I found this on the Bookstore Tourism blog (US-based) by Larry Portzline – I went there for a speech by Dana Goia on culture (a must-read - see link opposite) and trawled down to find several bits on UK events and ideas, including Sedbergh, the book town. Not just books, but ideas and old-fashioned heartwarming entertainment. Don't throw up - have a look. It's great. I plan to be singing on the Settle railway and am seriously tempted to go carol-singing. Not to mention to the book fest and the ideas festival (Dana Goia would be thrilled by this).
http://bookstoretourism.blogspot.com/2007/05/even-more-book-town-news.html#links
Biting bee bums
Just discovered a delightful page on the RHS's Wild about Gardens website (link below). In an article titled 'build a bee hotel' is this marvellous description of how baby bees emerge from their birth cells:
"All being well, the bees hatch in spring, almost a year after they were laid as eggs. The oldest wakes up first but can't get out because it has several siblings in front of it. So it breaks down the mud wall and bites the rear end of the bee in front. This process is repeated until the front bee gets the message and emerges, leaving the way clear for its brothers and sisters."
To read more about bum-biting mason bees, go to:
http://www.wildaboutgardens.org/Gardening/DoOneThing/BeeHotel.aspx or hit the link opposite.
Countryfile in Transylvania
The BBC's rural programme Countryfile rocked off to Transylvania the other week to look at the farming and village life that takes the likes of us back 50, 100, even 500 years. The Mihai Eminescu Trust (supported by Prince Charles, amongst others) is doing its damnedest to keep the best of the traditional while giving the villagers something of modern European comforts. A very tricky balance to strike, which the quangocrats in Brussels won't do much to help. The Carpathian ecology is in severe danger of being destroyed by box-ticking admin police with no understanding of the enormous value of what Transylvania still has, that the sophisticated (aka ruined) economies of Europe, the USA and elsewhere have lost.
Come and see for yourself. Ecotourism is a lifeline for Transylvania now, and the best means of helping to preserve a European treasure.
Reader's gold star
We had a great email this morning from Orkney. Gladdens a publisher's heart, this kind of thing. Tom gets a gold star and undying gratitude.
"I was really impressed with the 'Mersey Minis' book..... it is a gem. It's quirky, charming and 'unputdownable'. The woodcuts by Clare Curtis compliment the book so well and give a sense of atmosphere and life to the text."
-- Tom Muir, Orkney Boat Museum
Liverpool shot
Marvellous photos of Liverpool taken during the ShootLiverpool event at the end of May. Some daft idiots about, and some beautiful images found or created. Click the link opposite (but come back here afterwards, eh?).
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