WELCOME TO THE CFZ BLOG NETWORK: COME AND JOIN THE FUN

Half a century ago, Belgian Zoologist Bernard Heuvelmans first codified cryptozoology in his book On the Track of Unknown Animals.

The Centre for Fortean Zoology (CFZ) are still on the track, and have been since 1992. But as if chasing unknown animals wasn't enough, we are involved in education, conservation, and good old-fashioned natural history! We already have three journals, the largest cryptozoological publishing house in the world, CFZtv, and the largest cryptozoological conference in the English-speaking world, but in January 2009 someone suggested that we started a daily online magazine! The CFZ bloggo is a collaborative effort by a coalition of members, friends, and supporters of the CFZ, and covers all the subjects with which we deal, with a smattering of music, high strangeness and surreal humour to make up the mix.

It is edited by CFZ Director Jon Downes, and subbed by the lovely Lizzy Bitakara'mire (formerly Clancy), scourge of improper syntax. The daily newsblog is edited by Corinna Downes, head administratrix of the CFZ, and the indexing is done by Lee Canty and Kathy Imbriani. There is regular news from the CFZ Mystery Cat study group, and regular fortean bird news from 'The Watcher of the Skies'. Regular bloggers include Dr Karl Shuker, Dale Drinnon, Richard Muirhead and Richard Freeman.The CFZ bloggo is updated daily, and there's nothing quite like it anywhere else. Come and join us...

Search This Blog

WATCH OUR WEEKLY WEBtv SHOW

SUPPORT OTT ON PATREON

SUPPORT OTT ON PATREON
Click on this logo to find out more about helping CFZtv and getting some smashing rewards...

SIGN UP FOR OUR MONTHLY NEWSLETTER



Unlike some of our competitors we are not going to try and blackmail you into donating by saying that we won't continue if you don't. That would just be vulgar, but our lives, and those of the animals which we look after, would be a damn sight easier if we receive more donations to our fighting fund. Donate via Paypal today...




Tuesday, April 21, 2009

GUEST BLOGGER LIZ CLANCY: Addy and Obby move to the city

It is always nice to be able to introduce you all to a new guest blogger. Possibly the nicest thing about the CFZ bloggo is that it is a living, breathing community, and new people arrive on a regular basis. I can't tell you anything about Liz, apart from the fact that she bought some books from us at UnCon, briefly spoke to Richard, and had a charmingly old-fashioned habit of referring to me as `Mr Downes`, when everyone else calls me `Jon` or `Hey You` (or sometimes something more scatological), until I told her not to. She is obviously one to watch....

As I set out at eight o’clock from Ashton News to do my paper round (yes at twenty-four the credit crunch has brought me very low!) a very serious fact finally dawned on me: slowly but surely, the town where I live is losing its identity. It began in on 1st April 1974 when Heywood Town Council was dissolved after almost one hundred years of independence, and nearby Rochdale took over – incidentally the date chosen was rather apt since many Heywood residents still feel that Rochdale has rather treated us as a joke ever since.

The most recent thing was the much disputed move of the Heywood Advertiser, our beloved local paper, to offices in the Rochdale Observer building. The move was designed by MEN media (Guardian Group), the owners of both newspapers, to save money. Redundancies were also announced. However it does get worse. In the last couple of weeks it was announced that, actually, further cuts are apparently required and the Rochdale offices (which now home three supposedly local newspapers) will be closed and moved to Manchester, with a further 150 job losses. The same is happening all over the Northwest.

Has the world gone mad?! Manchester is not exactly the moon but our news will no longer be local. Such small newspapers as these are treasure troves for cryptozoologists with the wealth of clippings that can be taken but will swanky city journalists give a toss if an eider duck is found a good 40 miles from the coastline in a little town like ours or if a resident claims to have seen a panther in the park late at night? I think not. The local quirks of such towns and villages are being eroded by metropolitanisation, the reason is money and such stories will be cast by the wayside in favour of yet more photos of simpering local politicians decorating articles about what wonders they are doing for the town. Even today many young people in Heywood and Rochdale haven’t a clue about their town’s history or heritage. How much worse will this get if everything local is moved away?

No comments: