St. Michael and All Angels found in Sandhurst near our home is such a beautiful church and apparently dates to earlier than 1220. Which is why it has such beautiful Norman doorways. The tower is Nineteenth century though still looks wonderful.

This is not a fossil but an actual piece of Mammoth ivory found attached to a frozen carcass in Yakutia, Siberia. As you can see from the polished slice there is beautiful white ivory inside the shabby looking fragment. I gives me quite a kick to know that this oddly warm item was once attached to the face of such a magnificent beast. I love it.

I got this piece from an area of Zambia called the Chirundu Fossil Forest National Monument site contains fossilised or petrified tree trunks of the Karoo age.

It is situated in customary land of Chief Sikoongo of the Gwembe District in the Southern Province of Zambia and is 21 kilometres from the Chirundu border which forms a boundary with Zimbabwe. The site has superb fossilised tree trunks measuring up to 1.2m in diameter assigned to Dadyoxlon sp. and Rhexoxylon africanum which are difficult to distinguish with naked eyes.

The main rock type here is sedimentary: red pebbly arkose (immature sandstones) formed during the Upper Karoo (Jurassic) times. These rocks show alternating coarse and fine sedimentary layers. The name Karoo is derived from the Karoo Basin of South Africa where similar rocks were surveyed.

The piece I have is about the size of a water melon and is one of my favourite objects.

I loved this quote from the Daily Mail about this weird looking jellyfish:

The jellyfish, which are approximately 60cm in width, are rarely seen intact, explains Steven Haddock from the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute.

I mean Haddock? It is just too much…

I really love the corvids – crows rooks magpies etc – and was consequently happy to see that it appears that they can recognise familiar voices. Now I just need to train the magpie in the garden to come to my call so he can finish the cats unwanted food more quickly.

This story headlined “Scientists discover the existence of a three-foot mammoth” in Crete seems like a massive non story. It has been long known that there were dwarf prehistoric elephant type creatures on Crete. The fact that they have now been recategorised as a slightly different type of creature seems somewhat of a small issue. I wonder why this story has made so many newspapers. I hope it means a renewed public interest in mammoths generally.

I love badgers. I wanted to keep one as a pet but apparently they are smelly and occasionally a little violent. It is also illegal to do so. But if you want to look at them there are loads in Richmond Park and they come out at dusk and are easily seen around Pembroke Lodge car park.

look at this one. It is as if they are not even trying…

Hello my good friend.

How are you today? Hope all is well with you and your family?, You may not understand why this mail came to you.But if you do not remember me, you might have receive an email from me in the past regarding a multi-million-dollar business proposal which we never concluded.

I am using this opportunity to inform you that thismulti-million-dollar business has been concluded with the assistance of another partner from India who financed the transaction to a logical conclusion. I thank you for your great effort to our unfinished transfer of fund into your account due to one reason or the other best known to you.

But I want to inform you that I have successfully transferred the fund out of my bank to my new partner’s account in India that was capable of assisting me in this great venture.Due to your effort,sincerity,courage and trust worthiness You showed during the course of the transaction.I want to compensate you and show my gratitude to you with the sum of $5,200,000.00. I have left a certified international bank draft for you worth of $5,200,000.00 cash able anywhere in the world.

My dear friend I will like you to contact my Account Officer Mr.MICHEAL JONES on his direct email address at:[michealjones@superposta.com]the collection of your bank draft. I authorized him to release the Bank Draft to you whenever you contact him regarding for it. At the moment,I’m very busy here because of the investment projects, which I and the new partner are having at hand.

Please I will like you to accept this token with good faith as this is
from the bottom of my heart,Also comply with Mr.MICHEAL JONES directives so that he will send the draft to you without any delay.

CONTACT: Mr.MICHEAL JONES
Account Officer, Cotonou,
Benin Republic,
His email address:[michealjones@superposta.com]

Therefore, you should send him your full Name and telephone number/ your correct mailing address where you want him to send the draft to you.

Thanks and God bless you and your family.

Hoping to hear from you.
Mrs.Jona martin

It really is an epidemic in Europe. Over the last year suicide rates have climber by 24% in Greece, 16% in Ireland and over 15% in the overall EU, and they are still climbing rapidly according to this Lancet Study, which finds a direct correlation between unemployment and suicides.

“Financial crisis puts the lives of ordinary people at risk, but much more dangerous is when there are radical cuts to social protection,” said David Stuckler, a sociologist at the University of Cambridge, “Austerity can turn a crisis into an epidemic.”

These victims of high spending Governments are not sufficiently recognised.