Swallows in Cambridgeshire

The Cambridge Bird Club "What's About" page is now reporting swallows locally again.

Usually I see swallows in Devon in the first week of April, but it is often mid-April until I see them around up here. I guess if you look hard you will see the odd one or two earlier.

The image on the RHS is on the RSPB site and not here. It will be immediately removed if causing copyright or other issues.

See http://www.rspb.org.uk/discoverandenjoynature/discoverandlearn/birdguide/name/s/swallow/

Returning swallows

The Devon Wildlife website is now reporting the return of lots of swallows. This is good news. Spring returns!

Needless deaths

The world has recently seen a spate of needless deaths. Life is precious and this is so very sad. My wife and I were debating who was killed in the IRA car bomb on the UK parliament in 1979. I thought it was someone else, but it was Airey Neave.

See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airey_Neave .

King's College, Cambridge added to churches blog

See http://eachurches.blogspot.co.uk/ .

King's College Chapel is probably the most famous building in Cambridge and is known the world over. Yesterday my wife and I went there for a lunchtime concert (great) and I have updated the churches blog.

This is a view of King's College Chapel from the River Cam.

Springtime

What a difference a week makes!

It now feels like spring with the birds singing again, buds coming through on trees and bushes, the grass starting to grow and a general feel of spring in the air. It is still cold at times, but overall the feeling is that spring is definitely in the air at last. We had a mild, wet winter, but it will only be a few weeks or less until the summer migrant birds (swallows and house martins soon, swifts at the end of the month) arrive.

I am looking forward to sitting out in the garden again on a light evening. Mid June it is still light here after 10pm.

FTSE 100 up today

The FTSE 100 share index was up again today by 0.54%. It is still some way below its high spot which was over 7000. As the next General Election approaches and there is continuing uncertainty in Greece, more rapid fluctuations are likely.

At the moment, the outcome of the next General Election outcome is a total guess. The 2 big parties (Conservatives and Labour) are still neck and neck at 34% according to recent opinion polls.

Big FTSE 100 falls

The FTSE 100 index fell to 6773 tonight, which is a fall of 1.72%. I think further falls are possible as we run towards the next General Election, the outcome of which is very uncertain.