Saw a bit on the television the other day about grey squirrels being much smarter than our native reds. Exeter University set a series of spatial puzzles with food rewards if the squirrels solved them. The greys solved them very quickly but a comparable group of reds would have been difficult to find since they have been driven so far north by the greys.  Personally, I regard greys as vermin and my research would clash with that of the university. Greys were regular visitors to my bird feeders and were dispatched as quickly as it takes to pull a trigger. Then I question their intelligence, since they seem to send an immediate replacement to seek out their relative.  I don’t see many nowadays!

    Global warming has a lot to answer for.  The latest threat comes from Scotland after studies showed that global warming could give Fife an optimum climate for growing grapes in the next ten or twenty years.  Based on this, grower Christopher Trotter, set up a vineyard in Upper Largo, Fife, and has produced his first vintage. The tastings of Chateau Largo were notable for the difficulties that tasters had describing the wine. “Nutty’ was the one word that most tasters understood, with no-one quite sure if it applied to the wine.  Largo suggests slow, but tastings suggest that tossing back a glass to avoid the taste while appreciating the alcohol might be the best way to drink it. The local Scottish Nationalist Party delegate was very positive. He explained that it showed once again that Scotland could stand proud, compete with any country in Europe, even in their historic specialties.  He said that the wine proved a perfect accompaniment to the pie and beans he was eating. He only switched to lager with his sweet, a deep-fried Mars bar. French wine producers have complained about the use of the word chateau in the wine’s title. They suggested tenement or slum as an alternative.  Sour grapes from both parties perhaps.

    Two young women (by our standards) have had some flack for trying to organize a charity bash to raise money to send their mother to Dignitas in Switzerland. Mum has MND and her request to die a dignified death is easy to understand, as is her daughters attempt to raise the money.  Hopefully, the publicity the case generated will result in sufficient donations to meet mum’s wishes.  At some stage our politicians will have to face this thorny issue. 

    Special forces were used to free staff being held hostage at Primark in Paris.  No shots were fired as the gunmen holding the hostages had already taken their leave. The gunmen are being hunted by the RAID anti-terrorist unit and should easily be recognized in chic Paris by the clothes they are now wearing.

    Professor Marvin Berkowitz is an expert in character education at the university of Missouri-St Louis. He recently said that star pupils should not be awarded prizes in front of pupils in assembly. His view is that reward and recognition should be replaced by individual affirmation. To paraphrase the professor, ‘all I have to do is go up to my pupil, place a hand on her shoulder and tell her how well she performed in particular situation.’ He wouldn’t do well in the UK.  Placing a hand on a pupil only guarantees one thing, a discussion with the police in an interview room! We can almost hear the conversation at the station.

    “I was only giving individual affirmation, officer.”

    “I hear what you say sir.  We’ll continue the discussion when the Director of Public Prosecutions decides if you committed assault or abuse.”

    The Church of England has decided that fighting climate change is a holy duty. The General Synod voted en masse for a wholesale green agenda.  The Archbishop of Canterbury suggested the Synod use less paper and cut back on travel. We await the bonfire of the hymnbooks. They drew back from instructing churchgoers to skip a sandwich on the first of every month to save the planet. We were pleased about that. It’s tough enough already to find pub restaurants that open on Mondays. There will be no wafer during communion on Sunday’s the first, we assume! “Empty pews? What empty pews,” chorused the Synod?