An Unshellfish Act Of Kindness

Lobsters all around the worlds oceans have cause to celebrate this morning, at the news that one of their kind, a 140 year old lobster by the name of Craig has been released. To the fish world this unexpected news is equivalent, in human terms, to the release of Nelson Mandela. Craig has been exhibited to customers in an aquarium at Halu Japanese Restaurant & Grill in Brooklyn, New York. Craig, a 20lb crustacean, was shipped by the restaurant's owners to Maine where he was released into the sea on Saturday. The announcement, made on Friday, means that Craig will swim free in the Atlantic Ocean instead of ending his days boiled in a pot. He should be safe there as local laws forbid taking lobsters above a certain size. The news was welcomed by Ingrid Newkirk, president of the animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), who said in a statement "Kudos to Halu for allowing Craig to live out the rest of his days in his native habitat". PETA has organized a campaign to liberate restaurant lobsters and avoid them from being thrown alive into a pot of boiling water. According to invertebrate zoologist Jaren Horsley, lobsters have a "sophisticated nervous system" and feel "a great deal of pain" when cut or cooked alive. I love stories of compassion like this, let's hope King Neptune will see fit to bestow a knighthood on Craig. He deserves it!

Brainteaser

Another set of ten trivia questions for you to answer. The questions are based on general knowledge. See how you get on!

01 Which national flag shows a red disc set on a white background?
02 What kind of people meet at the World Jamboree?
03 Who invented the hovercraft?
04 What do diamonds and coal have in common?
05 Who is the patron saint of Wales?
06 Which musical instrument do you associate with Yehudi Menuhin?
07 Which American singing group belong to the Mormon faith?
08 What was the nationality of the writer Hans Christian Anderson?
09 From which animal does venison come?
10 What nuts are used to make marzipan?

Good luck with the above questions!

More Pictures Of Blankney

The top picture shows the road (B1188) as you travel south out of Blankney heading towards Scopwick. The spinney on the right is known as aconite wood, due to the fact that in Spring the whole wood is a carpet of bright yellow aconites. The bottom picture shows the private road that leads off the B1188 and leads up to the Hall stables, the walled gardens and through, to Leech's Dairy Farm. To give a better perspective the same white gate appears in both pictures. The church stands just to the right of where the second picture was taken.

Land Of Milk And Honey Turns Sour

This weekend Home Secretary Jacqui Smith is likely to announce that the number of work permits issued to foreigners is likely to be cut. The new points system, based on the Australian system, will be used to 'raise the bar' for skilled migrants coming to this country. The Home Secretary has been forced to act after the growing row over the impact foreign workers have had on the UK. This impact was brought into focus recently by the opposition to the Sicilian firm who won the Lindsey refinery contract in Lincolnshire. More than 150,000 work permits were issued last year and it is estimated that 3.8 million foreign workers are now employed in Britain. Strange, isn't it, that the move comes when Polish workers who flocked to Britain after their country joined the EU in 2004 are now moving back home. As the economic recession deepens, building trade contracts decline, and the pound plummets against the zloty, many of the 700,000 Polish workers are packing up their trowels and spanners and returning to Poland. Also, many educated middle-class Poles have decided that Britain is no longer the land of opportunity and are joining the exodus. The Polish economy has performed well since joining the EU, helped by billions of pounds of grants for roads and big infrastructure projects. Unemployment has fallen to 6% and many hotel and catering staff, and construction workers, are returning to help Poland prepare to host the European football championships in 2012. The exodus is likely to continue, while the number of new Polish arrivals in the UK has slowed to a trickle. Salaries in Poland have risen by up to 15% in the last year and company bosses are contacting Polish workers in the UK and offering them well paid jobs. Against this background it looks as if economic forces are achieving naturally what Jacqui Smith is trying to do through legislation. Has Britain, once regarded as the land of milk and honey, turned sour?