And I complain about being mildly chilly at night!
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
MUIRHEAD`S MYSTERIES:"GIANT MOTHS"- 1926 /WILD CATS SOUTH OF THE SCOTTISH BORDER-1972
I have found the following two
stories in recent days: “ Giant moths” in Cambridgeshire in 1926 and the wild
cat south of the Scottish border in 1972
In The Countryman Wild Life Book
edited by Bruce Campbell (1973) in a chapter `Swallowtails for Wicken` by Brian
Gardiner, is the following: “When one was exhausted from chasing butterflies
refreshment could be had near the entrance to the fen at the `Black Horse`, now
also gone (1). It was here that I heard tales of `enormous moths, big as birds`,
which were driven off the fen by the great fire of 1926. Like the fish that got
away, a moth grows in the telling thereof. (2)
According to an article in The
Guardian of October 24th 1972 , `Wild cat may be south of border` by
Michael Parkin:
More reports are coming in of the
wild cat from both sides of the Scottish border. Until recently it was thought
to have been extinct in England Yorkshire
Museum saw what he felt sure was a true
wild cat, Felis silvestris, in North
Northumberland earlier this year. Since then he has received other
reports of well authenticated sightings farther west and on both sides of the
border.
He emphasised yesterday that no
final proof would exist of the presence of the wild cat in these areas until a
skin or skins became available for close study. He has just heard that a skin of
a cat recently killed in Northumberland is available and he hopes to examine it
soon.
Mr Simms was not prepared to attach
much weight on the evidence available to a sighting of “a wild cat” near Batley,
in the heart of the industrial West Riding. He said it was too easy to confuse a
domestic cat , running wild, with the true wild cat.
Wider public interest in natural
history is producing reports of the survival of a number of mammals previously
thought to be extinct in certain areas. Mr Simms himself showed that the fierce
pine marten, thought to have died about 100 years ago, was living and breeding
in Yorkshire .
The harvest mouse, not reported in
Yorkshire since 1881, has been identified by Mr Colin Howes, assistant keeper of
natural history at Doncaster Museum Doncaster . They contained skeletal remains of a harvest
mouse, recognised by its skull structure and dentition.
(3)
- He referred earlier
to another closed pub.
- The Countryman Wild
Life Book p. 137
- The Guardian
October 24th 1972
KITHRA: Spectral Black Dogs in Cornwall
It’s been about a month since I last posted but I’ve been busy. And time seems to fly away with me. I find that it’s most definitely true that the older you get the faster time goes. Before the day has even begun it seems to have disappeared!However, after some problems with my website host, which are still not resolved, I have finally managed to upload my latest article. This one is about Spectral Black Dogs in Cornwall, and you can read it here.
FORTEAN BIRD NEWS FROM THE WATCHER OF THE SKIES (CFZ)
In an article for the first edition of Cryptozoology Bernard Heuvelmans wrote that cryptozoology is the study of 'unexpected animals' and following on from that perfectly reasonable assertion, it seems to us that - whereas the study of out of place birds may not have the glamour of the hunt for bigfoot, or lake monsters - it is still a perfectly valid area for the Fortean Zoologist to be interested in. So, after about six months of regular postings on the main bloggo, Corinna has taken the plunge and started a 'Watcher of the Skies' blog of her own as part of the CFZ Bloggo Network.Unusual bird expected to make Colchester appearanc...
CRYPTOLINK: The Thylacine - Edge of Existence
The thylacine was the only recent representative of an entire mammal family, the Thylacinidae. The victim of heavy persecution and a Tasmanian bounty scheme, the last confirmed report of a thylacine in the wild was in 1933. Although the Tasmanian government was eventually persuaded to provide legal protection for the species in 1936, the last captive animal – a female thylacine supposedly called ‘Benjamin’ - died two months later in Hobart Zoo.Read on...
I'M YER GONZO BLOG DOO-DAH MAN
Hooray! At last the saga about recording
telephone calls is sorted. Corinna transcribed the Judy Dyble interview (which -
with a bit of luck and a fair wind - will run starting tomorrow), and yesterday
I interviewed the legendary Corky Laing. Whilst on the good news, at long last I
have done some more editing on the Auburn/Jefferson Starship footage from
October, and the first example of that - an Auburn tune called 'Too Far From
Home' can be seen on today's Gonzo Daily. We are still waiting for the proof of
Karl Shuker's colour mystery cat book to arrive. With a bit of luck, and the
Christmas post not withstanding we should have it by the end of the week, and
then - supposing that it all goes well - it will be
released.
Michael Des Barres' new Christmas single, about a
leaner healthier Santa has been getting good press...
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2012/12/link-merry-christmas-from-michael-des.html
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2012/12/link-merry-christmas-from-michael-des.html
It may be in questionable taste, but it is very
funny. Someone ought to write a proggy Da Vinci Code
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2012/12/the-prog-keyboard-players-last-supper.html
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2012/12/the-prog-keyboard-players-last-supper.html
Our daily visit to the home of the one and only
Thom the World Poet
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2012/12/thom-world-poet-daily-poem_11.html
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2012/12/thom-world-poet-daily-poem_11.html
Auburn live in Southampton. At bloody last! I
apologise again for the delays
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2012/12/auburn-too-far-from-home-southampton.html
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2012/12/auburn-too-far-from-home-southampton.html
Graham Inglis and Brian May say goodbye to Sir
Patrick Moore
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2012/12/those-we-have-lost-sir-patrick-moore.html
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2012/12/those-we-have-lost-sir-patrick-moore.html
A still from the new video by Asia featuring John
Payne
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2012/12/asia-featuring-john-payne-still-from.html
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2012/12/asia-featuring-john-payne-still-from.html
* The Gonzo Daily is a two way process. If
you have any news or want to write for us, please contact me at jon@eclipse.co.uk.
If you are an artist and want to showcase your work, or even just say hello
please write to me at gonzo@cfz.org.uk.
Please copy, paste and spread the word about this magazine as widely as
possible. We need people to read us in order to grow, and as soon as it is
viable we shall be invading more traditional magaziney areas. Join in the fun,
spread the word, and maybe if we all chant loud enough we CAN stop it raining.
See you tomorrow...
* The Gonzo Daily is - as the name implies - a daily online magazine (mostly) about artists connected to the Gonzo Multimedia group of companies. But it also has other stuff as and when the editor feels like it. The same team also do a weekly newsletter called - imaginitavely - The Gonzo Weekly. Find out about it at this link: http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2012/11/all-gonzo-news-wots-fit-to-print.html
* The Gonzo Daily is - as the name implies - a daily online magazine (mostly) about artists connected to the Gonzo Multimedia group of companies. But it also has other stuff as and when the editor feels like it. The same team also do a weekly newsletter called - imaginitavely - The Gonzo Weekly. Find out about it at this link: http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.com/2012/11/all-gonzo-news-wots-fit-to-print.html
* Jon Downes, the Editor of all these
ventures is an old hippy of 53 who - together with his orange cat - puts it all
together from a converted potato shed in a tumbledown cottage deep in rural
Devon. He is ably assisted by his lovely wife Corinna, his bulldog/boxer
Prudence, his mother-in-law, and a motley collection of social malcontents.
Plus.. did we mention the orange cat?
OLL LEWIS: Yesterday's News Today
On this
day in 2008 Bernie Madoff was arrested for orchestrating what was probably the
worlds largest ever Ponzi fraud. Madoff made off with around 65 billion pounds
all told all while he was the chair of the NASDAQ, one wonders how he was able
to keep a straight face during his chairman duties.
Sometimes these videos almost pick
themselves: