Open Gardens

This weekend we participated in the Open Gardens scheme which happens every year in Woolsery. We were expecting, say, fifteen or twenty people, but with half an hour left to go we have has 203!

We decided to open up our collections to the public for the first time, and Richard, Oll and I (but particularly Oll), spent all weekend showing the animals and the beginnings of our museumexhibits to visitors. We had a remarkable response, with only one adverse comment from someone who claimed to be picking up negative psychic emanations from our softshell turtle.


However, the weekend was a great success and we are all looking forwardto the next open day, which will by on the friday of the Weird Weekend...

Why Chris wants to go on this expedition...

Although I have been to the Gambia 13 times previously I haven't really had time to properly study anything there myself. The College trips were in a way frustrating because of the time and effort spent in organisation, which detracted from serious study.

On this trip I am not responsible for students and staff, so hopefully it is easier to look at what I want!

Whilst the trip is primarily to investigate reports of two different exotic reptilian monsters alleged to have been seen in the country I am personally hoping to see something a lot smaller, but almost as rare. In the 1920s a new species of lizard, called Armitages' Skink was first described. It comes from a small area of the country, close towhere we are staying. It is not found anywhere else in the world. As far as I know living specimens of it have never been photographed, and that will be a nice challenge.

Additionally the trip will enable me to see what impact the presence of european fishing boats has made on the local fishing industry.

Going for Gambo!

L-R Jane (CFZ Member), Lisa, Oll, Chris Moiser,

Richard, David Phillips (CFZ Staff), Suzi

Yes, its that time of the year again! For the fourth year running, Richard Freeman and Chris Clark are off to foreign climes in search of a monster. This year, the destination is Gambia, and the team (which includes GURRRLS for the first time), is going in search of not one, but two monsters!

· 30-foot killer dragons lurking in swamps?
· A sea monster carcass buried on an African beach, with a map marking the spot?

Back in 1983, amateur naturalist Owen Burnham discovered the fresh carcass of a strange beast on a remote beach in the Gambia. It was around 15 feet long and looked like a cross between a crocodile and a dolphin. Realizing that it was something unknown to science, Owen, a missionary’s son, made detailed sketches of the creature. He and his family then buried it in the hot sand above the tide line, hoping that the dry sand would preserve the body. He also made a detailed map.

We have a copy of the map and intend to dig up and examine the monster’s body.

L-R Suzi, Me, Chris Clark, Chris Moiser (back to camera) Oll, Jane (CFZ Member), Richard

More alarmingly, there are stories of a swamp-dwelling dragon known as Ninki-nanka. The 30 foot beast is said to lurk in deep riverbank holes and emerge into the swamps at night. As recently as the early 1990s, it is alleged to have killed people. Cryptozoologist Richard Freeman thinks Ninki-nanka may be a giant, semi-aquatic monitor lizard. Related to the infamous Komodo dragon, the African reptile would be three times as long: as big as a very large crocodile. The team hopes to interview witnesses and venture into the deep mangrove swamps on the trail of the beast.

Previous adventures have seen the CFZ hunt for the Naga, a 60 foot snake in Thailand; the Chupacabra, a blood-sucking beast from Mexico; Orang-pendek, a Sumatran ape man; and the Mongolian deathworm.

Team members are

· Chris Moiser: Biologist and team leader
· Dr Chris Clark: Engineer
· Lisa Dowley: First aid and security expert
· Richard Freeman: cryptozoologist
· Oll Lewis: Ecologist
· Suzi Marsh: computer expert

L-R Jane (CFZ Member), Richard, Chris M, Suzi,

Lisa (back to camera), Chris C, me, David Phillips (CFZ Staff)

On sunday afternoon, the six team members converged on CFZ Mansions, and we had the final planning meeting before the expedition takes place. We shall be giving regular updates as and when we have news, so watch this space! However, dipping our toes into the murky waters of the new technology, we have also opened a My Space page for the expedition, so feel free to come over and check it out!

Following the yellow brick road

On thursday went to see the wizard! We drove into Cornwall, to visit one of my dearest friends. Tony "Doc" Shiels, sometimes known as the Wizard of the Western World is a much maligned character in forteana. He is best known for his Loch Ness Monster and sea serpent photographs, and for being involved pivotally with the Owlman case which started in Cornwall some 30 years ago. He was in Cornwall for a few days to visit an Art Exhibition in St Ives.

We sat in The Red Lion in Redruth and talked about cabbages and kings, and basically caught up with each other after a gap of some four years. Nothing much transpired of a fortean nature, except, after congratulating us on the new edition of The Owlman and Others, he told me that my speculations which led to me naming the late John Gordon as the person responsible for the `Mary F` photographs of Morgawr in 1976, were totally wrong. Tony told us the name of the real Mary F, and promised that one day he would introduce us.

This may be a fairly inconsequential blog entry, but I owe Tony my career. If it hadbn't been for my friendship with him, I would never have written the Owlman book in the first place, and - quite probably - no-one in forteana would ever have heard of me! Also, as I wrote in Monster Hunter, he was a significant `father figure` to me during the dark days of my divorce, and to be quite honest, until two days ago, I had forgotten how much I love the old bugger, and there were very real tears in my eyes as I hugged him before we drove back to Devon.

I just wanted to share that...