British Birds

The National Bird, the Robin.

The Robin is a plump bird with bright orange-red breast, face, throat and cheeks edged with grey, a white belly and olive-brown upper parts.

The sexes are very similar, if not identical, though some texts suggest that the brown forehead is "V" shaped in females, and "U" shaped in males, sometimes even this is not always apparent. They have got a brown bill and legs.

The juvenile Robin has speckled buff-brown upper parts and underparts. They haven't got red feathers so that adult birds do not attack them in territorial disputes. The speckled feathers are lost in a partial moult when the bird is about two to three months old.
In the winter, resident Robins are joined by immigrants from Scandinavia and the continental Europe; these Robins are paler than the British ones, have a duller red breast. The immigrants aren´t as tame as the British Robin because they skulk in woodlands, only British Robins are a tame garden bird.

Robins are territorial all year round; Robins will defend their territory to the death. So in the poem "Who killed Cock Robin?", another Robin would have killed it instead of a sparrow:

Who killed Cock Robin?
I said the Sparrow,
With my bow and arrow,
And I killed Cock Robin.

Funky British Music

JAMIROQUAI
(pronounced /dʒəˈmirəˌkwaj/) are an English jazz funk and acid jazz band. Jamiroquai were the most prominent component in the early-1990s London-based acid jazz movement, alongside groups such as Incognito, the James Taylor Quartet, the Brand New Heavies, Galliano, and Corduroy. Subsequent albums have explored other musical directions such as pop, rock and electronica. Jamiroquai have sold some 35 million albums worldwide.

Check out one of his You Tube videos: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cv1KzkQB75w&feature=related

His official website is interesting too: http://www.jamiroquai.com/

CHANGE OF SEASON

SPRING IS HERE

Yet again Spring is here, the warmth of the sun is provoking Spring flowers to come out of their winter hibernation. Daffodils, primroses and bluebells are showing us their beautiful faces to brighten our day and they give us a wonderful reminder that Summer is on its way.......
The birds are singing from before first light and they are so busy calling mates and building their nest...it's a bustle of Spring time activity in nature. Even the cock crows before dawn in anticipation to coming months.
Farmers are busy ploughing the land and preparing seed stock for planting in what is probably the busiest time of the year....apart from harvest time, of course.
Have you noticed the lovely lambs in the pasture fields, prancing in the sunshine? What a wonderful sight to see...yes, Spring is here.
What does Spring mean for you? Do you have special activities related to this season of awakening? If you´re a writer or poet, artist or just a parent...what does Spring bring out in your life or work?

It´s food for thought I´m sure!

P.s: Don´t forget the clocks change at the end of the month

British Cheese

• Cheese is made from milk and it takes around 10 litres of milk to make 1kg of hard cheese.
• Cheese can be made from lots of different types of milk, such as buffaloes' milk, sheep's milk and goats' milk; most of the cheese eaten in the UK is made from cows' milk.
• We all know that "Little Miss Muffet sat on her tuffet, eating her Curds and Whey" but I bet you didn't know that to make cheese, milk has to be separated into curds which are the lumpy bits and whey which is the liquid bit. We make cheese with the curds!
• Some cheeses, like Mature Cheddar, are stored for one year or longer before they are ready to eat. They are kept in special rooms and sometimes even caves!
• There are over 700 different named cheeses produced in Britain.
• Cheddar is named after the Cheddar Gorge caves in Somerset where the cheese used to be stored to ripen. Cheddar is one of the most widely made cheeses in the world. King Henry II declared Cheddar cheese to be the best in Britain!
• The majority of Shropshire Blue is not actually made in Shropshire, but in Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire.
• Cheshire is one of the oldest British cheeses. It dates from Roman times and even gets a mention in the Domesday Book
• Cornish Yarg came from a recipe found in a book in a farmer's attic - his name was Mr Gray (Yarg spelt backwards!)
• Caerphilly was traditionally eaten by Welsh coal miners for their lunch.
• Every spring sees locals in the village of Stilton, Peterborough, race along a course rolling Stilton shaped wheels.
• Cheese comes in many different colours, textures, tastes and appearances. They can be hard, soft and some are runny!
• Cheese is packed with the protein that we all need for growth and development.
• Hard cheese is source of calcium with a matchbox-sized piece providing a third of an adult's daily requirement for calcium.
• Cheese is a source of vitamin B12, which you need for red blood cell formation.
• Each day our friends in France, Italy, Greece and Germany eat more than twice as much cheese, per person, as we do.
• Cheese is one of the most versatile foods around and can be used as a starter, a main course or as a dessert - you can't do that with many other foods

TYPES OF CHEESE:

• Buxton Blue
• Caerphilly
• Cheddar
• Cheshire
• Cornish Yarg
• Derby
• Double Gloucester
• Dovedale
• Gruyere
• Lancashire
• Red Leicester
• Sage Derby
• Shropshire Blue
• Stilton
• Wensleydale
• White Stilton

For more very interesting information and great recipes go to: http://www.britishcheese.com

Jamie Oliver also has some great recipes with cheese, why not try one of them? Here´s the link:

http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/beef-recipes/steak-guinness-and-cheese-pie-with-a-puf

SPORTS

Football, Football and more Football

Can you imagine if you were full of cold and tired and having a slight injury..would you go out and win a football match? It doesn´t seem likely, does it? Well, it happened yesterday at Wembley. The match was between Manchester United and Aston Villa. The footballer of the day was Wayne Rooney who was one of the substitues to begin with..he was brought into the match and as a great attacker, he scored, putting Manchester United into the lead for the Carling Cup Final....What a champion! Great game! Great football! And above all Wayne Rooney, a great attacker! Good work mate!