No Russians today

Today appears to be the first day in a while when the Russians have not been looking at this blog. Legitimate views are welcomed, but hacking probes are not.  I suspect many are the latter.

I noticed some referring sites were definitely dodgy taking me to nudes. This blog is pretty innocent. If you want porn, look elsewhere. I am not judging you. Each to their own as long as no-one is harmed.

Cambridge Concert

My wife's concert is coming up.

Cambridge Grand Arcade

A few days ago we walked through the Grand Arcade in central Cambridge. This is a covered pedestrian shopping centre. I don't think I have bought much here.

Birds

Certainly swallows (birds) are being seen in increasing numbers in Devon. Cattle egrets are also being increasingly seen. The cattle egret sightings remind me of the first  little egret sightings in Devon 30-40 years ago.

I suspect several species will become far more common in the years to come e.g. bearded tits, bee-eaters. At the same time, some will be lost. Back in 1955 to see a collared dove in the UK would have been amazing. Nowadays they are one of the most common birds in our garden.

See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bee-eater .

UK Pound and BREXIT

OK it is very early days, but the day after the letter triggering the BREXIT process the UK pound is up against most currencies including the euro and US dollar.

UPDATE 30.3.17 1630z: Still up.

Going Home

After a few days with us, my brother returned home today by train. Here he is with me in our front garden.

The primroses get replaced with begonias in the summer.

Leaving the EU

Article 50, the trigger to leave the EU, has now been invoked, with 2 years ahead to negotiate our exit from the "club".  Although we have some tough decisions and negotiations ahead, the UK pound has not collapsed. If anything it is a little stronger against the euro.

Although I voted to remain in the EU, I am pretty sure we'll be fine in the UK.  The rest of the EU faces quite difficult times ahead. In truth, Europe needs us as much as we need them.

See http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business/market_data/currency/default.stm .