13/01/2010 by admin.

Our intention was to conclude the Watch at end 2009. However, events in Haiti have made us think again. On 8 November 2009, we covered a story about Lucy Jones a seismologist at the US Geological Survey and our anxiety about her working for an organisation looking at Earthquake prediction evaluation.  http://watch.thehaymakerssurvey.com/2009/11/08/x-factor-lucies-cruel-farewell/ 

Just 2 months after our story, we now have a state of emergency in Haiti. On January 12,  Haiti was struck by a magnitude 7.0 earthquake, the country’s most severe earthquake in over 200 years. Widespread damage resulted from the quake, with a majority of buildings collapsing due to poor structural design and construction. The capital city was devastated and up to some 100,000 people are feared dead.

Normally we would put the earthquake down as an entirely natural occurance, but the timining is odd given the phonetics of the country’s name: Haiti sounds like it begins with the word HAY probably the only country in the world with such phonetics. Did we somehow anticipate the disaster?

Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. It has been struck by multiple hurricanes, causing flooding and widespread damage, most recently in 2008 from Tropical Storm Fay and Hurricane Gustav. This prompted Miami herald journalist Leonard Pitts, Jr., to ask “if the planet itself is not conspiring against this humble little nation”.

Haiti was once lush; less than 100 years ago 60% of its original forest covered the lands and mountainous regions. Since then, an estimated 98% of its original forest cover had been cut down, and in the process has destroyed fertile farmland soils, contributing to desertification. It is now extremely vulnerable to natural disasters. In addition to soild erosion, deforestation has caused periodic flooding, as seen on 17 September 2004. tropical storm Jeanne skimmed the north coast of Haiti, leaving 3,006 people dead in flooding and mudslides. Earlier that year in May, floods killed over 3,000 people on Haiti’s southern border with the Dominican Republic.

We do not in any way wish to be disrespectful to the victims in this horrific event and our deepest sympathies go to all concerned. We wish the people of Haiti well as they struggle to respond to the crisis. A huge interrnational aid effort is underway and we have already made our own donation. As their moto says ‘Strength is Unity’ - a lesson for all humanity perhaps.

Posted in Q62 Have you ever helped the poor?, Q68 Does the Earth have a spirit?, Haymakers: Watch Wonders, Q35 Do you trust your instincts?, Q34 Have you ever restored something?, Q22 Do you love our Earth?, Q31 Are you a charitable neighbour?, Q15 Do you sometimes fear the worst? | No Comments »

02/11/2009 by admin.

Our readers will know all about how our novel poses the question - “do we have the X factor?” That is do we (humanity) have what it takes to preserve our natural world or are we simply too selfish and greedy a species to merit our position as alpha species for very much longer?  Well we’ve seen a number of examples on this Watch of events linked to this point (just enter X factor in the search function below). 

Today we have another example to reveal: at the heart of arguably one of Europe’s busiest shopping streets a giant X has appeared in the road. Its a new pedestrian crossing at Oxford Circus based on designs from Tokyo which allows people to cross diagonally as well as straight across. 

So in these hey days of consumption we wonder whether the large X at the centre of a shoppers paradise is in reality a poser for humanity! 

Posted in Q36 Should a good life cost the Earth?, Q58 Do things happen for a reason?, Q34 Have you ever restored something?, Q20 Have your eyes ever deceived you?, Q.8 Do you crave a better life?, Q.3 Do you have a good imagination? | No Comments »

24/09/2009 by admin.

Terry Herbert, an amateur metal detector, has found the largest hoard of Anglo-Saxon gold ever discovered. The harvest of over 1,500 pieces of treasure included weapons, coins, helmet decorations and Christian crosses. The first scraps of gold were found by Terry in July with the last pieces removed by a small army of volunteers a couple of weeks ago.  The hoard is believed to have been in the ground for some 1,300 years and has been declared treasure by coroners with a monetary value of £1m.

Its a magical discovery and we ask, did we foresee it? Page 212 of our novel tells of Bill Darvill’s search for ancient treasure using a metal detector and how he paused now and then to dig the soil of an open field to hunt for gold. It was the prelude to the discovery of Charles Lamb’s journal (page 214). Here’s an extract:

“Legs astride, the metal detector swung too and fro in his [Bill’s] hands like a hypnotic pendulum…. [He] witnessed the heavy clunck as Jonas’ spade struck something buried within the soil. [He] also heard Sarah’s excited shriek, “Yes we’ve found the treasure”.

In response Malachi says, “Open your heart, we’ve got to change. There’s still a chance for us.” He adds in Latin (page 215) “Multorum minibus magnum levator onus” which means “By the hands of many a great load is lightened.”  His words have extra poignancy given a Latin inscription in a strip of gold amongst the Staffordshire hoard which translates in “Rise up O Lord, and may thy enemies be dispersed and they that hate the be dispersed.”

Could it be that the discovery is a timely reminder that we need to work together to salvage the real treasure - the diversity and ecology of the majestic and miraculous planet we inhabit?

Posted in Q80 Have you ever searched for buried treasure?, Haymakers: Watch Wonders, Q68 Does the Earth have a spirit?, Q47 Do you know your history?, Q34 Have you ever restored something?, Q20 Have your eyes ever deceived you? | No Comments »

14/09/2009 by admin.

A Red Panda has escaped from London Zoo to hide up a tree in Regent’s Park. The rare animal was spotted at 03:00am by a local cameraman Martin Ellerbeck.  Zoo-keepers were unable to coax the creature down so resorted to using a tranquilizer.  An inquiry will be held into how the animal escaped.

Our take on this is simple: RED ALERT for action to preserve Mother Nature! Where’s our evidence? Its another example of an escaped animal to feature on our Watch; the creature was first seen at three - a number key to our project; and he escaped to Regent’s Park - our novel includes several mentions of the antics of the Prince Regent. To cap everything, the Panda’s name was Peter - in our novel we have a cameo appearance from Sir Peter Scott - founder of the WWF and designer of the orginal WWF panda logo. Do the panda’s antics amount to a life imitating art moment?

The Red Panda is also known as a FireFox so here’s a suitable emergency response…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mGDq1aXRwls&feature=related

Posted in Q56 Do you believe rules are there to be broken?, Q76 Are you going to take action now to save our world?, Haymakers: Watch Wonders, Q51 Have you ever taken part in a protest?, Q34 Have you ever restored something?, Q12 Is our Earth enchanted?, Q17 Can you speak another language?, Q21 Have you ever hugged a tree?, Q.8 Do you crave a better life? | No Comments »

09/09/2009 by admin.

Our readers will know that our adventure opens with the appearance of the ghostly ‘Lady in Grey’ following the peal of five bells from a distant church at Widford Hertfordshire - as an announcement to help grab our attention we believe.

Deeply curious then that on this symbolic date, the oldest circle of bells in the Christian world have been lovingly restored and rehung at St Lawrence’s Church in Ipswich, Suffolk.  They date from 1450 and would have been heard by Cardinal Wolsey as a boy.  Restoration project organiser, Dr John Blatchley, anticipates word of the restoration will spread around the world.  The bells were returned to the tower of the church for the first time in 25 years. 

The five bells will carry an amazing medieval ring - a sound to warm the hearts. 

http://www.eveningstar.co.uk/content/eveningstar/news/story.aspx?brand=ESTOnline&category=News&tBrand=ESTOnline&tCategory=xDefault&itemid=IPED10%20Sep%202009%2007%3A58%3A52%3A177

More details on the bells and their triumphant return can be found at…

http://www.suffolkchurches.co.uk/stlawrenceipswich.htm

Posted in Q58 Do things happen for a reason?, Haymakers: Watch Wonders, Q46 Do you value a good education?, Q35 Do you trust your instincts?, Q34 Have you ever restored something?, Q12 Is our Earth enchanted? | No Comments »

09/09/2009 by admin.

We have the icing on the cake from The Beatles - a digitially remastered box set has been released, together with an X-Box Beatles game: ‘The Beatles: Rock Star’. 

Our fascination is with the date of release. In Britain, 999 means EMERGENCY = given the role of The Beatles as the creative influence for our project we believe this relates to the ecological emergency facing planet Earth. Why the X-Box Game even has E3 in the title and is rated 12 (another coincidence given the 12 mystical stones to feature in our novel).

The White Album included the song ‘Revolution Number 9′. It has a curious new meaning now…

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

Oh, the promotional videos below provide all the details of the new releases. 

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

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpBDOolcs9g&feature=fvw

Posted in Q75 Have you ever put on a show?, Haymakers: Watch Wonders, Q58 Do things happen for a reason?, Q49 Do you ever think about the old days?, Q40 Can you play a musical instrument?, Q34 Have you ever restored something? | No Comments »

20/08/2009 by admin.

Langstone Harbour in Hampshire on the English coastline has been clogged up with seaweed creating the illusion from the air of a massive Green Carpet. There’s a similar breakout off the coast of Northern Brittany in France too. 

Its all down to nutrients being pumped into the sea with a damaging impact on the local wildlife. The carpet is upsetting the food chain since it kills worms and shrimps in the mud beneath. Fortunately the Environmental Agency has introduced tougher rules for farmers to prevent fertilisers getting into rivers that feed the harbour.

Langstone Harbour is an inlet of the English Channel sandwiched between three islands, including Hayling Island, the east of which is designated as a Special Protection for Wildlife. The harbour is also one of three linked harbours, including West Portsmouth. Portsmouth is home to HMS Victory, Nelson’s flagship at the Battle of Trafalgar.  Given the role of Nelson in our tale and the proximity to HAYLING, everything combines to send a clear message - to guard against pollution and provide special protection for wildlife. 

Oh, Hayling island is also home to an ancient Yew tree believed to be the oldest tree in the UK, estimated to be between one thousand and two thousand years old.  Curious given the role of the Tree of Life in our tale.

Posted in Q58 Do things happen for a reason?, Haymakers: Watch Wonders, Q34 Have you ever restored something?, Q22 Do you love our Earth?, Q20 Have your eyes ever deceived you?, Q12 Is our Earth enchanted? | No Comments »

11/08/2009 by admin.

At Maize Maze in Easingwold, North Yorkshire, a pig named Ginger has swallowed a diamond from a solitaire ring on the hand of Ann Moon. Farmer Paul Caygill runs the attraction believes Nature will take its course and the ring will turn up in the pig’s sty. Mrs Moon, from Sowerby near Thirsk, had put her hand into the enclosure to pet the animal but it put its mouth to her hand and nibbled at the ring.

Ok an amusing story but so what, you might reasonably ask? Well, our readers will know of Ben Whittenbury’s wish to restore the pig stys at ‘NoBling’ Green, whilst Malachi complains that, ‘It’s gone to pigs and whistles’ implying that we need to rediscover the right working relationship with Mother Nature.  Perhaps the pig is unwittingly reminding humanity to loose our obsession with wealth and other false riches! Go Ginger!

Posted in Q80 Have you ever searched for buried treasure?, Haymakers: Watch Wonders, Q71 Is there something missing in your life?, Q58 Do things happen for a reason?, Q34 Have you ever restored something?, Q48 Have you ever played solitaire?, Q22 Do you love our Earth? | No Comments »

20/07/2009 by admin.

Another anniversary! Forty years ago today Apollo 11 made history.  

On this day Neil Armstrong spoke the immortal words, ‘One small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind’ as he became the first human to leave a footprint on another celestial body (as far as we know).  The mission fulfilled the vision of President John F. Kennedy made in 1961 to send a man to the moon and return him safely to the Earth before the decade was out.  The ghostly black and white images - viewed at the time by some 600m people - are now ingrained in human conscious, although some conspiracy theorists doubt whether the whole affair was a monumental elaborate hoax!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMINSD7MmT4

In our novel we refer to the remarkable vison, focus and determination demonstrated at that time as an example of what human endeavour can achieve, so the anniversary is a timely reminder in the run up to Copenhagen - when world leaders will come together to agree action on managing carbon emissions.   

Posted in Q78 Do you want to be part of the picture?, Q79 Have you ever looked into the shadows?, Q70 Do you like to look at the stars?, Q47 Do you know your history?, Q29 Could you live without machines?, Q34 Have you ever restored something?, Q10 Have you ever seen a ghost? | No Comments »

14/07/2009 by admin.

In our novel the term Hedgehog is used fondly to describe Hertfordshire rural folk due to their slow and sometimes prickly manner.  It led to the rather odd question about hedgehogs in the survey, but at the time we didn’t imagine it would feature much in our Watch. 

Well, to our surprise we’ve had a number of stories relating to hedgehogs - the latest being about a little fellow named Spud! Back in March, the likeable creature was found barely alive and suffering from a skin condition that caused all his spines to fall out. 

However, under the care and support of Tiggywinkles Wildlife Hospital the animal’s spines have begun to reappear.  the little chappie’s bristling with good health once more. 

So we have it - a message perhaps that humanity’s response to the ecological crisis has thus far been spineless? You decide!

Posted in Haymakers: Watch Wonders, Q43 Do you believe in happy endings?, Q34 Have you ever restored something?, Q20 Have your eyes ever deceived you?, Q19 Do you love hedgehogs? | No Comments »