A worrying article about butterflies from the BBC. The TV naturalist Sir David Attenborough has warned that they are are facing “a vital” period following a worrying decline in their numbers.
He claimed some of the UK's most common species have suffered “significant declines” in recent years.
Apparently more than three quarters of the UK's butterflies have declined in the last 40 years, with numbers falling quicker in towns and cities.
Sir David, president of Butterfly Conservation, said that despite a warm summer last year, species like the small tortoiseshell, peacock, meadow brown and gatekeeper had seen numbers fall due to a warm winter and a subsequent cold spring.
“In the last decade our butterflies have experienced several poor years and although resilient, they simply cannot sustain repeated losses, especially if the habitats they need in order to rebuild their populations are also under threat,” added Sir David.
It seems we Brits love our coffee. The Daily Mail reports on a survey which shows that we spend more than £2,000 a year each in high street coffee shops.
According to the article, on average, we visit a coffee shop 152 times - three times a week - and each trip costs us £13.85, and new figures show there are now 21,000 outlets compared to 9,000 in 2006.
The Guardian reports on an amazing discovery at Windsor Castle in which more than two dozen sketches by the 18th-century artist Thomas Gainsborough were found after going unnoticed in the portfolio of another artist for more than 100 years.
Some the drawings, most of which are landscapes, were found within an album in the Royal Collection created in the 19th century and credited to Sir Edwin Landseer, one of Queen Victoria’s favourite artists.
Rosie Razzall, the Royal Collection’s curator of prints and drawings, commented:“We’re really excited by this discovery … if it means we have 26 early drawings in the collection, that’s really significant.”
The black-and-white chalk drawings – showing landscapes around Sudbury, Gainsborough’s birthplace in Suffolk – have never been published or exhibited before. The collection is drawing up plans to show them for the first time.
The Guardian also informs us that a cache of 25 Roman letters has been found at Vindolanda, the fort below Hadrian’s Wall .
They are still being conserved, before being scanned with infrared light which should make the faint marks in black ink legible.
And continuing the historic theme, the BBC tells that early Cornish kings feasted on oysters, roast pork and fine wine.
Excavations at Tintagel Castle have also revealed they imported bowls from Turkey and glass goblets from Spain.
English Heritage's properties curator, Win Scutt, said: “It is easy to assume that the fall of the Roman Empire threw Britain into obscurity, but here on this dramatic Cornish cliff top they built substantial stone buildings, used fine table wares from Turkey, drank from decorated Spanish glassware and feasted on pork, fish and oysters..
“They were clearly making use of products like wine and oil contained in amphorae traded from the eastern Mediterranean.”
There is a much more up to date story in the Daily Express, saying that London Transport is to scrap announcements using the phrase “ladies and gentlemen” in a bid to become gender neutral.
They also plan to change all new pre-recorded announcements to use new phrases.
TfL’s customer strategy boss Mark Evers said they want “everyone to feel welcome on our transport network.”
He added: “We have reviewed the language that we use in announcements and elsewhere and will make sure that it is fully inclusive, reflecting the great diversity of London.”
Reference list:
The Express (www.express.co.uk)
The Guardian (www.guardian.co.uk)
Daily Mail (www.dailymail.co.uk)
BBC (www.bbc.co.uk)