Ian Cumming

Bake it better Britain

Cambridge ain’t so bad!

@CambsBirdClub Bit of a rubbish phone photo but can you help my amateur ways? Is this a whinchat? Seen on my morning dog walk near Great Wilbraham. Do you get many around here? Thank you!

@dinogeo6 Yes! I saw it from Cambridge!

@jonholmes1 @MailOnline They did this to me. Sending them a huge invoice was one of the happiest moments of my life!

Hey, @MailOnline you appear to have used a photo of mine without paying for it. Who do I invoice?

@adzj996 @SJAOperations Thank you for being there - hope you enjoyed it all!

Great to support #LewesBonfire again as part of @SJAOperations team. Just a shame about the weather! #MySJADay

@paulpowlesland Thanks very much for that Paul - it’s a much chunkier clipping that I had imagined. Cheers!

@iancpix Love the night picture. Best time to clone is winter (December to February). Get a growing branch that is green/vigorous, about 1-3cm diameter & cut a 4-6ft length. Strip all side leaves & shoots off, except the top few. Push 1/3 to 1/2 of it into wet ground and wait!

*On the trail of the UK’s rarest native tree*. I’ve recently joined an academic study into the genetics of the black poplar; one of our most imperilled, but enigmatic, trees. This study will help to unlock info that may be crucial to our efforts to save this wonderful species🧵

From FB 😢 Post from a Beekeeper 🐝 “Its late, and maybe in the morning I'll delete this post, but I've just got home and for now I need to write this down. Earlier this evening I received a message from a home owner to say they had a swarm of bees in their hedge, but they were worried about them because children had been throwing water at them. By the time my fellow beekeeper and I arrived, what had been a beautiful prime swarm was reduced to a few hundred drenched bees, huddling limply around their queen. I've already deleted the photos of the puddles of water, the dripping wet hedge, and the many, many dead and dying bees that hadn't been able to escape the attack; sharing those pictures serves no purpose. We gently placed the bees that had survived into a collection box, and hopefully tomorrow, when they've had chance to dry out and settle, we'll check on them and if necessary feed them; they'll be exhausted and possibly (understandably) defensive. They've been through a lot. Please, please, help me to educate your children, your grandchildren, your neices and nephews, your neighbours, your colleagues and your friends that a swarm of bees isn't dangerous - they're amazing creatures that are just looking for a new home. Please don't let anyone harm them. Just call a beekeeper who will gladly rehome them. Please help me to spread this message and hopefully save any more bees from being unnecessarily harmed” 😢 Sad and unhappy Beekeeper

This is not easy listening… It’s absolutely harrowing. And it reminds us why we won’t move on from any of this until we have answers And until we have justice.

@theiaincameron Ah that looks worth getting up for though!

@iancpix Excellent, Ian. Was a pretty good sunrise, but it was a struggle getting out the sleeping bag.

I didn’t expect to share Beinn Ime’s summit last night for sunset, but a father-and-son duo appeared and pitched nearby. Turns out the camper, @iancpix, was a G.B. Bake Off Finalist a few years back. ‘And you’re the snow guy,’ he said. There’s always a surprise on the hill.

Hello @camcitco There was a lovely display of buttercup on Midsummer Common yesterday, but you’ve mowed them into oblivion this morning. Also patches of nettles that butterflies would lay eggs on all gone too. Do we have an actual biodiversity strategy in #Cambridge?

Strong @yplac energy going on here #wankpanzer

@LewesNibbler Well there might have been one or two…!

Have we had many Bonfire cakes I wonder?

@selasigb @simonkaston All smiles at that point!

@simonkaston @iancpix Sure did! 🫶🏿

You are all AMAZING! (and did you spot yourself @selasigb and @iancpix?)

@SarahEHBurr So sorry to hear this Sarah. He seemed like a truly remarkable and lovely, lovely person. x

Bottled water cost is astounding when you think of how much you’re paying for production and distribution compared to the water itself. It’s even more shocking when you consider the detrimental effects it has on the environment [source, read more: buff.ly/2LvDWvx]

Queen #Bees - HELP THEM OUT! Another important thread concerning #bumblebee queens at this time of year! Please #retweet/#share as every queen bee that survives gets to establish a nest that otherwise would not happen. This has knock on effects going forward. Let me explain. 1/11