Lobbyists have been working hard cajoling reporters and editors this past week or two. What they must have spent pushing their pimped plans for a glossy airport they claim will solve all our ills could probably write off the national debt.
Yes, I agree they could reclaim land from the Thames Estuary to build a mega airport. Just as they could build a replica of Nelson's Column in every UK town preparing to celebrate the Jubilee. The fact is that they can't and won't because they haven't and won't answer some pretty fundamental questions.
But hey, Defra Minister Richard Benyon's got some cash to splash out on a pogrom against legally protected buzzards, so maybe he'll chip-in. With luck, he'll see sense if enough people tap him on the shoulder and will drop this planned persecution.
Birds of prey are already targeted by people who don't want them around. The reasons given vary, but if you get to the root of the problem it's never that there are too many birds of prey. London has a growing population of peregrine falcons and we're finding ways of managing to live alongside each other. Although we have lost a few of this year's hatchlings, possibly three through theft, or is that chick-napping, but also due to infertile eggs or accident.
School half-term is fast approaching. Take time out to enjoy some free things. Try relaxing with friends in your local park. Maybe visit a City Farm, woods or nature reserve. The Thames is always nice to stroll along. In its waters there are Dover sole and bass. Further downstream from the Thames barrier you may see a porpoise or a seal. Under the water there are crabs, eels and beds of seagrass, which researchers this week declared can hold as much carbon, if not more, than a forest. The Thames is far more than a muddy brown river. It's part of the machine that sustains life.
UPDATE... Mr Benyon has passed through the reality baggage check area and seen sense. He's stopped the control measures and is reconsidering options .. which sounds ominous!