In another time and place, I used to think that a good blogpost needed three connected events or incidents, circling around on themselves to create a satisfying denouement. It wasn't a well-researched theory, or a plot device from a writing course, it was just a vibe that seemed to work more often than not. Of late, that sort of thinking hasn't been to the fore, NaHaL posts seem to be more a diary entry or chronological list of events. In fact, the post I was going to write this evening was exactly that, a recap of wildlife moments from the past week, culminating in yesterday's beetle survey and a Volunteer Thank You event with the RSPB.
Now, what with war, genocide and files, the world's not at its best at the moment apart, perhaps, for the resounding success of the Green Party of England and Wales in a by-election. I suspect that, like many other folk, a bit of gentle escapism from the constant stream of terrible news headlines is an absolute must to maintain some sort of grasp of one's sanity.
Yesterday evening, whilst watching a live webcam of a waterhole in the Namib Desert, the scrolling comments featured a profile picture that I hadn't noticed before. Neither did I recognise the Youtube handle of the commenter. The picture was a childlike sketch of a rabbit's face and I mentioned to Megan that it looked a bit like Miffy.
Megan didn't have a clue who Miffy was, but many years ago, Dick Bruna's little books about Miffy's adventures were a feature of my daughters' bookshelves.
Today was a slow day, what with needing at least 24 hours to recover from being sociable yesterday. Then, this afternoon, whilst Megan was busy with a jigsaw, I was scrolling through social media when a meme popped up in my feed from one of her friends.
I kid you not, this is what appeared.
You will have to excuse the redactions. It appears that, despite my best efforts, I have soaked up some bad habits from the news.
After tea, Megan pootled off to her weekly pilates class, leaving me to do the washing up before switching on BBC iPlayer to catch up with another episode of Small Prophets. I don't usually follow the herd with my tv viewing, but there have been some hugely positive reviews of Mackenzie Crook's latest series and I thought I ought to give it a try. I had enjoyed the first two episodes, so was looking forward to number three.
[Spoiler Alert: this episode was broadcast on Monday 23rd February 2026, but there are very few plot reveals below.]
Midway through the half hour, this scene pops up when the main character's car has been taken away after dropping all its oil onto the road due to an engine failure.
After a bit of conversation with his neighbour, both men go back indoors and the camera pans around to look at the oil slick from a different angle. At which point you realise that in the background you have been listening to Bright Eyes by Art Garfunkel.
I might have to go back to watching the news, it's less flippin' unnerving.
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