’s pet Hedwig, but we think this is real magic. The opening scene of our novel includes a white owl flying over the head of Ben Whittenbury as a prelude to all that follows, empowering him with the support of a hidden force - the Earth spirit or a divine creator - to serve as Nature’s Champion. This is deep magic and humanity neglects this sign at its peril.  Time for Bob Marley..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWw_gP0vDfE 

Posted in Q68 Does the Earth have a spirit?, Q75 Have you ever put on a show?, Haymakers: Watch Wonders, Q54 Do you enjoy a bit of a mystery?, Q39 Do you believe in magic?, Q16 Have you ever had a psychic experience?, Q20 Have your eyes ever deceived you?, Q12 Is our Earth enchanted? | No Comments »

12/01/2012 by admin.

The high street bookshop Waterstone’s has decided to drop the apostrophe from its online presence - a move designed to bring more vesatile and practical for the modern digital age.

The decision has not been without its critics with the Chairman of the Apostrophe Society calling the decision, ‘plain wrong’. Others have tweeted voicing their disquiet.

None of this surprises us since we had a huge debate about the appropriateness or otherwise of an apostrophe in ‘The Haymakers Survey’. The point is to illustrate how modern society is too focused on detail and triviality and has lost perspective and a sense of proportion on a whole range of issues.

Maybe the distractions are deliberate - to take our minds away from the bigger picture - maintain the status quo and defer action needed to protect the natural world and bring about a more just world.

Posted in Q76 Are you going to take action now to save our world?, Haymakers: Watch Wonders, Q62a Is life logical?, Q56 Do you believe rules are there to be broken?, Q20 Have your eyes ever deceived you?, Q46 Do you value a good education?, Q17 Can you speak another language? | No Comments »

19/12/2011 by admin.

At picturesque Carmarthenshire, ‘The Garden of Wales’ bundles of hay lay strew across raliway tracks after a commuter train struck a lorry carrying a hay trailer. 

Fortunately only a few passengers experienced minor injuries on the crossing at Whitland.  Seeing all that hay on the tracks makes for quite a sight and its interesting to us that Whitland translates to ‘The Old Whitehouse’, which is curious as in our novel Charles Lamb takes a serious fall adjacent to an old white house and claims that ‘it is all over.’  His journal also records how ‘The Blakesware Set’ speculated on the impact of the railways as the industrial revolution began to take a grip. Is Mother Nature telling us to derail the runaway train that is human exploitation of planet Earth?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFJ3KayeUTc

Posted in Q58 Do things happen for a reason?, Haymakers: Watch Wonders, Q51 Have you ever taken part in a protest?, Q20 Have your eyes ever deceived you?, Q12 Is our Earth enchanted?, Q.3 Do you have a good imagination? | No Comments »

12/12/2011 by admin.

Our Haymaker Caleb Hitch asked us to report that in Vancouver, Canada a cheeky black bear surprised everyone by hitching a ride on a rubbish truck in the centre of the coastal seaport city.  The British Columbian Conservation Officer Service suspect the bear climbed aboard in North Vancouver.  The bear was tranquilisedand caught in tarpaulin before being returned to a rural area.

The bear took the ride in Downtown Vancouver, close to Point Grey - one of Canada’s most affluent areas. Point Grey is also home to a diverse and ecologically appreciative populace.  Maybe Fanny Ebbs - the distraught Lady in Grey in our novel - would have something to say about the bear’s actions.  She symbolises the impact of the industrial revolution on the natural world. Maybe the bear was making the point that we’re throwing nature in the rubbish?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9EMWQGeWmc&feature=related

Hardly a teddy bear’s picnic?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MuNf70eV6sY

Posted in Q76 Are you going to take action now to save our world?, Haymakers: Watch Wonders, Q75 Have you ever put on a show?, Q41 Do you like surprises?, Q20 Have your eyes ever deceived you?, Q17 Can you speak another language? | No Comments »

15/08/2011 by admin.

New Zealand is under its heaviest snow in living memory. The once in a life time event saw Wellington experience heavy snow and blizzards with electricity cut and schools closed due to the disruption. Residents took to the streets with cameras to enjoy the snow and keepers at Wellington Zoo gave Happy Feet the lost emperor penguin found sick and starving on the west coast the chance to enjoy the conditions.

In our novel Malachi our messenger warns us - “Snow, did someone say snow?” Well, well,well. Is this the wake up call for humanity about what we’re doing to the planet that the Duke of Wellington warned us about in Charles Lamb’s journal? Coincidental too that the Emperor should have a say - as predicted by Charles. What’s Mother Nature up to?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RsQSRy85xBw

Posted in Q58 Do things happen for a reason?, Haymakers: Watch Wonders, Q51 Have you ever taken part in a protest?, Q35 Do you trust your instincts?, Q20 Have your eyes ever deceived you?, Q12 Is our Earth enchanted? | No Comments »

03/06/2011 by admin.

During a live semi-final of the British TV talent show the mogul Simon Cowell and another of the panel hosts were ‘attacked’ by a fly whilst passing judgement on one of the contestants, Jessica Hobson from Sheffield.

Simon Cowell is also behind the X-Factor talent show.  We’ve commented a number of times on this watch about the need for humanity to demonstrate that it has the X-factor in taking better care of this fragile world. The appearance of the fly before the X Factor king may be a further warning sign. It features in our story (under Q15) as a prelude to a scream of anguish from Mother Nature. Jessica, a talented and misrepresented singer, was unfairly slated and reduced to tears on stage - so we have injustice too.  We have a Hobson’s Choice - a free choice to take it or leave it. Only one option is up for grabs. Live better in harmony with Nature of face the consequences.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYlM0JlQO0A

Posted in Q65 Have you ever wished you could fly?, Q75 Have you ever put on a show?, Haymakers: Watch Wonders, Q51 Have you ever taken part in a protest?, Q34 Have you ever restored something?, Q15 Do you sometimes fear the worst?, Q20 Have your eyes ever deceived you?, Q11 Do you believe in justice? | No Comments »

24/02/2011 by admin.

The Haymakers Survey uses art as a medium to help inspire love for Nature. Well. there’s an award winning museum and art gallery in Sandhurst, Gloucestershire which is the world’s first dedicated to art inspired by Nature.  Aside from the aesthetic and cultural appeal of what it has to offer we’re drawn to it today because of magical events in neighbouring Quedgeley.

The village of Quedgeley has close connections with the RAF. Its official name was No 7 Maintenance Unit, RAF Quedgeley with the motto, Omnibus Ubique Servimus which means, “We Serve All, Everywhere”.  Interesting…

The Haymakers Survey tells how if you put a frog in a jar of water and slowly heat it the frog will die as it fails to react in time to the threat that eventually brings its demise. It’s a parable often used to highlight the threat to humanity presented by global warming.  Is it just coincidence then that Donna Hunt discovered a tropical tree frog amongst strawberries purchased from her local Tesco store in Quedgeley? She found it at the bottom of her fridge and thought at first it was a mouldy strawberry. Is this rare event so close to the home of Nature in Art a clear message that humanity needs to ‘cool down’ the Earth by reducing its CO2 emmissions and moving away from our dependency on oil?

We’re not the story tellers - Mother Nature is. Is it weird or what?

http://nature-in-art.org.uk/

Maybe the frog arrived with a message from the creator…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4o8TeqKhgY&feature=related

Posted in Q52 Do you believe in miracles?, Q53 Do you prefer to keep warm?, Haymakers: Watch Wonders, Q41 Do you like surprises?, Q39 Do you believe in magic?, Q12 Is our Earth enchanted?, Q20 Have your eyes ever deceived you?, Q.7 Have you dreamed of being a champion? | No Comments »

17/01/2011 by admin.

As foretold by Malachi the messenger in our story, we have another bold example of a rodent making a guest appearance before the media at the HQ of one of the world leaders.  Last year we reported how a rodent was caught on camera scurring outside the Whitehoue beneath the feet of the USA president.  Now during a live coverage by the BBC a large rat was caught on camera scurring across the steps of No 10, the famous home of the UK Prime Minister.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9ID0awW3jU&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ZbockdYBao

Is this more than a mere coincidence? Our novel warns that when we are on the tipping point of an unsustainable lifestyle we will experience, “The cat, the rat, and Lovell the dog, rule all England under a hog.”  It comes at a time when the Government is about to launch a highly controversial consultation document to sell off large swathes of Britain’s forests. Oh the perils of the rat race.  Need we say more?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTOajyzvIjE&feature=related

Posted in Q60 Have you ever experienced deja vu?, Haymakers: Watch Wonders, Q57 Have you ever spied on anyone?, Q36 Should a good life cost the Earth?, Q20 Have your eyes ever deceived you?, Q35 Do you trust your instincts?, Q12 Is our Earth enchanted? | No Comments »

14/01/2011 by admin.

A grizzly tale this one so sorry if you’re a but squirmish. Caleb Hitch will have his way! Well today’s media are reporting how CCTV caught a human thumb mysteriously falling from the sky into a car park. The speculation is that it was dropped by a bird flying overhead - perhaps a pigeon. Police have since revealed that the thumb belonged to a Hertfordshire man kidnapped at the weekend.

Our condolences go to the bereaved man’s family and friends, but Caleb wanted to remind us that our novel recalls his two thumbs on one hand and how he uses one of them to give a thumbs down (on how human’s are treating the planet). See page [ ]. Most bizarre.

Posted in Q20 Have your eyes ever deceived you?, Q15 Do you sometimes fear the worst? | No Comments »

01/01/2011 by admin.

On New Year’s Eve around 2000 red-winged blackbirds mysteriously plunged to their death covering a one mile area of Beebe Arkansas US. The number’s interesting as we printed 2,100 copies of the First Edition or our novel but there’s more…

Local residents describe the event as like a scene from a horror movie. The birds showed signs of physical trauma leading one ornithologist to suggest they may have been killed by lightning or high altitude hail. Perhaps there’s a deeper meaning?

The state capital of Arkansas is Little Rock, which is uncanny as the little rocks in our story are so key. Little Rock itself was named in 1821 the same year as Charles lamb’s journal. Arkansas’s nickname is The Natural State due to its wilderness and beauty - and this project is about supporting Mother Nature. Also, the State of Arkansas begins as 33.00 N latitude - and the number 3 is significant in our tale. Finally Beebe is a city in White County, Arkansas and Mother Nature tells us that white represents diversity in all its forms.

Here’s the City of Little Rock emblem…

Although not normally seen as a symbol of bad luck the blackbird is sometimes regarded as a symbol of vigilance, with the bird’s clear cry warning of danger. The Red Winged version suggests STOP! Its a final warning.

Here’s the Beatles song ‘Blackbird’ written after Sir Paul witnessed events in Little Rock unfold during the civil rights struggles.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uqGCqMYaHQ&feature=related

Posted in Haymakers: Watch Wonders, Q54 Do you enjoy a bit of a mystery?, Q20 Have your eyes ever deceived you?, Q15 Do you sometimes fear the worst?, Q12 Is our Earth enchanted? | No Comments »