25/10/2011 by admin.

We have another example of a rare albino, this time it’s a wombat from Ceduna, Australia. 

The endearing animal is being nursed back to health after being found alone and unwell. The wombat, named Polar, was found close to death dehydrated and exhausted by shearers.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZoo6rkxqJI

The name Ceduna is a corruption of the local Aboriginal word Chedonna and is said to mean ’sit down and rest’ which is what Ben Whittenbury did when the idea of The Haymakers Survey came to him.

We’ve done some thinking of our own. In urban slang the definition of WOMBAT is Waste Of Money, Brains And Time. Is this aimed at us given our wait in vain for the world’s media to take any notice of this project? Alternatively it might be aimed at humanity in general as we waste our talents in pursuit of largely selfish pursuits whilst the planet’s resources get swallowed up. Lest us forget that in Charles Lamb’s journal he reports how Mother Nature highlights the significance of albino in illustrating the value of diversity on planet Earth.  Maybe this gives you a whole new way of looking at the day?

Posted in Haymakers: Watch Wonders, Q63 Do you like the way you look?, Q43 Do you believe in happy endings?, Q34 Have you ever restored something?, Q22 Do you love our Earth? | No Comments »

22/10/2011 by admin.

In 1484, a scurrilous note was pinned to the door of St Paul’s Cathedral. It read quite simply, “The Catte, the Rattee and Lovell our dogge rulyth all Englande under a hogge.”  The brief, cryptic, satarical poem lampooned some of the highest born in the land, including Richard III who feared the poem would be used as proganda to lead a rebellion. 

In our novel Malachi warns us of the significance of the poem, perhaps directed at the inept way in which leaders across the globe are able to adopt a truely sustainable approach to living - being weighed down instead by economic crisis and war in the Middle East. 

Its fascinating then that an Occupy camp has set up outside of St Paul’s Cathedral. The group, Occupy London Stock Exchange, are protesting about the way financial institutions have mismanaged affairs in recent years.  Their presence has led to the cathedral being closed to visitors for the first time since the end of the Second World War.  The decision was taken for health and safety reasons. 

A spokesperson for the group, who gave her name as Lucy, said, “It was felt by everyone that we really wanted to stay and continue with the protest. This protest is massive, it affects everybody, everyone’s watching at home right now. It’s not just about a few people who have got some tents in St Paul’s, it’s not a stunt, it’s not a spectacle.”

Remember readers - in Charles Lamb’s Journal, Lucy’s the name of Mother Nature. Perhaps there’s a deeper spiritual message to all of this - that we should turn away from greed, money and possessions and live to saviour the beauty of the Earth.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0qQyW0W0Rw

Posted in Q62 Have you ever helped the poor?, Haymakers: Watch Wonders, Q51 Have you ever taken part in a protest?, Q36 Should a good life cost the Earth?, Q28 Have you ever lived in poverty?, Q33 Do you believe in life after death?, Q22 Do you love our Earth? | No Comments »

14/10/2011 by admin.

The fabulously talented Lady GaGa has appeared on the Jonathan Ross show with a sheep. She turned up with Kevin the Ram and took a seat on a sofa made of bales of hay. The pop artist wore a jade suit for her chat with Wossy - an outfit that has an uncanny resemblance to that worn by Mother Nature in The Haymakers Survey. The pastoral set was inspired by scenes from the video promoting her latest single “You and I”.

Our diarist Charles Lamb would be delighted by the sheep connection and the haybales speak for themselves. It really is about “You and I” as each and every one of us has a clear responsibility to care for our planet, rather than behave like sheep. We’d be GaGa not too.  This is the clip from the show…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hw9vkW4YevM

And here’s the brilliant video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9YMU0WeBwU

Posted in Haymakers: Watch Wonders, Q61 Have you ever worn fancy dress?, Q58 Do things happen for a reason?, Q40 Can you play a musical instrument?, Q22 Do you love our Earth? | No Comments »

28/08/2011 by admin.

In the wake of events during August reported on this watch we find it most interesting that a signed single by The Beatles has sold for £9k at auction. Its interesting because the music and philosophy of The Beatles is integral to The Haymakers Survey. The group inspired Ben Whittenbury and encouraged us to use the name of Billie Shears on the book cover.

Think about it… listen up… the message is clear from Mother Nature, “Please, Please Me”.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGZx46cMt98&feature=related

Posted in Haymakers: Watch Wonders, Q40 Can you play a musical instrument?, Q22 Do you love our Earth?, Q16 Have you ever had a psychic experience? | No Comments »

04/05/2011 by admin.

making a sound as they fall on the ground, is a line from a delightful song from the much loved Disney animation Bambi.

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

It’s what we normally expect from the Spring. Not this year. This year the UK has witnessed the warmest April on record, with temperatures between 3-5 degrees higher than average. It followed the driest March for over 50 years. In fact there’s been a distinct absence of rain across much of central Europe. The weather has confused many plants and animals into thinking summer has already arrived.

Whilst in America a record breaking tornado outbreak capped a month of extremes, including natural disasters and devastating wildfires. Six states recorded their wettest April’s on record and there were 875 tornadoes which was nearly four times the previous record of 267 for April.

As malachi reminds us, there’s no place like home…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJ6VT7ciR1o

Posted in Q35 Do you trust your instincts?, Q53 Do you prefer to keep warm?, Q30 Did you ever watch the rain on your window?, Q27 Do you like gardening?, Q22 Do you love our Earth?, Q15 Do you sometimes fear the worst? | No Comments »

07/02/2011 by admin.

“What so proudly we watched at the twilight’s last gleaming”, sang Christina Aguilera at the opening of the Super Bowl in Texas.  Lost in the moment she fluffed one of the lines from the US national anthem.  She ought to have sung, “O’er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming,” from the Star Spangled banner but belted out, “What so proudly we watched at the twighlight’s last gleaming.”  It’s really strange as she’s sung the anthem many times in public since the age of seven and never messed up yet.

So why now? As Christina is a supported of Defenders of Wildlife, we may have the answer. Remember this is the Whittenbury Watch and one of the most poignant scenes which inspired the Watch is at the start of our environmental novel. It takes place at “twilight’s last gleaming” when Mother Nature symbolically challenges the industrial world to clean up is act.

Maybe the force behind The Haymakers Survey prompted Christina to sing, “What so proudly we watched at the twilight’s last gleaming,” to hunderds of millions in the most influential country on Earth and the tune “Yankee doodle”, features time and again, including in Charles Lamb’s journal.  Whilst Sarah played at her own form of super bowls to show that we’re playing with Nature. It’s now or never folks for humanity on planet Earth…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgxA3Aus8jY

Oh , The Green Bay Packers scored a historic win ove the Pittsburgh Steelers… need we say more?

Posted in Q58 Do things happen for a reason?, Q70 Do you like to look at the stars?, Q75 Have you ever put on a show?, Haymakers: Watch Wonders, Q39 Do you believe in magic?, Q34 Have you ever restored something?, Q12 Is our Earth enchanted?, Q16 Have you ever had a psychic experience?, Q22 Do you love our Earth?, Q.9 Do you feel in control of your life? | No Comments »

03/02/2011 by admin.

Mother Nature is benevolent and kind at heart - she loves the human race. We are the controlling species on planet Earth tasked with the responsibility to live sustainably and respect wildlife and the environment. The cyclone we reported yesterday provides a perfect example. Amid the fury of the storm an English midwife from Hertfordshire on holiday in Australia celebrating her 25th wedding anniversary delivered a baby at an evacuation centre in Cairns. The infant’s mother has chosen to name the child Lucie - the name of Mother Nature personified in The Haymakers Survey.  The new arrival coincided with the storm’s path avoiding the most populated areas of the continent.

But this kindness comes at a time when the evidence is mounting up that humanity is on the verge of a global crisis. Take these examples:

• Globally 2010 was the warmest year on record, arguably due in the main to human related activity.
• 2010 saw the Amazon experience a severe drought (worse than that in 2005, which was described then as a once in a century event). Scientists suggest this is further evidence of the Amazon’s vulnerability to rising global temperatures.
• Experts say we are losing 137 plant, animal and insect species every day due to rainforest deforestation
• If current trends continue 40% of the Amazon rainforest will be lost to soy production and palm oil by 2050 
• Extreme weather conditions in Russia, Australia, USA, and Malaysia are having a major impact on key food production and availability driving up prices worldwide and triggering civil discontent in the middle East.  
• Whilst an astonishing One in Ten adults on Earth are officially obese as more countries adopt Western lifestyles - levels double what they were 30 years ago.  As people in the UK eat 3.5 times more meat than that recommended by the World Health Organisation, contributing to cancer, diabetes, and obesity.
• All this as globally meat production is set to double from 2001 to 2050.
• Yet in the UK, for example, 8.3 millions tons of food is thrown away by households every year.
• And about 1.5 tons of rubbish is thrown away by an average UK family - that’s like throwing half an elephant into a landfill.
• Little wonder then that a UN report out today warns that the world’s population growth must slow significantly to avoid reaching unsustainable levels, which means fertility must fall below replacement level.  Numbers are expected to reach 7 billion later this year and 14 billion by 2,100.
• More people to do more consuming - in its State of the World 2010 report the Worldwatch Institute found the world consumed $350 trillion goods and services in a year - up by nearly 30% on the previous decade.  The world now digs up the equivalent of 112 Empire State buildings in materials every day.  The average American consumes about 144 pounds of goods every day, more than the average weight of a US male. The Institute warns that without a shift from consumerism to sustainablity humanity will face hazardous environmental and climate risks.

This isn’t us being pessimistic or doom mongers - these are facts, not signs. We can’t go on like this - like a plague of locusts devouring all before us.  Someone needs to stand up and say, “Enough”. Time for International Rescue…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2K9rVRuehGU

Posted in Q76 Are you going to take action now to save our world?, Q51a How many people does it take to fill up the Earth?, Haymakers: Watch Wonders, Q36 Should a good life cost the Earth?, Q34 Have you ever restored something?, Q15 Do you sometimes fear the worst?, Q22 Do you love our Earth?, Q12 Is our Earth enchanted? | No Comments »

31/10/2010 by admin.

It’s Halloween and we have a horror story to report. Our novel records the role of The Emperor in orchestrating the magical events in our story about Mother Nature. Well we’re sad to report that a magnificent stag known as the Emperor of Exmoor has been shot dead by poachers.  The animal who stood 8ft tall and weighed 300lbs was killed for his prized huge antlers.  The majestic red deer was shot at the height of the rutting season.  He was last caught on camera on 8 October.

As The Emperor is behind the magic in our novel - the creative force behind Nature - maybe we are nearing some form of conclusion. The evidence is mounting. A global conservation study reveals that one fifth of the world’s population of plants and animals are now under threat of extinction.  An eniment ecologist, Professor Edward O Wilson of Harvard University, said, “The backbone of bio-diversity is being eroded”.  However, the report does highlight some real successes on conservation. 

Many factors are driving the demise - pollution and contamination in the air at land and sea, global population growth (now at 6.87billion), deforestation, economic pressures, loss of habitat, climate change, poaching, misguided beliefs about medical benefits of prized animal parts, greed and a throw-away consumption based culture.  We’re being warned - put bluntly less on all of this means more!

Meantime let’s honour the Emperor..

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

Posted in Q51a How many people does it take to fill up the Earth?, Q36 Should a good life cost the Earth?, Q34 Have you ever restored something?, Q22 Do you love our Earth?, Q.1 Does your life have a purpose? | No Comments »

04/08/2010 by admin.

On 1 August we launched online the second novel in The Haymakers Survey trilogy. It’s called ‘Uncle John’s Notebook - Earth Story’. http://watchthehaymakerssurvey.co.uk/ 

We’re tickled by a curious coincidence. On the same day a rare solar storm occured.

The event was witnessed by astronomers worldwide. A huge flare burst out above a sunspot the size of the Earth.  The explosion caused a coronal mass ejection aimed directly at this planet. Experts said the CME would hit the Earth around 3 and 4 August sparking spectacular displays of the aurora.  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_4HVKrzsbs

Dr Lucie Green of the Mullard Space Science Laboratory has been following the flare-ups. She said, “What wonderful fireworks the Sun has been producing”.  Maybe Mother Nature is celebrating the launch of the online serialisation of our second novel?

Posted in Q75 Have you ever put on a show?, Haymakers: Watch Wonders, Q68 Does the Earth have a spirit?, Q58 Do things happen for a reason?, Q23 Do you believe all the laws of physics?, Q22 Do you love our Earth? | No Comments »

18/05/2010 by admin.

President Obama today announced an enquiry into the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.  The developing environmental consequences of the giant oil leak have been in the media spotlight for some time. Between 5,000 -10,000 barrels of crude oil per day have been gushing out of the underwater oil leak since 20 April after the Deepwater Horizon rig sank.  There are a range of ongoing efforts to contain the leak and attempts at reassurance from British Petroleum.  There’s now talk of litigation.

If we think about it the oil slick is a consequence of the world’s love affair with oil as a power source. The incident reminds us that this love affair carries risks beyond carbon emissions and arguably war to secure access to the resource. Curious then that a person named Mr HAYWARD is the Chief Executive at BP and that the incident took place in the Gulf of Mexico (which raises the X Factor poser once more).  

Teams of volunteers are working to help save local wildlife. Laudible but odd if we think about it as we (humanity) destroy nature bit by bit, sometimes unwittingly, then try to save her! This is the underpinning message in the Secret Inheritance. We need a new dawn!

It’s chaos really. Time for the Beatles Octopus’ Garden.

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

Posted in Q36 Should a good life cost the Earth?, Q74 Do you like puzzles?, Q34 Have you ever restored something?, Q22 Do you love our Earth?, Q15 Do you sometimes fear the worst?, Q.8 Do you crave a better life? | No Comments »