Bats and nesting birds

Krakow Botanical Gardens, July 2016

Things that are great, or at least fine
Progress on the LTRP - very slow progress, but very satisfying
Lighting the fire, sitting on the sofa and watching a film
Not gaining weight
Having one day off a week
Living on my own
Lola II volunteering to create the annual family calendar

Things I am struggling with, or are a bit rubbish
Being unable to synchronise my iPod with iTunes (OK, not that bad but VERY annoying at the moment)
Not losing weight
Thinking about the global and the UK political situation
Getting round to doing some of the difficult jobs that are lined up
The broken porch light **

Ilf has now had a go at the electric lights in the upstairs room and had to concede that he can't work out what's wrong with them. Most unusually, I have acted swiftly rather than procrastinating for weeks and contacted the electrician who most recently replaced the fuse box. Given that Ilf advertises himself as a painter and decorator I don't hold it against him that he can't manage complicated electrics, and I even let him actually do some painting and decorating. The bathroom is now looking lovely but needs a new cabinet.

I visited the Council website where planning applications are tracked. It took a while to work out how to navigate the site, but to my surprise I found that two comments had been lodged. The first exhorts the planning department to attach notes related to bats and nesting birds to any approval granted. Apparently these are protected:

"It is a criminal offence to recklessly disturb or destroy a bat 'roost', even if the roost is only occasionally used ... If evidence of bats is found during works, work should stop immediately and Natural England must be contacted on 0300 060 3900 for advice on the best way to proceed." 

I have never seen a bat in the garden, but you never know. It would clearly be a right nuisance if one is found. I need to plant some garlic and sprinkle holy water. Or is that against zombies?

Nesting birds are just as important to the ecologists.

"The main nesting season lasts approximately from March to September, so work should ideally take place outside these dates if at all possible. N.B birds can nest at any time, and the site should ideally be checked by a suitably qualified ecologist for their presence immediately before work starts, especially if during the breeding season."

The other comment is much shorter and less exciting, and appears to be the outcome of the recent site visit by the planning officer:

"No objection."

So that seems positive, although the conservation officer wants the lantern skylight to be fashioned from painted metal rather than UPVC. The architect checked that this would be OK with me, and then submitted an amended drawing within which the only change I can detect are the words "Metal Roof Lantern" next to the roof lantern on the plans. I have also had two letters through so far from building companies offering their services, who must have seen the public notice in the paper (and there's one on the lamppost).

My Buddhist friend has visited and we had a nice chat and a long walk and vegan food and even did a bit of meditation together. Another job I had lined up for him was to help me remove the larger items from the loft that I couldn't manage on my own. When it was all done I was about to climb the stepladder to close the loft hatch when he reached up and closed it without even standing on tiptoe. Tall people can be very handy sometimes.

At the meditation group, one of the attendees had responded enthusiastically when I said that one of the things I enjoy is reading. "I've written a book," he said. "Do you want to read it?" Of course I said yes. "It costs £7.99," he said. So I was suckered, but I duly handed over the money in exchange for a nicely-produced self-published book. I've started reading it and it will appear in an upcoming book review blog post. I will need to think carefully about how to word my response if he asks how I like it.

** Porch light update - I am an idiot, I forgot to check the fuse box trip switches. The porch light is not and never was broken.