Sticking to the rules

Even the cattle up at Oughtonhead Nature Reserve - a five minutes' walk from my home - are maintaining the prescribed two metre separation.
What I find odd is the number of humans who find sticking to the rules so difficult.

This is what I found a little further up the same path on Monday morning, after a particularly beautiful spring weekend:

There were numerous bottles and cans, plus a pair of trousers and even a little bag that had obviously contained an illicit substance of some kind. It took Florence and I just three minutes to tidy up and we carried everything to the nearest bin, which was obviously too arduous a task for those responsible for the mess. Regardless of the litter, clearly there had been a group gathering in the sunshine. I sincerely hope none of them have to use the services of the NHS as a result.

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Maria Schneider: Live at The Barbican

Tonight’s performance in the main hall at London’s Barbican Centre confirmed Maria Schneider ’s position as one of the finest composers of our generation. Working with the sublime Oslo Jazz Ensemble (formerly Denada), Schneider presented a selection of tunes from her ‘Data Lords’ double album from 2020 and the result was simply extraordinary. Photo credit @Hilary Seabrook With a host of Grammy awards and a Pulitzer Prize nomination for Data Lords , Schneider has proved her right to stand on the Barbican stage in front of one of the finest ensembles in the world. Her music allows every member to shine, individually and collectively. Sax players who double on clarinet, bass clarinet, flute and alto flute, trumpets and flugelhorns, an accordion and multiple percussion pieces wielded by the drummer collectively provide a range of timbres, textures and dynamics that thrilled this audience. The Data Lords compositions celebrate everything that is wonderful about nature, as well as all ...

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Hilary Seabrook - writer, podcaster, musician

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