Saturday 23 April 2011

Being Watched



It goes with the job. You can expect nothing less. If you announce your presence quite so obviously then it won't just be curtains twitching but also close up surveillance from the local small birds.

On Shakespeare's birthday a short quote from The Merchant of Venice:
"He knows me as the blind man knows the cuckoo, By the bad voice"

Last year I was surprised to see four cuckoos flying over Blacka, three in a line one behind the other and a fourth a few seconds later. This year's cuckoo season has started with this fellow anxious to find a mate on Blacka Hill. A warm and utterly still start to the day should have allowed his call to be heard over some distance. But the locals preferred to keep closer to his tail.


In fact there's something of a surveillance culture on Blacka Moor at the moment and it's hard for anyone to get far without being watched. Who needs CCTV with this lot about?

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