Imagine the scene: a beautiful sunny Autumn day on the banks of the canal in Castlefield, golden leaves rustling above my head.

I sit down on a bench, lift my Greggs chargrilled chicken sandwich out of the paper bag and suddenly I’m surrounded by three large geese. One of which keeps running up to me, trying to get at my sandwich.

I get the impression that this bird knows exactly what tactics are most likely to get a result. He’s large, really quite intimidating and at one point I retreat behind the bench. But eventually I realise that I can keep him at bay by stretching out my legs. So I sit down again. Actually he’s not that bad after all. Quite cute.

But what’s this? Sudden a ‘honking’ sound in the distance. Two really big swans arrive, leap out of the water, wings open and run towards me. They could probably break your wrist with a peck, so I leap behind the bench again. Much to the amusement of some people who are passing safely on the other side of the canal.

Eventually the swans give up and take to the water again. One flaps its huge wings and they sail off into the distance.

Take my advice, if you’re thinking of relaxing with a sandwich, stick to Piccadilly Gardens…

Parked at a junction, on double yellow lines, in a bus lane and blocking a cycle path, on Wilmslow Road next to the Contact Theatre, at 7.30pm last night (Friday 1 August).

The driver was nowhere to be seen and the passenger was reading a celebrity magazine with an article about Britney Spears.

In my opinion the area between here and Platt Fields Park is one of the most dangerous for cyclists in the whole of Manchester.

‘Scientists have devised a cheap and simple method of turning water into rocket fuel using solar power in a development that could generate a new source of green energy for the home and workplace.’

The Independent.

Cyclists dared to bare all in chilly conditions on Friday 13 June at Manchester’s third annual Naked Bike Ride. We asked riders and members of the public what they thought.

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‘Each day, according to the government-backed report, Britons throw away 4.4 million apples, 1.6 million bananas, 1.3 million yoghurt pots, 660,000 eggs, 550,000 chickens, 300,000 packs of crisps and 440,000 ready meals. And for the first time government researchers have established that most of the food waste is made up of completely untouched food products – whole chickens and chocolate gateaux that lie uneaten in cupboards and fridges before being discarded.’

The Independent

Climate science maverick James Lovelock believes catastrophe is inevitable.

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Last night at 7pm, naked cyclists rode around Manchester city centre. They were protesting about oil dependency and car culture and celebrating ‘the human body and the bike’.

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Manchester’s former Odeon cinema, on Oxford Street, has been subjected to a ’systematic and methodical’ assault to prevent it being preserved, according to the man who tried to save it.

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The Neighbourhood Fix It website is an effective way to highlight and report problems in your local neighbourhood.

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The Guardian writes that devastating global warming can be avoided without excessive economic cost but only if we act now and limit the temperature increase to 2C.

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