Ducks for Dafter... by way of a bribe.

Now then... where's my little bath chum?

I was reading an article in the surgery waiting room a couple of days ago about artificial environments. In a nutshell the author was absolutely set against them and suggesting there was no room for any sort of artificial environment here in the UK.

Well it got me thinking so I suppose the article achieved its purpose. While I'm not a fan of zoos and safari parks, there's no denying in my mind they do have their place when it comes to preserving species.

But wait just a minute... no artificial environments?

What about all you gardeners out there? Would you be happy to lose your greenhouse/cloche/deep-bed etc. I think not.

I can't imagine a Britain with no Kew Gardens, or Westonbirt Arboretum. No National Botanic Garden of Wales and of course no Eden Centre.

So yes okay I can see the dangers of introducing foreign species to our environment, but what a tragic loss it would be to deny the population the chance to see exotic species properly managed...

Boop-Oop-A-Doop
Dave Fleischer

I thought I'd join DavidJohn's portrait competition with my own tribute to Dave Fleischer's Betty Boop.

The easily recognised cartoon character was officially christened "Betty Boop" with the release of the 1932 Talkartoons short Minnie the Moocher, to which the wonderful Cab Calloway and his orchestra lent their considerable talents.

I'm trying to locate a viaduct...

Does anyone know where this image was taken?

I know it was somewhere on the Cornish side of the Tamar, but I've lost my notes from the trip and have no idea where this viaduct was. That said, the image was taken the same day I'd visited Looe back in 2005 so I'm assuming it's probably somewhere in that vicinity...

Any information would be greatly appreciated.

I posted a version of this image some time ago, but decided to revisit it and rework a little. Somehow it seemed fitting in these days of wind, rain and flooding to illustrate a time when the vagaries of the sea almost caught me napping!