I LEARNED a new word the other day.
Kakistocrats.
It was used by the Sunday Times columnist Camilla Long in a piece headlined: “Britain is like one of Johnson’s broken wives – cheated on, then fed a string of lies and excuses”.
Off I went to my dictionary – well Google – to look up what a kakistocracy is.
It means government by the least suitable or competent citizens of a state.
Rarely can it have been used more aptly.
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ONE of the simple benefits and pleasures of spending so much time at home over the last 21 months is having the time to view nature more closely.
Deer trotting across fields, lapwings and skylarks soaring, diving and calling overhead and watching swallows bringing up two broods of nestlings and then gathering to migrate – some as late as mid-October are some of the highlights.
Another was watching the pair of mute swans on our local pond bring up their cygnets.
In previous years they have raised a handful of cygnets and not all of them survived their first year.
This spring the swans hatched 10 cygnets and protected them and marshalled them over the summer months and into the autumn.
I watched them gliding in formation across the pond, like a flotilla of ships, as ducks, coots, moorhens and seagulls gave them a wide berth.
Errant Canada geese who thought the pond might be a nice new home were given short shrift by the swan parents who puffed up their wings and ploughed through the water like gunboats straight at the visitors who were soon sent packing.
As autumn turned into winter the cygnets grew bigger and more confident and their grey, downy plumage started to transform into sleek, white feathers.
But then their numbers started falling.
One morning this week I saw the swan parents and some siblings attacking a stricken cygnet.
Later in the day an RSPCA inspector came to collect the body.
He told me that it was likely the bird had avian flu and the others had acted to protect themselves.
Other cygnets have been found floating in the pond and yesterday I counted just three young swans, one of which was alone at one end of the pond looking groggy and sick.
I don’t hold out much hope that it will still be alive when I return on my morning dog walk today.
Apparently there is a nationwide outbreak of bird flu thought to have been spread by wild birds such as geese and ducks.
According to Government vets it is the worst seen in the UK of any winter, there have been over 30 cases across the UK so far and it is growing.
In Stratford-upon-Avon in Warwickshire it is estimated that half of the 80 swans living on the River Avon have died of avian flu.
All the turkeys and chickens at a poultry farm in Warwickshire were culled last Sunday after a case of the disease was discovered and bird flu was also confirmed at a wild bird rescue centre in Worcestershire, an animal sanctuary near Frinton-on-Sea in Essex and in Chirk, near Wrexham.
Earlier this month an eighth outbreak of avian flu was confirmed in North Yorkshire at a commercial poultry operation in Thirsk.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said all birds on the infected premises would be humanely culled.
Defra ordered keepers in Harrogate, Hambleton and Richmondshire to house all birds following outbreaks of the virus near Thirsk and Leeming.
From today all bird keepers in the UK, whether they have pet birds or commercial flocks, are required by law to take a range of biosecurity precautions.
These include keeping birds “contained” and “away from wild birds”.
While humans continue to cope with a global pandemic, this country’s bird population also has its own challenges.
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IT was nice to catch up with old friend and one-time journalistic rival Michael Taylor in Leeds last week.
Michael is the former editorial director of magazine company Business Insider and a talented writer and accomplished event chair and compere.
I met him fresh from an interview with outspoken football pundit and entrepreneur Gary Neville for the cover story for the latest copy of the Big Issue North.
Neville, the former Manchester United and England defender, is one of the few pundits I will switch on Sky Sports for, whether I’m interested in the featured match or not.
He’s also an outspoken critic of the current Government and has a myriad of business interests in sectors including hospitality, property, transport, creative industries, education and sport.
His company is called Relentless Group and it sums up the persistent work ethic that has seen him achieve so much.
Michael records his lunches around Manchester and the North West on Instagram so I took him to OWT in the Leeds Corn Exchange, a place that serves well cooked, fresh and imaginative food with a smile.
I then went out into Leeds city centre in search of a copy of the Big Issue.
It was the first time I have ever walked across the city and not been asked to buy a Big Issue.
I’ll try again today in my relentless search for a copy.
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I was in Leeds Central Market last week going to collect an item of clothing from Vena Alterations.
As I entered the shop a nattily dressed character with his face obscured by a mask and flat cap followed me in.
“You won’t be getting one of your perfect Michelsberg suits altered in here will you?” he said to me as I tried to work out who he was.
“What’s in the blog this week then?” he said.
I realised it was Richard Lewis, the former property director of Town Centre Securities who is now giving his time and expertise to a number of great Yorkshire charities including St George’s Crypt which supports the homeless and Martin House, the children’s hospice.
We chatted while the lady behind the counter brought me the item of clothing I was collecting.
I suddenly remembered that it wasn’t my clothing, it was a long black leather skirt that my fiance Harriet had had altered.
But would Richard believe that?
Suffice to say that I think he did, but not before he and the ladies in the shop enjoyed a good laugh at my expense.
How could they really think that a long leather skirt was mine?
I prefer a short one to show off my legs.
Think Freddie Mercury in Queen’s I Want To Break Free pop video.
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