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Written by Nigel
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Saturday, 28 February 2009 |
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So it’s the last day of February. The snow has gone and though last night the temperature did dip below freezing it was nothing compared to what we have been getting. I know I tempted fate last time when I claimed that winter was in retreat but this time I really can see the signs of spring. There are snowdrops in the garden and celandine in the hedgerows. This time believe me it’s no longer just in my mind. Spring really is waiting in the wings. The grey and olive drab of winter is about to be cast off on replaced with a veil of vivid green.
 I’m not the only one who’s noticed spring in the air. The goats are impatient to get outside though with the ground still be wet from all the melting snow it would be risking foot rot to let them out right now. It won’t be long though soon they can get outside and feel the sun on their backs for the first time this year. The Blommehöna are really enjoying the sun on their backs Charlie and Boris – my two cockerels – have been running round with libidinous joy treading any poor hen that they come across. The drakes in the garden are the same. Down in the paddock the geese are becoming more noisy and protective. The two ganders are dividing the geese up and it won’t be long before I’m seeing nesting behaviour from them if any kind of judge.
I suddenly have a glut of eggs again, both duck and hen. I have resisted the urge to power up the incubators. I’ve set myself strict limits to what I want to hatch this year. If the old original Blommehöna come fully into lay then they are safe for another year. If their laying is sporadic then I may hatch some to replace them. I will definitely be hatching Ölandsk Dvärghöna – Oland Bantams – I only have the five and as there are only around 150 of them left I want to raise my flock up to a decent level, somewhere around a dozen should do. Similarly with the Gulanka – Swedish Yellow Ducks – I’m hoping to get my pair to increase in number this spring, the same goes for the Skånegås – Skane/Skania Goose. As for new additions, I’d really like to raise something for meat. I’m not thinking Sasso or Cob commercial broilers. I’ve never seen any of these birds for sale here and I believe that they may have been banned around the time the Swedes banned battery layers. No, what I have in mind is an old fashioned game bird. I know someone who has some absolutely marvellous Cornish Game and I’m hoping that she’d be willing to part with some hatching eggs. I still have a desire to have Cream Legbar too. I really love the blue eggs and I’m sure the Swedes would too. I’ve never seen a blue egg layer here. They have Isbar which lays a khaki greenish egg, but nothing like the pure sky blue of the Cream Legbar.
I am determined this year to get the vegetable beds up and running. After slugs and a bad bag frustrated my last two attempts this year I’m going to try something new, a no-dig lasagne system of raised beds. It’s all pretty experimental though a little research has shown that they do produce good results. It’s still in the planning stage but I’ll keep updating and posting on my progress.
I notice too, the scourge of humanity Fred Phelps has been banned from entering the UK. Both he and his hate filled daughter Shirley had announced they would picket a production of The Laramie Project in Basingstoke. The Kansas based Cult who call themselves the Westboro Baptist Church and have about as much to do with any form of Christianity that I’m familiar with as the Klu Klux Klan believe that death and natural disasters are god’s punishment on the world for tolerating homosexuality. Well I suppose there is historical precedent the Romans believed that homosexuality caused earthquakes, it brings a whole new meaning for did the earth move for you too. It seems that Britain will be denied the sight of the now familiar God hates Fags posters maybe wacky Jacqui Smith can do something right.
Of course the British churches have all been rushing to condemn the stance and opinions of the Westboro cult and to distance them selves from it. The Baptist Union of Great Britain, the Evangelical Alliance UK, Faithworks, the Methodist Church of Great Britain, the United Reformed Church and Bible Society-funded think tank Theos even went so far as to make a joint statement:
We are dismayed that members of Westboro Baptist Church (based in Kansas, USA and not associated with the Baptist Union of Great Britain) might picket the performance of The Laramie Project in Basingstoke on Friday.
We do not share [Westboro's] hatred of lesbian and gay people. We believe that God loves all, irrespective of sexual orientation, and we unreservedly stand against their message of hate toward those communities.
Neither the style nor substance of their preaching expresses the historic, orthodox Christian faith. And we ask that the members of Westboro Baptist Church refrain from stirring up any more homophobic hatred in the UK or elsewhere.
Now of course I welcome the public statement opposing the hatred propagated by Fred Phelps and his family don’t get me wrong, but it is relatively easy to issue statements against extremists, distance oneself, and condemn them. There are however amongst those who have condemned Westboro some who preach rejection of faithful gay relationships, who deny their baptism and Christian ministry, and who refuse their wisdom. Some have attempted to negotiate opt-outs from equalities legislation so they can themselves discriminate against lesbian and gay people in employment and in the provision of goods and services. The Evangelical Alliance in particular removed the Courage Trust from its membership when the Trust made a Christian commitment to affirming lesbian and gay people.
If as they claim in their statement;
We believe that God loves all, irrespective of sexual orientation
I invite them all to reflect upon their words and their actions |
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Last Updated ( Saturday, 28 February 2009 )
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