Wildwood

It had been announced on Monday that our first ever field trip would be on Wednesday morning. Neither us of had any idea where we were going. “Woodlands” something or other, Richard Griffiths had blithely tossed out before advising us to bring “warm clothing and footwear, preferably waterproof, as you never know, this being England it could likely start snowing or something.” I was thrilled purely for the fact that we’d be getting out and about, instead of being shut up inside yet another lecture room.

The place we went to was actually called ‘Wildwood’, and it appears to be a nature park run by a trust that's working on the conservation of native English wildlife, and includes captive breeding programs for species such as the Water Vole (Arvicola terrestris amphibius), the Hazel Dormouse (Muscardinus avellanarius) and the Pine Marten (Martes martes) which are all species I’d never even heard of before. (Apparently, one popular program now sees tennis balls being collected after Wimbledon is over, and having holes drilled in them to serve as little Harvest Mouse nests.) A very interesting place, and extremely educational, but there was barely enough time to explore and see everything.

Oh I’m only moaning because I never got enough time to dally in the gift shop. Gift shops are a death trap, and I’m a particularly susceptible victim. I don’t know why it is but let me walk into the gaping jaws of a gift shop and I may never walk out again. There’s just something about being in one of those things that’s terribly, terribly seductive…and before I know it I’ve just spent a small fortune on a pile of things I will never ever need.

Ah yes, but the wildlife. That one trip to Wildwood taught me more about British wildlife than I’d ever known before. They have Puff Adders, Harvest Mice, Water Shrews, Fallow Deer, Red Deer, Wild Boar, Wild(ish) Ponies, Arctic Foxes, Badgers, Otters, and even Wolves!! They also enlightened us on some key issues plaguing British wildlife conservation, things neither you nor I would have ever thought of when we think of the UK.

Like, did you know that Wild Boar went extinct in the wild here about 400 years ago?? After awhile the only Wild Boar they had were the ones they kept in captivity…but then at some point later (I can’t remember when), these escaped and started repopulating the wild places again. They’re excellent ‘habitat managers’ because they open up an area, allowing things like birds and mice and squirrels to start moving in, and before you know it you have your very own little ecosystem humming away. Only problem is, people such as farmers don’t like Wild Boar because they damage crops. And, quite bizarrely, they spoil the bluebells. Wild Boar love feasting on bluebell bulbs, which means that other different kinds of plants can start coming in as well, but because there are people who want to have their little bit of uninterrupted bluebell carpet so they can look at it and think “Oh how pretty”, well – things aren’t looking up for the Wild Boar right now.

At the opposite end of the spectrum you have Red Deer. These are now the largest mammals found on the British Isles, and they’re doing very, very well. Their population has quite simply exploded, and now they’re becoming a bit of an annoying problem. So: do you cull (in other words, shoot them, kill them, eradicate them), which some people have a problem with? Or, do you reintroduce their native predator, the European Wolf, and have everyone jumping at shadows each time they’re outdoors when night falls? Bear in mind, for many British people the badger is the largest carnivore they know.



Unfortunately like I said, I didn’t get nearly enough time to see all the things I wanted to see. (Or buy all the things I wanted to buy.) I forgot to mention that Wildwood itself is situated within what is known as "Ancient Woodland", which basically refers to any forested area more than 400 years old. This particular forest is far more ancient than a paltry 400 years, though - it was mentioned in the Domesday Book, that staggeringly comprehensive land survey commissioned by William the Conqueror himself, in 1087 AD. This is definitely one place I’ll have to return to, so I can walk around and explore at my own leisure.



Kitchen mates

Remember my concern about sharing a kitchen?? Well it seems my fears have been realised…I walked in this morning to find that (a) Someone’s been using my dishwashing liquid; (b) Someone’s not only using my dish towel but keeps tossing it onto the table; and (c) Someone’s most probably using my milk too.

Well, all in all, nothing I hadn’t expected really. Our kitchen’s really grubby. Really, it’s horrible. There’s certain people who don’t clean up after themselves, never mind the fact that there’s never enough space to put things. Only thing is, I didn’t realise just how grubby our kitchen really was, until I went upstairs to see Daria’s kitchen.

Daria lives one floor above me in Tyler Court. After we returned from Wildwood she invited me up to her kitchen for lunch. As soon as I walked in I felt incredibly cheated. Their kitchen was lovely. It’s so much nicer than our kitchen, so much tidier and well-kept. Well-stocked too. And the two spanking new fridges they have to put their things in, why, I was speechless with envy. If you don’t believe me, take a look at my kitchen:-


Now look at Daria's kitchen:-


The differences may seem miniscule, but it’s usually these little differences that really matter. It’s not fair.

Also, in Daria’s kitchen I was introduced to Carolina, from the Czech Republic, who helpfully informed me that “You should never keep your mushrooms in plastic, because then they turn poisonous.”