Rain, rain, go away

Come back on, say, March 6th 2008. That would give us a welcome break from the continual grey skies, gales and precipitation. I used to shrug off the comments of “Ooo, it rains a lot in North Devon”, when asked where I was moving to. “Well”, I thought. “So what? It rains everywhere from time to time.”

This is getting ridiculous though.

OK, OK, I know, all we Brits ever talk about is the weather, but … can anyone really blame us? Surely our obsession is rightly placed?

The summer solstice came and went, with many of us in raincoats and wellies. The summer clothes are still folded in drawers, perhaps never to see the light of day this year. Washing takes at least three days to dry in the conservatory, but I suppose it does give the turtles something to look at. Row upon row of underwear - drip, drip, dripping like a grandfather clock counting out time.

No need to worry, though, that the flowers, bought to adorn pots on the patio, are in danger of getting dry. Although, of course, this is, somewhat, a double-edged sword for you cannot sit outside to appreciate them in all their midsummer glory.

Richard once said that he wished he could kill the weather. I tend to agree with him and would gladly take up arms at his side and march upon it. Jon will probably blame the Government for the weather’s unchecked malevolence, but then I would gladly take up arms at his side and march upon that too if given half the chance – but that, as they say, is another story.

It does also mean, of course, that the work on the aviary cannot be completed as quickly as had been hoped. Graham does as much as he can, when the weather allows, but the schedule is being put back further and further.

Anyway, enough of that. On a brighter note, the new magazine Exotic Pets has now been completed and, apart from the fact that distribution was held up at the last minute with the untimely demise of our guillotine, this should be posted to all those who have requested it very soon. Boy, does it look good! We have all worked very hard on its birth, from conception to fruition, and are all very proud of our efforts. Plenty of hearty slaps on the back have resounded through the village of Woolsery over the last day or two.

Work on the next issue of Animals & Men is well underway and this should be with our members some time next month. We have also just published three new books (Marcus Matthews’ Big Cats Loose in Britain , Neil Arnold’s Monster! The A-Z of Zooform Phenomena , and Dark Dorset: Tales of Mystery, Wonder and Terror by our very own Mark North, and his friend Robert Newland).

In the next few weeks we will also be publishing books from Nick Redfern, Dr. Karl Shuker and Mike Hallowell - so keep your eyes peeled. You can gather, then, that it is, indeed, a very busy time here at the CFZ.

Gosh … it has stopped raining! Oh, no, sorry my mistake – it hasn’t …