Maldives democracy hangs precariously in the balance

Today it will be 100 days since Dr Mohamed Waheed was sworn in as the new President of the Maldives following what his predecessor, Mohamed Nasheed, claims was a coup. With increasing international calls for early elections but Waheed adamant they cannot happen until July 2013, the troubled islands young democracy now hangs precariously in the balance.

For anyone who has never been to the Maldives, it is difficult to understand how bitter and personal the rivalries there are, even by political standards. At just over one and half kilometres wide, the capital Male is one of the most densely populated places in the world.  It is home to a third of the islands 350,000 Sunni Muslims and most of the MPs have a home there. Consequently it’s like living in a political goldfish bowl.

READ MORE

Its amazing what you find on the stump

I was out delivering leaflets today ahead of the local election on thursday in the picturesque village of lighthorne when I stumbled across an interesting discovery. The village has adopted its BT red phone box and turned it into a bird box. Inside I found what resembled an RSPB bird hide crossed with the tardis. It was covered in photographs, sketches and really interesting observations on the spring migration including sightings of short eared owls and a dotterel. After adding the birds I had seen on my round I thought it only right to also pin up a vote Labour leaflet. After all nature is red in both tooth and claw.

Kingfishers fall victim to April washout

Today on the way back from a meeting in Bristol I stopped at an old mill where I know Kingfishers breed. Two years ago I spent many happy days photographing them there (see picture – I hasten to add it was not taken at the nest). Today I searched in vain for them inbetween yet another April deluge. I also spoke to the mill owner who overlooks the river and he confirmed that he had seen them but they were definately not breeding. When I took a closer look at the bank where they have bred in previous years you could see they had started to excavate a hole which had simply collapsed because the sand was so wet. The river also seemed to be in full spate, the water being very muddy and I would guess very difficult to fish even if youre a kingfisher. So I concluded that the Kingfishers like so many other small birds had fallen victim to the incessant April showers. Lets hope it stops raining soon otherwise the breeding season will be a washout. In the meantime please do let me know if youve also experienced any other failed breeding attempts due to the rain.

Designing your own website

Ever wanted to design and publish your own website? But new to the internet and dont know how to do it? Then why not join me for the next 9 weeks at Stratford College where I’ll be teaching a website course designed for beginners. It will cover building a following using social media, building a website using wordpress, writing for the web, editing your work and optimising your site. The course is on a monday evening and lasts 2 hours from 7pm to 9pm. Cost £110. Details from me or the college.