How are you all? How was your Christmas and New Year? Did you get given any hedgehog themed presents? Even now - after all these years, most of the cards I received were hedgehogged - and some of the gifts!
Hope you are not feeling the deep fatigue that seems to threaten to overwhelm me at every turn. Though it is always the same at the start of the year. I am booked to photograph the Oxford Real Farming Conference - 4th and 5th of January - which is a massive undertaking. It is a shame that I get to see so little of the actual event - as this is where the ideas for sustainable farming are being developed - the sort of farming that will share land with hedgehogs rather than convert it into an ecological desert.
The conference started as an alternative to the very tweedy and male Oxford Farming Conference - 15 years ago. Then there were 50 people crowded into a room above a pub. Now, including online attendees, there were 5,000 people ... 1,800 in person. It does not get a lot of attention as it takes place so close to the new year, but it is where the hope springs ... the programme is worth looking at to see what I mean. And if you want to see what other work I do - here are the photos!
Also early in the year is the International Conference for Hedgehog Rehabilitation for which I am getting ready to head to this afternoon. If any of you are there, come and say hi! I will be selling books in the breaks, taking photos of talks and also 'performing' on Saturday evening with a very alternative vision of hedgehogs ...
Now - last year I got to meet some of the team from Prickles and Paws - the Cornwall rescue. They were great and it was a pleasure to share a stage with their co-founder, Katy.
They have a plan ... for a full on Hogspital - which is going well in large part thanks to one of those Aviva community fundraising offers where the rehab gets matched funding! Anyway - work had started on the building when vandals broke in and ripped out the taps ... this might seen trivial but the water was not ... and it has also meant they now need to alter their building programme to get security fencing up first. This is just so silly - why would anyone want to target a place that is being built to help hedgehogs? Anyway - if you have anything left after the holidays - can I point you to this page... they are good people doing good work.
Right - now to put finishing touches to my talk for tomorrow night ... and pack!
If you want to keep in touch with other bits and pieces:
And I will be back with a report from the conference soon!