What a jolly time we had in Birmingham at the Conservatory Party Conference. Some of my Friends were worried about a Badger being surrounded by Tories but I was safe with my bodyguards. These old fashioned ones:
And these more modern ones.
and there was a man who writes for The Spectator, and I might have spoken to Sajid Javid, but he was incognito...
I got a mention in The Guardian and from Matthew Paris in The Times, but he was a bit dismissive of the nuts and obsessives hanging around the outside of the conference. . Obsessive ? Moi? Mary wrote to him and told him that we were just passionate trying to bring the irrational and cruel Kill Cull to an end.
There were Hupeople protesting about all sorts of things and we became chums and I have to admit that there were a couple of quite strange Characters there. There was a very odd Human playing loud Irish music and saying that Christ will soon come and sweep all politicians from power. That Christ sounds like a wise Human; I would like to shake His/Her paw when He/She comes.
It was good to meet again the anti-nuclear man with his Dog who we met in Man Chester last year
Several recognised me from my London Vigil, calling out "It's the DEFRA Badger".
I also met Hupeople working for HS2. That is a very fast tube on wheels and rails that will rush around the country, sometimes underground like a Badger, moving Hupeople from one place to another very very fast. Some Hupeople don't want HS2 and they were protesting outside the Conference. I was worried that the HS2 would kill the Badgers with their fast metal tubes but they told me that they were looking after the Badgers and the newts. Here is one of the nice HS2 Huwomen who gave me a big hug:
The best thing about Birmingham is the West Midlands Police who are lovely and kind and we had a lot of fun. I wish I could remember all their names. They all took pictures of me.
I asked the Police with the big guns to look tough while I took their pictures but they couldn't stop laughing and didn't look mean at all.
Another good thing about Birmingham is the Hupeople who did so much for me and Mary when we got lost or needed a drink. They talk in a different way from the London Human but it is a nice sound they make. The other good thing about Birmingham is the big boxes on wheels called Buses, which are very fast and black and on time. Me and Mary couldn't find our Bus stop so two inspectors escorted us to the right place and one travelled with us on the Bus to help us buy a ticket to ride to make sure we didn't get lost. This is a Bus:
I hung around outside the Conservatory Party Conference in a building called the ICC for 3 days. Many of the Tories said they were on my side but there were a few very nasty Humen. One said that he wanted to gas me and all the other badgers in the country.
A horrible Humwoman shouted at me about TB and several shouted at me about hedgehogs but were very rude and would not stop and let me put them right about Badgers' innocence in these matters.
I see that Mrs May did some dancing at her Tory Party. I think she dances very much like a Badger. I wonder if she has been having lessons from a Badger
As well as me, there were a lot of Hupeople protesting about the Conservatories. There were Waspie women who are sad because the Government took their pensions and, like Mary, they have to take in Lodgers or sell Kidneys to pay their bills. You can recognise them because they wear purple:
Then there were the people protesting that the government was stealing their benefits and giving then something else instead called Universal Credit. Some of these Hupeople moved around on wheels possibly because they had already had to sell their body parts or because they were ill. Here they are:
You probably won't be surprised to hear that Mr Gove didn't make it to tea with me and Mary. But Mary will write to DEFRA again today. She has a Plan to get rid of Cow TB and he really should listen. Three of the famous Tory people we met said that DEFRA is in the pockets of the NFU- that is the group of farmers that live next door to DEFRA in Smith Square.
Although we were very tired after standing around for 3 days we are very glad we went because we met so many who were kind to me, a humble Badger. So many Hupeople said that the Kill-Cull was immoral and unjustified and they will do what they can to keep it in the Public Eye. I had lots of Badger Hugs.
I took the family with me to Birmingham and left a few of the cubs behind. They wandered off to find mates- well they are getting to the age now where they need to move to new setts and make their own cubs. One little Hucub fell in love with one of my cubs and tried to run away with her. When I roared at her she was so scared:
But she promised to look after the cub and they went home happily together .
Mary described Birmingham as a beautiful place, a bit like Venice with canals and old buildings.
People in Birmingham like building and digging. They dig deeper holes than badgers but they cheat because they haven't got big claws like us and use huge digging machines instead. They also build some very tall setts that almost touch the clouds:
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Today is National Badger Day. Please think about us and tell everyone how we are being shot in the Kill Cull. So many Hupeople don't know it is happening. And please drive carefully at night and look out for Betty and her friends who may be playing in the shadows.
Night Night and Happy Badger Day.
🐾🐾 Betty
Dear Betty,
ReplyDeleteI have no doubt that you touched many hearts and minds.
Reading about your adventure, I am filled with gladness.
It is good to read that there are conservatory hupeople and DEFRA employees who care about living beings and don't want the Badgers all killed.
I am glad to hear how kind the police where to you. I wonder if that is because you are not aggressive, you don't shout or try to intimidate.
Keep up the good work - I know you will - , and tell Mary not to sell both her kidneys or she will have a problem.
Love from Tom
Thank you Tom. I have told Mary not to sell 2 Kidneys. In fact, at her age she needs to hold on to anything that's still working.
DeleteI see no point in shouting at Hupeople because they will just get angry. Instead I wave and say hello and most of them smile because we have made a connection as living creatures.
Thank you for your kind words.
Betty xxx
Thank you Betty for your lovely, amusing and as always thought provoking words. I'm glad you liked Birmingham because I went to university there but it's so long ago I expect it has changed a lot. But if there were kind hupeople there then that is a good thing - just a shame some hupeople have such silly views on life. Keep up the fight ....and I'm glad Mary isn't going to sell any body bits (anyway at our age they wouldn't fetch much.....)x
ReplyDeleteThank you Kay. Mary was born in Birmingham so you might have met when you were cubs. Isn't that a nice thought. Love and Badger hugs. Betty xxx
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ReplyDeletewhat moves unseen in the shadow of night
as cars whistle through the countryside ?
living creatures -
hedgehogs, badgers, foxes, deer,
weasels, rabbits, hares,
rats, mice, voles and shrews
birds, moths, beetles, spiders -
myriad living forms
each one a gift, a blessing of the Cosmos
their lives unfold
- if we allow them to.
- in the tragedy of our time
there are those who feel that killing is sport,
that killing is fun,
that killing is prudent (it will appease the demands of mammon)
but if you sleep close to the woods,
as the huwoman does,
with your windows and your doors open,
with your heart open wide,
you sense the vitality which pervades the night,
the joy of life unfolding .
———————————————
at the edge of the forest
along the undulating banks
among bushes, grasses, and
the falling fruits of autumn,
badgers are seeking, feeding, burrowing,
loving, grooming, playing
gracing this land with their beauty and vigour.
---------------------
'I wave and say hello
and most of them smile
we have made a connection as living creatures'
Betty Badger
Dear Tom. What an utterly lovely and thoughtful verse. It has a magical quality about it. Nature is full of magic, as Betty well knows. Pity that most Hupeople move so quickly that they do not notice the magic, the wonder and the myriad of animals all around them. Betty xxx
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