The end of Spurn?

 Holidays, What I do  No Responses »
Sep 052012
 
The end of Spurn?

On Monday 3rd September 2012, we made our first visit to Kilnsea for over two years. Kilnsea is a small village at the mouth of the Humber and is the start of a three and a half mile extension of the Holderness coastline out into the estuary. At the end of the road is Spurn Point, a base for the Humber Lifeboat crew. We have visited here regularly for over 25 years and watched the sea gradually erode the clay cliffs back towards the village. On this occasion, we made a day trip to Kilnsea, arriving around lunchtime and staying [Read more]

One night, 100 millionaires

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Jul 122012
 
One night, 100 millionaires

Today I joined the Camelot publicity team for an event to promote the Euromillions ‘one night, 100 millionaires’ draw to be held on Friday 27th July 2012. To celebrate the start of the 2012 Olympics, the National Lottery are making 100 millionaires. I caught the train to Leicester to meet Jacquie Wilson, from Camelot, under the Clock Tower in the city centre. We had a Costa Coffee while the publicity team set up their stand. Camelot publicity team and me in Leicester The team were creating a ‘winners experience’ to give people an idea of what might happen if they [Read more]

First sighting of a marsh tit

 In the garden, What I do  No Responses »
Jun 222012
 
First sighting of a marsh tit

Today, I noted a family of marsh tits at the feeders. This is a small, mainly brown bird, with a shiny black cap, dark ‘bib’ and pale belly. This is the first time I have seen this particular member of the tit family. These birds are rare in gardens and live mainly in deciduous woods. They are found across England and Wales, with a few in southern Scotland but are most abundant in south Wales and southern and eastern England. They feed on insects and seeds. If marsh tits find a good supply they may start to hoard seeds, burying [Read more]

The Millionaire’s Garden

 What I do  No Responses »
Jun 212012
 

On Tuesday 19th June 2012, I did some publicity work for the National Lottery at Bardills Garden Centre in Stapleford. The purpose of the event was to publicise a new scratch card which offers a top prize of £4,000,000, but which costs £10 per ticket. The theme of the event was a millionaire’s garden and Camelot had organised a trailer done up like a garden, complete with hot tub, artificial grass, a bar, beer fridge and plants. They had two ladies and a gent dressed as gardeners who were giving away money plants. The Nottingham Evening Post were there and [Read more]

Rest in peace Puss Puss

 What I do  No Responses »
Mar 082012
 
Rest in peace Puss Puss

Last night (7th March) I had to take the cat to the vets to have her put to sleep. She was suffering from acute renal failure, which kills 1 in 5 of older cats. Puss Puss was here when we moved into the house in October 2008. She was almost wild and lived in one of the stables. She looked after herself and fed on mice. She was very timid and wouldn’t come near us at first. Eventually, we started to tame her by giving her food and she came to trust us. She didn’t like coming in the house [Read more]

Lottery photoshoot and party

 What I do  No Responses »
Mar 072012
 
Lottery photoshoot and party

On Friday 2nd March, Sandra and I were invited to a photoshoot for the National Lottery, followed by a party at Highclere Castle, where Downton Abbey was filmed. The photoshoot took place at Elcot Park Hotel, near Newbury, and consisted of 100 millionaires donning different coloured Adidas tops and posing with a Union Jack. Following this, the group assembled in the shape of ‘100’ and posed with a ‘millionaires medal’. After this, we went on to our hotel, in our case the Newbury Manor, to prepare for the evening dinner party. We arrived at Highclere to be greeted by actors [Read more]

Birds of Bracken House

 What I do  No Responses »
Feb 232012
 

The Bracken House website now has a page detailing all the birds that have been observed at the site. Also included is the date the species was first observed, the size of the birds and a few comments about the species. The Birds of Bracken House page can be found here.

First sighting of a Fieldfare

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Feb 122012
 
First sighting of a Fieldfare

Today a fieldfare was recorded at Bracken House for the first time, bringing the total number of bird types sighted here to 32. Fieldfares are large, colourful thrushes, much like a mistle thrush in general size, shape and behaviour. They stand very upright and move forward with purposeful hops. They are very social birds, spending the winter in flocks of anything from a dozen or two to several hundred strong. These straggling, chuckling flocks that roam the UK’s countryside are a delightful and attractive part of the winter scene. These winter visitors eat insects, worms and berries and a favourite [Read more]

BBC Breakfast appearance

 What I do  No Responses »
Feb 102012
 

Today I appeared on BBC Breakfast in a piece about the latest big Nottinghamshire Euromillions win. Only three weeks after the last massive £40 million win in the county, a young couple from Stapleford won £45 million. I went to the Derbyshire Hotel in South Normanton, after the cheque had been presented, and was interviewed by John Maguire from the BBC. The interview took place in the bar and I was asked all the usual questions. Breakfast used a small clip from the interview when I was commenting on how lucky Nottinghamshire had been lately. Also in the article was [Read more]

Pair of bullfinches sighted

 What I do  No Responses »
Feb 082012
 
Pair of bullfinches sighted

Today we had a first sighting of a bullfinch at Bracken House when a pair visited the bird feeders this morning. This brings the number of types of bird sighted since we moved in during October 2008 to 31. The male bullfinch is on the left. Bullfinches feed on the buds of various trees in spring and were once a ‘pest’ of fruit crops. They can be found in woodlands, orchards and hedgerows all year round.

Television and radio appearance

 What I do  No Responses »
Jan 272012
 

On Tuesday (24th January) I went to the BBC studios in Nottingham to be interviewed for East Midlands Today. While there, I was also interviewed by BBC Radio Nottingham. The reason for the interviews was that a Mansfield couple, Gareth and Catherine Bull, had won over £40 million in the Euromillions lottery. As often happens when we have a big local winner, the media companies get in touch, sometimes via Camelot, to ask me for a few comments. I didn’t hear the radio interview go out, but of the fifteen minutes or so of the television interview, they broadcast only [Read more]

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