Five years ago the hedgehog was voted the favourite UK animal and we share that love. From our perspective, the study’s symbolic given the hedgehog question in our survey. It’s a question that stems from Hertfordshire folk being historically and fondly known as hedgehogs due to their supposed slow and prickly manner. 

We wish the survey every success. Here’s a delightful video of a hedgehog waking up… enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99peshpBzTU&feature=related

The images were captured by the photographer Sophie Narses and shows the majestic ape appearing to be deep in thought.  A curious coincidence as in our novel Rodin’s The Thinker prompted Ben Whittenbury to first put together the questions in The Haymakers Survey.

Following on the heals of Sofia’s experience with Malik the lion (see 7 January post) we seem to be directed to the Norwegian philosophical novel Sophie’s World, which posed a series of questions designed to provoke thought about our place in this world - sound familiar?  This clip has a message for all the sceptics who humbug this project…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpvKzodPg3k

However, perhaps Malik had a deeper message - afterall in our novel Wellington chaired the meeting of the Blakesware Set, the group behind the Haymakers Survey.  And, Malachi the messenger and voice of the animal kingdom is likened to the lion statue around which the magic of time travel in our story unfolds. Malachi is also abbreviated many times in the story, including to Malik.  Maybe Malik the former king of the jungle is letting us know that nature’s patience with humanity is fast running out?

Here’s the video clip..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0RWuyqkzeE

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

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

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

The number of people on the planet has more than doubled over the last 50 years with a further 1 billion people alive now compared to the start of this millenium. It’s a startlingly sharp increase and has provoked some renewed discussion on how many people the planet can sustain.  We all require shelter, food, water and clothing and have aspirations on health care, education and access to material goods and experiences. We are also living longer and advances in health care and technology suggest this trend will continue. Trouble is the more of us there are the more we make demands on the worlds resources and squeeze and exploit the natural world for farming, materials and land for property.

In the modern world more people equals more cars, more CO2, more energy requirements, more desire for goods, more waste and pollution, but more profits for the world’s multi-national companies. There’s also the laudable aim of improving the life of those in developing countries.  Politicians, relegious and other world leaders tinker with the population issue, but the reality is our numbers are out of control and the consequences are stark and worthy of any Halloween horror story.  Climate change will exascerbate the problem of too many people increasing, social unrest, famine, disease, poverty and war. All this whilst the natural world shrinks ever more with bio-diversity seriously threatened and mass extinctions.  

We can’t just leave this to ‘market forces’. World leaders need to grasp the nettle on this issue and fast before we fall fail to the lessons of Easter Island or before Mother Nature strikes back. We know it won’t be easy as its in our genes to want to reproduce and children bring so much joy and every child deserves happiness, health, safety and a successful life. Also, historically the more children we have the greater their chances of achieving maturity.  There are religious and human rights issues to consider too. But ‘business as usual’ on population growth risks an abyss for humanity.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FuIxDMj3DNA&feature=related

Well, surprise surprise. Just days after North-Eastern Americans were basking in an Indian Summer, temperatures plummeted 40 degrees as heavy snowfall swept in. New York City and the East Coast were hit with snowfall before Halloween for the first time since records began.

Parts of the North East received more than two feet of snow as records for October tumbled.  This is climate chaos in action. Warmer global temperatures is bringing more extreme weather events.

Take Thailand the ‘Land of the Smiling Faces’ is experiencing prolonged flooding after heavy monsoon rains in July. Much of the country is underwater with many thousands of people displaced with the threat of insect-borne disease. 

It’s a humanitarian crisis, possibly forewarned by the recent celestial vision in the Eastern hemisphere.

The calamaties have come thick and fast:

• Claims by contestants that the X-Factor mansion is haunted.
• Goldie, one of the final 16 contestants, pulled out prior to the first show and had to be replaced by Sami Brooks
• In a sing-off, Sami’s mentor Louis Walsh decided to keep Kitty and Sami should leave the show. Sami then suggested Louis should be pensioned off!
• Complaints from viewers about the unreasonable number of adverts between performances
• Ratings have crashed - 2 million less than in 2010 
• Accusations and rumours of bulling amongst some contestants
• The girls’ band Rythmics had to change their name because it clashed with a children’s charity - they’re now called Little Mix
• Due to his faith Ashley Baptiste, member of The Risk, decided being in a boy band wasn’t for him and choose to leave the show. He’s been replaced by Ashford Campbell one of the members of NuVibe, with some arguing about the legality of this as NuVibe were voted off a couple of weeks ago.  
• The ‘Hex’ has even spread to the judging panel - with arguments breaking out with Kelly Rowland missing this weekend’s show due a ‘throat infection.’

Perhaps the Hex Factor is because humanity is falling to demonstrate to the Earth’s creator that we have what it takes to be its guardian. Our novel anticipated this - see the free opening sequel. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1YPdeFknh34

It’s a political drama thriller directed by George Clooney.  It seems to be an interesting story based on the Kennedy’s about politics leading to a loss of integrity with everyone involved, no matter how noble to beging with, compromising their morals to stay ahead in life. In many ways this sums up how humanity as a whole approaches the sustainable living agenda.

Is that why in our novel Malachi (The Messenger) warns us to beware The Ides of March or has Mother Nature something sinister planned for this Friday? Is it Time? We’re not ones to make predictions here or stick our neck out for fear of ridicule but let’s see.

Here’s the movie trailer..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=McCt-_yYLpo