Little snoring, thankfully
Sitting in the presenters meeting this morning, my reverie was disturbed by the sound of scores of little feet on gravel. Looking up I saw a primary school class, with their teachers in tow, being given a tour around the Springwatch production village.
The class from Little Snoring Primary School are very well-behaved when I turn up for this afternoon's tour, and true to their name they do very little snoring as they listen politely to Chiara, the production assistant, tell them to watch out for cables, ramps, and sharp pointy corners.
After the safety talk they head off in the direction of the story developers and are told a little bit about how the programme is put together. Then there is a question before we move on:
"You know that person in Wales," asks a little boy, "did he find them cats yet?"
Chiara explains that the person in Wales is Simon King and that we don't know whether he has seen a polecat yet. I wait to see if anyone will ask whether - based on Simon's success so far - polecats even live in Wales, but nobody does. Instead there are more immediately pertinent questions such as "Where's the loo?" and "What's the time?". I can only admire the level of interest these Springwatch fans have in the lay out of the site and in recording when questions are asked.
In the gallery, as Chiara tells the children how difficult and full-on the job of director is, David the director takes a break from watching Ashes To Ashes to say a friendly hello.
Still in the gallery Chiara tells the children about 'talk back', the system that allows the director to have a word in Kate's ear while she is busy talking. One of the teachers comments on how difficult this must be. This, I think, reflects very well on his class. At my school, a teacher had to be able to talk sensibly while a whole classroom screamed in his ear...
As David the director goes back to Ashes To Ashes, Chiara asks if there are any other questions.
"When do we get to see Chris and Kate?" asks a little boy.
"I'm afraid that won't be possible," explains Chiara with a smile. "They're very busy people."
"Oh, that's a shame," says the boy. "I wanted to get their autographs and sell them on Ebay."
As the class heads towards the barn, I decide that this boy will obviously go far. A banker perhaps. Or a Member of Parliament.
"Now," says Chiara, "as we he head towards the barn please be as quiet as you can. There are open microphones out there and if you do make a noise it will go straight on to the web."
In an instant, the class's noise level is the highest it's been since the start of the tour. Fame, it seems, is now firmly on their minds but they are good kids and they manage to keep the volume just the right side of 'web audible' even when they finally catch a glimpse of ... The Sofa! The kids push their faces up to the window of the barn to get a good look at it. After the presenters themselves, this manky old sofa is the next best thing and the children are gripped by the sight of an inanimate object.
At the end of the tour, I am stopped by the boy who asked for Kate and Chris' autograph so he could sell them on Ebay. He asks me if I will sign my name on his hand. Flattered, I oblige and write my monicker - The Mole - on his palm.
He looks at it for a moment and appears excited. But as I turn to go, I see him stop to read the words on his hands. A moment later he rushes off to join the other kids. It is time, says the teacher, to wash their hands...
Great. Second fiddle to a sofa...
Comments
Now there's a thought - Fundraising for Wildlife/Conservation - offer The Sofa (on a reputable auction system maybe) donate the money to the chosen cause. Then, ready, for the next Springwatch obtain a new Sofa from an 'offer' on a local online Freecycle Group.
Could repeat ad infinitum ...... Kudos for the sofa giver, buyer and Springwatch + viewers, but best of all Funds for Wildlife at no cost to BBC or the License payers! (and hopefully nothing to fall foul of Beeb competition rules).
There's always lots of sofas and armchairs being offered on our local Freecycle groups.
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The kids had a fantastic day, and really enjoyed the 'behind the scenes tour' as well as walking round the reserve, coming face to face with much wildlife...including getting a sneak peak at both Chris and Kate. No autographs though!
A big thank you to Chiara and the production team for their valuable time and knowledge. Both adults and children alike gained a lot from the day.
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Hello
This is NOT a complaint I would just like to know when springwatch unsprung is posted on the webb
Thank you
mikebigears
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Hi mikebigears, it's there now on the homepage. We try to get it up at about lunchtime the day after it's gone out.
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hi mr mole, i have a question for the sw team but wasnt sure where to put it so im putting it here. Parakeets having recently moved i was hole up in thanet for a couple of months where i sttarted hearing birds i hadnt seen before, they were quite elusive i caught sight of them one day flying high above and realised what they were, i spent a good deal of time trying to see them , one day there was a flock of them in a tree across a field which was covered in doggie doodles so it took me quite awhile to find my way across all the time watching where i was walking and when i was about twenty feet away they flew off. so please please can we see some on springwatch,, purpsxxxx
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Just to let you know, but the dates wrong on the springwatch homepage for springwatch unsprung.
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What date does it say for you Super-Becky-Lol? We made a mistake before but thought we'd changed it.
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Come on Mole, where's the next installment? You're more than 24 hours overdue you know! (this is just a testament to how much I enjoy reading this blog, not a complaint)
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Hi Moley,
In reply to your message to Becky, Monday's Unsprung has said "Wed 8th Jun" all day. Threw me completely I went to the archive to find Monday's edition - duh!!!!!
Really missed your blog today - I'd like to think they finally let you have a day off, but as you posted a message here presumably not!!!
mw.
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Sorry all,
I finally succumbed to the stomach bug that has been going round and spent all day back at the hotel being ill. But I'm back now and raring to go!
Yours,
The Mole
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The team were talking about moles and mole deterrants on Unsprung last night, which had me hopping up and down as there isnt much I dont know about trying to keep them out of certain areas of the garden. Chris Packham is for the most part right when he says that tolerance is important, however, fact is if you are an organic grower and have valuable crops, a mole or numerous moles can be a huge problem. I have tried everything (except traps) - glass bottles sunk into the ground to cause vibrations as the wind passes over the top DO NOT work! Watering on these mole deterrant granules which intend to upset the moles sense of smell DO NOT work! Solar powered bleepers which send out a pulse every 30 seconds or so the vibrations of which should confuse mister moley DO NOT work! (and they are very expensive). I have a number of moles in different parts of the garden using various routes; I was unfortunate in that when I moved in and started reclaiming the overgrown ground, the moles had already been in situ for probably many years and had their patch. Part of me doesnt mind because I love moles, however, when they are shallow tunnelling through your precious carrot and parsnip and beetroot seedlings it's not allowed! They dont just send up massive molehills of earth, their activities are far more varied. They can appear to go quiet for many weeks and then suddenly reactivate during wet weather (for example). They can be active at any time of year (though mostly Jan-Apr) and any time of day. The only method I have found to be partially successful is blocking up their tunnels. Sometimes you can see where the soil is disturbed and follow this back to a regularly used tunnel and block it up using, say, a good sized piece of flint banged into the hole with a rubber mallet. If wanted, you can drop a pongy moth ball down the hole first and then block it up. It does put them off, but it isnt foolproof, I've had them toss the mothball back out again!!! The mole will of course then start delving elsewhere or try to re-open the run in a slightly different place, and you will find that you may have to block up a few runs/holes perhaps over the course of a week or more before they get the message and hopefully go somewhere else. Moles are creatures of habit though, they have regular routes and will try to keep these runs open as they search for food. Personally I cant bear the thought of killing them and, therefore, expend quite a lot of time looking a bit manic as I try to keep them out of my veggie beds. I caught one once just with my hands as he was tunnelling close to the surface, I was so surprised I hadnt thought it through and didnt know what to do with him next! Just in the last couple of days I saw one out on the surface in full daylight, near my composting bins. Then I spotted the dead mole lying closeby (possibly victim of cat) and it seemed apparent that the other had come out to investigate. But put simply, it probably isnt worth investing in the various expensive proprietory mole deterrants available, I've tried most of them and cant recommend any particularly. Patience is probably the only truly ethical way, and try to enjoy their presence instead of obssessing (as I do) over uprooted plants. Although a friend who has molehills all over her lawn won't agree with me at all!!
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Oh dear, poor moley - I hope you are feelings loads better now (and everyone else who's had it). Just a day or two to go now, so hopefully you'll get a rest soon. We really have appreciated all the hard work everyone on the Spring watch team has put into this years program. Its been great - an added bonus is that this year we seem to have noticed so much more going on in our garden too. As well as the mice we've had the regular small birds: great tit, blue tit, dunnock, robin, blackbirds, chaffinches, goldfinches, greenfinch, starling, thrush (all with or taking food to babies), also the bigger regulars: wood pigeon, collard dove, rock dove (domesticated greys & whites) To top it all yesterday we had a visit from a squirrel, a greater spotted woodpecker and a jay and this morning a flock of about 14 long tailed tits passed by (regular winter visitors but rare in summer). As its only a tiny garden, I think this is pretty good!
mw
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Hello, I suppose my post late on the 8th June was not to your liking, but why hide it? I have not been able to see if there were any comments from others. Be it agreeing or disagreeing. I hope this is not a form of censorship on your part.
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Thanks mouse-watcher,
Just had lunch and still standing so all seems well...
Yours,
The Mole
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hi moley im loving this years springwatch well done to all.
o and the whole smithswatch thing does chris know how big that's got?
it's even on morrissey fan sites.lol.
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glad your feeling better mr mole, you are a mr i take it , didnt think you could be a mrs a miss or a ms?? getting back to parakeets, they are no longer considered alien invaders are they??
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My husband Rob says He got rid of a friends moles in her garden by running the lawn mower round the area where they were
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As regards getting rid of moles (not the blogging type of course!) does anyone else remember the routine Jasper Carrott did years ago about moles? It involved strapping a torch to your head, and sitting out in the garden in a swivel chair with a 12 bore shotgun.
needless to say, it didn't work and all he ended up doing was blasting holes in his lawn with the gun and being propelled backwards in the chair! ;)
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its amazing how exiting people go because of a sofa
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I was watching Springwatch tonight as I love the programme but found it objectional with the remark about pheasants being released into the wild to be shot. I feel that these sort of things should not be voiced by presenters as obviously they have an opinion. Where would one stop to object about plants, animals etc being introduced into the UK. Where would we be without the potato for instance? The pheasant was introduced by the Normans in the 11th Century.
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